Most people would probably agree that Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the best attractions inside Disneyland. Many people would probably also agree that the Blue Bayou restaurant is one of the best places to dine inside Disneyland. The food is pretty good, and has become even better with a recent update to the menu, but the thing that makes it great is that the restaurant exists inside Pirates of the Caribbean. Unfortunately, due to the ride’s current refurbishment, the restaurant’s ambiance has taken a pretty big hit.
Theme park fans are used to seeing construction walls, as any park usually has something that needs work. While you might think that Pirates of the Caribbean could escape that fate, by virtue of the entire attraction being indoors, not so much. In this case the construction walls are actually inside the Blue Bayou, blocking view of the ride from those dining inside. As one person on Twitter says, it’s a depressing looking place to eat now.
obviously it makes sense with pirates being refurbed as of two days ago, but blue bayou looks so.. depressing 😫 pic.twitter.com/om3CRMopThMarch 15, 2022
It won’t look like this for too long, as the Blue Bayou is scheduled to be closed for refurbishment as well in about a month. An exact date for reopening the ride, and one assumes the restaurant, has not been set, but the refurbishment work is expected to be completed this summer.
It’s understandable that the walls need to go up if work is being done. At the same time, the Blue Bayou only sees the first part of the attraction. It would have been nice if the work could have started elsewhere, allowing the view at the restaurant to remain unobstructed until it was time to close the restaurant, though that may not have been possible for any number of reasons.
Refurbishments have to happen to keep rides from unscheduled shutdowns that can last even longer. It’s no fun when a marquee attraction like Pirates of the Caribbean goes down, but it needs to happen now and then.
While it makes sense to refurb the Blue Bayou at the exact same time the ride is getting fixed up, closing the restaurant may actually be the bigger loss to the park overall. The fact is that, while Disneyland has a lot of great food, if you’re looking for a fine dining experience at Disneyland Park, there simply aren’t many options. The Blue Bayou is as close as you really get, so without it, there are no options at all. With Pirates closed there are still plenty more great attractions all over Disneyland.
No major changes are expected to Pirates of the Caribbean during this refurb. The ride has seen changes to ride scenes over the decades, but this is expected to be a routine updating of the ride itself to keep it in good working order. Considering the popularity of both the ride and the restaurant, we can be sure neither will be closed any longer than is absolutely necessary.