THAT TALL MAN IS THE HEIR TO THE TWINING TEA FAMILY BUSINESS AND WE HAVE AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM COMING UP SOON!
The Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience (Website) at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Website) in March, after a six-year pandemic closure, and we were invited to the media opening this week to try it.
The room itself has been substantially renovated. Disney Imagineer Suzanne Szak oversaw updates that include new carpet with hidden Mickeys, stained glass featuring wrens and sparrows that tie back to the Grand Floridian’s lobby design, and Alice in Wonderland theming woven throughout. When we spoke with her last month, she said her favorite update was the carpet.
The tea program was developed in partnership with Twinings of London (Website) and has a Florida-forward angle, especially with the special house blend, Orangery of Lady Grey, a venue-exclusive black tea with citrus notes made specifically for Walt Disney World. Other options include Spicy Chai, Nutty Chocolate Flavoured Assam, and a Blackcurrant and Lavender herbal blend. We loved choosing our teas by scent. Watch our video below to see what I’m talking about.
Side Note: Stay tuned for an interview with the 10th-generation heir to the Twinings tea business, Stephen Twining, who was on site during the media event, coming out soon!
The meal opens with an Orange-Cranberry Scone served with traditional accompaniments, including a Florida marmalade. From there, a three-tier tower is plopped on your table, with highlights like the adorably flexy Caterpillar Cucumber Roll with butterfly pea-infused cream cheese and edible flowers, and the Footman’s Feast salmon rillette on a miso brown butter crisp (which was insane – ask for the artichoke alternative if you don’t do fish). We also paid for the cheese plate, which wasn’t part of the media menu, but we couldn’t resist.
The cocktail menu includes the Mint Tulip (whiskey, peach mango tea, mint) and the Mar-TEA-ni (Irish gin, Earl Grey, lemon, honey), plus champagne and sparkling wine. There’s also a children’s menu with six items, including a cheese toastie, turkey wrap, sunflower seed butter and jelly bun. But leave them at the pool and save yourself the money.
The real highlight of our visit was the staff. Our server, Heather-Lynn, was wonderful and knowledgeable, and Tanya from Okeechobee absolutely made our day before we were even seated.
Reservations are available through the My Disney Experience app, though they’re extremely difficult to get at the moment. The initial release sold out within ten minutes. The lounge is currently closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
