Last weekend we had the amazing opportunity to visit Disney's Club 33. If you're not sure what that is, then this post won't mean much to you... if you'd care to know, you can read about it
here.
If you do know what it is, you're undoubtedly asking yourself "how on earth did they pull
that off?". Well, I'll tell you - Much Schmoozing. Two years' worth of well-placed, well-timed, and indiscriminate pleading with anyone who knew anyone who had heard of anyone who might have an in. Finally we found one. A business associate of a friend of a manager at work has a membership. (No, I'm not kidding, it really was that far removed). But, being relentless in the pursuit of pretty much whatever Crystal asks for -- I made it happen.
Access to the Club gets you free park-hopper passes for the day, so we stopped by Guest Services to pick those up and made our way in. We got there early, so we were able to hit a few of the big rides before the crowds got ridiculous (10 minute wait for Indiana Jones -- SCORE!). Then came time for our lunch reservation. Luckily, Crystal (being the ultimate Disney fanatic) knew where the entrance was -- even though it's intentionally understated and designed to be ignored. So we made our way to the restaurant, announced ourselves in the speakeasy box, and were buzzed in.
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| The "secret" entrance... hidden in plain sight |
The place is old-school Disney awesome. Original Walt Disney sketches on the walls, decor from some of the classic films, an art-case harpsichord -- the whole place reeked of class. Oh, and being an amateur foodie -- OK, really I'm just a chubby kid who loves food -- I must say the grub was phenomenal.
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| The Dessert Buffet -- of course we tried them all. |
Service was great, too. But I guess that's to be expected; Disney is famous for their above-and-beyond customer service, and in their top-drawer restaurant they absolutely lived up to our expectations.
Perhaps the coolest example of their service was what they did without being asked. The trip was the weekend following Crystal's birthday -- and it was her present. So on the way in we picked up one of those "It's My Birthday" pins that Disneyland gives out. We didn't mention that fact to anyone else that day, yet following our meal the waiter came out behind Crystal with a chocolate Mickey Mouse with a candle inthe top. I guess we could call it a Mickey Mousse (yes, I made that up... clever, eh?) It may or may not have made her cry a little.
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| The Birthday Dessert -- check out the chocolate Disney font! |
To be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be as amazing as it was. I knew Crystal wanted to get in, but I was much more excited by the challenge of finding an "in" then actually going to the Club. Now that I've been, my opinion has totally changed. It was amazing. Someday we'll get our own membership so we can get you all in... yeah, someday. ;-)
Jealous!!! That's way awesome!!!! Just goes to show you what persistance will do.