The Blue Bayou

Intro

The Blue Bayou is one of the last surviving table-service restaurants in the Park. It is easily the most famous of all Disneyland restaurants, situated as it is inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction (as such, it also enjoys the best ambiance). It is located adjacent to the EXIT of the Pirates attraction.

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Now available: here's the recipe for the Jambalaya.
Now available: here's the recipe for the Monte Cristo sandwich.
Here's the recipe for the mint julep!

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Food items that are gone

Chocolate Mousse - This tasty treat used to be served simply in a dessert cup, but then was served, to rave reviews, in a treasure chest. By 1996, however, the popular item simply disappeared.

Cobb Salad - A large dinner salad, this item didn't make it past the 1996? 1997? menu streamline. (Thanks Gina for the reminder!)

There are numerous other items that have disappeared over the years. To get an idea of how drastically the menu changes, have a look here at the 1995 lunch and dinner menus as written by a Bayou lead at that time. Notice also how those items which are still on the current menu have increased dramatically in price.

Is is worth it to make reservations? You bet. Run over there as soon as the Park opens and make yourself a reservation. If you forget to do so, don't panic: they keep a number of tables open for walk-ins, but the line moves slower because of reservations.

The Bayou opens at 11:30 each day, regardless of season. During peak times, they usually close at 22:00, though sometimes it's much earlier, depending on business and budgets. In short, it's never a great idea to wait too long.

Mostly, the Bayou will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., though again it could be shorter/longer or indeed not open at all. One dead giveaway: if Pirates is down for rehab, by definition so is the Bayou as well (you'll never get the chance to see Pirates drained that way).

Like summertime, but it really depends on which weekend you're talking about. Opening is 11:30 and the restaurant will generate some pretty big lines. I'd say: visit between 2:30 and 4:30 (depending on whether you want lunch or dinner).

I have to admit up front that I don't know all that much about the history of the Bayou. It's the place I know least about in the Department, because I worked there the least.

This much is certain: the Bayou opened with the New Orleans Expansion of Disneyland, with the same name and fundamentally the same service. It's always been the first thing people think of when they hear about "some restaurant in New Orleans Square" because everyone's seen it from the Pirates ride.

Popular rumor has it that Walt Disney didn't want the restaurant to open prematurely. Seems something about the Show elements didn't suit him and he ordered it reworked. They must have gotten it right, though, because the restaurant opened with Pirates in 1967 (shortly after Walt's death).

Instead of some history, how about some trivia? None of the trees are real (obviously), and in fact some of them are quite complex little electrical places. The tree on the Bayou floor nearest the Pirates loading dock - the one that grows out of the server station - is hollow. It serves as storage space and, if I remember correctly, some of the soda dispensers!

Crossing the Bridge

The first brick bridge you go under on the Pirates ride is a functional bridge. It leads from the Bayou busroom to a backstage entrance near the outside bathrooms by the train station. It also could lead you to real back area, where the dumpsters are. This is the route used by celebrities in the Park with tour guides. Michael Jackson, for example, comes in the Bayou across this bridge and goes out the same way. They shuttle him around backstage so you never know where he'll pop out next.

If you cross the bridge and turn left before the door to backstage, you'll go behind the old man's shack. The pathway goes for a little while before dead-ending. The upshot is that you could lurk behind the swamp and watch boats drift by. If that dreaded old-man-music (believed to be a slow rendition of "Oh Susanna") doesn't kill you first, that is.

Throwing Stuff

I once knew a Bayou lead who had done plenty of exploring. He'd crawl around in the ceiling above the Bayou (that's plenty high up there!) and delighted in throwing things at the boats, even when they're full. Once, according to him, he threw an ashtray across the water and watched it skip before it sank. Then, members of the closing crew would try to play basketball using the sunken ashtray as the hoop and old breadrolls as the balls (they sink slowly to the bottom where the ashtray is).

Bustubs!

The single noisiest thing I've ever heard - to my imagination, anyway - was the time I dropped my bustub on the floor of the Bayou. I was new; maybe two weeks at Disneyland, when I tried to pick up a tub that must have weighed 80 pounds and couldn't balance it right on my shoulder. Over it went - right on to the feet of the lead! I thought my life (or at least my job) was over, but I lived. And didn't lose my job. Needless to say, every single head in the place turned toward me, all conversation stopped, and I turned 85 shades of red. I vowed never to drop another bustub (though I have).

Here's the Bayou seen from Royal Street. To the left is the exit to Pirates. In the middle you can see the Reservations booth for the Bayou. The colorful banners overhead are the result of the recent re-theming in New Orleans Square (you're not crazy; they weren't there before!)

The opulent lobby area for the Bayou. This is nothing. Go look at the bathrooms while you are inside! Whether it's for atmosphere or good food, the Bayou has won a couple of the "Silver Palm" restaurant awards, which are displayed about the spot where this picture was taken.

Here's a view of the Bayou floor taken from the Bridge (yes, the Michael Jackson backdoor entry). To the left is the busroom, while the Pirates water is off to the right. Sorry it's so dark!

JUMPSTATION

Introduction to NOS Restaurants

Blue Bayou
Fantasmic Dessert Balcony

Cafe Orleans
Royal Street Veranda
La Petite Patisserie

French Market
Mint Julep Bar

Club 33

Backstage locations and offices
Meet the Cast!
Some NOS Restaurants Recipes

All about me!