March 21, 2011 we arrived at Disney's California Adventure around five o'clock in the evening. We had pre-ordered the World of Color picnics online and were really hoping to get a blue fastpass with our picnics.
The Sonoma Terrace, where you pick up the picnics is just past the Wine Country Trattoria. This is a place that sells wine by the glass, and is the pickup location for the picnics.
Immediately noticeable was that while the Disneyland.com website stated that you would only get a World of Color reusable bag if you ordered four or more picnics, everyone was getting that bag. Since I really wanted the World of Color bag I was very happy to see this happening.
Finally it was our turn and we picked up three picnics. The European Antipasto, the All American and the Lunchbox Classic.
For those of you not familiar with our family, Andy (adult) and Alex (child) are both very picky eaters.
The Lunchbox Classic is probably a picnic that more than 90% of kids would love. But not Alex. It is a very thick sandwich and according to Alex had too much peanut butter and too much jelly. The Smucker's Crust Less Sandwiches are a popular item in school lunches but not in Alex's. He did eat all of his apple slices and the cupcake that came with the meal. Also of note is that when we picked them up we chose the drinks. Alex did not want one of the drink options for his meal (milk or a juice box). I decided that I would give him my drink so ordered a Sprite for me and a water for him that I would drink. The Cast Member was wonderful and because of this the child's water was actually full size since it was going to be mine. I thought this was above and beyond her duties, and was very happy. Because of his pickiness Alex did not like his meal, but again, I think most children would love this option.
The European Antipasto looked good to me, but I went with a different meal. Andy, who won't eat chicken in any form chose this meal because of the meats and cheeses. Most of his meal was thrown away. He did eat his pepperoncici and a few of the cheeses, but did not like the meats and he is not a tomato kind of guy either. He did say the chocolate-dipped Tiramisu was great though. Again, Andy is a picky eater. If not he could have gone with another of the picnics and been happier I think.
I chose the All American. I love cold fried chicken because I can't stand chicken fat and when chicken is cold you can easily see it and leave it on the bone. Because of this I really enjoyed the chicken. The flavor was wonderful and it was very tender. I have never been a coleslaw girl, so didn't even try that portion of the meal, but I love potato salad. When I make it there are three ingredients that I include: onion, pickles and egg. While Disney's picnic version did not include the egg (for obvious reasons I think - allergies and spoilage) it did have the other two must have items for me. I absolutely loved the potato salad. Now for the dessert I would gladly have traded my apple pie for any other picnic dessert. I am not much of an apple pie fan for no particular reason. I did try it and it was good, but I bet this is a dessert most people would love. It had the right mixture of crispy and gooey that any good fruit pie should have.
I was so enamored with my All American picnic that I wanted to do it again the next night but my boys said absolutely not!
Seeing the three picnics we ordered though, I really like this idea. I do think the kids meals should be cheaper than the others, but they are all the same price. This is a very easy way to get a fastpass without having to wait in the fastpass queue in the morning or fork over a great deal of money to get into the dining package section. With the picnics you get either a blue, red or yellow fastpass. Ours was blue, so we were happy with that as well.
The picnic option is one I can really recommend for those who want to see World of Color. It is a very easy way to get the fastpass, cheaper than a full sit down meal and they are well presented and taste great.