World of Color Picnic Option - Information and Experiences

[lovindisneyland]

Now that WOC has made its debut, i am sure one of us members has had the chance to eat one of those picnic meals.. :)

ok so if you have let us know what you thought! i am really curious to know if they are worth it! :)

[iLuvDisney26]

I know this is the picnic meal thread so I will stick to that and post other comments in the other threads!! Remember this is what happened the day I went but everything is subject to change!! We went on Sunday 6/13!!! Since I wasn't able to get the picnic meal online for the 1st show, I took my chances in going to DCA to walkup and get the meal for the 2nd show.

We ended up getting to the park around 2pm :p I was thinking the picnic meals would be sold out...but they were not!! WARNING...I don't think the disney website clearly states that if you do the walkup then you have to pick up your meal when you pay. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE OPTION OF PICKING UP BETWEEN 2-8PM LIKE THE ONLINE ORDER FOR THE 1ST SHOW!!! The rest of my party was not at the park yet so....I had to wait and hope that the picnic meals would still be available?? I didn't want to purchase cold refrigerated food and walk around with it in the heat for possibly an hour?? :(

Because of this issue, I talked to the supervisor at the picnic meal purchase area/Sonoma Terrace. He stated that it was opening weekend BLAH BLAH BLAH so basically we were guinea pigs and things would be adjusted daily and based on our feedback. That is why there is no viewing area map yet!! The current viewing locations can be changed here and there and no one can complain because they have no map! This is what the supervisor basically said.

The supervisor also stated that on Saturday the picnic meals did not sell out!! So that if my party arrived within the hour then we should be good in getting our meals. NO guarantee of course!! I was still a little stressed out :p

My BFF and her son show up and we decide to ride Screamin' first!! HAHAHA LOL :D So that means we went back to try to get the picnic meals at about 5pm!!!! Well in the end it was meant to be!!! We got "The Taste of Asia" and "The All American" meals :D THE MEALS ARE $13.99 AT THE PARK AND WE GOT 10% OFF AP DISCOUNT!! I was so happy that it worked out for us!!

There are tables at the location so we got a great spot by the wall!! As soon as we sat down...the Pixar Parade started!! Great timing...it was my nephew's first time seeing it!! :cool:

Ok....I loved my "Taste of Asia" meal!! Keep in mind the portions are small...hence the "picnic" meal! The cast member stated that every portion is weighed? And the sauces are all sweet...that's how I like it!! The salmon was good, the salad dressing was good, the noodle salad was good, the spring roll thing was good...I loved the sauce it came with...it is a mango pineapple sauce? and the mandarin orange cake dessert was ok to me...the glaze on top was the best part!! It would be nice to be able to pick which dessert you want because we were all craving chocolate!! :p My nephew enjoyed his "All American" meal...the fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, and apple pie...I tried the apple pie and liked it even though apple pie is not my thing! Either these meals were good or we were just really hungry..JK!! ;)

WE ENJOYED OUR PICNIC MEAL!!!! IT WAS YUMMY!!!! :D
I think it was not only because we were getting the ticket for the WOC viewing area but we were celebrating summer/Honor Roll/ 8th grade Grad/BFF so it was a special occasion for many reasons!!

Just wanted to add that there were tickets for the blue and yellow section available!! The cast members told us that yellow was the best?? So we got the yellow section!! So far so good...tune in on another thread to see how the rest of the day went and finally getting to see the WOC show!! ;)

[mabrch3]

So, it sounds like when you picked up your picnic meal you were given a choice as to which section you wanted based on what was available. Is that correct? you got to select between blue and yellow?

[wabby1]

I ordered the picnic option on the Disney website on 6/11 for our reservations for Friday, July 9th for 14 of us with varying tastes. The online ordering was a breeze! No problem at all. Looking forward to seeing WOC, and for this price, I think its highly worth it. We obviously couldn't budget enough for the Wine Country Trattoria or Ariel's Grotto options....so this picnic option is ideal!

Thanks everyone for the reviews and comments.

[Nikara]

I didn't order this package, but I do have a few pictures from it that may be useful for people:

http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx102/NikaraTrenal/World%20of%20Color/WorldofColorandUniversal013.jpg

The menu for the picnic options

http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx102/NikaraTrenal/World%20of%20Color/WorldofColorandUniversal014.jpg

This is one of the signs directing people to the picnic area place.

[iLuvDisney26]

So, it sounds like when you picked up your picnic meal you were given a choice as to which section you wanted based on what was available. Is that correct? you got to select between blue and yellow?

Not sure if you are actually given a choice? We just asked about it because when we were there around 2pm the section was blue. Then when we got our meals around 5pm the section was yellow. We wanted to know which one was better? The cast members said yellow!! There was one cast member that said he had more blue section at his register but we stuck with the yellow!! ;) :)

[CarrieAnn]

Thank you for posting an image of the picnic menu!

Question (yes, I realize that this is a weird question....) :

On the European Antipasto, have folks noticed if the artichoke heart and meats are rather chewy?

I'm on a rather jaw-friendly diet, and soft, non-chewy foods are my norm. I want to do the picnic option, and I'm trying to decide the best meal choice.

thanks!

[stan4d_steph]

Thank you for posting an image of the picnic menu!Don't forget AVP's photos of the food on the first post of this thread (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showpost.php?p=1545349&postcount=1)!

A friend who got the European Antipasto meal said the portion was on the smaller side, but he thought it tasted good. He didn't eat the artichoke hearts.

[CarrieAnn]

gah! That's what happens when the post gets long and I no longer go page by page when new pages are added :) Thanks for the reminder.

[norriski]

If this has been address somewhere I am sorry for repeating but I wasn't able to find what I thought I had read previously in the vast number of threads and post on the WOC topic.

I thought I read somewhere that the picnic online ordering was only for the 1st show and that all of other shows are walk up only, is this true? We are planning on visiting the park Monday-Wednesday and my friend how as supposed to order the lunch on line last week while I was on the east coast forgot, so by the time I got home the website did not show lunches available for the dates we are there (however Thursday was available, annoying!). If this is true and the second show is done by walk up this may still be an option for us, otherwise we are looking at the FP route. At anyrate, regardless of which way we go, am I right in my interpretation that we should arrive to our designated view areas long before what our FP says???

Thanks, and I'll head back into my lurker mode.

[SteveK]

Has anyone posted exactly where the Picnic purchasers are placed for the show? I've yet to see anything online accurately depicting what portions of Paradise Park are allocated to what colors. I'd hate to be given an option only to pick the one with the poorest view.

[iLuvDisney26]

Viewing sections for the picnic meal are BLUE and YELLOW :) These sections are basically in the middle of Paradise Park. BLUE is middle left and YELLOW is middle right! We were told YELLOW is better while I have seen posts that BLUE is better! I think they are both great sections...what matters is if you are one of the first to line up for the show so that you can pick the "best" spot in the section!! :p My advice is to go earlier than the line up time on your ticket/fastpass!!! ;)

***We were told that Paradise Park has blue,yellow,red (right side),orange (on bridge) and purple (all the way in the back) sections!!!???***

[iLuvDisney26]

I thought I read somewhere that the picnic online ordering was only for the 1st show and that all of other shows are walk up only, is this true?
At anyrate, regardless of which way we go, am I right in my interpretation that we should arrive to our designated view areas long before what our FP says???


YES that is true!! ;) And YES you should go to the line up area before the time on your ticket/fastpass just in case!!
Make sure you check "where" to line up!!
We were told to go to the line up area in front of the Wine Country Trattoria and it was for BLUE! What? :eek: We had YELLOW so we had to run all the way around to Grizzly River Run!! We ended up being in the middle part of the line because of this!!

Hope you have a FUN trip!! Let us know how it works out for you!!

[mrsdisney68]

YES that is true!! ;) And YES you should go to the line up area before the time on your ticket/fastpass just in case!!
Make sure you check "where" to line up!!
We were told to go to the line up area in front of the Wine Country Trattoria and it was for BLUE! What? :eek: We had YELLOW so we had to run all the way around to Grizzly River Run!! We ended up being in the middle part of the line because of this!!

Hope you have a FUN trip!! Let us know how it works out for you!!

What time do you think you should be ready in get "in line" if you are seeing the first show? I plan on picking up our meals early in the day (around 2 or 3)...But I really didn't want to line up really, really early. I hate wasting all the time just standing around:(

[iLuvDisney26]

What time do you think you should be ready in get "in line" if you are seeing the first show? I plan on picking up our meals early in the day (around 2 or 3)...But I really didn't want to line up really, really early. I hate wasting all the time just standing around:(

We were "in line" at 9pm for the 2nd show which starts at 10:15pm! According to the "World of Color prix-fixe dining package details" thread...you should line up around 7pm for the 1st show? The CM told us to try 1/2 hr before the time on the ticket! The fastpass system is so that you DO NOT have to line up really early and waste time!! ;)

[Mark Mywords]

We did 8 of the picnic meals on 6/18. I ordered them on 6/11 and got the AP rate of $12.99 a pop.

We got over to the picnic area around 7pm. They seemed to still have plenty of picnics available for walkup purchase. Overall pickup was pretty painless. Our CM had a hard time physically gathering up all the stuff that comes with the meals (bags, glow bracelets).

The food was pretty good. We had the vegetarian option (wraps, pasta salad, the hummus was small but really good), Mother in law had the Chicken and the kids had the pb&j sandwiches. All the adults "Upgraded" to beer or wine. Everybody was really pleased with their meal.

Our seating passes were in BLUE. We wandered over to Paradise Park around 7:40. Our party split up, with myself and the kids going as close to center as possible while the other folks in our party hung back towards the less crowded area towards the bridge side. Getting waterside towards the middle wasn't really a problem at all.

Our viewing section never got too crowded. The lady standing next to me revelead that she had waited since 7am in the morning to get her spot! At that point, I realized how much of a good deal the picnics were.
I'd definitely do the picnic option again.

BTW, the show was absolutely amazing!

[gollal]

Are there actual seats or are all of the preferred viewing areas standing areas? Is it like the roped off seated areas at MK for Fantasmic? Do you go up with your meal, and a castmember opens the rope & lets you in to find a seat, or do you pick up your meal, and scout around for a spot to simply stand, if no seats are left or if there is not seating with this/just standing? I'm trying to understand more about the preferred viewing for this show. I'm coming in from TX next month so give as much detail as you can. Also, if you do pick your meal early, I'm assuming you need to carry it around with you on rides? How does all of that work. If the show isn't until 7:00, can you pick the meal up right at show time and still get a seat/place to stand?

[lurkyloo]

Are there actual seats or are all of the preferred viewing areas standing areas?

There are no seats, unless you count the shallow steps in the Preferred Dining Area. All the viewing areas are standing-room only.


Do you go up with your meal, and a castmember opens the rope & lets you in to find a seat, or do you pick up your meal, and scout around for a spot to simply stand, if no seats are left or if there is not seating with this/just standing? I'm trying to understand more about the preferred viewing for this show.

If I were doing a picnic meal, I wouldn't pick it up early unless I was going to eat it right then (which would probably be a good idea, because then you can sit at one of the tables in the pick-up area. If you don't feel like you have to be right at the very front of whatever section you will be in, then yes, you could go get your meal then walk in any time after they open the viewing area at 7pm and take one of the remaining spots.

[lurkyloo]

Here's a picture of the way the colors were delineated in Paradise Park on Saturday night:

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/lurkyloo/World%20o%20Color/WOCColorMapPic.jpg

[Mark Mywords]

Do you go up with your meal, and a castmember opens the rope & lets you in to find a seat, or do you pick up your meal, and scout around for a spot to simply stand, if no seats are left or if there is not seating with this/just standing?

The pickup area for the picnics has a nice dining area to sit and enjoy your meal. We rolled in around 7pm and did not have any problems finding a couple of tables to eat at.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend bringing the food down to the WOC viewing area. I think it could be quite a hassle to get yourself situated with your picnic, drink and the bags (each picnic comes with a fairly bulky, grocery sized reusable bag - we were happy to leave them in the stroller parked away from Paradise Park).

Viewing is standing room only (at least where we were, in the Blue Section). When we arrived around 7:40, waterside near the center was less than half full and people were sitting on the boardwalk. Starting around 8pm or so, Cast Members would occasionally come in and tell people to stand in order to squeeze more people in. After the CMs left, people would generally sit back down again. People were sitting until ~20min before the show.

[gollal]

Thx for all of the information. I have one last question. I know the picnic can only be reserved in advance for the 1st show & for the 2nd show you have to pick it up in person/first come/first serve. Is it dark enough during the 1st show to really get a good view of everything? From the information that I can see at Disneyland's web site, it looks like a lot of the show centers around "glow in the dark" types of performances. If it's still light outside, would you miss a lot or not get the full impact?

[lurkyloo]

It's completely dark by the 9pm showtime. Today is the longest day of the year but the sun will still be down by 8:07pm in Los Angeles. :)

[heatherya]

i'm not sure where to ask this, so if it's in the wrong place, i'm sure one of the mods will move it :)

i've been reading all the WOC threads today and it seems that there will be quite a wait between getting your spot and the beginning of the show. i'm wondering if we'd be able to bring a small portable dvd player to keep the kids awake and happy (we're planning on giving them both a late nap that day), while waiting around...any advice or opinions?

[Malcon10t]

i'm wondering if we'd be able to bring a small portable dvd player to keep the kids awake and happy (we're planning on giving them both a late nap that day), while waiting around...any advice or opinions?How "small"? You can bring laptops, iPods, Walkmans, etc.. We aren't talking about a 13" TV, right?

[cstephens]

I got a picnic meal as a walk-up on Saturday and got a ticket for the 10:15pm show, in the blue section. They were already sold out of the European anti-pasto, so I opted for the Taste of Asia, which was pretty good all around. Salmon was better than I expected, and the noodles were pretty tasty. The spring roll thing was kind of bland, but the sauce was really good. I thought the dessert cake was just so-so. There had been reports previously that you only got the reusable tote bag if you pre-ordered online, but I got one with my meal anyway.

The return times on the ticket were pretty early, but since I saw the 9pm show from another angle, I didn't get in line until about 9:45pm. The line was pretty slow as they moved us forward, and it wasn't so much a line as it was a mob of people moving forward, and yes, there were some people pushing their way through. When I finally got to the ticket taker, she took my ticket, looked at it and then waved me through. I told her I didn't know where to go, and she said I could either go down one level or go up. She said it like it was obvious what I was supposed to do, which I didn't appreciate - there was no indication, and people were going every which way.

I opted to go up. There is some seating, if you happen to be where the benches are and there's room. I was pretty much on the top level, and I only had about a 15 minute wait from the time I found a spot to the start of the show. I had a fine view of the bay and sat on the ground until the show started. It was pretty uncrowded up there. So contrary to just about everyone else, I don't think you need to spend hours in line waiting. The top levels seem to be much less crowded, so you can have better viewing opportunities.