Ice Cream Social / Afternoon Tea

[PartyofSix]

We are taking two of our triplet girls that are 4 in just a few weeks. I keep hearing about these two events where are they held and what time frames? Are they worth doing. My dh loves hot teas and my girls would proabley like it if there are characters there. What exactly is that Ice Cream Social are there characters there? Where are these things? THanks

 

[Disney Fool]

The ice cream social is not a "social" per se, but it is fun. It's held at the Garden Grill Restaurant at the Land Pavilion at Epcot. The restaurant itself rotates and you see views of the Living with the Land boat ride below. Mickey, Pluto, sometimes Minnie, and always Chip and Dale come to your table in turns to sign autographs and pose for pictures. The ice cream is about $6.50 or so, but it is decorated with candy, and cookies, etc. Great interaction with the characters without getting pushed or shoved by overeager parents and kids.
The Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian is very elegant, but definitely not stuffy. Little children are served their own tea (chocolate milk) in tiny Royal Doulton china teapots (too cute) and are served right along with the grownups with tiny sandwiches, scones, strawberry trifle, etc. It s a very relaxing break from the parks. I recently brought a very loud, very active three year old to this and to our everlasting surprise, she was good as gold. I think she was flattered to be treated just like an adult. She even poured her own tea (in the strainer, of course) and she was very ladylike. We couldn't stop smiling. The hostesses were wonderful with her.

 

[vettechick99]

Maybe I'm out of it since I don't have kids. Is there a special Afternoon Tea for kids? Last time I did it, it was very quiet and reserved. No characters, and actually, we were one of the only ones there. Doesn't sound like a good time for a few 4-yr olds, but I may thinking of the wrong Tea.

 

[vettechick99]

OK! So I am out of it! This is the little girls' tea, but it looks lots of fun for kids, not so much for the adults. And its pricey! $200 first child/first adult, $65 each add'l adult and $135 each add'l child!

My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party

I say go for the Ice Cream!

 

[ErinInCT]

Here is what I found - looks like all are done at Grand Floridian:

Wonderland Tea Party - A tea party (lasting one hour) for children, hosted by characters from Alice in Wonderland. Children will make and eat cupcakes, enjoy a story, eat lunch, and have tea with the characters, and make flower bouquets. Children who are potty trained and ages 4-10 may attend.
Monday through Friday from 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Available to all guests, Cost is $28.17 plus tax
Reservations 90 days in advance 407-WDW-DINE

The My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa has been extended through 1/28/05. Your credit card will be charged by WDW prior to the event.
Through October 2nd, the tea will be offered
Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday.
Starting October 3rd, the tea will be offered
Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.
*****
Your little girl can dress up and have a special tea party with Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. The tea party is hosted by "Rose Petal" a magical rose from Aurora's garden, who will lead sing-alongs, storytelling and a princess parade.
In addition to the tea party, princess cake and meet and great with Aurora, each guest from 3-11 will receive "My Disney Girl" collectable doll plus accessories; a tiara, Princess link bracelet, princess scrapbook and a "Best Friend" certificate.
$200 includes gratuity (but not tax) for one adult and one child ages 3-11. Additional adult guest is $65 plus tax and an additional child is $135 plus tax.

Mrs. Potts Tea - For the younger tea lover in your party, we offer a variety of tea sandwiches, tuna salad, ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly on white bread. We serve our magical dark tea (chocolate milk), followed by a choice of 2 pastries $8.50 per guest.

Epcot's Garden Grill revolving restaurant features an afternoon Ice Cream Social with Mickey and his friends.
Priority Seatings (90 days in advance) are available at 3:00pm and also 3:30 pm. The cost is $6.75 plus tax and gratuity per person (same charge for children or adults).

Here is another fun idea:
The Nestle Junior Chef program at The Land pavilion in Epcot. The Junior Chefs (aka any child between about ages 3 and 10) help two grown-up chefs make a delicious and magical batch of chocolate chip cookies. The children also each get a personalized paper chef's hat and at the end, a little container of Nestle chips and two cookies. There is no sign-up or prior registration. Just head downstairs to the Sunshine Season Food and look for the bright yellow bakery storefront to the far left (from the vantage point of the stairs) of the food offerings. Junior Chef is offered every hour on the half-hour. FREE (This is close to the ice cream social so you could do both!!)

 

[PartyofSix]

Thank you guys so much. Does anyone happen to know what time frame the Ice Cream Social is done in? I wanted to do the Nestle thing and i'm so grateful you reposted that i lost it and could not remember where i read about it at. Thanks so much

 

[vettechick99]

This is what I found out on www.wdwig.com . A great resource!

Epcot's Garden Grill revolving restaurant features an afternoon Ice Cream Social with Mickey and his friends.

Priority Seatings (90 days in advance) are available at 3:00pm and also 3:30 pm. The cost is $6.75 plus tax and gratuity per person (same charge for children or adults).

The reviews are mixed. Here's what folks have to say about the Ice Cream Social....

 

[GaTech]

We did the Ice Cream Social last year and had mixed thoughts.

The good...
1. We were seated right away.
2. There weren't many people there so we had extra time with the characters.

The bad...
1. We felt the price was a little high.
2. Our kids are young and we didn't plan to go to Epcot. We had to make a special trip for this.
3. Not much to look at when the characters aren't in sight.
4. The ice cream was just ok and you don't have a choice of flavors.

 

[PartyofSix]

I may just cross both of these off my list of things to consider then. We are planning to go to Epcot but with two 4yo's i want to use the time we have wisely. As for the GF tea. The princess tea is not in our budget this time around and the evening tea will be held during our nap times. So out they go! On to search for more fun stuff. I'm getting worried there will be no good food choices. I don't mind the jacked up prices but i want GOOD tasting food to eat. It sounds like these meals at all the parks and resorts are hit and miss medicore at best. There seems to not be a single place that gets 90% good reviews. Did i miss something i mean we are paying a lot of these meals and i understand we are getting character interaction but can't they serve us some good cooked food?

 

[GaTech]

There are plenty of character meals that serve good food. I would recommend... Crystal Palace & Chef Mickey for your four year olds. There are several others that are good as well!!!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Thanks for the information about the Nestle cookies. DD would love this.

 

[chilis]

I think $6.75 for an ice cream social with character interaction is quite a deal. We pay over 3 bucks for ice cream at the local Baskin Robins and there is nobody there to look at except some teenage girl/guy who is more interested in flirting than taking our order.

I'll definitely be booking this for my 4 year old daughter in November!

Lisa

 

[GaTech]

My DS did the Nestle Junior Chef cookie making and had a great time. We happened upon it and he was able to join in. It's in a quiet out of the way place so not many people know about it.

 

[Michelle GT]

my kids liked the wonderland tea party at gf. it is alice and friends and they get private section of dining hall to themselves. they are seved lunch and tea and cupcakes. they play games etc and they are ony about 15-20 kids there so it is more intimate then the typical wait in lines for the autographs. At that time,2001 I had my DD(5) and DS(3) go together. they both had a blast even my son. the mad hatter was there also and he loved him.

 

[Disney Fool]

I would definitely say that the Alice in Wonderland Tea Party is well worth the money. You wouldn't believe how magical and wonderful the table setting is. Alice and the Mad Hatter take extra special care with the shy children and give them lots of personal attention. This is an area where Disney really shines.
The Ice Cream Social is the cheapest character "meal" you can get. I like it for the reason that you get to spend time with Mickey instead of running around trying to find him in the park, only to get pushed out of the way, or trampled on trying to get his autograph. If your children want to visit with the Mouse, here's your opportunity.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

I am excited about doing the Ice Cream Social on this trip.

We had dinner at the Garden Grill on our last trip and it was one of the our kids favorite Character Meets.

I love the fact that we will be able to meet the same characters, but pay MUCH LESS!!

With 4 kids, 2 adults every penny counts!

 

[tae1218]

We attended the ice cream social on our last trip in June. Our PS time was 3:00. It was a perfect time for an afternoon snack. It got us out of the hot Florida sun for a break. My DD6 loved the ice cream and the character interaction was great. We will be attending again on our next trip in May.

 

[bear74]

the ice cream social and the nestle deal both sound like fun.

 

[TINKTWINS]

We have done the ice cream social 3 times. Its worth your time. You will get some great pics without extra money or waiting in line. Mickey actually spent a few minutes coloring with my 4yo DD. I framed it along with the pic I took of them doing it. Very sweet memory. I beleive the start at 3pm we always went around that time.

I also sent DD to the Wonderland Tea Party, another great time, DD loved it, its a nice time for the girls, and they come out with a nice surprise for mom, I dont want to give it away. But it was fun for the kids. I say do both