Is anyone here a member of “Club 33” the exclusive Disney club which costs $10,000 per year? :LINK
The benefits: “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.”
We went for 3 days in June and stayed at the Paradise Pier Resort. It seemed really inexpensive… after spending two weeks in Hawaii! At first, we were thinking that we should have done Disney first and Maui last to relax, but afterwards we realized it was a good thing since Maui can make Disney “seem” affordable. But yeah, it is ridiculous and there are a lot of things you can do in California for the money.
Is anyone here a member of “Club 33” the exclusive Disney club which costs $10,000 per year?
Actually, for a personal membership (as opposed to a corporate membership) it’s ~$30K initiation fee to become a member and $12K for yearly dues. The initiation for corporate members is about $10K higher.
The total number of members is tightly controlled. The last time I checked (a few years ago) the waiting list for membership was 5 years long. They have also been known to close the waiting list from time to time. It’s never been an easy thing to get. Back in the day, I seem to remember that you had to be sponsored by an existing member to even apply.
I’ve had dinner at Club 33 several times - let’s just say that people go there for the “exclusive” vibe. You can get better food in a better atmosphere for less money at pretty much any of the fine dining restaurants in the area.
Somehow I thought it was two kids. Still, really, it’s not a bad deal.
That makes it about the price of a good ticket to see an MLB game, to use your example, and even as a huge baseball fan I think a day in Disney World beats an MLB game.
Wow, that must feel really odd seeing thousands of other people walking around outside while your sipping wine.
Questions: What was the procedure for getting in? Did the member have a card? Is it like a secret door or buzzer one uses? Did you get to do any of the other perks like riding in the presidential car on the train? Inside was there anything outstanding about the decor? They sometimes rave about the animatronics on the walls.
It’s pretty easy to find pictures of the inside on teh intertubes. No animatronics, except the defunct crow that once briefly could interact with diners. I’ve eaten there twice. Food was very good, especially the veal cutlet and Davy Crockett’s Club 33 exclusive Pinot Noir. The money we spent getting inside was worth it not for the food, but the experience.
Oh, and anybody can join the skipper in the Mark Twain’s wheelhouse. Just ask.
I’ve also rode the luxury caboose, Lily Belle. At the time you just had to ask at City Hall for a ride, but now, IIRC, it’s part of a paid tour.
I’m presently on the latter half of my second consecutive year of doing the most expensive Disneyland annual pass with the family. I can’t imagine we’ll do it again for several more years, if ever, not because of the price but because life has made it difficult for us to get down there as much as we otherwise would.
I agree that on the surface the prices for Disneyland tickets are ludicrous, but at least for southern CA residents (like me) the annual pass setup really isn’t so bad. Disney allows residents within a wide berth of southern CA zip codes to purchase such passes with monthly financing, and when you break it down along those lines it’s relatively manageable.
I’ve been saying for a few years now that the reason that Disneyland prices have risen so much is that the company is deliberately trying to price out folks like me, who come down to the park for a few hours a week and don’t spend any money on gifts or souvenirs.
But if you love the park (as I do) and can rationalize the expense, you’ve basically paid for your pass after three visits. I do agree, however, that the southern CA exclusive pass is so limited (i.e., too many days - and several entire MONTHS - are blocked out) as to be basically worthless.
Also, I completely disagree with the above poster who proclaimed that CA Adventure isn’t a worthwhile park. Echoing others, I agree that that used to be true when it first opened, but at this point it’s undergone so many additions and overhauls that it’s basically superior to Disneyland itself IMO. You’ll particularly love it if you’re above the US drinking age, given that alcohol is copious throughout the park and it’s certainly the more “grown-up” environment between the two locations.
And more pertinently, perhaps to price out the belching tattooed riff-raff, who would scream at each other in piercing bellows and clog up the toilets.
“not going on a busy day” - is there such a thing?
We once went to Disney World in Florida in October (pre-kids, so no school concerns) and the longest line we waited in was about 15 minutes (most were under 5). I don’t know if that still happens, and I don’t know if the same applies to Disneyland in California.
If it does: I’d concur that a single day (2 at most) is plenty of time. If it’s a peak time, you’ll be lucky to get on 6 rides in a day. For Disney World, you really want more time than that - a full day at the Magic Kingdom, most of a day at Epcot, and similar at their movie theme part (MGM?).
Yeah, it’s insanely expensive no matter what. One nice thing about Disneyland: when we went there (in 2002) there were non-affiliated hotels within walking distance. That can be a real cost savings.
As a side note: we now own a condo in Florida (for my in-laws; we do not live there). I’m sorely tempted to start getting mail sent to me there so we can get the in-state rates on Disney tix the next time we go down there
Yes, but Disney has carefully planned out it Annual Passes to level the days somewhat. Summer, esp weekends used to be SUPER packed, while a weekday in a non-holiday winter or fall was tumbleweeds time. However, if you go to TouringPlans (run by a SDMBer, so patronize them!) you can find many days which are still a 2 or a 3. I call 4-6 to be moderate. Maybe 7. (We were there on a crowd level “1” day, and it wasn’t much fun, you need some crowds for that Energy.)
I’d say it takes 2-3 days to do DL & DCA on a moderate crowd day.
We only go to WDW once a year (if that) and we found 1 day for MK (we can skip some rides as they are the same in DL), 2 days for Epcot, 3/4 day for Hollywood and Animal Kingdom. Predicated on moderate crowds and not a 12 hour day.
Yes, there are quite a few nice non-Disney hotels withing walking distance. I do suggest “Disney Good Neighbor” hotels or ones you have researched carefully, and there are three REALLY bad fleabags within walking distance.
*Ratón * means “mouse.” “Rata” is “rat.”
And where did you get “Mickey Mange” from? My guess would be from a Joe-Miller’s-Joke-Book style book of cheap epithets.
Locals wait until there is a rainy morning that destroys many people’s plan for a Disneyland visit. Southern CA in the winter can sometimes have a heavy drizzle that clears up by 11 am. The park can really be empty on days like these.
Its not so much the time of the year or the day of the week, its what the weather is like in the morning.
There was an article in the Times about the movie park (no longer MGM) which noted attendance is way down because there is hardly anything to see there anymore. They are going to upgrade it. It was barely okay when we went 20 years ago, Universal was much better.
