July 1955 – January 1962
LOCATION
Frontierland – The Chicken Plantation Restaurant stood on the outskirts of Frontierland, overlooking the Rivers of America. This area is now roughly between Pirates of the Caribbean and Café Orleans in New Orleans Square.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Service Type – quick service
- Seating – adjacent patio
- Entertainment – none
The Chicken Plantation was an Opening Day original, and the park’s go-to spot for fried chicken. This massive quick-service restaurant dominated the waterfront, and was the best place to sit and watch the activity on the Rivers of America. Nighttime visitors could also enjoy the strings of glowing lanterns hanging from the restaurant’s balcony, giving the restaurant grounds a colorful glow.
CLOSURE
Despite the Chicken Plantation’s popularity, Disney ultimately needed the space for a new land: New Orleans Square. The Plantation served its last chicken dinner in 1962, and the construction walls soon went up around the whole western side of the park. But the Chicken Plantation’s legacy lives on; the Blue Bayou façade inside Pirates of the Caribbean was heavily inspired by the Frontierland classic.
TRIVIA
Swift’s Premium Chicken sponsored the Chicken Plantation for its entire 7-year run.
If you visit the gift shop in Adventureland, you can find two columns from the Chicken Plantation building. They surround a shelf on the end of the shop closest to the Enchanted Tiki Room.
Though the front of the restaurant had a grand plantation feel, the back of the restaurant was actually done in more of a Mexican ranch style.
My wife Ginger worked as a waitress at the Plantation circa 1958. She talked about the girls having contests for how many plates they could balance on each arm. She recently died of cancer, and we are putting together a life celebration for her. She advanced to the Red Wagon in 1960, and saw Walt briefly.Can you help me find any of these girls or Red Wagon people?
I am so sorry to hear about your wife. I couldn’t find any photos of the plate balancing, but I did find some wonderful vintage photos on these sites that may be of interest:
– Chicken Plantation: http://davelandweb.com/frontierland/chickenplantation.html
– Red Wagon Inn: http://davelandweb.com/centralplaza/plazainn.html
I hope these are helpful to you!
Duchess, A three year delayed thank you. Cheers and Health, John
Best wishes to you and your family!
Now that you point out the building in back of the Blue Bayou being modeled after this I can definitely see it. Love when they give nods to old Disney stuff.
I do too! 🙂