People love character meals; it's just a FoL. I suspect the fact that Animal Kingdom is a bit deficient with respect to TS eateries has something to do with it as well. They can expand the CS possibilities easily, but Tusker House already has a nice big, indoor and air conditioned dining room.
I'm happy that AK is expanding to get more Full Serve restaurants, but did they REALLY have to pick the place I was planning on using one of my CS dining options in Dec.??
All out of TS options, and I need lunch at AK, has anyone done the Flame Tree Barb???
If the food is the same, I doubt the price will be as what it is now. It will be buffet-with-characters pricing. And WDW has tons of those types of meal options already all over their property.
TH's current menu offers light, healthy fare, pay for what you want, eat what you pay for, without the temptation of an all-you-can-eat gorge fest for 30 bucks a head.
Sorry, but I'm over "worried." I was "worried" six months ago when I heard the rumor. Then I was sad when I read the official announcement by WDW that it was going to be a character buffet. Now we're in the mode of deciding whether AK is even worth dedicating a day to since a nice TH lunch outside along the river, watching the African dancers, with shopping to follow in Africa was what enticed us to AK in the first place.