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View Full Version : Question about Club 33 (and other Disneyland "secrets")



stephdwyer_77
02-02-2006, 03:24 PM
Hello,

My boyfriend and I are big Disney fans (something I think we get from both of our mom's) and since a trip he and I made last Christmas my mom has been subtly hinting that she would like to make a trip too. You see, my parents divorced when I was young and since then it has been just my mom, brother and I. When I returned from my first Disneyland Christmas experience in 2002 with a friend my mom and I started dicussing the fact that we have never taken a trip together just the three of us. We also realized that neither her or my brother had been to Disneyland in 15 years. So for Christmas 2003 my mom went all out and splurged on a 5 day vacation for us to Disneyland complete with accomodations at the Grand Californian. We had hoped it would be the start to a yearly family tradition but unfortunately we have not had the $ to keep it up since. So this year my boyfriend and I are going to try, as a Christmas gift, to suprise both of our families with a trip to Disneyland for all 8 of us together in 2007. I'd like to try and line up a few other suprises while we are there that I know they would enjoy, such as the secret of watching the Fantasmic show from the gallery balcony. Of course the opportunity to dine at Club 33 would be the icing on the cake and would definitely make for an unforgettable trip, I have heard a few people mention that at times members will auction an evening at the Club for charity? I have been checking E-Bay and will continue to do so, but I am wondering if anyone has information on other organizations that participate as well that I could possibly look into? On a side note, does anyone have any other recommendations of fun/original things to do while in Disneyland?

Any information you might be able to give me would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

janell
02-02-2006, 03:44 PM
What a nice christmas gift.

I have to admit being so close to DL I never took advantage of the pic. takeing they do. But last year I started haveing our group photo taken and they come out wonderful and they are not all that expensive. I think a 5"x7" is $13.00 (that may be with my AP discount, I am not sure.) Then went I go home I make copies of that pic for everyone and they come out great. We go ever new years eve so I am now planning on framing them and putting the year on them.

Not sure when you are planning on coming, but Mouse Advenchers which is put on by Mouse Planet is really fun. I have only done it once, but we had a blast. They are held twice a year, one in the fall and the other in spring.

I would look for some of the books they have out that talk about where the hidden Mikeys are, why things were done the way there were. Because points out things you may never have noticed. Plus its a great way to pass the time in line. :)

stephdwyer_77
02-02-2006, 03:50 PM
The Hidden Mickey's and Fun Facts are my favorite! The pictures are another good idea that I hadn't considered before but will definitely look into, especially since we will have both of our families there. Thank you for the advise!

adriennek
02-02-2006, 04:19 PM
Word on the street is that the Club is cracking down on Ebay charities for Club 33.

You know, if you want a really really fine dining experience at Disneyland, plan a dinner at Napa Rose. There's a lovely private dining room that you might be able to reserve with a group of 8 (I don't know the specifics for using that room.) The price point will be the same and you'll have an amazing dinner with a similar cuisine to C33, if not better.

Adrienne

stephdwyer_77
02-02-2006, 04:23 PM
That's too bad about Club 33, not only is it a great way to raise money but also one of the few opportunities to experience such a historic part of Disneyland. However as a second choice I think the Napa Rose sounds like a good idea, I remember seeing it when we stayed at the Grand Californian and thought it looked really nice. Thank you!

Spazz
02-02-2006, 04:32 PM
In regards to Club 33, you might want to check where you work for a corporate connection. My sister works for a large company and one of their clients is a major bank. Her contact at that bank offered to get us in to Club 33 on our next trip.

KDR
02-02-2006, 09:17 PM
Members are still allowed to donate dinner reservations to charity. Members are allowed to rent out the Club for charity fundraisers. But anything of this sort MUST be approved by the Club manager in advance, of course.

And there are strict rules about what those charities do with the reservations. Of particular note is that charities who have had reservations donated to them are not allowed to sell those reservations on eBay or in any other public forum, including print ads. They are allowed to put them up for bid at silent auctions. They are allowed to contact people via already established mailing lists or through other personal contact. But they can't, for instance, pop onto MousePlanet and post an open invitation to a fund raising event at Club 33 in a public message.

That's a long way of saying you're no longer going to find anything like that available. But by coming here and asking, well, you never know who is reading the board...

As to fun things, if you can afford it, look into doing a private VIP tour. You can have up to ten people. It's a four-hour minimum at $75 per hour for the entire group. I went on one recently, and it was absolutely great. And I'm speaking as someone who visits Disneyland several times each month. It was fun and informative, and we had an all-around great time. If I could afford it (come on, Lotto!), I'd do it several times a year. Our tour guide was Dee, and she was really great.

stephdwyer_77
02-03-2006, 08:48 AM
I have heard of the VIP tours before but didn't really know what they entailed, as a Disneyland regular though you probably know best so if you recommend it I will check into it!

Thank you for the help

KDR
02-03-2006, 09:16 AM
They completely tailor the tour to you and your interests. Loads of cool facts and lots of fun in general. You tell them in advance what you'd like to do and what you want to know about. Our tour guide actually looked up information about us before hand and thought of things we might be interested in!

adriennek
02-03-2006, 11:04 AM
This probably doesn't need to be said but I've seen people burned before and I'd hate to see it happen on our boards...

Just like there are members who are reluctant to make reservations for strangers (and with good reason! A group that takes the free tickets and doesn't show up for dinner can cost the member a lot of money not to mention cause problems with his/her membership at the club,) I would hesitate to bank on reservations made by someone you've never met or don't know "well" online. The scams have gone both ways, with people being promised reservations and then showing up to find out that they were never made.

Just a reminder to everyone to be careful.

Adrienne

3894
02-03-2006, 11:36 AM
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

You can't have Club 33 and so you waaaant it. Listen, Napa Rose is exquisite. In no way is it second-best.

Lucky are those who can dine at Napa Rose.

KDR
02-03-2006, 04:20 PM
This probably doesn't need to be said but I've seen people burned before and I'd hate to see it happen on our boards...

Just like there are members who are reluctant to make reservations for strangers (and with good reason! A group that takes the free tickets and doesn't show up for dinner can cost the member a lot of money not to mention cause problems with his/her membership at the club,) I would hesitate to bank on reservations made by someone you've never met or don't know "well" online. The scams have gone both ways, with people being promised reservations and then showing up to find out that they were never made.

Just a reminder to everyone to be careful.

Adrienne

Adrienne is quite right. Since every charitable reservation needs to be approved with Club 33's manager, the manager usually offers to write a letter of confirmation. Any legitimate reservation of this nature should be able to supply such a letter within a few weeks (3-4) of the reservation being made.