I was inspired to write this post after Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel by a fellow Disney blogger, Jennifer Young at WDW Fan Zone, who wrote this post about her last trip to a Disney park before the pandemic. I had visited the Disneyland Resort on March 8, 2020, and had planned to post the photos and descriptions here of their wonderful Cinderella-themed tea service. But when the world shut down exactly one week later, it didn’t feel right to share this at that time, a snapshot of an experience that was closed indefinitely.
But now, with the recent announcement that the Disneyland Resort will be officially re-opening on April 30th, it feels like the right time to share these images of the wonderful Afternoon Tea service that was offered at the Disneyland Hotel. While the Cinderella theme may be done, in the past they have done a new fun theme every year (the year prior it was a Mickey & Minnie Birthday theme), so this post is just to show you what you can look forward to for when this experience reopens along with the theme parks. Please note, however, that it’s possible some details shown in this post could be changed in the future as they look to offer a COVID-safe version of this experience.
So now, without further ado, here’s what the fabulous Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel was (and hopefully will continue to be) like!
Location:
Afternoon Tea is served at the Steakhouse 55 restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel. We had to make a reservation, and spots can be hard to come by. I called the morning that our desired date became available to book, and was lucky to get a table for my family. I learned this the hard way because in years past I’ve been unable to get a reservation at all. Or sometimes I’d be able to get a table for 2, and then would have to check back regularly to see if there’d been any cancellations so that I could add 2 more people to my party.
My point is, if you’d like to experience this wonderful offering – and I hope you do because it is really fabulous – plan far ahead!
Decor:
The decor for Steakhouse 55 is fairly upscale. The restaurant is one of the pricier eating spots at the Disneyland Resort. There’s lots of dark woods and rich fabrics. While not specifically British-themed, I think this style lends itself very nicely to hosting a British-style afternoon tea!
As this particular one that we attended was themed around Cinderella, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of her film debut, the hallway just before the main dining area was decorated with some special Cinderella-themed Disneyana items.
They also had a little photo opp area where you could take a pic with this cute sign.
Table Setting:
Once seated at our table, it took me a minute to recognize that this cute floral arrangement on the table was in fact a miniature Cinderella’s golden carriage!
The place setting was not Cinderella-themed, but I did feel a bit like a princess using this fancy china and heavy silverware.
Menu for Classic Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel:
As you might have guessed, there was an impressive list of teas included with this meal. You could pick any from this extensive list, which was then brought to you steeping in a tea pot. If you somehow managed to finish it all, you could order another one. It was basically a bottomless tea service. (And if you felt like having a fancy cocktail, you could order one too, though those are not bottomless and are a separate charge.)
Since I don’t drink caffeine, I was happy to see how many decaf options they had. Also, if you’re an Eco Friendly Mama like me and try to go organic when possible, you’ll be happy to see they had some organic tea options as well! I went for the Organic Chamomile Flowers, while my husband who likes his caffeine went for the Mad Hatters Tea Party (Flowery Cylon with passion fruit, pomegranate, and vanilla).
If your kids aren’t into hot teas (or you aren’t yourself) you can order anything iced! My kids got the iced versions of the decaf Princess Breakfast (a smooth, sweetness of Madagascar vanilla bean and ripe strawberries) and the Super Fruity (A combination of sweet berries, hibiscus, beetroot).
In terms of food offerings, there were 3 set menus to pick from:
Classic Tea Party came with traditional scones, an assortment of tea sandwiches, and desserts. The cost for this was $55 per person.
Premium Tea Party came with traditional scones, an assortment of tea sandwiches, and desserts PLUS sparkling wine, salad, and a farewell truffle. The cost for this was $70 per person.
Kids Tea Party came with traditional scones, an assortment of tea sandwiches in kid-friendly flavors, and desserts. The cost was $35 per guest ages 10 and under.
Note that whichever Party you selected, they all included the Cinderella themed treats!
Before you scoff at the prices for Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel, let me tell you – it is totally worth it! While you may think it might not be a filling meal, it absolutely ends up being quite satisfying. Also, something neat I’ve observed at most every tea service I’ve ever been to is that if you ask nicely for a refill on a favorite sandwich, they will bring it to you. When I mentioned to our server that my son loved their cheese sandwich (he’s a vegetarian so we ordered it without ham), he brought us out another small plate of cheese sandwiches!
Also, part of what you’re paying for with a tea service is the experience itself. The service at Steakhouse 55 is always very good, but it’s especially attentive for their tea service. You kind of feel like at any moment, Lumière and his chorus of dishware might come out and start singing “Be Our Guest” to you while they dazzle you with hospitality. And each food item you are served during this afternoon tea party is *almost* too pretty to eat.
That said, this being a Disney resort, it’s not so fancy that you don’t feel comfortable having children at the table. You can see in the photo below that just behind my champagne glass is my son’s paper cup with a lid and paper straw for his iced tea. They’ve thought of everything to be inclusive of children here, and make it a relatively stress-free afternoon tea experience with them.
And now for the fun stuff…the food!
My husband and I ordered the Premium Tea Service because we wanted the full experience, and our kids got the Kids Tea Service. First out came our salads, which my veggie-loving kiddo was a little jealous of. Lucky for him, I agreed to share a bit from my plate!
Both kids were served their meals on a shared tower, so this portion is for two:
And this is the tower for adults, which was also served for two. Note that it’s basically identical to the Kids version, except for the middle plate which held different sandwiches.
Do you see how they made the pumpkin sandwich look like a pumpkin carriage by using radish slices for wheels? So clever!
And there you have it, every detail I can recall about the Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel. I’m drooling now remembering this wonderful treat of a experience, and can’t wait to see what theme they decide to do when they offer this again in the future!
