Club 33 Baby!

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Club 33...what is that you ask? Oh, just something I happened to find out about last years when Randi was looking up Disney secrets.   I threw it on my bucket list even though I knew I would never get into it. I will never be a dignitary, a famous person or be able to afford the 6 figure membership fees that are required AND the 14 year waiting list you have to be on to even try and become a member :) But, putting all that aside, I put it on my list anyways, after all, isn't that what the bucket list is all about, listing things you would like to accomplish before you die even if they do seem some what impossible.

Not long after we found out that Robyn was taking her team there for a meeting and special reward.  Randi and I were so jealous, but Robyn surprised us a few weeks later when she was able to use her awesome status at work to get us in.  We talked about how fun it would be to take Carol with us on our next girls trip and the plan came together.  Robyn made us a reservation at Club 33, for Carol's 33rd birthday!  None of us could believe it and we could hardly wait until December 2011. How in the world was it possible I was going to go to the secretive and exclusive, Club 33!!

The day finally came and we had to go to a particular gate that morning outside of the park and check in. They gave us our Club 33 passes which were also Disneyland tickets for that day.

We headed into the park and over to Club 33 to check in. So I admit it, I was like a little school girl, I was giddy and I was thinking I was better than the "commoners" around me who were just taking a picture outside the club, but weren't good enough to get in, ha ha! First Robyn rang the bell and then we just waited outside until they came out to get us. They come to you on their time, not yours :)

Robyn and Sydney ringing the bell

Me

Randi and blip

Carol aka Prettiest Birthday Girl

Finally, the lady steps outside and calls a name of a party, those people go in, then I believe she called another name and they go inside and then our big moment came, "Hawkins, party of 5!" Woo hoo!!! This was it, I was about to step inside Club 33!

As soon as you step inside you look straight ahead and you see this wall, the one behind us where we took a picture.

Then, if you turn to the right is the little table where the lady works at and behind her is the coat check and the french lift they use to take you upstairs (unless your name is Carol or Richelle, then they make you take the stairs, whatever! it's Club 33, I got over it quickly ;)

Me

Me with Robyn and Sydney

Carol

We went upstairs and were seated in the room that has a max capacity of 66 people (get it?!). We sat down and I just remember looking around and taking it all in. Still trying to believe that I was inside the impossible dream.



Check out the napkins, every time you got up they re-folded them for you (I felt kinda bad that they kept doing it, but of course not bad enough to stop them!)



After they poured our waters from a nice chilled bottle of Evian, they handed us our menus!

Why yes, Josef, I will take some more Evian please :)

After we placed our orders for fillet Mignon, asparagus and mashed potatoes we headed over for our appetizers. They serve them buffet style. They had the most delicious crab, lobster and shrimp.  They were amazing!  They also had green salads with a mango dressing, crackers and cheese, soups, breads and many oils to pick from for dipping and delicious fruit...and I am talking the pineapple must have arrived straight from Hawaii that morning, it was DELICIOUS! I ended up having a whole plate of just yummy pineapple. (yes, it is probably awkward to take as many random pictures as we did, but I needed to take it all in. It's over now and all I have is the memory in my head and these pictures so I am quite proud of all my pictures!)



OK so the next adventure while our food settled and we waited for our main course was to check out the bathrooms. Robyn said they were super cute. She was right, they did not disappoint. Disney really does not leave out any little detail. They had fresh flowers,

curved ceilings,

a little nose powdering area,

gold everything,

chandeliers everywhere in the bathroom,

OK and the cutest toilets ever!! (can a toilet be cute?! I think so...)

So after we were done with our tour of the bathroom and eating a little bit more appetizers, our meal came. It was delish too!

After our meal it was time for desserts! The desserts were served the same way the appetizers were, buffet style. It was set up in the same area as the appetizers just on the opposite side of the area. They had a nice man who would just stand there and answer any questions you might have had about the desserts and make sure there was plenty set out for you. (check out the picture in the background, it was an original art drawn by a Disney artist for the ride Pirates of the Caribbean. The club is filled with artwork for Pirates and Mary Poppins!)

They had such a random sampling of desserts, I loved it. They had eclairs, a sugar cookie, mini apple pies, a Mickey macaroon, German chocolate cupcake with filling in the middle, fudge cupcake thing, fruit pizza, chocolate cake and the most amazing S'more treat! I wish I would have had more room to eat more.

OK so a lot of the desserts had the 33 logo on it, we had to get the sugar cookie just for the logo...I have to admit, out loud, the cookie was nasty! But it had the pretty logo on it and glitter so what the heck, I will still give it 2 thumbs up :)

After desserts we asked our favorite person there, Josef, if there were any secrets or anything exciting he could point out to us. He was so kind and took us on a little tour...

This custom-designed harpsichord decorated with a hand-painted scene of the New Orleans harbor from the 19th century was in the gallery area with other original sketches and other works of art.



Even though this Club was Walt's dream, he died 6 months before it actually opened. They did paint a portrait of him sitting at a table having his morning coffee and reading the paper over looking Disneyland.



Here is the telephone booth that was used in the movie, "The Happiest Millionaire" and just so you know, it actually worked!

The club has 2 different rooms you can eat in, the other room we did not eat in was set up to me a more casual dining room that seats 33 people. Walt wanted a vulture set up in the corner that you could talk to with the microphones that he had set up in the chandeliers above each table.

and the two legged table from Mary Poppins (Walt Disney paid for the entire New Orleans area in Disneyland with cash he made from the movie Mary Poppins!)



Do see what looks like a ship's mast in the picture...and a flag? This was done to give the feel of having a ship in port in New Orleans.



On the opposite side of the balcony of Club 33 is the apartment Walt had built for him and his family to stay in. As the girls got older and they weren't staying there as much they started turning the many the different rooms into other things....here is their apartment (it is the pink one across the way
through the trees)



one room was turned into the fruit room - where they prepare all the fruit



the salad room



the meat room


the "Trophy" room - the one where Walt put all of his dead friend's animal heads :)




and the entrance to Club 33....see I bet most of you didn't even know that was there!



looking straight out from the balcony



Syd, Randi and Carol

While the rest of us toured around like giddy little school girls, Robyn played it cool and stayed inside so she isn't in the picture with us :(



Josef was so nice to us. He could tell we just loved taking everything little thing in and enjoying it to the fullest (for me, I know this was the case because I knew I would never go back, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I needed and wanted to take it all in and love every second!) He gave us each a Club 33 pen and a button for me to add to my button collection. Club 33 also has a small case of souvenirs you can purchase that obviously can't be purchased anywhere else. I had to get the Club 33 Ornament, to remind myslef each Christmas of this little miracle.

That pretty much sums up the 3 hours we spent there. It was amazing and sad as we walked out knowing I would never step foot in there again. I have to sincerely give the world's biggest shout out right now to Robyn for getting us in there. I don't think she will ever truly know how much it meant to me. I can't not express it into words how happy I was to be there. THANK YOU Robyn from the bottom of my heart for crossing off the impossible off of my bucket list!