I'm Going on a Picnic!

This week, Disney announced something new for the Animal Kingdom. No...it's not a ride, even though it would be great if it were. Instead, what was announced was a new way of dining in this park themed around animals.

This new dining program will be called Picnic in the Park and will allow guests to purchase a meal that will include a choice of entree, side dishes, dessert, and water, delivered in a reusable bag and includes plates and utensils. From there, guests can then go to one of the designated picnic spots throughout the park. (A map will be given to you, so you will have an idea of where these areas are, but dining locations are available in every land of the park.)

People will have the choice between two different tiered options, based on what kind of meal you would like. The two tier options will be:

Tier 1

For entrees, you can choose between a chicken wrap, turkey focaccia sandwich, tuna pita, or ham grinder.

Side dish choices include chips, macaroni & cheese, seasonal fruit salad, coleslaw, mashed potatoes & gravy, tomato & cucumber, corn medley, orzo pasta salad, green beans, or oven-roasted potato wedges.

Dessert choices include apples, brownies, cookies, cornbread, crisped rice treats, oranges.

Meal for Three – $24.99 + tax 3 Sandwiches, 1 Large Gourmet Side, 3 Desserts or Fruit, 3 bottles of Dasani water

Meal for Four – $32.99 + tax 4 Sandwiches, 2 Large Gourmet Sides, 4 Desserts or Fruit, 4 bottles of Dasani water

Meal for Five – $40.99 + tax 5 Sandwiches, 3 Large Gourmet Sides, 5 Desserts or Fruit, 5 bottles of Dasani water

Meal for Six – $48.99 + tax 6 Sandwiches, 4 Large Gourmet Sides, 6 Desserts or Fruit, 6 bottles of Dasani® water

Tier 2

Entree choices are rotisserie chicken or ham. Tier 2 includes the same choices of side dish and dessert options as Tier 1.

Meal for Three – $29.99 + tax 6 Pieces of Rotisserie Chicken or 1 lb. of Ham, 2 Large Gourmet Sides, 3 Desserts or Fruit, 3 bottles of Dasani water

Meal for Four – $38.99 + tax 8 Pieces of Rotisserie Chicken or 1 1/4 lb. of Ham, 3 Large Gourmet Sides, 4 Desserts or Fruit, 4 bottles of Dasani water

Meal for Five – $47.99 + tax 10 Pieces of Rotisserie Chicken or 1 1/2 lb. of Ham, 4 Large Gourmet Sides, 5 Desserts or Fruit, 5 bottles of Dasani water

Meal for Six – $56.99 + tax 12 Pieces of Rotisserie Chicken or 1 3/4 lb. of Ham, 5 Large Gourmet Sides, 6 Desserts or Fruit, 6 bottles of Dasani water

One thing to note is that no substitutions can be made.

To order these meals, guests can place these orders at the Picnic in the Park podium, which can be found in front of Guest Relations at DAK. Orders can be place from 8:30 am - 1 pm. After this time, the meals are still available, but can only be ordered at the Tusker House podium.

To pick up the meals, you must pick it up at least 2 hours from the time that it is placed at the Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery. Guests should bring their copy of their order form and payment with them, as both are needed for pick up.

To me, this is a spectacular new option. I think it offers a special way of eating in the parks and also gives people the chance to have unique food offerings, besides just a burger or chicken nuggets and fries. Which, of course, is something that is sorely lacking in all the parks. And we all know how much Animal Kingdom lacks in food options all together!

There are a few things I hope that once this takes off (and trust me...I'm sure this will take off) I hope they add.

First off, I hope they add a two person option. While this new meal plan sounds like something I might really consider, since it only starts with a 3 person meal, it really isn't feasible for just me and my husband to do. Therefore, as much I may like to take advantage of it, I unfortunately won't be, at this time of my life. (Maybe if they still have it around when I have a kid.)

Second of all, a common thing I've heard (and the only real other reason people aren't totally jumping on the bandwagon of it yet) is that there is no vegetarian option available. Since changes of any kind are not allowed with these meals, it does make it harder for a person who is a vegetarian to opt for it. Disney has been doing so well with offering vegetarian options for people, so hopefully, once this takes off, they will start offering something in that relm too.

The good news, this is an option for the Disney Dining Plan (although this does seem like a better option for people paying cash.) If you are on the DDP, the Picnic in the Park lunches will take up however many people the meals are for, but they will be your Adult Quick Service meal entitlements. Example, if you get the meal for 3...3 Adult Quick Service meals will be removed from the card. This could pose a problem though if you are a family of 3 and one of you is a child. I don't know how Disney will accommodate this in the future, but this also might want to be something they look into.

Overall though, whether you decide to use this new food option or not...it seems like a great idea, despite some of the minor points that can easily be rectified, if Disney decides eventually that they should. Plus, it revolves around food...and how can anything that revolves around food be bad? :)