Club 33 is a private club located in the heart of the New Orleans Square section
of Disneyland. Officially maintained as a secret feature of the theme park, the
entrance of the club is located next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant at "33 Royal
Street" with the entrance recognizable by an ornate address plate with the
number 33 engraved on it. Club 33 members and their guests have
exclusive access to the club, which is not open to the public. In addition to
beer and wine, Club 33 has a full bar, although patrons must order directly
from their server rather than the service bar. Club 33 is the only
location within Disneyland Park to offer alcoholic beverages, although the park
has a park-wide liquor license and has set up bars for private events—and
alcohol is served at several locations within Disney California Adventure.
However, DCA is a separate amusement park with its own admission turnstiles,
so the tradition remains that alcohol is not available within Disneyland Park
itself during normal operating hours. Members receive complimentary access to
both Disney parks whenever they are open plus early park admission several days
each week. However, if the card is used for admission but the member decides not
to dine at the club, the member will be billed for the regular price of
admission. In addition members are entitled to complimentary valet parking
at the Grand Californian Hotel and access to the Lilly Belle, the
presidential car on the Walt Disney World Railroad. Club 33 members receive
up to six Immediate Fastpasses when they insert their Club 33 membership card
into any of the Fastpass kiosks and bypass the stand-by queue. Members are
permitted to join the skipper in the wheelhouse of the Mark Twain and the
engineers in the engine compartment of the steam trains.
Name Of the many stories regarding the origin
of the name of Club 33, two stories are the most prominent. The first and
official explanation states Club 33 gets its name solely from its address of 33
Royal Street in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. The Building was constructed
by Liam Quick & James Jeffs of JQ Construction in the late 1960s.
A second and less well known story speculates the name honors there being
33 corporate sponsors at Disneyland in 1966-1967 when the club was being built
and opened. Those sponsors are as follows:
Origin When Walt Disney was working with
various corporate promoters for his attractions at the 1964–1965 New York
World's Fair, he noted the various "VIP Lounges" provided as an accommodation
for the corporate elite. This gave him the idea that culminated in Club 33.
When New Orleans Square was planned, this special area for corporate sponsors
and VIPs was included. Disney asked artist Dorothea Redmond to paint
renderings and hired Hollywood set director Emile Kuri to decorate the
facility. While originally intended for exclusive use by Disneyland's Corporate
sponsors and other industry VIPs, when Club 33 opened on June 15, 1967, six
months after Disney's death—individual memberships were also offered. As of
2011, there is a 14-year waiting list for new memberships. The membership
waiting list was re-opened in May 2012 after being closed for 5 years.
Corporate members pay an initiation fee of $40,000, and individual members pay
$27,000 in addition to annual dues, which are about $12,000. Initiation and
dues may change annually. Interior
To enter Club 33, a guest must press a buzzer on an intercom concealed by a
hidden panel in the doorway. A receptionist will ask for his name over
the intercom and, if access is granted, open the door to a small, ornate lobby.
Guests have the option of going to the dining level via an antique-style glass
lift or a staircase to the second level which wraps around it. The lift is an
exact replica of one Disney saw during a vacation in Paris, but the owner of the
original refused to sell. Undaunted, Disney sent a team of engineers to the
Parisian hotel to take exact measurements for use in the creation of
a replica. A sample of the original finish was taken to ensure faithful
reproduction. The second level has two dining rooms.
One room has dark wood paneling; the other room is more formal but has a
lighter environment. Once at the dining level, guests can
view antique furniture pieces collected by Lillian Disney. The walls are
adorned, in part, with butterflies pinned under glass and hand-painted
animation cels from the original Fantasia film. Walt Disney also
handpicked much of the Victorian bric-a-brac in New Orleans antique
stores. The club is also furnished with props
from Disney films. There is a fully functional glass telephone booth just
off the elevator that was used in The Happiest Millionaire and an ornate
walnut table with white marble top that was used in Mary Poppins. A video
capture from the film on display atop the table shows actors Karen Dotrice,
Matthew Garber and David Tomlinson standing immediately to its left. A
newly installed bar prepares drinks for members and their guests.
A harpsichord which was rumored to have been an antique was in fact custom-built
for Lillian Disney specifically for use in Club 33. The underside of the lid
features a Renaissance-style art piece that was hand-painted by Disney artists.
Sir Elton John and Sir James Paul McCartney have each played this
harpsichord. Walt Disney also wanted to make use of
Audio-Animatronic technology within Club 33. Microphones in overhead lighting
fixtures would pick up the sounds of normal conversation while an operator
would respond via the characters. Though the system was never fully implemented,
it was partially installed and remains so. An Audio-Animatronic vulture is
perched in one corner of the club's "Trophy Room." The microphones are
clearly visible at the bottom of each of the room's lighting fixtures. The animal
trophies, for which the room was named, have been removed by Disney family
members. Photos of the room with the trophies still installed can be seen on
the walls now. In the dining room area one may walk
through a door leading to the balcony. The balcony overlooks the water in the
New Orleans area of the park. The shows often put on there are also very visible
from the balcony. Disneyland guests participating in the
"Walk In Walt's Footsteps" tour are provided entrance to the lobby of Club
33. The tour guide will provide a brief history of the club and explain some of
the artifacts in the lobby. The tour members may be photographed in the lift,
but are not allowed access to the upstairs area.
Tokyo Disneyland's Club 33 A second Club 33 is located in Tokyo
Disneyland. Rather than being located in New Orleans Square, it is located on
Center Street of World Bazaar. Members of Disneyland's Club 33 have reciprocal
privileges in Tokyo Disneyland's Club 33.
See also List of current Disneyland attractions
References External links
Official Website - Club 33 Members Only Snopes.com - Snopes article on Club 33
Mickey the Mason - Orange County Weekly review of Club 33