The “coolest jazz club you can imagine,” Louis’ Critter Club, is opening to guests today in what will soon be renamed Bayou Country — and we got a full grand opening tour.
Louis’ Critter Club
Louis’ Critter Club is located in what will soon be renamed Bayou Country, formerly Critter Country. The new gift shop takes up the left-hand side of Pooh Corner, though the treats side of that store remains as is.
The sign for Louis’ Critter Club was revealed back in September, and features Louis laying on his back, with the shop’s sign on his belly. He balances his trumpet on one claw.
Guests can either enter from the front of Louis’ Critter Club, or via this entrance that connects the shop to Pooh Corner.
This store is focused on getting to know the original characters from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Inside are various references to each of the critters, their performances together, and more.
The main cash wrap has been redesigned to look like storage crates. A stage sits behind the registers, with a purple spotlight ready for the next performer.
This “crate” appears to store instruments for the critters, like trumpets. The register to the left has repurposed hunny pots from when the store was part of Pooh Corner. Now, lilies sprout up from the top of the pots.
The proscenium of the stage features an intricate design of lillies on branches, with one large lily sitting on a lilypad at the center. The curtains appear homemade, with a single patch near the top left.
To the left and right are dressing room doors for the critters, including Louis, Claude, Timoléon, Apollo and Rufus, Bernadette, and Sebastián. These are references to the Country Bear Jamboree; the waiting area for the attraction had similar “marionette” doors.
Other decor around the shop includes intricately carved signs featuring each of the critters from the ride. On the left are Rufus, Apollo, Pawpaw, and Octavia; in the middle are Bernadette, Sebastián, and Claude; and on the right are Beau, Timoléon, Gritty, Byhalia, and Phina. The third sign also includes “L.C.C. 1929,” for Louis’ Critter Club and the year in the story that it opened.
Mondo and his other frog friends from the ride also make an appearance in the store, hanging out in the Lily Pad Lounge. The lounge is conveniently located above merchandise shelving. The frogs each have their own lily pad “tables and chairs,” with a frog-sized barrel of “Fly Juice” in the center.
Elsewhere in the store is Mama Odie’s private box, where she can come and enjoy the stylings of the critters at her leisure.
Mama Odie’s box is nestled above and between rows and rows of Louis’ plush. Inside is a chair for her, a small rug, and plenty of candles and bottles.
Even Juju has a spot in the box; he can be spotted taking a short nap in a lidded basket.
Shelving above each section of merchandise is also packed with props referencing the ride’s characters, including one box that says, “Ship to Lari.”
Some fictional records from Louis’ Critter Club are also on display. On the left is a “new” 1927 edition of “music from the niftiest joint in the bayou” featuring Louis, Apollo, and Beau. On the right is a “live” record of recordings from Louis’ Critter Club featuring Gritty, Beau, Apollo, and Phina, with the record sticking out the right side of the gatefold.
Outside the shop and on the roof is the “green room” for the performers, where they can relax and recharge between shows.
Among the props stationed here are a banjo, a mailbox, a gramophone, a trumpet, a washboard, and more. A makeshift sign that reads “Performers Only” hangs above the door.
Also outside the shop are more posters for the various acts that perform at Louis’ Critter Club, including Firefly Five plus Lou, Beau and the All-Star Jazz Band, and The Bayou Community Band.
Louis’ Critter Club opens to guests today, November 13, at Disneyland Park. Check out our video tour below, and stay tuned for a full list of available merchandise.
This isn’t the only gift shop for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland; Ray’s Berets opened to guests in October.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens to guests this Friday, November 15. Take a look at our full ride POV and queue tour, learn about the three virtual queue windows for the ride at opening, and see a scene-by-scene comparison of Disneyland’s Splash Mountain vs. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
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