In 1967, just a few months after Walt Disney's death, the private
club he had built to entertain dignitaries and VIPs, opened. He never
got to use it for it's intended purpose but supervised the process to
make sure it was built to his specifications. Club 33, hidden in New
Orleans Square in Disneyland, is a posh
restaurant that you can only dine in if you are a member or a guest of a
member. Every detail was mapped out by Walt, either to serve a purpose
or maintain a piece of history. But as time went on, the almost 5
decade old club needed to be updated, so it was recently renovated.
The
Boss and her husband are members of Club 33. Though it is near
impossible to become a member these days, they joined the list a while
back and have been enjoying the perks of membership ever since. Special
events, unlimited annual passes, celebrity hobnobbing, and the good
food are just some of fun that the membership will get you. With the
recent changes, the membership dues have gone up, but they now offer a
second club in California Adventure.
The husband and I got married
the day after Chinese New Year this past February. Every year for
Chinese New Year, I host a small dinner with friends to celebrate. Some
of the friends that were dining with us that night brought wedding
gifts, as they would not be attending the following day. The entire
wedding party consisted of the bride and groom, my two sisters, and our
two closest friends (who are engaged to each other). Among the cards
and gifts, The Boss and her husband gave us a beautiful wedding card
with a personal message inside. It said that the gift from them would be
lunch together at Club 33 to celebrate our happy new union. So as soon
as we all got our schedules together, we had a double date at
Disneyland and Club 33.
Finally, on a not so hot day, at the end
of July, we were Disneyland bound. The Boss's husband had to work in
the morning but he met us just in time for lunch.
We have joined
them before at Club 33 for other occasions, but this would be the first
time being there since the renovations were completed a year prior. I
am a purest when it comes to Disneyland. Walt said, as the future
progresses, we continue to build and bring new technologies to the park
so the park will never be completed. Of course, when there is a remodel
or change at the 60 year old theme park, I cringe a little each time.
As much as I love Star Wars, the new Star Wars Land that's slated for a
2017 opening, hurts a bit, as it will alter some of the original park
layout. Naturally, I cringed when the Market House coffee shop on Main
Street closed for a full re-do, closing it off from the stores it once
flowed into, and reopened as a large, singular entry Starbucks. So you
can imagine how I felt when I first heard they were going to update Club
33. The reasons they had were sound, but when touching a personally
designed Walt Disney site, I drop into historical landmark protester
mode.
Walt had set up Club 33 for himself and his guests, first
and foremost. Up until June 2014, it was set up like this with very few
changes over the years:
The door, plain, pale
greenish-blue, had a covered doorbell to the left and a mirrored,
elegant 33 to the right. The 33 did not seem out of place. The address
above the Blue Bayou restaurant next door is 31, and throughout all of
Disneyland, you can see these "suite" numbers on every store. A member,
or guest of a member, would ring the doorbell and the host on the other
side would verify name, reservation time, and make sure all of the
party was there and ready to come in.
Upon entering, the host
table is up a step to the right and to her side was the stairs to ascend
to the dining room, or you could take the small glass elevator.
Remember when I said Walt had a reason for creating this place the way
he did? That glass elevator is actually a French Lift. Walt and his
wife were in New Orleans when he spotted the lift that he had to have.
The hotel he saw it in, would not sell it to him, so he had an exact
replica created. The carpet and walls of the entryway are dark pink
with a Victorian style.
The landing at the top of the stairs
greets you with access to the Trophy Room, entrance down the lounge
hallway into the main dining room, and the original phone booth prop
from the 1967 movie, The Happiest Millionaire.
The Trophy Room
was Walt's real vision. It had a masculine feel with an autographed
rifle from Fess Parker (Disney's Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone) on the
wall and some Disney memorabilia adorning the shelves. In the
chandeliers above the tables, Walt had microphones hidden so that he
could hear his guests talking, and could respond via the auto-animatronic birds in the room. It might sound weird but Walt did it to impress his VIP's
with this new technology, "adding magic" (Disney lingo) to his guest's
dining experience. The wiring has since been disconnected but it all
stayed just so this whole time.
Down the lounge hallway, you see
concept art for The Happiest Millionaire and Mary Poppins. Concept art
from Mary Poppins hangs in the hall. There is a side table that was
used in Mary Poppins nonchalantly placed up against a wall. A green
harpsichord, that looks like a small piano, sits to your left as you
continue down the hall, and has a soft Renaissance painting on the lid.
Sounds like just like another piece of furniture, but there is a rumor
that is was actually built for Walt's wife. Oh, and it has been played
by Elton John and Paul McCartney.
On the left, before hitting
the second dining room, there is a bar. It is the only place in
Disneyland that serves alcohol. It is not original to the club but the
dazzling glass light fixture above it gave it a complete look in it's
station.
Just beyond the bar was were the lunch buffet tables
sat. Originally, lunch at Club 33 was an all you can eat cold salad bar
that included shellfish, a main course entree, and all you can eat
dessert. Dining options for dinner were a la carte but again, with the update, this menu style has changed.
Enter
the main dining hall. Thick drapery over large windows, crisp, white
tablecloths with folded napkins on large chargers with 33 painted on
them, and a huge fireplace as the centerpiece of the room.
Additionally, a long veranda wrapped around outside this second floor
room, overlooking New Orleans Square and known for being the best spot
in the park to watch the nighttime show, Fantasmic.
The
new look for Club 33 is very polished with much less focus on dark
woods and with added windows, the sunshine pours in from every
direction. The changed the entrance to a location a little farther
down, incorporating a grand staircase known as the Court of Angels.
Other major changes are that the restrooms have been moved outside of
the main restaurant, the tiny kitchen downstairs has been moved to the
area previously known as the Trophy Room, a large bar/lounge area has
been added, and the whole place now complies with ADA regulations (no
more step up to the lift). The large bar, also know as The Jazz
Lounge, now houses the French lift as a seating area and some of the
auto-animatronic
birds are found throughout the restaurant. The art on the walls is
mostly the same and the harpsichord still hold a prominent place for
guests to admire. A large player piano sits in the lounge up against
lead-lined windows and stained glass. The giant fireplace in the main
dining room and been removed and replaced with more windows. The new
dining options are price-based for either 3 or 4 course meals. I'm
happy with a lot of the changes and am really glad they kept some of
what was important to Walt. This fan-based site has a lot of great
pictures if you are interested in giving it a click:
http://www.disneylandclub33.com/
As
I was saying, The Boss's husband met up with us just in time for
lunch. He found us in the lounge, enjoying some drinks while relaxing
in the over sized couches. The Boss was having a mint julep, I had a Mai
Tai, and the husband went with an oatmeal stout. Nothing but water for
the Boss's husband, he was ready for lunch. The drinks were fantastic
and the service was wonderful. The host then took our drinks on a
platter and lead us to our seats in the main dining room. A square
table right by the window was all set up for us with fresh flowers too.
The missing fireplace was all I kept focusing on. It was weird to not
to have this iconic piece in the room. It was dark and heavy and the
new windows in it's place were quite a contrast.
We ordered
lunch and I grilled the Boss and her husband for happy marriage tips.
Seeing as they have been married for almost 35 years, I figured they
might know a few things. None of the tips were out of the ordinary but
as we have been friends with them for many years, it's obvious to see
that communication and a great sense of humor are the top tips. We each
ordered a 3 course lunch. A mixed variety of soups, salads, entrees,
and desserts with the mindset that we could each get a taste of what
everyone else was having. When it came time for dessert, the Boss and
her husband surprised me and mine with special 'Congratulations'
messages and heartfelt well wishes from the Club 33 staff. (And some
macaroons for each of us.) To go with our desserts, the Boss and I
ordered coffee. Two little coffee cups were brought out with a tray of
creamer and different types of packaged sugars. I got excited to see
uncut sugar and raw sugar, as I haven't had that as an option with my
coffee before. I enjoyed how it kept with the high end theme. The boss
ordered decaf as usual and I got the regular even at 3 in the
afternoon. I needed it for the rest of the day running around
Disneyland, of course. The coffee paired with dessert was wonderful. I
would love to get that coffee again and sit in the lounge or on the
veranda and take a nice slow break from the big crowds and long ride
queues.
After lunch and coffee, we did a few rides, took a
few pictures, and did some shopping. Seeing as the husband and I didn't
have all the fun extras of a wedding shower or reception, we got
ourselves some wedding themed gifts while there. The husband and I try
to mark trips or events together with an ornament. We have ornaments
from our honeymoon in Palm Springs, our first trip to Seattle, one from
when we got our first place together, so naturally we found the Just
Married ornament that would be perfect for our collection. Our friend
would just had her bridal shower, received these Mr. and Mrs. mugs and I
loved them when I saw her open the box so we also got those mugs when
we picked up our ornament.
In the evening, we got tea and
watched the Paint the Night parade followed by the fireworks. It was an
amazing day and definitely gave us wedding memories to cherish always.
