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View Full Version : Blue Bayou -- Fastest seating?



Bill Catherall
12-20-2002, 08:27 AM
Tomorrow we are driving down to Arizona to spend Christmas with the family and will be making a "rest stop" at Disneyland. :D (I'll be in the neighborhood and just can't resist.)

We just want to see the Christmas decorations, ride Small World Holiday, and maybe hit Haunted Mansion too. But I also want to try to get into Blue Bayou for lunch.

I tried calling the Disney Dining line last night to make a reservation, but they only had available times after 2:00 pm. I want to be finished eating and back on the road by 1:00 pm at the latest.

What time does Blue Bayou start seating people for lunch? Is there some kind of a "stand-by" or waiting list for people without reservations? Basically I want to know what's the soonest and quickest way to get in?

Thanks in advance.

Lani
12-20-2002, 09:03 AM
I believe they open at 11:00. I also believe that "reservations" work at Blue Bayou like they do at WDW restaurants -- priority seating. That means they will have stand-by seating available. I'm not sure how they handling same-day requests though, whether they will give you a PS spot somewhere on property when you get there. I'm sure someone here would know.

Berry Princess
12-20-2002, 09:08 AM
Lunch is at 11:30. You can do same day reservations if you get there early enough to get in on it. When I was there last Sat (we did ours over the phone a few weeks before our trip) they were turning people away and telling them could do the stand by line but you could be there awhile that way. I suggest seeing what you can get when you get there cause you might be able to get a reservation for a time you want.

HBTiggerFan
12-20-2002, 09:10 AM
Get there about 10:30 to see if they are taking names yet, if not come back at 11. Put your name in and take the first time you can get. If you eat earlier you will be done by 1pm, if you eat later you will have a longer wait. Also if you are willing to take the first available table (ie..not wait for one by the water) you will get in faster.

Berry Princess
12-20-2002, 09:26 AM
Get there about 10:30 to see if they are taking names yet,

They are there as soon as the park is open to take reservations. I think the earlier you get there the better the chance you may have to get a time that can fit your schedule. Before I started doing my reservations over the phone I just would go as soon as I got there which was always a little after the park was open. I had been able to get the time that I wanted. This was on some very busy days as well.

davebert4
12-20-2002, 10:17 AM
If all else fails don't be afraid of the stand-by line! I eat there almost every weekend and never have a reservation (can't get to the park 'till 6pm). If the standby line is as far as the Christmas Shop, its probably only a 1/2 hour wait....even when they tell you its an hour.

dannyc
12-20-2002, 12:21 PM
We stopped by there last week on Tuesday at about 1:00, and the standby wait was only ten minutes, and it really only took about five. Hope you have a good time.

Bill Catherall
12-20-2002, 02:11 PM
Thanks everybody!

I'll be leaving really early in the morning (like 3 am) so I'll let you all know how things go probably either late Saturday night or Sunday. It's been years (actually like 17 years) since I've eaten in the Blue Bayou and I'm really looking forward to it.

I think this will be the best road trip pit stop ever! :D

Neverland Princess
12-21-2002, 07:12 AM
On one of our trips this year we made a reservation through disney dining. We didn't get near the water so we asked the girls at the front if the resturant prefers you come up and make same day reservations there or use disney dining? They said you get better seats with same day. Although that was back in either may or June.

Berry Princess
12-21-2002, 09:39 AM
They said you get better seats with same day. Although that was back in either may or June.

I was told that the higher up on the list the closer to the water you are. I have called ahead of time weeks before got one right by the water and another in the 2nd row near the water. I have done many same day ones before and was never near the water but the ones I did at least 2 weeks before I got close to the water or by the water. From my experience with this it is totally true...at least for us.

Bill Catherall
12-22-2002, 01:10 PM
Well, we got in with no trouble whatsoever. And I do owe it to everyone who responded. I took one look at the stand-by and would have walked away, but I followed your advice and just went for it. We got in with a less than a 5 minute wait. :D

Our "pit stop" was really fun and helped a lot. We had a bit of a problem at the front gate though. I forgot to bring my AP! I couldn't believe it. We checked to make sure we had all the other APs with us before we left home, but I just assumed my AP was in my wallet...I didn't double check. When we got to the gate I checked my wallet and it wasn't there. Then I remembered taking it out to make room for a credit card. :mad:

We were right in front of the bag check at the time and stepped back to discuss what we were going to do about it. As we were talking, the very nice CM doing the bag check stepped away for a moment and asked me if I have ever misplaced my AP before within the past year. I said no...this was the first time. She then told me that I could get a one-time complimentary pass! Woohoo! She saved the day and I thanked her profusely. I had no idea they would do that. I tried to remember her name, but I just can't recall it (sorry).

So I went to the ticket booth and told them I forgot to bring my pass with me and they looked me up in the computer and printed out a pass. Pretty easy. Then at the gate they checked my ID and gave me a pass with a bar code I could use to get Fast Pass.

We went straight to Blue Bayou and ate there. Mmmmmmmm...Monte Cristo sandwiches.... While we were in the area we picked up Fast Passes for Pirates. There was a pretty big line.

Then we went and rode It's a Small World Holiday. It looked great!

After that we rode on Pirates. My son was pretty excited to go (the one who used to be really scared of it), but my daughter was acting scared. She wasn't pitching a fit or crying, just acting really frightened. She'd been on it many times before and always liked it, but was afraid this time. As we got to the front of the line, the loading CM (I think it was "Mike") started talking to her to find out why she was afraid. He told her that everybody else who goes on the ride doesn't have any more courage than her, but they do have "Pirate treasure," and pulled off one of his necklaces and gave it to her. He told her, "Hold on to this Pirate treasure and you won't be scared." She was delighted and clutched onto that the whole ride. Before the first drop we asked her if she was okay. She responded confidently, with no fear in her voice, "I'm not scared. I've got pirate treasure." Thanks Mike!! When the ride was over she yelled out, "I want to do it again!" :)

We forgot to bring our stockings down with us, and we needed a couple new stockings anyway, so we just went to Main Street and bought some of the Disney character stockings. We also had to get some fudge and suckers at the Candy Palace. Mmmmm...fudge... :D

After spending 4 hours there it was time to hit the road again. The kids went to sleep and we finished off the drive down to Arizona.

MammaSilva
12-22-2002, 04:40 PM
sounds like a great 'pit stop' Bill, enjoy your visit and your holidays :)