Blue Bayou Restaurant

Whether you’re fine dining or sailing through on your way to adventure, the Blue Bayou is one of the most magical, immersive places in Disneyland. You can’t help but get lost with wonder, creating fanciful stories of its inhabitants. I took this picture very late at night and there were no people left at the tables behind me in the restaurant. The uncrowded boats intermittently passing through provided the only pauses from near silence, the faint sound of a banjo in the distance. Moments like these at Disneyland are the best. They are the memories that stand out even amongst the rest. Some people say they don’t “get” Disneyland. I think maybe they just haven’t had a quiet moment like this one.

New Orleans Square has just about all the charm a person could hope to handle in an evening. Late at night, when the crowds from Fantasmic! have cleared, you can stroll down alleyways you have all to yourself. You may not be able to grab a bite at the Bayou, but you’re likely to find a few well fed patrons making their way from Club 33. We like to take times like these, when you have a spot in the Park all to yourself, to dream and recharge. About the only thing that could make it any better is if you could still grab a mint julep and listen to some jazz.

The Blue Bayou opened on this day, forty-four years ago.  Alongside Pirates of the Caribbean, it changed New Orleans Square and Disneyland.  Not only does it offer fine dining in a theme park, but it does so in the atmosphere and presence of one of greatest rides of all time for a truly unique and magical experience.  Happy anniversary Blue Bayou!

The Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square is a seriously delicious place for a meal at Disneyland.  While other restaurants around the park also feature intricate theming, the Blue Bayou offers an ambiance on par with its culinary caterings.  We were walking past late one night, on our way out of New Orleans Square, when we noticed that the doors were still open and the lobby empty.  We asked a cast member if we could step inside and take some pictures and to our delight were approved.