Blue Bayou is a full-service chain of
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
/
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states.
Whi ...
-style
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
s located at
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
and
Tokyo Disneyland
is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney park t ...
, in
Chiba,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
The restaurants are built within the same show building that houses part of the
Pirates of the Caribbean
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...
attraction, with parts of the ride taking place beneath the restaurant. The interior has a night sky effect which is achieved through the use of a dark and distant ceiling, air conditioning, and coordinated lighting. The theming is supplemented by the sounds of crickets and frogs, the glow of
fireflies
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
, and projection effects that imitate a night sky. The restaurants offer a view of the beginning portion of Pirates of the Caribbean. Guests are able to see riders floating by in their boats, and riders can see the restaurant's nighttime lighting as they pass by.
The Disneyland restaurant opened on March 18, 1967, to respond to persistent criticism of the park's lack of fine dining options. It was originally to feature live entertainment, but after a dress rehearsal and trial dinner in 1966,
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
stated, "In this restaurant, the food is going to be the show, along with the atmosphere".
Blue Bayou was the first reservation-based eatery at Disneyland. A reservation could not be made by telephone. Guests had to physically go to the restaurant to sign up for an available time, often prompting an influx of guests arriving at the restaurant as soon as the park gates opened. Currently reservations are accepted up to two months in advance.
Similar restaurants
The former Blue Lagoon restaurant at
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
takes a similar approach to that of the Blue Bayous at the other Disney parks, but it is themed as a
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
beach rather than a
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
bayou
In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...
. In 2017, this restaurant was renamed
Captain Jack's - Restaurant des Pirates.
Blue Bayou at Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom
Virtual Magic Kingdom featured a single room inspired by the Blue Bayou. "Magic words" such as "mint julep" and "gumbo" allowed players to order food and drink.
References
External links
Disneyland official websiteTokyo Disneyland official website
{{Pirates of the Caribbean
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts restaurants
Theme restaurants
New Orleans Square (Disneyland)
Restaurants in Orange County, California
Culture of Anaheim, California
Restaurants established in 1967
1967 establishments in California
Restaurants at Disneyland
Pirates of the Caribbean