Therefore, there is pirate themed shopping and there is Halloween themed shopping, with a strong presence from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but there is also a perfume shop and one with fancy Christmas ornaments, giving a feel for the decadence and the French influence.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate's life for me. This is one of our favorite rides. We have had trips where we have ridden it every single day, and one tragic trip where it was closed for renovation and we couldn't ride it at all. By boat you start in a Louisiana bayou and head down into ghostly pirate scenes, and then pirate scenes that are not so ghostly, with fun animatronics and a very catchy song.
Unique in having inspired a movie, instead of being inspired by a movie, the retrofitting for the inclusion of more references to Captain Jack Sparrow is a bit overdone.The should have left the dialogue with the well dunking the same, and just stuck to one hiding and one relaxing Jack. It's still a fun ride.
The Haunted Mansion: I have no doubt that the success of the Pirates movie is behind the making of this other movie, but just as you cannot necessarily get four good movies out of one theme park ride, also, not every theme park ride can make a good movie. I will admit the way they worked different bits of the ride into the movie was clever, and it was still better than Van Helsing.
There are a lot of fun details here, with the sinking room, changing pictures, and hitchhiking ghosts, but my favorite will always be the ballroom. I always want a better look at the ghostly figures, and yet part of their allure is the impossibility of getting that look. It is how ghosts should be.
One thing that they do is switch it over to a Nightmare Before Christmas theme for the holidays. The pumpkins on the outside and the overall decor are great, but I like the regular style better, and it is so much more appropriate for Halloween, and yet they make the switch in October. Always with the cross-promotions. I do love that Zero shows up though. My love for dogs is not limited to the living.
Blue Bayou Restaurant: This restaurant is awesome because you are eating in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The food is fine, but really, you are going here for the atmosphere. It's pretty inside, and people are loading up on boats and heading through the bayou. It is very popular, so you will probably need to make a reservation. Going for lunch instead of dinner helps, and since we like to get the Monte Cristos, which they do not serve at dinner last time I checked, that works for us.
Cafe Orleans: We have not been to this one, but it looks like the menu is similar to Blue Bayou, but presumably without the wait.
French Market Restaurant: We have also not been to this one, but we really need to. They have beignets and live entertainment. Or perhaps we will walk up to the Mint Julep Bar window there and order something refreshing and non-alcoholic.
Royal Street Veranda: Okay, we hit this one every time. This is where we like to get our chowder bowls. You can also get steak or vegetarian gumbo in the sourdough bread bowls, but we have been getting clam chowder since our first trip back as adults in 1996, and it works for us.
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