I like to play a game with myself at Disney parks. It’s called “pretend I live there and I’m not super rushing to do or see anything.”
While this game isn’t always successful, I’ve found that when I get up early and head into the parks during extra magic hour or right at opening time, I can claim a little bit of peace and quiet in some of the less populated areas. And as Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World is the most beautiful Disney park I’ve been in, it’s one of my favorites to visit in the relative peace of early morning.
Tea Company Sign
At these times, most guests head straight to Expedition Everest; the rest veer left toward Harambe and Kilimanjaro Safaris. Me? I keep on going through Asia toward the very back of the park — to the Anandapur Tea Company — in a section of the park that houses restaurants, walking trails, and a water ride.
Since few people want to do any of those things in the early morning, it can be pretty empty back there, but it’s a great spot to get a mild caffeine fix and some breakfast pastries.
Royal Anandapur Tea Company
Atmosphere
The Tea Company is designed as a regional, Asian tea stop, so there’s lots of fun themeing to look at!
Tea service
Teas
themeing
Of course, when you’re at the Animal Kingdom, waiting in line is seldom a problem — there’s so much detail to take in and so many interesting imagineering additions to explore.
Eats
The Tea Company offers a variety of teas from around the world and will often throw in a few seasonal specialty options. Iced teas and coffees (from Joffrey’s) as well as hot chocolate, frozen lemonade and cappuccino, and fruit smoothies are also available. Try a sweet, spicy and/or full-bodied tea. You might just find a new favorite!
Menu -- click image for larger version
Hot Teas -- click image for larger version
Iced Teas -- click image for larger version
Tart and Tangy specialty tea
I especially like that they use loose teas here, fashioning a “tea bag” for each person out of their chosen blend.
Cup of tea
Convenient lid
Choose from three cup sizes, and grab any extras you need at the side of the kiosk. Whole or skim milk is available.
Cup Sizes
Extras
Need some breakfast? Check out the fresh pastries:
Pastries
Overall
This is one of my favorite spots to visit first thing in the morning, or later in the day when I’d like to relax and unwind. There’s something about the slant of the sun at those times of day that make this part of the Animal Kingdom particularly beautiful.
Choose from the wide variety of teas (another reason it’s one of my favorite spots — there’s always something new to try!) and take your beverage or snack to one of the more isolated seating areas on the back pathway between Asia and Africa. Enjoy the great view of the Tree of Life, people watch, and enjoy!
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I love tea! Great post!
Love this place! I am a big tea drinker and like to head here for my morning cuppa, usually after we’ve sprinted to Kilimanjaro Safaris to get that out of the way, and can slow our pace down a bit. Great, unique selection and love the theming!
I loooooooooooved this place!!!!
And definitely the frozen chai was super super super yummy! I’m longing for one right now!
I have not BEEN to Disney World unless I go here! This is a favorite spot of mine – perfect if you’re traveling during the cooler months and are waiting to use your EE FastPass. Grab a cup of tea, stand in the sunshine on the pathway to EE and enjoy watching the crowds and warming up. Absolutely one of my favorite dining locations in the entire resort.
(stepping off fangirl soapbox) 🙂
I love to grab a tea before going to see Flights of Wonder. Each of the teas I’ve tried has been good!
When I was there in June I thought this was the neatest place. Animal Kingdom, in my opinion, is so well done with regards to theming. Unforunately, we must have chosen one of the busiest days ever to go to Animal Kingdom, so the lines combined with the 94 degree heat forced us to find air conditioned (and less crowded) spots. I shall indeed try this on the next trip though, the variety of teas looks awesome.
Ditto what Allison said. Our last two trips to WDW have been during chilly weather, and we were so happy to discover this tea stand! We’ve tried several of the teas (Rooibos Vanilla is my fave) and love to slow down, sip our tea, soak up some sunshine and perhaps watch the monkeys frolicking nearby. Grabbed an apple fritter for breakfast on our last trip in February and it was (a) huge and (b) delicious!
Tea bags are so convenient but I’ve heard that loose teas are much more cost efficient. There must be a way for food service businesses to harness the cost-effectiveness of bulk tea…
Taking it slow & easy in the morning sounds like a great idea — even for those of us who DO live here & get caught up in the tourist rush that is the Walt Disney World Resort.
I tried the frozen chai and it was “meh”. I should’ve just had the iced. I usually LOVE chai tea.
We have enjoyed some of the iced coffees and teas. Didn’t even know they had the pasteries. Probably because we are not morning people!! Your pics make me want to get there early to get one of them. YUM!
This is one of our favorite break stops in all of WDW. We have been working our way through the hot teas (silver needle and sencha are recent favorites). You tea drinkers know how we are treated like poor cousins of the coffee folks? Well, you won’t’ feel like that here! The teas are not in the normal bags that you find in the store, so the tea seems fresher and more robust than that limp stuff you normally get–and they use really hot water, not lukewarm. It seems to me that when we ordered, they scooped the tea into a pouch from a large tin, then placed it into the cup and added the water, but perhaps they preassemble them now.
I think the reason they don’t use loose tea so much here is that we Americans generally have little tolerance for picking tea leaves off their tongues. My grandmother used loose tea, and we do sometimes at home, but rushing to work in the morning, nothing beats a PG Tips or Yorkshire tea in a bag.
Great article! I will definitely check this out before riding Dinosaur at DAK!
Christina — Glad you like!
Ben — Yep! This is a great spot to visit after your morning safari sprint! 🙂 Great idea!
Xenia — Thanks for the tip!
Allison — Your fangirl soapbox is always welcome around here! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Shiraz — Great review 🙂
Adhi — Great point; the lines can be bad once the day gets going at AK!
Shayne — Thanks for the tip on the apple fritter!
Savorique — Good point. I really like the way they do the loose tea here.
AFoodie — Indeed! You need to slow down every once in a while — especially at WDW!
ShaeLee — Thanks for the review. If you try iced, let us know!
Rose — I know! Those cherry things look great!
Sandra — Yep — I had the same experience. They actually assemble the “tea bag” right there in front of you. Very cool. I use the same types of tea bags (where you scoop the loose tea into them right before drinking) here at home. And good point on the HOT water!!
Gina — Thanks!
I LOVE this location! It makes me so happy to see that so many other people appreciate the Tea Company as much as I do 🙂
I’ll add another vote for the Frozen Chai Tea, one of my favorite snacks in the parks.
Proceed with caution on the frozen chai, maybe see if the will give you a tiny sample. I personally thought it was vile and tasted like a cheap artificial dunkin donuts type flavored drink. I regretted that $5 spent!
Was just at Animal Kingdom and had a frozen Chai Tea. It was wonderful? Wondering if you would share what brand of Chai you use?
Are there any places besides online that sell this brand of tea?
Are there any places besides online that sell this brand of tea?
The Rooibos vanilla is yummy!!!
Just tried the Frozen Chai Tea and I did ask for a sample to see if I would like it.
It taste to me like a cinnimon flavered shake, I like it!!
Will have to go back in Dec. with my mom to have her try it.
I’m not a tea or coffee drinker but love the Frozen Chai at Animal Kingdom. Was craving it the other day and found Tazo Chai Latte at Costco. Added it to half and half this morning – pretty close to Royal Anandapur Tea Company but not as spicy (“cinnamon red hot” as my husband calls it) but a good substitute until we get back to Animal Kingdom.
Pat J — Thanks for the great tip!! 🙂
I love tea and this is my favorite little spot to get it! The tea is wonderfully hot (most of the time when you order tea in places it’s lukewarm) and delicious and there’s never a huge line at the times I stop. I actually crave this tea when I’m back home on cold Massachusetts days! I always make it a point to stop here any time I’m at Animal Kingdom…regardless of the weather! Give me that hot tea! I love it.