Having Afternoon Tea has been a mother/daughter tradition for my daughter(s) and me since we first visited the Garden View Lounge for my oldest daughter's 18th birthday back in 2007.
As you can see from the photo, my daughter was presented with a crown and birthday cupcake and was made to feel very special. So of course, we were hooked on this place for life.
Since that time I had visited the Garden View Lounge during 6 of my 7 trips to Disney World. The one time I was forced to skip it was because I was traveling with only my teenage son and he wanted no part of anything which included sipping tea out of china cups while daintily eating little crustless cucumber sandwiches.
During this 8th visit to the Garden View Lounge, I splurged and had the Grand Tea.
The Grand Tea - The classic English tradition of Afternoon Tea, Grand Floridian style. We offer you a variety of tea sandwiches, scone and jam tart, followed by your choice of our freshly baked tea pastries, Strawberries and Créme, or English Trifle, accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine and your choice of tea. - $35
This is nearly identical to the Buckingham Tea that many of the others had (for $25, or $10 less) except for two extra items. One of these is that the Grand Tea includes a glass of Domaine Ste. Michelle Sparkling Wine.
I seem to have forgotten to take a photo of my tea/tea cup but I chose the...
Princess Breakfast Tea - A sweet custom blend of South African organic rooibos flavored with vanilla bean and a hint of strawberries. Rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and naturally decaffeinated.
I have had this several times before here and again I really enjoyed it. Of course, as usual I couldn't resist the urge to make my tea even sweeter by adding a sugar cube. It seems so much "classier" to use tongs to add sweetener to my drink than to rip open a packet of Equal and clutter up the table with the "paper trail" evidence of my sweet tooth.
Here's a photo from my last visit in March 2013, which shows the aforementioned sugar bowl and tongs and what was probably my cup of Princess Breakfast tea, as more often than not that is what I have here.
And speaking of my last visit, it was then that we discovered that the shrimp salad sandwich had been replaced by salmon in the tea sandwich assortment. My daughter and I both like salmon, so we gave it a try. It was nasty...very smelly and fishy tasting.
One taste and we were both done with it. Now perhaps it was just a bad batch, but not wanting to take any chances, this time I substituted the salmon for an additional grilled pear and gorgonzola one...my favorite of the other four sandwiches.
Plate of Assorted Tea Sandwiches - five assorted tea sandwiches on fresh, house-made breads
(Pictured from left to right are: 2 grilled pear and gorgonzola, curry chicken salad, egg salad, cucumber, cream cheese, & watercress sandwiches with a small onion tart in back and paté in the front.
The pear and gorgonzola sandwiches were again my favorite and the cucumber one was probably my least favorite, as I find it to be a little bland. However I enjoy having the variety, so would probably order the assortment (substituting only for the salmon) this way again next time. I also enjoy the onion tart, as it is always sweet and delicious. As for the paté, well I could easily do without it. The paté is the other additional item which you get with the Grand Tea. So for me, not being a fan of their paté, the decision of whether to order the Grand Tea or the Buckingham is dependent upon whether or not I feel like having a glass of sparkling wine for the additional $10.
Moving on to the next course...
Buttery Scone and Strawberry Jam Tart, accompanied by strawberry jam, Devonshire clotted cream, and lemon curd.
The accompaniments included with this course have gone through a bit of a transformation in recent years. During my May 2012 tea (and all my visits prior to that), they served a small jar of strawberry preserves with your scone and Devonshire cream. (Btw, this was the a la carte portion, which included two scones)
Then on our next visit, which was in March 2013, there was no more jar...
Also, we were given a choice of either the strawberry jam or lemon curd, to go along with the Devonshire cream.
Now with this visit, we were automatically served all three accompaniments...
While I enjoyed the lemon curd, I still prefer the combination of the strawberry jam and Devonshire cream generously slathered upon my scone.
For my final course, I debated between the strawberries and crème and the English trifle. I have had both here and enjoy them equally. I finally decided though to go with the...
Strawberries and Créme
Not a very good photo of this I'm afraid, as you can not tell what is underneath that delicious layer of whipped cream (see Linda's photo for a better look).
Here again they have made a change, this time in the presentation. This is what it looked like when they called this merely strawberries and cream...
And the similar presentation of the English trifle...
Now they have a much more beautiful presentation of these (see Brenda's photo of Paula's trifle) with an "F" imprinted at the top. Oh, and the strawberries and
cream are now listed on the menu as strawberries and
crème. But whether they call it cream or the "fancier" crème, it still tastes like a dollop of whipped cream on top of a pile of deliciously sweet, fresh strawberries... so it's all good!
One change that they have made recently that I don't like though is that you can no longer order items such as the tea sandwiches or scones a la carte. I liked having the option of ordering one or two things rather than always having a 3 course meal here. However this change is not a deal breaker for me, as I have generally always considered this my lunch and ordered either the Buckingham or Grand Tea anyway.
Regarding our service here, as others have already said, it was slower than slow. We had one server for the 10 of us seated at two tables and when ordering we requested 8 separate checks. So from the beginning she seemed flustered, but by the end (which was hours later) when she presented us with our checks and most of us pulled out our Tables in Wonderland cards...well, I thought the poor girl's head was going to explode.
So in conclusion, my 8th Afternoon Tea will definitely be one of my most memorable visits ...and no, not because it was the longest.
I will always remember my 8th time because of the great people I was with and how they made me feel so special during our looong afternoon together at the Garden View Lounge.
Thanks again ladies (& gentleman)!
But I assure you folks, these were tears of joy. 
Oh, and lucky for me, Sue and DeeDee (being loyal followers and reporters for the live thread) both offered to again do live updates during their December trips, which is how I discovered that they would be there at the same time and allowed me the opportunity to meet both of these great ladies in person. And last but not least, Miss Emily. Though she was one of my youngest live reporters, you could never tell it from the quality of her updates from their Feb. 2013 trip. This lovely young lady is living proof of that old saying, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". 
Regarding tea in October, I think I am going toward the end of October but haven't yet settled on the exact dates. If our trips should overlap, I would love to meet you for tea again. Linda will be there at that time and I think maybe Brenda too. Also another great British lady and DISer, Joh (wilmabride), who I have been dying to meet will be there as well. Maybe we could all have a proper Afternoon Tea together? 
