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View Full Version : About to go to Club 33!



jon80flt
02-10-2005, 03:18 PM
I'm about to head out the door (DW still NOT dressed!) to have dinner at Club 33! I bought tickets to the Paws in the Park event for The Seal Beach Animal Shelter.

This will be my first time in Club 33!

I havn't eaten all day! I can't wait!

I'll post after I get back!!!!

Jon

I Heart Disneyland!
02-10-2005, 04:09 PM
I'm about to head out the door (DW still NOT dressed!) to have dinner at Club 33! I bought tickets to the Paws in the Park event for The Seal Beach Animal Shelter.

This will be my first time in Club 33!

I havn't eaten all day! I can't wait!

I'll post after I get back!!!!

Jon

OH MY GOSH! Have SO much fun (or if this is received after the fact, I hope you HAD so much fun). Tell us all about it!!!!

Opus1guy
02-10-2005, 04:30 PM
Enjoy your evening and report back! :)

kbanmen
02-10-2005, 04:31 PM
I wanted to go to that, but didnt have the $$..let us know how it went, what food they have, the atmosphere, etc..wich I was there..sigh!!!!

MrsG
02-10-2005, 04:41 PM
Lucky dog! Tell us all about it!

Surfingstitch
02-10-2005, 04:54 PM
I am going to have to do one of those events.

jon80flt
02-10-2005, 09:38 PM
I just got home...the function was great!

The food was fantastic: All you could eat Buffet with Prime Rib, Tri-tip, Chilean Sea-bass, Chicken, lot's of interesting vegetables, a pasta bar, Chilled Lobster claws and tails, peeled shrimp, seafood salad with muscles, spinich salad and other salads, many cheeses and deli meats. The desserts were chocolate mousse, cheesecake, parfait, and other great stuff! I can only remember about half of the stuff that was there!

We had a really nice time... even met another MP'er and her husband... a very nice couple! There were about 75 people, we had the whole place to ourselves.

Opus was right, my hope that someday I could become a member and watch Fantasmic! from the windows while eating dinner couldn't happen... There are a couple huge trees in the way... I wonder how hard it would be for Disney's Imagineers to mount the trees on hydrolic lifts, so they could drop them about 10' to clear the line of sight for the club members? Hmmmm.....

All in all, I think I'll put my name on the waiting list to be a member... maybe in 5 years, or so, I'll be able to afford the membership fees!

All in all, it was a great time!

Jon :D

Opus1guy
02-10-2005, 10:46 PM
Thanks! You've made me very hungry here at almost midnight! :)

Shortiemetoo
02-11-2005, 04:34 AM
Wow, sounds incredible!! So glad you had a wonderful time and thanks for the report!!!

Tutter
02-11-2005, 05:11 AM
We need more details though - decor - lighting - pictures - rooms - what you saw when you first went up the stairs etc. Indulge us pleeease :)

sdfilmcritic
02-11-2005, 05:18 AM
I hope he has some juicy stories to share when he gets back.

Family5LovesDisney
02-11-2005, 05:44 AM
I'm about to head out the door (DW still NOT dressed!) to have dinner at Club 33! I bought tickets to the Paws in the Park event for The Seal Beach Animal Shelter.

This will be my first time in Club 33!

I havn't eaten all day! I can't wait!

I'll post after I get back!!!!

Jon
WOW! Have a great time! That sounds like fun!

Raven
02-11-2005, 06:59 AM
Ok everybody, my fiance has the chance to get Club 33 admission through a vender at work. I have no idea what to expect. He does not understand what is special about this place and would like to know what all the hype is about...me, I'm just happy being at Disneyland! Anything you can tell me to pass on to him would be very appreciated!

Surfingstitch
02-11-2005, 08:52 AM
I will go with you.

That would be so much fun!!!

jon80flt
02-11-2005, 12:12 PM
We need more details though - decor - lighting - pictures - rooms - what you saw when you first went up the stairs etc. Indulge us pleeease

Let's see if I can remember everything!

First, we got to the front door of Club 33 at 5:15 for our 5:30 reservation. There were about 75 people in line. We were just about the last people in line, so it took about 30 mins to get upstairs.

DW and I got our picture taken in the doorway, with the "33" clearly visible. As we walked in, we were in a room about 12'x12'. It was all dark wood paneling and mirrors. The two most notable features are the glass elevator in the center of the room, and the stairs that go up, around the elevator in a clockwise direction. I found it interesting that you have to go up three steps to get to the elevator landing... I guess ADA was not so important in the 60's! Immediatly to our right was a receptionist desk/podium, where a CM checked-off our names on the list. Behind the receptionist station there was a door in the wall, to the right of the elevator. I don't know where it leads.

Once we made it up the stairs, we ended up on a landing where there was a small receptionist podium to the right. Straight ahead were double doors that lead into the smaller of the two diningrooms, the one that has the animatronic birds and lots of pictures of Walt in the 30's and 50's. There was also an old movie projector, and a (copy of?) the gold Mickey Mouse statue that I've seen Shirley Temple holding, in a picture on the wall in Lincoln Speaks.

All around us were watercolor sketches of a place that looks like NOS, but may be the real NOS that Walt emulated.

To the left is an archway that lead us over the bridge into the area of the larger diningroom and the buffet tables and bar. This is where the Phonebooth from The Happiest Millionaire stands. The CM (I think his name was Russell, I'm really bad with names!) was very knowlegable about Club 33 history, and was able to answer all of our questions with no trouble. He debunked the rumor that the phone in the phonebooth could call anywhere in the world for free...only local calls are free! Next to the Phonebooth was a GrandFather clock that was not operating, but as Russell said, "if you dated back to the time of Benjamin Franklin, you could stop working sometimes, too"

As we walked across the bridge area, the men's room was on the left (pretty small, nothing to write home about), and the souvinier case was on the right. At the end of the bridge was the ladies room (apparently 3 times larger than the Men's room) and had an unusual "Queen Anne" inspired toilet, with a rattan lid...DW said it was unique!

To the right was the archway leading to the bar and the buffet tables...I already talked about the food in another post, but let me reiterate... it was fantastic!

I asked the CM's serving the buffet whether this was the type of food a member would expect normally. They said that they only do a full buffet for catered events... usually, for brunch, there would be a 1/2 buffet and dessert table, and you would order your entree' off the menu, and the dinner would be completely ordered off the menu. The menu changes weekly. They also said that the menu items were even better than what was being offered last night... that's probably pretty hard to do, since what I had was so good! What I understand is that the menu prices are comparable to Blue Bayeu's prices...but in my opinion, Blue Bayeu's food is "Dennys" fare, compared to what I had last night!

Just before the buffet tables, to the left... directly opposite the bar, sits an antique harpsichord... I was a little disappointed to see that it had a number of broken strings, so it didn't work... I forgot to ask about it's history.

As we walked thru the buffet area, we entered the larger diningroom. This room was about 20' x 50' and wasn't quite rectangular.... more like a bent rectangle with about a 10 degree bend in the middle of the long sides. We were directly above the New Orleans Cafe. There were doors all along the outside walls that led out to the balcony you can see from ground level. We found our seats along the wall that faced directly towards Tom Sawyer Island, however, since New Orleans Cafe is currently getting a facelift, those doors were not openable, nor could we see thru the windows due to the plastic tarping outside. We were sitting next to a door that opened onto a set of stairs leading down. The room was decorated much lighter than the smaller diningroom... the walls were off-white, and the room had a coffered cieling. There were many small chandeliers that gave off very warm light.

We started eating at about 6:30, and it was 8:00pm in the blink of an eye!

As everyone was leaving, many of us waited on the bridge area for a CM to help us buy some souvineers. There were quite a few things to choose from... black coffee mugs with the "Club 33" symbol in goldleaf, a small "33" pin, some shirts, a canvas bag, and a hat with the "33" embroidered. A set of "33" golf balls, a cocktail shaker, a christmas tree ornament (2004), a license plate frame that said "Club 33 member" (we were not allowed to buy that item), a ladies wristwatch with the "33" logo, and a "Club 33" pen ... I can't remember what else there was. We bought the pen, the ornament, and a couple pins. I kick myself for not having bought a half a dozen of each to sell on eBay! I could've sold enough to pay for the evening! I wasn't thinking clearly!!

Disneyland was closed at 8:00pm last night, so when we left Club 33 at 8:30pm we got to walk thru a deserted park! It was really cool watching the CM walking knee-deep in the Rivers of America, checking the lightbulbs and jets for Fantasmic! :fez:

All in all, it was a great evening, and I know the money raised went to a great cause... it's just a coincidence that the organization putting on the event was The Seal Beach Animal Shelter, and we happen to live in Seal Beach! Every person, however, that we spoke with, had travelled pretty far to attend the function; we were sitting next to a couple (actually MP'ers) that came from San Diego (2hrs), and on our other side were folks that came from Pheonix (6hrs), just to eat at Club 33! Further down our table were folks that came from the Bay Area (8hrs)!

This was the first time we have ever gone to DL without our kids, and didn't even ride any rides! Club 33 was like another attraction, except you can't normally "ride" it.... we had a blast!

Thanks, Mouse Planet, for posting the info about the event... it helped to make a long-time desire of mine happen!

I now want to become a member even more!

Jon :D

Raven
02-11-2005, 01:30 PM
Thank you for the wonderful post. Sounds like you all had an amazing time!

mistame
02-11-2005, 04:30 PM
I also had the privilage of attending this event last night. Everything was spectacular, as Jon pretty much covered it all. i was soooo stuffed by the end of the night. I made myself try everything they had before i left. the desserts were to die for. I even got to go back briefly this morning for a shirt exchange, didn't make it past the top of the stairs to steal some brunch though :D

Tutter
02-12-2005, 02:26 AM
Thanks for taking the time to write about that - it is really good to hear about it.

KarenW2
02-12-2005, 10:22 AM
Glad to hear you had a good time at the Club. The closet next to the lift that you referred to is the coat closet! CMs will take you coat when you come in and hang it there for you, if you want them to and there's enough room.

You said you bought the Christmas ornament. How much was it and what did it look like? Were the pins the normal tie tack-type pin that they usually have? We've never seen a pin other than that kind when we've been there. Was the pen the same as the one you signed your check with? Those are usually given to you after dinner. The reason you couldn't buy the license plate holder is because they are only sold to members, not guests of members or those there with a special fund raiser group or whatever. The first time we went there, they had a really nice leather club jacket, but it came with a very expensive price, so we passed on it. My hubby bought the denim shirt (didn't appeal to me, since the club logo embroidery matches the color of the shirt, so you don't really notice it). I bought the really nice dark blue shirt with the gold logo on it when it became available on one of our other visits.

If this yucky weather ever clears up and we get some free time, we need to go back again!

jon80flt
02-12-2005, 03:11 PM
Hi Karen,

Thanks for the closet info...that makes sense!

The ornament looks like a replication of the china hutch in the Trophy Room. It is gold colored and appears to be made out of a stamped and folded sheetmetal (maybe gold-plated?), and it looks as if it was hand assembled. On the back is the Club 33 logo and "Happy Holidays 2004". It is very detailed and reminds me of metal toys from the turn of the century (1900's), although, it's definitly NOT painted. It cost $33 (surprise, huh?). It hangs from a length of royal blue ribbon. It came in a red heavy-duty cardboard fitted box that snaps closed, that has the same words and symbol as on the back of the ornament.

The pin is the standard goldtone and black tietack with the club 33 logo. It measures about 3/4"x1/2". It came in a poly box with a clear lid, and is mounted on a block of foam rubber with black velvet glued to the face. It cost $10... very affordable.

The pen we signed our bill with was a black stick pen...nothing special about it... I don't remember seeing any logo or anything on it.

The Pen I bought is a very heavy writing instrument. It appears to have the body made from pewter, and has Club 33, Disneyland, and the club 33 logo in raised relief. Its cap is detachable and is mostly black enamel. It came in a silver-toned metal box and has a fitted plastic/velvet insert for the pen to sit in. An interesting feature is that the clip that is attached to the cap appears to be on a hinge, so it has a bit of play before reaching it's maximum thickness that it can clip to (about 3/16"). The pen is made by Bettoni. It cost $35.


If this yucky weather ever clears up and we get some free time, we need to go back again!
Can I come with? :fez:

Jon

MrTomMorrow
02-12-2005, 04:57 PM
Cool! Thanks for the report.

KarenW2
02-12-2005, 10:42 PM
Thanks for the info! It sounds like this year's ornament was done somewhat like last year's orn. It was a brass replica of the phone booth and came in a red heavy-duty cardboard box with a snap as well. The orn the year before that was a plain red glass ball with the logo on it in gold and a gold cap on the top of the ball. It came in a very plain clear plastic container. I wonder if they're doing a series of things from the Club as orns!

The pin sounds like the same tie tack-type one we got on our first visit. The pens used to sign checks with actually have the Club 33 logo on it, but the gold color wears off easily, so that may be why you didn't think yours had anything on it. I think I remember seeing the other pen you described before.

rentayenta
02-13-2005, 01:28 AM
:cool: Very cool. Thanks for sharing the details!