Garden View Tea Room?

[amandaj1014]

Hi! I have 2 questions; 1) has anyone done this and what was it like? My husband is a "British tea" fanatic and would love a "high tea" experience. Only problem: we have only one day where it would really fit in our schedule without interfering with other meals, and they are booked that day! Which brings me to question 2) What are the chances people would cancel that day or a few days before, and what is the best way of going about checking on this? Call daily, or just call that day in case a party decided that it wasn't going to work out for them that day?

I was surprised it was totally booked since it's not on the DDP and no one ever seems to mention it; it must be more popular than I thought!

Thanks!
Amanda

 

[queendisney]

Hi! I have 2 questions; 1) has anyone done this and what was it like? My husband is a "British tea" fanatic and would love a "high tea" experience. Only problem: we have only one day where it would really fit in our schedule without interfering with other meals, and they are booked that day! Which brings me to question 2) What are the chances people would cancel that day or a few days before, and what is the best way of going about checking on this? Call daily, or just call that day in case a party decided that it wasn't going to work out for them that day?

I was surprised it was totally booked since it's not on the DDP and no one ever seems to mention it; it must be more popular than I thought!

Thanks!
Amanda

Hi..we are English and to be honest neither me or DH enjoyed this at all. Firstly we thought it was very expensive for what it was and, maybe this is an English thing, but the Tea (drink) itself was awful! It is, I think, a very American take on an English high tea. It was in a lovely setting and others seemed to enjoy it around us but it was def not us! Sorry thats a tad negative. On another note we did not pre book this, we went on the off chance and only had to wait about 15 mins, maybe we were just lucky and somebody just didn't turn up.

 

[Madhatter266]

We attended the Tea last February. When I called for reservations, there was only one time slot left. I know that I did not call at the 180-day mark, but it wasn't that much after - maybe just a few days. I was really surprised that it booked-up that quickly. We really enjoyed the entire experience. Both of us ordered the Sally Lunn Tea and an assortment of the tea sandwiches. We were not rushed at all.

As far as your reservation - I would keep checking. Plans change all of the time. Good luck!

 

[plutolovr]

Having done tea here and at the Brown's Hotel in London, I really enjoy the GF tea. I usually get the package that includes the sparkling wine. I have an ADR for my birthday in September.

 

[Cee]

We have done this numerous times and love it. I have an ADR for our upcoming Oct. trip but this is the first time I have ever booked it in advance. All the other times I've called after arriving at WDW, asked what was available during our stay, and chosen the most convenient time for our party. No fuss, no muss. We also get the full tea with the sparkling wine. Only around $25/pp and an overall wonderful experience. I think everyone(especially moms and daughters) should do this at least once.

 

[ElizabethB]

They serve "afternoon tea". "High tea" is something very different -- an evening supper for workers.

We enjoy afternoon tea at GF. It's pleasant, the teas are fair, the sandwiches are tasty, the pastries are fair, the ambience is lovely. The pianist starts playing in the hotel lobby at 3 pm. Dh loves afternoon tea here and it is often how we while away lazy vacation afternoons before a nice dinner somewhere.

People tend to show up around 2 pm because they do tea rather than lunch. If you show up around 4 pm (the normal time for afternoon tea, actually), you may well get in. Not everyone that makes an ADR shows up. No guarantees of course.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) It is very popular and always fills up on ADR's.
2) However, there are usually a fair amount of non-shows.
3) Especially, later in the afternoon,
. . . they stay at the park to continue the rides
. . . they get too sweaty to want to sit down
. . . they have second thoughts about the price

 

[amandaj1014]

Thanks for the responses! We are 3 1/2 weeks out from the day we wanted to go. I didn't make the reservation in advance b/c I didn't realize it was something dh really wanted to do until yesterday! Guess our best bet will be to show up and hope for the best; we'll be in MK that day so it won't be much trouble to hop on the monorail and check it out.

Also, I stand corrected on the "high tea" v "afternoon tea." Thanks for the info!

Amanda

 

[BriarRosie]

Thanks for the responses! We are 3 1/2 weeks out from the day we wanted to go. I didn't make the reservation in advance b/c I didn't realize it was something dh really wanted to do until yesterday! Guess our best bet will be to show up and hope for the best; we'll be in MK that day so it won't be much trouble to hop on the monorail and check it out.

Also, I stand corrected on the "high tea" v "afternoon tea." Thanks for the info!

Amanda

I once went during a solo trip, around 2pm, just as they opened. I had a book with me, knowing that I might not be able to get seated without an ADR. I'm glad I had the book, because I waited comfortably in a chair outside the lounge for an hour before they could seat me. I probably could have gotten in with little wait if I didn't arrive early.

I thought you should keep that in mind if you go as a walk-up.

 

[geek+nerd]

I hosted a ladies' tea here for the women who came to my wedding at Disney in June. Everyone raved about the experience! It is not something that I normally would have taken time out of the parks to do, but it was well worth it!

The space is beautiful, the teas were delicious, and we were all surprised by how full we felt after!

I highly recommend either the Mad Hatter tea or the mountain berry. Both were delicious. Here are some pics from our tea:

This is the Princess Kate tea: shrimp, cheese, toast, fruit, champagne

The desserts with the Princess Kate

Most of us had the Buckingham Palace tea: sandwiches, jam tart and scone and desserts

The desserts I chose with the BP tea: chocolate hazelnut cream puff and a chocolate eclair

A picture of our group; all the women in the tea room were given a rose

 

[hintofspy]

I'm a sucker for their tea sandwiches, so I try to go to tea at least once a month. I've only made an ADR once, but PPs are totally correct, many people are no-shows, and 15 minutes after a reservation time with a no-show, they will close out their reservations and take walk-ups.

I usually get the Grand Tea, which includes enough to be a meal, essentially: glass of champagne, pot of tea, tea sandwiches (current flavors: shrimp salad, curry chicken salad, egg salad, and pear/gorgonzola), a scone with Devonshire cream and strawberry jam, a strawberry jam tart, and then 2 dessert pastries (wide variety ranging from an eclair, a fruit tart, chocolate covered ginormous strawberry, and mousse-filled swan) or a bowl of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. If that's not your style, I can also attest that the cheese plate is awesome, and the kid's tea (Mrs. Potts ) has a cute selection of sandwiches (ham and cheese, tuna salad, and PBJ) with chocolate milk and 2 pastries. Any choice here is awesome!