OK so we arrived at Blue Bayou with 2 minutes to spare upon exiting Pirates of the Carribean without having to use the crazy route to get through crowd control thanks to a delightful last minute ride on POC.
Went to check in and they said we would have about a 20 minute wait. Asked for the coveted waterfront table (after all I waited almost 40 years for this meal I wanted it to be just as I imagined it) and they said it would be more like 35 minutes No problem an extra 15 for my perfect experience we will be happy to wait.
Now comes my 1 real complaint about the Blue Bayou experience. The waiting area is small with minimal seating and the place was busy. My leg was killing me and had been most of the day ( I have severe arthritis in my left knee) and I really needed to sit if we were going to be waiting 35 minutes also Brants back was sore & Colton was tired. We ended up finding a spot on the steps near where they park strollers & wheelchairs etc low to the ground & we were not at all sure we would be able to get back up again so Brant stood while Colton & I sat. 10 minutes later they called us to our table!
Brant had to help me get up off the steps my leg was stiff already.
Our table was right on the railing just to the right of center a beautiful spot.
The atmosphere exceeded my expectations! I don't know if I can even describe it well enough to do it justice. The beautiful faux sky above (I really don't spend too much time looking up when I am on the ride too much to see but when at BB I had plenty of time to really appreciate it..amazing!) The sounds of the water and the blinking fireflies amazing again this is a very romantic spot and since this was my belated anniversary gift wonderfully appropriate. My DH made an aside to me that it would be the perfect anniversary dinner if we were alone.
For appetizers Brant ordered the salad I ordered the gumbo and Colton had carrots & celery sticks with Ranch dressing (one of his favorite snacks!) Brant & I shared so we could try both. Colton dug into his while watching the boats. They were only about 15 feet away but through the entire meal I never was able to hear conversations from the boats so they were just the perfect distance away. It was blissfully peaceful especially after such a busy day in the park.
As soon as his appetizer was done Colton rested his head on his hands and watching the boats he fell asleep. I mean truely asleep not just dozed we could not wake him to eat his entree. Our wonderful waitress offered us the choice of either packing his food to go or removing his meal from the bill. Since I could not imagine carrying food around the park I asked for it to be removed. Mind you the entrees had arrived at this point so his dinner had already been made and was at the table, they did not have to do this.
So our wonderful kid had just given us our romantic anniversary dinner alone (sort of) after all.
There are no pics of the food or atmosphere at Blue Bayou I may do this on other trips but on our first ever visit we did not want to ruin the atmosphere and the unexpected adult time snapping pics.
Brant ordered the Buccaneer's Beef Short Ribs - Slow-roasted, then finished in a Zinfandel demi-glaze. with Blue Bayou Potatoes & seasonal vegetables he loved it the ribs literally melted in his mouth.
I ordered the Bayou Surf and Turf - A succulent, sweet petite lobster tail from the Pacific Northwest, paired with an expertly broiled filet mignon, sauce bearnaise. with Blue Bayou Potatoes & seasonal vegetables the lobster was cold but good the filet was wonderful.
Once we had eaten dinner we discussed dessert and had decided to share something. Our waitress came by with Colton's birthday dessert and advised since he was sleeping she brought it for us to share, would we like anything else for dessert? Wow we didn't even pay for sleeping birthday boy's meal and we still got his free birthday dessert? It was a perfect light chocolate mousse just enough to share and be satisfied.
Now BB was expensive in comparison to the food but add the atmosphere and the nearly perfect experience I had imagined coming true I was not at all sad about passing over the dough.
Now Colton was still completely out. Brant picked him up and carried him out of the restaurant which was no small feat given how his back was feeling and how close together the tables were. As he reached the steps to the waiting area he stumbled and half dropped our poor son. We managed to get out of the restaurant with our totally asleep son and realized we were done for the day but now we needed to get to the ART stop somehow and it was painfully obvious that neither one of us was in any shape to carry Colton through the crowd.
While we were standing by the ROA deciding what we were going to do Brant snapped this photo of the Mark Twain all lit up. Notice sleeping Colton (being held up by Mom in the lower right corner.
We finally came to the conclusion that if we put his feet on our feet and each took one arm we could "walk" him to the NOS train station and ride over to Main St. This actually worked very well although it must have looked ridiculous. We boarded the 3rd train the same way and after reaching main st we started walking to the ART the same way. He woke a little bit when we hit all the DTD lights so he was able to walk with us holding his hands to keep him upright.
This was the ONLY crowded ART bus of our entire trip and there was standing room only. Colton was having a hard time staying upright and another mom had her older child stand up so I could sit with Colton on my lap. This night I was very thankful that the ART stop was so close to the Anabella but the trip up the stars to our suite was a bit harrowing.
We just put colton to bed in his clothes and showered and crashed.
Hopefully tomorrow would not be so awfully crowded.
Next up Day 4 our Magic Morning & Storyteller's breakfast.
yikes
I couldn't believe some of the trash cans were the same! That was such a treat! 
I was amazed at how much had changed...but at the same time...how much remained the same. It was awesome. 
