Blue Bayou is a full-service New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

/Cajun

Cajun

Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...

-style restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 renowned for its unusual ambiance. Restaurants are located at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland

is a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983...

, in Chiba

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Guests wishing to dine at the restaurant are advised to make reservations at least a day in advance. At Disneyland, particularly during the 4:00pm to 8:00pm dinner rush, reservations 1 week in advance are advisable.

The restaurant is built within the same show building that houses part of the Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean (theme park ride)

Pirates of the Caribbean is a log flume type of dark ride at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris theme parks....

 attraction, with parts of the ride even taking place beneath the restaurant. Although seated in a large, enclosed building, diners experience the illusion of eating in an outdoor restaurant at nighttime. This effect is achieved through the use of a dark and distant ceiling, air conditioning, and carefully coordinated lighting. The theming is intensified by the sounds of cricket

Cricket (insect)

Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...

s and frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

s, the meandering glow of fireflies

Firefly

Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies...

, and projection effects above that imitate the night sky. The restaurant is also popular for offering a view of the beginning portion of Pirates of the Caribbean. Guests can see the riders floating by in their boats, and the riders can see the festive nighttime lighting of the restaurant as they pass by.

The Disneyland outlet opened March 18, 1967. It was intended to respond to criticisms of the quality of food service in the park since its opening. Originally the restaurant was to feature live entertainment but Disney historian Jim Korkis reported after a dress rehearsal and trial dinner in 1966 Walt Disney declared "In this restaurant, the food is going to be the show, along with the atmosphere".

Similar restaurants

The layout of the Blue Lagoon restaurant at Disneyland Paris is similar to that of Blue Bayou at other Disney theme parks. However, it is themed as a Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 beach instead of a Louisiana bayou.

Blue Bayou at Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom

Virtual Magic Kingdom

Virtual Magic Kingdom

Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, also known as VMK, was a free massively multiplayer online game run by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online. It was a virtual representation of the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks, containing areas and minigames which were based on real park scenery and...

featured a single room inspired by the Blue Bayou. The waiter was Gator Waiter. "Magic words" such as "Mint Julep", "Gumbo", and so on allowed players to order food and drink.

External links

• Official website