REVIEW: Beignets, Cocktails, and Jazz? We’re Visiting the Bayou on the Disney Wish!

The Disney Wish has officially set sail — and we were on board to check it all out!

From attractions to dining, we’re showing you everything there is to do aboard the Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship. We’ve already taken you on a tour of some of the most lavish staterooms available, and we’ve even checked out the Avengers-themed dining experience. But now, we hope you ‘re thirsty because we’re heading down to The Bayou!

Immersive theming? Yeah — this spot checks off that box. When we walked into The Bayou, we followed the classic “always look up” tip that one must do when it comes to Disney. And boy, are we glad we did. Up above, we found blossoms, lily pads, and twinkling fireflies.

Atmosphere

As you might have guessed, this lounge is themed after Disney’s Princess and the Frog moviewhich takes place in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Princess Tiana operates a restaurant in the film, so it’s only fitting that she’d get a spot on the Wish.

We were immediately transported into the prettiest swamp we’ve ever seenvia Disney’s iconic, innovative theming.

The subtle nods to The Princess and the Frog are everywhere you look, from the green accent colors to the flowersand that makes for a really elegant experience.

But let’s not forget what we’re here for — the drinks! The Bayou was packed with New Orleans-inspired refreshments and we couldn’t wait to try a few.

Eats

We decided to start out with the Hurricane, a New Orleans classic cocktail. It’s made with Bayou Reserve Rum, passionfruit, and lime.

It was a pretty standard fruity cocktailbut we enjoyed it. Definitely a “vacation drink” — but if you’re not into sweet or fruity cocktailsthis isn’t the one for you.

We also tried the Orleans Crusta. This was made with Hennessey, Grand Marnier, Luxardo, and Angostura Bitters.It was a pretty orange-forward drink thanks to the Grand Marnier, so if citrus isn’t your thing we would probably skip this.

The Luxardo and Grand Marnier combination made this a pretty sweet cocktail too, though it wasn’t as sweet as the Hurricane.

We also tried the Absinthe Frappé — made with Pernod Absinthe, Anisette, Abita Vanilla Cream Soda.

We had pretty high hopes for this cocktail, but ultimately we found it lacking. We were hoping the vanilla cream soda would add a nice creaminess, but the bitterness of the Absinthe was the main thing we tasted and it felt more like an aperitif or palate cleanser than a drink we’d want to sip on.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a New Orleans-themed bar without beignets! These came with an order of three and a chocolate dipping sauce. When we tried them at first, the chocolate sauce tasted like Hershey’s Syrupbut then later in the day it just tasted like melted chocolateso there might be some inconsistency here.

The beignets themselves weren’t super great either, and didn’t taste fresh or warm — but they’d probably do the trick if you’ve just really got a beignet craving. As far as Disney beignets go, these wouldn’t be at the top of our list. Especially when you consider that beignets are supposed to be Princess Tiana’s specialty, you’d think that The Bayou would want theirs to be excellent.

And we absolutely have to mention the live music! It was like the cherry on top of this location’s theme. What’s better than live jazz music in a New Orleans-themed bar?!

Overall

When it comes down to it, this location was an amazing spot to grab a drink, and immersed us into…well, The Bayou! We think this is a great option for guests looking to have a nice cocktail in an upscale but not fussy setting. Plus, we loved the live music! It made the Bayou a popular spot, and this would be an excellent place to have a nightcap or finish off a great night.

For the full list of restaurants on the Disney Wish, check out this post! Or, check out this post for more adult-only offerings on board!

We even got to check out all the kids clubs on board, which are included with your sailing! Want to know what else is included in a Disney cruise? Click here!

Check Out Everything We Explored on the Disney Wish!

What do you think of The Bayou? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney to attend their media preview of the Disney Wish. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ