Grand Floridian Afternoon Tea?

[Sparkie]

Tell me about The Afternoon Tea experience.
Pictures?
What are the offerings?
Do the little girls dress up?
Do the mom/gmom's dress up?
How was your overall experience and would you choose this again?

 

[disdreamer7]

We went several years ago and are going on Our December trip. We wore what you would wear to a nice restaurant for dinner. I don't recall little girls being "dressed up" but it was several years ago. I really enjoyed it and am excited to go again.

 

[holden]

We loved the tea! We weren't dressed up (came from the parks). Allears dot net has the menu.

I would definitely do it again.

 

[North of Mouse]

Our little girl is way grown up now, but dh & I watched the girls line up and go into the room for tea a couple years ago. It was sooo cute! Most of the ones we saw 'were' dressed up - that's what made them look so cute!!

 

[hippiechicken]

Are you referring to the regular Afternoon Tea, not the Child Princess one?
If so, here are some pictures. My daughter and I go each trip. She always dresses nicely (in real life too), and I always wear jeans and in a t-shirt. We both feel comfortable dressing like ourselves...
We always get the tea with sandwiches, and she also gets the fruit/cheese plate. I get it when I like the fruit and cheese options. I always get coffee instead of tea.

 

[Criickette]

http://www.disboards.com/threads/afternoon-tea-at-grand-floridian.3543969/

 

[Sparkie]

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, I was talking about the Afternoon Tea. I had previously seen the $$ for the Princess tea but like Afternoon tea prices better. LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures. We are headed back with the granddaughters in June and I think this would be perfect for us.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Are you referring to the regular Afternoon Tea, not the Child Princess one?
If so, here are some pictures. My daughter and I go each trip. She always dresses nicely (in real life too), and I always wear jeans and in a t-shirt. We both feel comfortable dressing like ourselves...
We always get the tea with sandwiches, and she also gets the fruit/cheese plate. I get it when I like the fruit and cheese options. I always get coffee instead of tea.
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Love the photos! We have reservations for our upcoming trip, and your photos are making me happy we're going.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of Afternoon Tea at Grand Floridian: (*rev 10/16/2016*)
. . . food price value: D
. . . food quality: C
. . . food quantity per serving: B
. . . food prep speed: C
. . . food selection: D
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: A
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: C
. . . staff friendliness: B
. . . staff attentiveness: C
. . . character interaction: n/a
.
Our Recommendations:
. . . appys:... n/a
. . . entree:.. Derbyshire Tea
. . . dessert:. n/a
.
NOTE1: The "Tea" is in a gracious atmosphere overlooking the pool and gardens of the Grand Floridian. A relaxing way to put a civilized break into your hectic park day. A negative for the true tea aficionado, is they serve only Pekoe (OP)grade for non-green tea. Reservations are almost
a must. Casual "park attire" is fine, or you can "dress up". You order packages. Anyone can order any package; except being no alcohol for the underage drinkers. Plan upon 1½-2 hours if you do it right and enjoy a relaxing respite. It may sound "stuffy" or "uppity", but not really. It's just people in a quite and sedate atmosphere. Hours: 2:00pm-5:00pm, except December when hours are 1:00pm-5:00pm. Now, you guys don't get discouraged or feel out of place (well, at least not TOO much). There are other gents that get-roped-into-going (I mean join their spouses). Actually, it is a pleasant experience for us dudes. After all, look at all the Englishmen that do it. OK so not the best example, but you WILL enjoy it.

NOTE2: This is not up to the par of either High Tea or the Afternoon Tea, but it is a good way to spend an afternoon. As an FYI, High Tea and Afternoon Tea are different. "High Tea" is a later-afternoon event with more food, including meats. Also note that the "clotted cream" isn't, and they charge for additional pots of tea. Yeah, I know, it it pretty cheap and cheesy. I actually prefer the Tea at Waldorf Astoria on property and it's less expensive than the WDW Tea, even for the better selections. We enjoyed "Tea" at The Savoy and The Claridge's. The GF Tea does not rise to
the quality of either. Take a cab to The Waldorf on property; better pricing, better teas, better service.
.
NOTE3: No longer can you order ala carte. You MUST order a package. With package, you may add ala carte items. It seems lots of folks came and did not spend a lot of money. They would just do ala carte. In fact, some simply ordered tea and nothing to eat, or just a few pastries. Disney is in the biz of big revenue, hence the change. Dollars-per-chair-per-hour. The Afternoon Tea is not on the Disney Dining Plan. No sharing of plates to reduce the price per-person.
Sample ala carte items (subject to change):
. . . British Cheese Plate $14.50
. . . Gentlemen's Tea Platter (berries, cheese) $12.00
. . . Assorted Tea Sandwich Plate (five sandwiches) $10.00
. . . English Blue Stilton Cheese $8.50
. . . Strawberries & Cream $6.95
. . . English Triffle $6.95
. . . Scones with Devonshire Cream $3.50
. . . Jam Tarts $3.50
.
NOTE4: Disney changed the menu and prices, again - and keep raising them, as is not covered under DDP, so prices can "float" with no notice. The prices are now OUTRAGEOUS; maybe the famous PT Barnum was put in charge of the menu & pricing. The prices are ridiculously high. I have taken The WDW Tea off my recommended list. We do not expect to return to it soon. I have taken The WDW Tea off my recommended list for guests who come to my desk.

 

[Dream Finder]

NOTE4: Disney changed the menu and prices, again - and keep raising them, as is not covered under DDP, so prices can "float" with no notice. The prices are now OUTRAGEOUS; maybe the famous PT Barnum was put in charge of the menu & pricing. The prices are ridiculously high. I have taken The WDW Tea off my recommended list. We do not expect to return to it soon. I have taken The WDW Tea off my recommended list for guests who come to my desk.

Unfortunately, I have to agree. We have been going to this Tea every visit going back over 15 years. Last December was our last for a while. With the increased price, the reduced options and they no longer offer any type of discount - we will hold off for a long time before going again.
Also - they used to use a nice - loose leaf tea. Now, they brew the tea in the back room and bring it to you. Not the experience if you truly enjoy the tea itself. I had to ask for mine to be brewed stronger and the tea never quite was the strength I prefer.

We also miss the old method for desserts - if you wanted pastries, you were presented with a large selection and you made your choices. now, you are presented with a plate prepared for you - no choice. With the trifle and strawberries, they used to scoop them up fresh - now it's all pre-plated. While these particular changes may make business sense, adding them up diminishes the experience as a whole.

And don't get me started on the "new" china - they used to have Royal Doulton. I, too, no longer recommend this to my friends.
Rusty: Thanks for the suggestion. We may just try the Waldorf on our next trip

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Also - they used to use a nice - loose leaf tea. Now, they brew the tea in the back room and bring it to you.

1) And, the waitresses DO NOT "know tea".
2) I asked if they had Orange Pekoe or better, and they thought that was a taste.
3) In fact, Pekoe relates to size and types and has NOTHING to do with orange taste (see below Primer).

***********************************************************************************************


A Short Tea Primer . . .

The black tea grades are somewhat subjective and can vary from region to region. A couple of things to note: Pekoe is pronounced "peck-oh". However, there is no orange flavoring in any of these teas. Pekoe is not a flavor, but a grade (don't try to figure it out, just believe me to be true). For the most part, the more initials, the better the tea quality. It must be noted that this does not apply to green tea, as green tea is not rated, but the style/type is basically the same.
Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (FTGFOP)
. . . extremely high quality TGFOP
. . . highest rated tea grade
Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP)
. . . similar to GFOP
. . . with an even higher proportion of golden tips
Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (GFOP)
. . . a higher quality tea
. . . includes the golden tips of the young buds leaves.
Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP)
. . . similar to OP, but slightly higher quality
. . . used for teas
. . . from the rest of India or other regions.
Orange Pekoe (OP)
. . . a good, dependable quality tea
. . . consisting of large leaf pieces
. . . common for teas from Sri Lanka or south India
Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP) Tea
. . . many small or broken pieces of leaves
. . . frequently used in restaurants for pot-brewing
Fannings and/or Dust
. . . tiny bits and pieces
. . . usually leftovers from processing
. . . commonly found in tea bags

 

[Chaoticsweetness]

I enjoyed having afternoon tea at the Grand. My sister & I went in 2013, before MNSSHP.

If you have 2 people, they sit you at a small table, there are no exceptions, I was told when I asked for a larger table; they were literally putting stuff on top of each other.

And The wait staff couldn't tell me about the tea flavors, they were just there to serve it.

 

[kcpinwdw]

I took my 4 year old daughter in September. We both really enjoyed it. We had done the princess tea in the past, and enjoyed remembering it while we had this tea. We did dress up, in matching dresses actually! It was fun and sweet. There were not a lot of little girls there, mostly more mature guests. Our server was a sweetheart.

The photo of us together is from a Snapchat filter, we did not actually wear flowers nor do I put makeup on a child, ha ha





Hope yoiu enjoy it!

 

[happymommy]

To the OP: Are you referring to Afternoon Tea or the Princess Tea? They are two totally different experiences.

 

[Sparkie]

To the OP: Are you referring to Afternoon Tea or the Princess Tea? They are two totally different experiences.

Afternoon Tea. Im too cheap to pay for Princess Tea. I know some have not had the best experience at this tea but I think we are going to give it a try. Im not looking for the best tea.... as I know as much about tea as I do wine LOL! If its equal to Lipton, I'll be ok. :0

 

[happymommy]

Afternoon Tea. Im too cheap to pay for Princess Tea. I know some have not had the best experience at this tea but I think we are going to give it a try. Im not looking for the best tea.... as I know as much about tea as I do wine LOL! If its equal to Lipton, I'll be ok. :0

I'm with you. Not educated on tea, but it does look like a nice experience!