Club 33

My Club 33 experience was really fun and lived up to the hype in my book.  I would jump at the opportunity to go again, but for my first time, I went as if it was my last!  Here goes:

When you get to the park you have to go to Guest Relations to pick up your tickets.  Our hook-up was really generous- we got park hopper tix for free!  The paper on the bottom right corner listed the dress code, rules, etc.  We already knew ahead of time that the dress code for lunch was more lax than for dinner so we were able to stick to jeans, shorts, and skorts.  As you'll notice later, Jerry and I changed our tops when we got inside.  Just because. :)

I took A LOT of pictures just of the door!  The entrance is located in New Orleans Square, next to the Blue Bayou restaurant.  It's pretty unobtrusive.  You lift up the little door on the left side and there's an intercom!  State your name, and the number in your party...

And you'll be let into the lobby.  It has a very old and grandeur type feeling.  There's also an elevator that fits about 2-3 people.  Jerry said it was broken the first time they went (yep, with the exception of the baby, everyone else in our party has gone before!) so I'm glad it worked this time!  There's a place for strollers.  Because Disneyland = Strollerland.

Yes, like everyone else I took pictures of the restroom.  And yes, the toilet is throne shaped.  And the mini powder/vanity room was sooooooooo shabby chic cute.  (Jerry said that the men's room wasn't as decked out.)   He took a wad of napkins from the men's room that said Club 33 on it.  We are really classy people.

Ok, onto the dining room.  I believe there's 2 rooms, and we were seated in the larger, more formal one.  The menu is limited to a handful of entrees.  There's also a kids menu as well!  We got a choice of sparkling champagne or cider.  There's a full bar too but we didn't partake in it as the majority of us can't/don't drink.  

In addition to the selected entree, there's an appetizer/dessert buffet.  From the top right, counter clockwise- a selection of shrimp, lobster tail, and perfectly de-clawed crab claws (a perfect circle cut around the shell- those must be some industrial grade seafood scissors!).  Lemons, cocktail sauce and Tabasco sauce.  The seafood was SO delicious!  We also had fruits, a selection of cheese and caprese.  Not picture were a selection of salads, pastas and prosciutto. I really enjoyed the pasta (picture below)- it had lots of artichokes and grilled veggies.  On the other side of the wall was the soup of the day and some bread and crackers with diff kinds of olive oil.  The SOTD was a potato leek soup and it was SO FREAKING GOOD.  Finally there was a super rich and decadent dessert buffet. 

Most of us chose the monkfish with lobster bisque for our entrees.  The Israeli couscous was super yummy and I kept sopping up the bisque with more bread! Jer's sis got the beef which was really nice and tender.  Jerry sort of regretted not getting the beef but I reminded him that 3 days before we devoured prime rib so it was a good idea to try something new.  The deconstructed s'mores above were good the first couple bites...but after that it was way too rich for me.  

Here's some more close ups.  That chocolate torte looking thing in the top left corner was pretty darn good.  It was rich, but had some bitter tones so that helped tone it down.  I have a lot of pictures of the soup b/c it came in the most adorable cup!  Good thing it wasn't bigger...talk about portion control.  I still had thirds though.  And by the way, the service is impeccable!  The only thing that I didn't like was that they would fold our dirty napkins every time we left the table for another round at the buffet.  They stopped doing that about 2/3 through the meal, but at the beginning I felt a little bad that they had to keep touching my dirty napkin!  I'm all for great service...but I really don't want anyone to touch my stuff.  I know their hands are clean...but still.

Since it was Jerry's bday wknd, we had to let the staff know.  He got a bday button and a candle.  We sang (quietly).  The rest of the day, he got a great kick out of Disneyland staff wishing him happy birthday.

While we were eating, Mickey and Pluto paid us a visit!  Baby K was not scared at all and loved playing with their noses! 

So by now we were stuffed.  But we didn't want to leave yet so we just walked around and took even more pictures.

There's a souvenir case where you can buy Club 33 goods.  Jer's family picked up some items such as a latte mug and the ears above (it's the same pair of ears modeled by all of us).  Jerry and I took some more napkins and stir sticks adorned with the Club 33 logo, since the cheapest thing there was an $18 shot glass.  There's keychains, polo shirts, pens, etc. I would have taken the pen that comes with the bill as others on the internet have written about doing, but as it turned out, our meal was comped!  Thanks hook-up!

 

Overall I really enjoyed being able to partake in such an experience.  The food is not the best food ever (except for that soup!!), but it's pretty darn excellent for a theme park.  If I ever get a chance to go back I'd definitely go to the balcony (pictured above).  In all my excitement I completely forgot to check it out!  This also goes against my documentation tendencies, but I really think they should ban cameras in order to preserve the mystique.  Just a thought!

And so concludes my Club 33 experience.  I highly recommend it! :)