Dining Recommendations--Blue Bayou?

[PippensMcGee]

My family and I will be visiting DLR January 10 and 11, 2018 and I'm looking to book some dining.

My family and I have been loads of times (though not as much in recent years) but it will be my 2.5 year old's first visit.

We arrive the afternoon of Jan 9 and are staying at DLH, so we'll hang out at the pool in the afternoon and then I'm going to book Goofy's Kitchen for dinner to get character dining out of the way (I'd much rather do Minnie's and Friends, but don't want to "waste" valuable park time.).

We're getting park hoppers, but will primarily do CA on Wednesday, Jan 10 and DL on Thursday, Jan 11 to take advantage of EMH.

I want to book reservations for dinner on those two nights. Anyone have recommendations? I'm toying with some dining packages and am open to those, though I have no idea if my daughter will make it long enough to watch WOC or whatever is going on in DL (if anything? I know that time of year there often isn't anything, esp during the week).

My mom (who is coming) loves Blue Bayou and we have eaten there several times, however, if memory serves, it's probably not ideal for a toddler. I might make a reservation anyway, and then keep thinking on it, but does anyone have an idea of what "nice" dining experience is best with/for a 2.5 year old? I'm thinking maybe Cafe Orleans as a compromise.

TIA!

 

[MICKEYFIL]

My only concern would be the darkness and the loud sounds that could affect your child. I think Cafe Orleans is a wonderful compromise.

 

[22Tink]

BB is very dark. My DD was 7 when we went and she didn’t like eating in the dark. She did love Cafe Orleans though!!

 

[Niltiac]

We like Cafe Orleans better than Blue Bayou. It's cool that BB is inside the ride, but in my experience the food is better at Cafe Orleans. It's our favorite DL restaurant. At DCA we usually do CS so I'm not sure what's good there. We have been to Carthay Circle, but it's about as formal as BB (less dark though).

 

[figment_jii]

I agree that Cafe Orleans is a good compromise. I like Blue Bayou, but it is pretty dark inside. Some of the tables right near the entrance are not that dark (mostly due to lighting from the outside - during the day - and from the waiting area), but they lose a lot of ambiance being that close to the entrance.

It kind of depends on what you mean by "nice" dining...there really aren't that many high-end/fancy dining options at DLR (all are in the hotels), but there are plenty of good dining options. While not fancy, I do think Carnation Cafe is another good option, as is Wine Country Trattoria (both are pretty casual, but have good food options). The biggest drawback to Cafe Orleans and Wine Country Trattoria is that the majority of the seating is outside. This is great when the weather is good, but can be an issue in bad weather.

 

[PippensMcGee]

Thanks everyone for your feedback (and keep it coming if anyone has any more!). Sounds like it's a good idea to do Cafe Orleans and I was thinking of Wine Country Trattoria, so I'll move that to the top of our list for CA. If the weather is bad, we'll just have to have a back up plan.

By "nice" I mostly just mean somewhere that's sit down and there's table service. By contrast, for lunch we'll probably do the corn dog cart and the Cozy Cone or something along those lines. Or maybe even something in DTD. My parents are local but we got a hotel anyway so we can easily go nap mid-day.

 

[22Tink]

Thanks everyone for your feedback (and keep it coming if anyone has any more!). Sounds like it's a good idea to do Cafe Orleans and I was thinking of Wine Country Trattoria, so I'll move that to the top of our list for CA. If the weather is bad, we'll just have to have a back up plan.

By "nice" I mostly just mean somewhere that's sit down and there's table service. By contrast, for lunch we'll probably do the corn dog cart and the Cozy Cone or something along those lines. Or maybe even something in DTD. My parents are local but we got a hotel anyway so we can easily go nap mid-day.

Wine Country Trattoria is really good. We really enjoyed our meal, just make sure to request an outside table. We got stuck inside and it was very loud and less than magical!

 

[figment_jii]

By "nice" I mostly just mean somewhere that's sit down and there's table service. By contrast, for lunch we'll probably do the corn dog cart and the Cozy Cone or something along those lines. Or maybe even something in DTD. My parents are local but we got a hotel anyway so we can easily go nap mid-day.

I wouldn't discount the CS locations entirely. A number of them are actually pretty good and worth a visit. My family really likes the Plaza Inn (lunch and dinner are CS, no characters) and the French Market.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I have a 2.5 year old. It really depends on your child. Mine is just not great at sitting down for a long meal at this age. We rarely do table service. Counter service is so much better for us and there are so many great options in both parks.

In DCA we like Cucamomga Cucina for Mexican food and Award Weiners for great hot dogs. Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta is my third choice.

In DL we like Rancho Del Zocalo for Mexican, Bengal BBQ for grilled meat skewers and Jolly Holiday for sandwiches and salads.

 

[cmwade77]

I don't remember if River Belle is back to being open, but it could be good as well. If you want a character breakfast, do Plaza Inn, lots of characters for the price.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I wouldn't discount the CS locations entirely. A number of them are actually pretty good and worth a visit. My family really likes the Plaza Inn (lunch and dinner are CS, no characters) and the French Market.

I agree. These are 2 of our favorites. With just 2 park days I don’t know that I’d want to waste any time at a full service restaurant.

 

[az4boys]

At Blue Bayou can you get just the Filet Mignon without the Lobster tail? I just like the turf part of the surf & turf.

 

[ttig34]

At Blue Bayou can you get just the Filet Mignon without the Lobster tail? I just like the turf part of the surf & turf.

I do not have personal experience with this, but have seen a few people say they tried and were told they could not. But you could always try-but do not count on it.