Club 33 Restaurant Opens On This Date In 1967

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.

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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 to offer alcoholic beverages, although the park has a park-wide liquor license and has set up bars for private events.

Members receive complimentary access to both Disney parks whenever they are open plus early park admission several days each week. 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 Disneyland 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.

The origins of Club 33 say 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 Emil Kuri to decorate the facility. While originally intended for exclusive use by Disneyland’s Corporate sponsors and other industry VIPs, when Club 33 opened in May 1967—five 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 $11,000. Initiation and dues may change annually.

Scott

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