It’s back!
After a six-year hiatus, the Garden View Lounge at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort has finally resumed tea service.
The Garden View Lounge offered a lovely tea for years, closing with the shutdowns of 2020 and the pandemic. While most of the resort reopened soon, the tea room remained closed. Many people were disappointed, as the tea was a popular favorite. We loved going — my husband was especially addicted to the onion tarts. I reviewed the tea here, with nothing but praise for what a lovely experience it was. To say we’ve missed it desperately all this time would be a gross understatement.
There was no news for years on when or if the tea would return until early 2026, when it was announced the tea would resume on March 19th with a new, Alice in Wonderland-themed experience. We had a chance to try out the new tea this week and while we’re beyond thrilled it’s back, there were a few things that disappointed us.
The decor has been given a bit of a refresh, which is nice; the room is still bright and airy, even more so now with the addition of some beautiful stained glass windows separating it from the main lobby.
The service begins with a selection of Twinings teas. We’re caffeine-free so we chose from the three herbal offerings on the menu: Lemongress & Peppermint, Redbush Caramel Velvet, and Blackcurrant & Lavender. We both fell for the aroma of the Redbush Caramel Velvet, and it was an amazing tea, smooth and delightful. I will definitely be trying that at home.
We also chose to add the optional cheese plate, for $21, to share. Portions on this cheese plate are extremely small — too small for the price, for sure — but quite enjoyable. We were blown away by the Truffle Brie Mousse.
After this, though, the food quality became problematic.
The orange cranberry scone was dry and small. I don’t mind the small size if what I’m eating is delicious, but it wasn’t. This scone had little flavor and crumbled away too easily.
The sandwiches were strange — there’s no other word for it. The egg salad was on a red bun and had bits of bacon in it. The bacon was crispy and fun, but the bun was overlarge and soggy. The cucumber sandwich (made to look like a caterpillar, we were told) had an overwhelming amount of blue-tinted butter on it. The chicken salad was probably the best of them all, with finely-chopped chicken and a yummy pastry crust. We were also served an artichoke mixture on a crust/cracker I wasn’t able to identify; it was odd. Lastly, no onion tarts. My husband was prepared, but disappointed.
The desserts were, sadly, the biggest disappointment.
Clearly, emphasis was put on presentation, not flavor. There was a great deal of fondant involved here, something I’m not a fan of at all: it looks pretty but tastes rather bad. The Matcha Mad Hatter tasted odd and left my fingers and mouth stained green. Painting the Roses Red had little flavor at all; the same could be said for the Tea Party Tart. I liked the Flamingo Croquet Choux the best, but mostly because the shell had a nice crunch to it.
Going to tea should be a decadent experience, with delicious tea and indulgent desserts. The tea here was wonderful, but the sandwiches and dessert offerings failed to meet the mark. I’m incredibly glad that the tea is back, but I hope that Disney takes some feedback (I’m not the only one who found it a little lacking) and changes things up a bit. Until then, to be frank, I recommend the tea experience at The Cake Bake Shop on Disney’s Boardwalk instead.
The Garden View Lounge’s Tea Experience is available by reservation only (and these can be hard to get) and is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 11 AM to 4 PM. Cost is $79 for adults and $49 for children ages 3 to 9, and must be paid in advance at the time of booking.
