February 2001 – present
LOCATION
San Fransokyo Square – The Boudin Bakery Tour is tucked in the restaurant circle of the square. To find this walk through attraction, head toward Ghirardelli, which is to the right of the entrance to Cars Land. You’ll see Boudin on your right, across from Ghirardelli.
BACKGROUND
The Boudin Bakery Tour opened in 2001 as part of Pacific Wharf’s tribute to California foods. At the time of its opening, Boudin’s tour stood across from the Mission Tortilla Factory tour, which was a very similar walkthrough dedicated to the process of making tortillas. After a few years of lackluster attendance, California Adventure began its extensive overhaul, and the Mission Tortilla Factory tour was one of the first attractions to go. The Boudin Bakery Tour remained open, becoming the sole attraction in Pacific Wharf (now San Fransokyo Square), but attendance was still quite low.
To revamp the attraction, Disney closed the tour for over a year, starting in late 2013. The tour itself remained largely the same, but the space was redesigned to be a more open walkthrough space. The end of the walkthrough also opens up into a small seating area, where guests can watch the bakers work. Today, the Boudin Bakery Tour is the only attraction in either park that produces a product available for purchase. Though it’s one of the quietest attractions in California Adventure, the Bakery Tour gives guests a window into an iconic San Francisco process: the making of Boudin sourdough bread.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Single Rider Line – no
- Fast Pass – no
- Height Requirement – none
- Duration – N/A
Unlike the other walkthrough attractions at the Disneyland Resort, the Boudin Bakery Tour has virtually no structure. Guests are free to roam within the open space. Each wall has different plaques describing bread-making processes and the history of Boudin sourdough, while hosts Rosie O’Donnell and Colin Mochrie offer commentary from video monitors. The focal point of the tour is the large observation window, where guests can watch bakers knead dough, shape loaves, and bake the bread. At the end of the tour, guests exit the gallery to find themselves in front of a cafe, where they can enjoy a meal with sourdough bread or buy a loaf to take home.
MY RATING: ★★☆☆☆
I am typically a huge fan of Disneyland’s quieter attractions, especially walkthrough tours. The Boudin Bakery tour is a neat concept, but the actual tour itself is kind of lackluster. There isn’t a whole lot to see aside from one video monitor and the glass window, behind which a huge machine blocks a lot of your view of the actual baking process. If you know nothing about Boudin or sourdough bread, the tour is an interesting intro, but beyond that, it doesn’t have much to offer.
VISITING TIPS
Unless you are visiting the park on a very crowded day, this exhibit will most likely be a ghost town. If you want to buy a loaf of bread after your tour, make sure you visit before lunchtime (Boudin tends to sell out!). Otherwise, swing by the Bakery Tour whenever you’re nearby and you should be good to go.
TRIVIA
The bakery tour shares a building with Aunt Cass Cafe; a soup and sandwich shop that serves Boudin bread.
Don’t forget to visit the cast member standing by the bread cart when you first walk in; they’ll give you a free sample of sourdough bread!
