Blue Bayou: A New Orleans restaurant inside a Disney ride
Written: Feb 01 '05 (Updated Oct 18 '05)
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Pros: Fantastic theming and ambiance, decent food
Cons: Dark, limited menu, expensive, park admission required
The Bottom Line: A great sit-down restaurant in Disneyland overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Blue Bayou |
I had been intrigued by this restaurant located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. We floated by the restaurant in the ride boats during our multiple trips in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Each time we rode past, I reminded myself that we would have to make reservations for our next trip. We finally did this past January. It was a great experience and I am sure we will repeat it.
LOCATION
This restaurant is located inside Disneyland in the New Orleans Square section of the park. You need an admission ticket into the park to get to the restaurant. Blue Bayou is in the same building as the Pirates of the Caribbean ride although the entrance is in a different location than the ride. The entrance itself can be easy to miss. Look for the Blue Bayou sign in New Orleans Square.
AMBIANCE
Of course, Disney is all about ambiance. The Blue Bayou experience starts in the New Orleans Square portion of the Disneyland park. The entrance to the Blue Bayou is set on a New Orleans street that looks decorated for Mardi Gras. This atmosphere gets you prepared for the cuisine inside the restaurant.
There is, what appears to be, a complicated reservation system. We had reservations for 3:00pm for a late lunch. We ended up getting hungry at 2:00pm and, since we were in the area of the restaurant, we asked if they could accommodate us showing up early. Luckily, they could since it was a slow day. However, we ended up sitting inside the entryway to the restaurant for ten minutes while they figured out where to put us. This was a blah sort of room with a couple of benches and a hungry crowd of people. The only thing interesting to look at were some framed paper awards from a restaurant reviewer's group awarding prizes to the restaurant. Waiting in this area definitely detracted a bit from the experience. I wish they have those beepers a lot of restaurants give out nowadays. That way you could look in the stores or listen the bands that frequently play just outside the restaurant instead of being trapped in that blah lobby.
Of course, the best part of this dining experience is the location of the restaurant itself. It is housed in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and a portion of the restaurant overlooks the ride boats as they get near the end of their ride. Our table did not have the coveted water view and, if it is important to you to have a view of the ride, be sure to request an appropriate table. I have heard that getting a reservation boosts your chances but can't confirm such information.
Although the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is, obviously, supposed to take place in the Caribbean, the boarding area and the first minute or so of the ride have a New Orleans theme. You are, I imagine, suppose to believe that you are sailing from the bayou to the Caribbean. This New Orleans theme is also the theme of the restaurant. The ride and the restaurant share the same background music, a banjo picking out some country songs. The scenery of the ride at this stage resembles a bayou and there is an old shack, an abandoned row boat in the water and fireflies in the darkness.
Also, I imagine the time is supposed to be right around dusk given the light level and the fireflies. The ride and the restaurant are very dark. There are some lights in the fake foliage in the restaurant's terrace setting and some light on the table. This added nicely to the ambiance for me, but it was a bit hard to see.
This being a Disney restaurant, there were lots of families and commotion with people coming and going. The dress is, of course, theme park casual.
KID FRIENDLINESS
No one is more kid friendly than Disney. We had a sleeping five month old baby in a stroller and they allowed us to push the stroller all the way to our table.
There are, of course, kids' menus although there were only a few choices. The kids' menus came on these cheesy paper pirate hats. With some effort, you could actually wear them. Of course, my five year old loved the hat and wore it throughout most of the meal. He insisted we bring it home and he still treasures it in his room.
FOOD
The food is Lousianna-style cuisine. The menu, like most Disney restaurants, is somewhat limited. There were maybe 5-7 choices of entrees for lunch, a couple of appetizers and salads and a handful of desserts. I chose the jambalaya which was good. It was a little spicy and had a nice flavor but I noticed a little pool of grease on the bottom of the dish that I didn't care for. I would give the jambalaya a seven out of ten on the rating scale and didn't think it was worthy of all the paper awards in the waiting area but thought it was still better than most of the other theme park food.
Also on the menu was a monte cristo sandwich and a chicken and beef dish. Lunch entrees ran about $13-16. I didn't notice many vegetarian-friendly offerings. We heard that the menu switched from lunch to dinner at 3:30. The dinner entrees appeared to be more complicated and were definitely more expensive - I remember seeing some $25 options.
The kids got meals from the kids' menu. There were about three choices, none of which came with french fries which really bummed out my kids. They each got chicken nuggets shaped like Mickey's head that came with mashed potatoes and a free drink. The kids meals were $6.99 which was about the same as the rest of the park.
For dessert, we all shared a baked apple that came covered in a pastry crust. I loved this dessert. It was not too sweet and had a really nice apple flavor. I would highly recommend it.
There was coffee for dessert but no liquor. The only rum to be found was deep in the Pirates ride.
SERVICE
As I mentioned above, it took a while to get seated which was annoying but, on the other hand, we didn't stick to our assigned reservation and they had to accommodate a stroller.
Once we were seated, the service in this restaurant was really great and amazingly fast. Our waiter arrived immediately and took our drink orders. The drinks came quickly and our lunch orders were taken and delivered within ten minutes. As soon as we finished a plate, it was cleared from the table. The waiter was friendly without being overbearing. All in all, I thought Blue Bayou provided some of the best service I have seen.
RESERVATIONS
As you can imagine, this is a very popular restaurant. The restaurant is also rather small. Even on slow days, reservations are highly recommended. This is a little bit of a bummer because you can't be spontaneous and eat when you are hungry. The Disney reservation line is (714) 781-DINE. We were staying at a Disneyland resort and we called the day before and had a choice of times to eat. However, we visited during a very slow period. You can also stop by the restaurant on the day of your visit to see if they have any openings.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I thought this was a great dining experience and would recommend it. The food was better than average and definitely better than other theme park food. The setting is the main attraction of the restaurant. If you want a waterside table, be sure to make that clear. Otherwise, you probably won't get one.
MY REVIEWS OF THE DISNEY THEME PARKS IN CALIFORNIA
Disney's California Adventure
Disneyland
MY REVIEWS OF THEME PARK HOTELS IN CALIFORNIA
Disney’s Grand Californian
Mariott Suites Anaheim
MY REVIEWS OF THEME PARK RESTAURANTS
Storyteller’s Cafe
Wine Country Trattoria
MY REVIEWS OF INDIVIDUAL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
Soarin’ Over California
Grizzly River Run
The Sun Wheel
Orange Stinger
Mulholland Madness
Jumpin’ Jellyfish
Playhouse Disney Live on Stage
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Jim Henson’s Muppet Vision 3D
It’s Tough to be a Bug 3D
Princess Dot Puddle Park
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies
Flik’s Flyers
Francis’ Ladybug Boogie
Misson Tortilla Factory Tour
Boudin Bakery Factory Tour
MY REVIEWS OF INDIVIDUAL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN DISNEYLAND
Pirates of the Caribbean
Indiana Jones Adventure
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Peter Pan’s Flight
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Alice in Wonderland
Matterhorn Bobsleds
It’s a Small World
Tarzan’s Tree House
Aladdin’s Oasis
Splash Mountain
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Autotopia
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3D
Astro Orbitor
The Haunted Mansion
MY REVIEWS OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Legoland
SeaWorld San Diego
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
The San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Balboa Park
Cabrillo National Monument
San Diego’s Old Town
The Museum of Making Music
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations The jambalaya was good, no french fries available for the kids
Best Suited For: Kids and Families
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modernmarvel
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