Disneyland is offering a new treat this Halloween Time. For those guests who attend the special Halloween Party ticketed event, reservations can be made for the Mickey’s Halloween Party Dinner Package at the Blue Bayou. On October 7, my family and I had advance reservations and very little idea as to just what we were about to experience.
Our party consisted of my best friend and her 6-year-old daughter, my 17-year-old daughter, and myself. We had early reservations on our party night (5:10 p.m.) because we wanted to feed the kids early and we hoped that an early seating would also give us FastPasses into the first parade seating area (more on that later). This timing put us in the Blue Bayou when regular day guests were just finishing their late dining, but this did not seem to detract from our time in the restaurant.
After donning our costumes, entering Disneyland, getting our wristbands, and heading to New Orleans Square, check-in at the Blue Bayou was quick. I did have my reservation number with me but I was only asked for the surname of the booking and then my party was ushered into the waiting area. Without too much delay, we were escorted to our table and we met our server. As I have a food allergy, I was given the allergy friendly menu. This is one of my favorite things about Disneyland’s sit-down restaurants, they have a menu that lists which of the offerings are allergy friendly to several common allergies – nuts, dairy, fish, shellfish, and wheat/gluten. If you have an intolerance or allergy not covered in these common allergies, the servers are able to check with the chef to make sure that you will not end up in first aid after eating there.
Our littlest guest received a special menu (and three crayons) with child palate friendly food. I was a little disappointed that our menus were not the light from behind menus that I have been reading about on the internet. All of the menus were printed and required the use of the light function on our mobile phones or the ‘top of the menu to candle’ dip that has become a common solution to the mood lighting in the Blue Bayou. I also noticed that the special menu option for the season was not listed on the menu at all, nor was it offered by our server. On the allergy menu, several of the offerings were not available – including one offering that the server had never seen before and he had worked at the Blue Bayou for two years.
After selecting our dinners, our server brought bread and our drinks. For those new to the Blue Bayou, be mindful! The bread is a trap. Every time I eat at Blue Bayou, I forget just how much food is going to be offered during my dining experience. I always take my bread and sup on it lightly while I wait for the rest of dinner and always end up not able to finish my main and dessert.
The ambiance is the reason that I eat at the Blue Bayou. I find the food to be a hit or miss type of arrangement. Sometimes, like this visit, my food is outstanding and well worth the expense alone. Unfortunately, other times that I have eaten there, the food is not up to the standard the cost would suggest. However, being able to eat within one of my favorite attractions is worth the cost, in my opinion. No Halloween theming was included in the decor of the restaurant this year, but the darkened, patio seating, with the old willows and hanging lights set the right mood for the time.
Our server was attentive, the food was superb, and at the end of our dining, we received our treats. You would not expect Disneyland to send you away empty handed on ‘Halloween’, and we were most certainly not forgotten. Our first treat came in the form of our light-up ‘credentials’ and a bag of candy. When I asked, the bag contains the same amount of candy the average Mickey’s Halloween Party guest would receive if they visited the trick or treat stations exclusively for the first hour and a half of the party. All I can say, ‘that is a lot of candy!’ With our bill, we received our FastPasses for the special viewing area for the Frightfully Fun Parade. We found out that all of the FastPasses were for the first parade. This suited us perfectly as we wanted our 6-year-old guest to enjoy the parade.
We left the Blue Bayou and enjoyed the party until it was time to think about the Frightfully Fun Parade. We went to Main Street, USA and asked a Cast Member where we needed to go for the Blue Bayou viewing area as the FastPasses are vague. The Cast Member was not sure herself, but she quickly found out for us and led us to the area. There were two sections – one in front of the Market House and the other across the street in front of the Carnation Café. We ended up being there 20 minutes before our return time on our FastPasses, but we were let into the space. Even arriving this early, we were in the second row. As with all the parades as Disneyland, the first row is seated on the curb and the rows behind were standing.
For a full review of the Frightfully Fun Parade, please see Kristina’s review. My party thoroughly enjoyed the parade. It was just the right mixture of fright and fun for our smallest party member and our teen relished in the dastardly villains all being in one place. We also enjoyed the pre-parade projections on the buildings in front of us.
A note on where to sit: the first parade traveled from It’s a Small World plaza to Town Square this year. The Headless Horseman holds his jack-o-lantern head high above him in his right hand. This means that you get the better view of the head on the Carnation Café side of the parade. You will get a view of Claude Frollo on that side but you will miss Jafar. On the Market House side, you will still be able to see the Headless Horseman and his head but as he passes, the head is obscured by the rider. You will see Jafar but not Claude Frollo. Also, because the parade is coming, effectively, from the castle, make sure that you are on the castle side of the lampposts. I heard a few complaints from the people beside us who could not see the parade down the street as it came because of the lamppost.
Fireworks, Mickey’s Halloween Party is all about fireworks. So, how did we manage the parade and the fireworks? We selected the Market House side of the parade route as this placed us on the right-hand side of Main Street USA and would hopefully help us gain better views of Halloween Screams. This actually worked well. After the parade, we walked towards the castle and easily secured a prime viewing area for our group in the hub. For those of you who are new to Halloween Screams Fireworks, you really need to be in the hub, on the right-hand side as you view the castle. To know if you are in the correct position, you should be able to see a large dark tube on the left side of the castle. This is the anchor for the Jack/Oogie balloon.
My final thoughts, the biggest draw for participating in the Mickey’s Halloween Party Dinner Package at the Blue Bayou is the FastPass viewing area. I do not believe that the viewing area is any better than the rest of the general viewing areas on Main Street USA. Arriving 40 to 45 minutes before the first parade would give the general guest a very similar experience. So, if you want to do the dinner package just for the FastPasses, you might want to reconsider. However, if your party is interested in dining at the Blue Bayou, then this is the perfect package for you. I am hoping that Disneyland will be offering this package again next year.
Pricing Details: $65 per adult and $25 per child eating off of the children’s menu, plus tax and gratuity. Note: no discounts are available for this dining package and you must also have tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party that are sold separately.
What you get: The prix-fixe dinner consisting of 3-courses (starter, entrée, and dessert) at the Blue Bayou Restaurant in Disneyland Park; a FastPass for the preferred viewing areas on Main Street USA for the Frightfully Fun Parade; and a special treat consisting of ‘credentials’ and candy.
What do you think of the Dinner Package at the Blue Bayou for Mickey’s Halloween Party? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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