Archive for July 10th, 2009

While beautiful all year round, Walt Disney World puts on its most gorgeous face for the Christmas season.  The parks and resorts are spangled with greenery and ornaments and sparkling lights.  Tens of thousands of poinsettias are massed in gardens and baskets and urns.  Lobbies boast astounding edible constructions; garlands swirl around pillars and up staircases.  The parks ring with seasonal music, holiday shows, and signature trees.  

Sign up for the Yuletide Fantasy Backstage Tour to get an inside peek at the preparations.  Guests visiting during the decorating season can go to bed one night and awake to find an area completely transformed, and tour participants will visit the Holiday Services department to see how this amazing feat is made possible.  The program includes visits to Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom, as well as several resort hotels and the cavernous warehouse where the seasonal decorations are stored.   Guides share some of the secrets that make this annual decorating extravaganza such a success:  how the “Disney” bow is tied; their method for securing ornaments and stringing lights; the theming of the many installations around the “world.” 

Transportation from one location to another is provided by bus, and many visitors have made this tour part of their annual holiday tradition. 

Review:  If you are visiting during the Christmas season, this is a great way to immerse yourself in the holiday spirit.  One caveat regarding the presentation:   departing from the usual history/trivia/anecdote format, Disney has chosen to take a somewhat grade-school approach here, with lots of little “quizzes” about the holidays and Walt Disney World in general, “Who can name….,”  Does anyone know…..?”    The unending banter, which continues throughout the tour and is non-stop on the bus rides, wears very thin, very quickly.  This appears to be part of a current corporate theme – a collective frisson at the very thought of even a second of silence.  Every waking moment must be filled with music, videos, the incessant background drone of the television, or this inane chatter.  Clearly the notion that people might sit quietly in a bus for ten minutes, chatting amongst themselves, is unacceptable.  While there are always a few who are willing to get into the spirit and raise their hands enthusiastically to answer all the questions, many will find this tiresome and trite.  Although not reason enough to avoid the tour entirely, be prepared to tune out.   

The stops at Holiday Services and the warehouse are worth the price of admission, and those who haven’t had a chance to visit the resorts during the season will really enjoy seeing them decked in their Christmas finery. 

Yuletide Fantasy

Daily during the holiday season

3 1/2 hours

$69.00 per person/must be at least 16 year of age

Park admission NOT required

 

 

Lovely surroundings, quiet atmosphere, elegant accoutrements; it’s afternoon tea at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.  The inviting Garden View Lounge welcomes guests to enjoy a relaxing interlude in the middle of a busy day.

The menu offers an array of small pastries and sandwiches, terrines and cheeses, available as “themed” teas or a la carte selections.  A nice variety of teas and tisanes are served in the traditional English style using pretty Royal Albert Old Country Roses china.  A champagne cocktail or mimosa can be added to make the occasion even more festive.

Review: As a former vendor of fine teas, I’m going to be a much more critical consumer than the average Disney visitor.  I’ve enjoyed tea here on a number of occasions and have pleasant memories of afternoons spent with friends and family.  The experience is less about the food than the ambience.  The tea is average at best, and I’m not a fan of English service since the leaves are left in the pot.  This means that only the first cup of tea is drinkable since the remainder quickly becomes over brewed and tannic.  Nonetheless, all the fun accessories that tea drinkers adore:  the cozies, the silver strainers, the sugar cubes, creamers and lemons, the lovely china, and the dainty cakes and scones; make this a charming treat.

 

Garden View Lounge

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Afternoon tea served daily 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.