AK "Picnic in the Park"?

[Jen12573]

I was reading today on allears.net about the Picnic in the Park lunch at AK. It sounds like fun, and like a very relaxing break. Can anyone tell me about it?

Thanks!

 

[meriface11]

we did it in september.

the process is a pain, you have to order from the mercantile at the front of the park a few hours in advance, and then pick up over at the bakery in africa. it comes to about $9 per head.

if you are paying OOP, it's pretty cheap for sandwich, sides, dessert and a drink. however, if you are on the dining plan, it's not a great value. the sandwiches are pre-packaged (like you would buy in the efrigerated section of the convenience store) and come with a small bottle of water. you can get much more, and better quality food from any other CS restaurtant in the park.

 

[PrinceCharmingsMom]

I can tell you that we have done it and love it! We now make it a must for our Animal Kingdom day. However we do it a bit differently. We always do Animal Kingdom as our last park for the trip because it closes early and we have to pack. So we order as soon as we go in and pick it up at the latest available time. We then hold on to it until we leave the park and get back to our room. We eat it in our room for dinner and really get to enjoy talking about our trip. It's a great dinner and we have time to get everything ready before we leave in the morning.

We only have 3 adults in our party but order it for 4 since we have a 2 year old and last time we got one of each sandwich and the Tuna was by far our favorite. We didn't like the rice krispie treat but my Dad and baby did. Guess it's a guy thing.

When we first did it they had just started it so I am sure all the kinks are worked out now. We are looking forward to ours in a few days.

 

[TDC Nala]

I disliked the fact that the only beverage offered is water, and a really small bottle at that. Other than that, it was fine. Had the chicken, not the sandwiches.

 

[qianwen]

I don't like their food!

 

[TillyMarigold]

You can also order at Kusafiri Bakery in Africa (the same place you pick it up). It requires a little planning but it's not always the 2 hour minimum, it depends how busy they are.

We did it in September and it was more than enough food for 2 people. The tuna pita was very good, vegetarian wrap just okay, but the tandoori tofu was excellent--one of the best QS items we had the whole trip. We were stuffed and kept the cookies to nibble on later. But yeah, bigger bottles of water would be nice.

I liked that there were just a few picnic tables each in a lot of places, it didn't feel crowded. We were the only people in our picnic area. There's a more complete review in my dining report.

 

[Jen12573]

Thanks everyone. We may stick to Flame Tree BBQ instead, we didn't get to eat there last year because we did a split day at AK and DHS, and ate at 50s Prime Time.

Appreciate all the responses!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We have not personally tried it.
2) But, we have friends in who opinion we have faith.
3) They enjoyed it highly.
4) It is not high-brow food, but good picnic food.
5) And, the enjoyed people-watching while they ate.
6) I would say go-for-it.

 

[Miaka]

Anyone know how it works with the dining plan? We are going as a family of 5, with three kids, if we ordered it would it take 5 of our Counter Service adult credits, leaving an over balance of three child credits, or would it be 2 adult and 3 child credits even though it's listed as 'adult credit' on the information??

 

[southcarolinagirl]

Your CS credits are all pooled together, so they will just deduct 5 from your total since there is no "child" menu available with picnic in the park. HTH

 

[safetymom]

http://www.disunplugged.com/2009/04/14/picnic-in-the-park-at-animal-kingdom/

 

[Twende]

Which tier do you get when you use the dining plan CS credits for this picnic meal?

We would want the chicken meal but we wanted to use the CS credits for it.

 

[ambgoph]

Which tier do you get when you use the dining plan CS credits for this picnic meal?

We would want the chicken meal but we wanted to use the CS credits for it.

Your choice of tiers on the dining plan - counts as 1 CS per person.

 

[ellie0101]

My family did this at the end of August and have nothing but good things to say about it.

We chose the first tier (the one with sandwiches) and it was one CS credit per person, so 4 for our family. My dad and I got the tuna pita sandwich which was a recommendation from the cast member at the ordering station. She told us it would be very refreshing and it absolutely was on that extremely hot day. We loved those sandwiches! My mom and sister got a different sandwich and they also loved them. We also got fruit salad and orzo pasta salad. Both were delicious. The fruit was especially great! We also got some fruit and a cookie for desserts. It was too much food! All of it came with picnic supplies (plates, utensils, and a carry-all bag).

We weren't sure where to sit (there are many choices), so I asked a different CM where her favorite spot was and she directed us to a spot near the Oasis with a great view of the Tree of Life. It was a wonderful spot with a good amount of shade. It felt pretty private, too.

All in all, Picnic in the Park was really great for us! A nice, welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of other CS options and from running around the park.