We’ve been eagerly awaiting this moment for six years, and now we’re just five days away from the reopening of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa afternoon tea experience on March 19, 2026. This marks one of the last major COVID-closed restaurants at Disney World returning. The Garden View Lounge Tea Experience has been greatly missed since its closure in March 2020, and we were thrilled to learn of its reopening in January.
Reservations opened on February 19 and have been difficult to secure, as guests have been waiting for this for six years. It's suggested to book 60 days in advance, but continue checking for last-minute availability due to cancellations. While most experiences reopened within 6-20 months after the pandemic, this tea experience has had one of the longest closures.
The Alice in Wonderland Theming Is Perfect at Grand Floridian
This spot and experience have been reimagined with an Alice in Wonderland-themed menu, creating a whimsical atmosphere that honestly makes way more sense than generic British afternoon tea. The menu includes playful character references, with each dish inviting guests to explore the whimsy of Wonderland. There are now eight different teas to choose from, plus specialty cocktails that use tea as a key ingredient, with Disney working with Twinings to hand-select premium tea blends offering something for everyone.
Orangery of Lady Grey is a light and fragrant black tea with bright citrus notes of orange and bergamot that's exclusive to Walt Disney World Resort, while Nutty Chocolate Flavoured Assam is a rich Assam black tea with the flavors of smooth chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. Expertly trained cast members serve as tea guides, helping guests select teas and customize them by choosing aromatics added during steeping, and creating educational elements where guests learn about tea varieties and preparation methods.
The Food Looks Amazing
The three-tier tea tower offers substantial savory options like Curried Chicken Salad, Playing Card Tart with savory curried chicken salad filling topped with cherry gelée, Footman's Feast Wonderland Salmon Crisp with salmon rillette on miso brown butter crisp, Tweedledee Egg Salad Sandwich with traditional egg salad on beet bread, and Caterpillar Cucumber Roll with butterfly pea-infused cream cheese and cucumbers on pumpernickel.
The sweet tier includes Matcha Mad Hatter sponge cake with apricot jam and yuzu buttercream, Tea Party Tart with vanilla tart coffee custard and chantilly cream, Flamingo Croquet Choux with choux pastry filled with passion fruit cream and raspberry crunch, and Painting the Rose Earl Grey-flavored teacake painted tableside, which honestly sounds like the most Instagram-worthy item on the menu.
They Have Tea Cocktails
The beverage menu offers more than just traditional tea, with two special tea-based cocktails that honestly sound incredible. Mint Tulip combines Old Forester 1870 Original Batch Kentucky Straight Whiskey and Twinings Peach Mango Tea Refreshers herbal tea garnished with mint, while Mar-TEA-ni is made with Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, Twinings Earl Grey Tea, lemon, and honey, then topped with edible violet flower, which is honestly gorgeous.
The Kids Menu Is Way More Affordable at the Grand Floridian
The $49 Children's Afternoon Tea features adorably delicious bites, including Queen of Hearts Cheese Toastie, Fanciful Turkey Wrap, Sunflower Seed Butter and Jelly Bun, Cheshire Cat Raspberry Macaron, Chocolate Brownie Branch, and vanilla White Rabbit Cupcake. The children's pricing makes the experience accessible for families rather than being exclusively adult-oriented, addressing feedback that the previous Perfectly Princess Tea Party was prohibitively expensive at roughly $300 per child, which was honestly insane.
Originally, the Grand Floridian's afternoon tea catered mostly to adults, while the Perfectly Princess Tea Party was a special event for children and their parents, featuring interactive elements and gifts. Both experiences were extremely popular and frequently sold out, making their absence noticeable for fans. This return fills the gap left by the shutdown of both experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the new experience priced at $79 per adult and $49 for children, offering families a chance to enjoy this elegant tradition without breaking the bank.
