La Petite Patisserie

Home of those great WAFFLES

La Petite Patiserrie (known simply as "Pastry Window" to the Cast Members) is a counter-service location attached to the Cafe Orleans (facing the French Market). It is very difficult to actually see the Pastry Window, so people often miss it and consequently it is seldom busy. Because of that, unfortunately, it is often simply not opened. It has no "signiture" menu item, though perhaps the waffles will become synonymous with the place.

Food items that are gone

Denver Puff.
This was one of those items which were available when the Pastry Window first opened in 1988. At the time, management thought it might be a busy place, what with people heading east in the morning after the frantic rush toward Splash Mountain (even though Splash was delayed until 1989). So, the theory went, let's offer something breakfast-like. Hence the denver-omelette meets baked pastry, and you have the Denver puff. Never sold more than one of these per day, very often none at all. They disappeared by 1991.

Hot apple Streudel.
Also offered in the beginning. There were two Hatco warmers on either end of the Pastry window, and we'd serve Streudel out of these. These did also not sell well.

Plain Croissants
How interesting could these be? We did offer some jelly and/or butter, but the Pastry Window never seemed to sell many. The Hatco warmers were also used for this item.

Cinnamon Rolls
In keeping with the breakfast orientation, we offered these rolls, which were fresh (baked for a while in the Disneyland Bakery, while it was still open; later in the Disneyland Hotel). They were real good, especially served hot. They too went the way of the Denver Puff. Pastry Window seemed to be much busier at night, not daytime. Which leads to the next item....

Fantasmic sandwiches.
Actually, this was a great idea. To facilitate the hungry hordes there for Fantasmic, we came up with sandwiches to go, already packaged in little clamshells and put into bags, often with potato chips. Sold it all with sodas, and for a while they sold great. Even tried serving them vendor-style in the crowd itself (see picture below), but that was too worker-intensive.

Pastry Window fails to attract the kinds of crowds it should. It's never busy and offers many of the same desserts as the Cafe Orleans. It even has sodas. During peak times it will open early, around the time the Park opens. It will remain open - despite the utter lack of lines in the afternoon - all the way until evening. If it's a very very busy day, it might be open until 11:30 (the third Fantasmic!) but usually it closes whenever the Cafe does.

Pastry Window isn't open on weekdays during the school year.

Often, Pastry Window will not be open on Sundays and will open rather late on Saturdays and Fridays. This does, of course, depend on attendance. On big weekends its hours are just like summertime.

La Petite Patisserie was first opened in 1988 with the Cafe rehab and expansion.

The Pastry Window was conceived as a place for people in the Cafe to get refills on their coffee (at the beginning the Cafe didn't have a refill stand), avoid the long line at the Cafe if they just wanted dessert, or to get drinks if that's all they wanted. Sort of a pressure valve for the Cafe. It faces the French Market, and this street is fairly untraveled, so the Pastry Window was never very busy. Often, therefore, it was never open, leading in a vicious circle: how can word-of-mouth spread if it's never open?

Part of the problem was visibility: the place was so very taken up with theming and window arches and overhangs that it no longer looked like a place to buy anything, but rather some decoration. The Pastry Window got new color in 1994 - see pictures below - but this has only helped somewhat.

In 1993 - before the new paint job - we tried an experiment. Since Pastry was busier at night, let's cater to the Fantasmic crowd needs. Borrowing an idea from Riverbelle, we developed a "to-go menu": ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches served with chips and a soda. Worked real well for a while. Then Fantasmic crowds eventually got smaller, at least in the New Orleans area.

Pastry's woes may soon be ending. The delicious new waffles, available with flavored toppings, promise to make a signiture product for the place (much like mint julep for the MJBar, or Chowder for the Cafe) and this will do much to increase traffic.

Paula Abdul

I don't really know why this one leaps to mind. She wasn't alone; in fact, she was with a Disney tour guide (which should have made her party conspicuous but somehow didn't, there was no crowd). Not a big deal, just sort of illustrating that even celebrities come to the Pastry Window.

Funnel Cakes?

Before the waffles, we toyed with the idea of introducing funnel cakes to the Park through the Pastry Window. People would always ask for them, and the place desperately needed a signiture product, something that would make them need to visit this place and this place alone. One of us, however, had worked in the funnel cake place at Knott's Berry Farm and assured of two things: first, we really really don't want all the baggage that comes with cleaning up for such a product (also the reason we never got an ice cream cone machine); and second, the fryers required would be much too large for the poor little Pastry Window (glance below at how ribbon-thin this place is. Two thin people have trouble squeezing by each other).

Keeping bored

Because Pastry was never very busy, people looked at working this place as a sort of prison shift. You'd hear over the wall to the Cafe sandwich room people chatting (that one was the place to be) and you'd feel lonely. So, you'd write notes to your friends, build structures out of straws, do homework, or just poke your head into sandwich room and partake in the discussion. None of this was sanctioned or allowed, but it did occur. Some things were worse than others (straw structures, for instance, wasted company property as well as company time).

---

Some pictures of the Pastry Window

Here are those great new waffles! I heartily recommend the Mascarade (dark and white chocolate) - it's rich and decadent, but oh so tasty.

This is the way "Pastry Window" looked when it opened in 1988. Really seemed more like street decoration than food location, eh?

Pastry Window nowadays. The color scheme helps somewhat, as do the signs out in the street advertising the place. Only great food and consistent operating hours will spread the word and keep this place busy!

The confining, narrow space that is Pastry Window. Two fit people cannot fit easily past each other without contorting!

A short-lived experiment: selling sodas for the Fantasmic crowd vendor-style, operating out of Pastry Window. It was fun, at least, while it lasted.

---

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!

Comments? Questions? Feedback? Please Let me know! (I love getting mail!)