Ok, I did this with my honey and her mother last year. It was much more fun than I would have ever imagined. I encourage you to make your reservations ASAP because when my mother outlaw tried to change the day that she wanted to do it, it was impossible to make the change.....this was about 30 days out.
Now, I have to say that I am not the Tea type. I felt like a bull in a china store.....for the first few minutes. Then, I relaxed. We had the whole evening to enjoy the Tea. It took a good 2-1/2 hours to finish. The place was just slammed. The waitstaff was awesome. They busted their buns that day.
There were people there of all ages. There were older women in a group, a group of young ladies with their 30-something moms, a few traditional couples, and many mixed groups. The attire was anything from shorts and t-shirts to Sunday best. It just depended what table you were looking at.
I highly suggest the Cinnamon Spice tea. It was awesome.....and I don't even really like hot tea.
One last thing, you mentioned that you wanted to do this and go to MCMCP from there. I would not do this. The Tea takes awhile from start to finish and I wouldn't want to have done it any other way than relaxed. I don't think it would have been as special if we were in a rush to get out of there. I suggest that you give this another slot in your itinerary.
Whatever you choose, just know that it can be a lot of fun, just give it a chance. Maggie