Club 33 was a major disappointment.

[cp11]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. We were fortunate enough to go in June and while we didn't have a "bad" experience, the staff did their job but wasn't overly nice. It was more of a mechanical experience. I will have to say that the food was absolutely excellent.

On a side note, your kids are absolutely adorable. I love, love the outfits.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Im sorry you had a bad Club 33 experience. I DO think sometimes think hype can dilute the experience. Although we have had excellent experiences and walked away happy and thankful each time, for some I could see the hype having a negative effect.

Did you tell anyone about your experience WHILE it was happening? Speak with a supervisor AT Club 33? To help flip your experience while it was happening?

Guest Relations told you correctly. After the fact, the Contact Us through the website is how Disney now directs you if you want your comments truly addressed (positive or negative). Welcome to the computer age. They told you this is what you needed to do. Why not do it it? The worst thing that happens is that you don't get a reply (which I highly doubt will be the case) Nd you are exactly where you are right now.

Telling your sponsor is also important. S/he pays a LOT of money to be able to have Club 33 accessible to them and their friends. Most likely, they'd be interested to hear about your experience.

Lastly, before you tell anyone else, I think it's important that you decide what you want from your complaint/feedback? I'm being sincere. It doesn't sound like you want Disney to offer you a "do over.". Do you want a refund? Do you just want someone to acknowledge your experience? Do you want an apology? When we expect good customer service, part of the responsibility sits with us, the consumer, to know what we are asking for when we voice a complaint. If the President of Disneyland contacted you directly and said,"I read your DIS post. What can we do for you?" what would your reply be? You need to know what you are looking for - what will make you satisfied - when you reach out in a situation in which you are complimenting or complaining. Otherwise, you cannot receive service that will satisfy you.

- Dreams

 

[cmwade77]

Lastly, before you tell anyone else, I think it's important that you decide what you want from your complaint/feedback? I'm being sincere. It doesn't sound like you want Disney to offer you a "do over.". Do you want a refund? Do you just want someone to acknowledge your experience? Do you want an apology? When we expect good customer service, part of the responsibility sits with us, the consumer, to know what we are asking for when we voice a complaint. If the President of Disneyland contacted you directly and said,"I read your DIS post. What can we do for you?" what would your reply be? You need to know what you are looking for - what will make you satisfied - when you reach out in a situation in which you are complimenting or complaining. Otherwise, you cannot receive service that will satisfy you.

I definitely agree with this, you do need to know what you want from the situation.

If it were me and I had this kind of experience, given all of the factors, I first thought I would ask for a complete refund, but I don't know if that is realistic or not, as you did get food. But part of the cost is definitely the experience, which was not to the level that it should have been. So perhaps, a better choice would be to ask for a meal at Carthay Circle for an equal number of people.

I suggest Carthay Circle, because it is a very nice restaurant and those that I know that have been to both say that Carthay Circle is just as elegant, but that the service is much better than at Club 33.

 

[msdaisy]

I love Disney as well. It is just in my heart, and we enjoy it as a family. Many times we have had the dining plan at WDW. The first time we had the dining plan, we got it for "free." Which personally I like the free dining promos, but I know it doesn't work out for many.

I kept thinking that whole week if I were to have to whip out a credit card and pay $300 for our family to eat I would be upset/disappointed. Now don't get me wrong, we enjoy the character buffets but I just flat think they are overpriced. And now that both of my little girls are Disney adults they are charged $40 each for their chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese.

I don't think I would ever be fortunate enough to go to Club 33. That being said, if I were invited I would probably pass. I am not sure what I would expect for $600. Maybe a massage while being fed grapes?

 

[disneydeb64]

When you say in writing, do you mean via email or printed letter? Also, what is TDA? Thank you

In letter format - snail mail (not necessarily handwritten) TDA is Team Disney Anaheim, Disney corporate offices.

 

[DarthMole]

Im sorry you had a bad Club 33 experience. I DO think sometimes think hype can dilute the experience.

I was thinking the same thing. Sometimes one can build up their expectations so high, that anything less will be a major letdown. I'm not saying that is entirely what happened here, because lackluster service should never occur in a place like Club 33, but it is probably why you feel so terrible after the fact.

While I think you should let Disney and/or your sponsor know about your experience, I don't think it's healthy to dwell on it too long. Try to pull out the positives from the experience and try to move on.

 

[Malcon10t]

I suggest Carthay Circle, because it is a very nice restaurant and those that I know that have been to both say that Carthay Circle is just as elegant, but that the service is much better than at Club 33.

My experience with Carthay was not good. Service was poor, food wasn't great. If I am going to refer someone elsewhere, it would be to Napa Rose.

 

[disneydeb64]

My experience with Carthay was not good. Service was poor, food wasn't great. If I am going to refer someone elsewhere, it would be to Napa Rose.

I can sadly second this, although or visit was only one month after opening, so maybe that could've been part of the reason why. I would however, try the lounge for small bites and a drink

 

[DharmaLou]

I'm so sorry this happened - but I wanted to echo the others that your kids are so adorable and have great outfits!

 

[bonedoc]

Please, please, please, as Malcolm has suggested, first contact the sponsor. There are many things the sponsor can do that the guest cannot. The club's role is to take care of the sponsor's guests on their behalf, so this is paramount.

Also, the sponsor is responsible for the guests' actions, including the complaints afterward. If your sponsor tells you to contact corporate directly, then go ahead, but only after the go ahead. It may be better addressed with the club directly.

A large complaint will get back to the sponsor anyways, even if you don't contact him/her first.

 

[Clotho]

All I can say is that, I was very disappointed by the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" Tour. Everyone RAVES about it. I was pretty bored. The recordings were not audible, the information was not new to me either. (And I am a Disney FAN, but no expert).

"Recordings"? So what you took was not a live tour? That would be a big difference then. We have done that tour twice and loved it both times. I knew most of what the tour had to share, but still had a ton of fun, with a great live tour guide! I got to chat the guides up both times to get even more great info from them that wasn't tour-specific.

 

[Nonsuch]

My experience with Carthay was not good. Service was poor, food wasn't great. If I am going to refer someone elsewhere, it would be to Napa Rose.

Carthay is quite noisy and somewhat chaotic, so I also would not recommend it for a special meal. The service and food has improved since opening.

Napa Rose or Steakhouse 55 have great service and are feel more formal, although there are no dress codes.

Club 33 has had the most consistently good service of all the DLR restaurants, so it is very disappointing the OP had such a poor experience.

 

[kirkson]

I was thinking the same thing. Sometimes one can build up their expectations so high, that anything less will be a major letdown. I'm not saying that is entirely what happened here, because lackluster service should never occur in a place like Club 33, but it is probably why you feel so terrible after the fact.

While I think you should let Disney and/or your sponsor know about your experience, I don't think it's healthy to dwell on it too long. Try to pull out the positives from the experience and try to move on.

this is a great point, but I will say that every aspect of a meal that costs $150per person, including two very young children, should be excellent, ESPECIALLY the service.

I live in LA, and we're notorious here for wait staff that has terrible attitudes because they all think they are days away from Hollywood stardom, but one thing every top restaurant has, and I would say a restaurant falls into that catgory, or should, once it crosses the $100 per diner mark, is impeccable service. Anything less is not acceptable.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Please, please, please, as Malcolm has suggested, first contact the sponsor. There are many things the sponsor can do that the guest cannot. The club's role is to take care of the sponsor's guests on their behalf, so this is paramount.

Also, the sponsor is responsible for the guests' actions, including the complaints afterward. If your sponsor tells you to contact corporate directly, then go ahead, but only after the go ahead. It may be better addressed with the club directly.

A large complaint will get back to the sponsor anyways, even if you don't contact him/her first.

100% agree with this. I forgot that your sponsor was not with you. You were their guest. Tell them. They need to be the one to address it, in whatever way they choose.

That is so awful for you and your family, and what an expensive mess too.

All I can say is that, I was very disappointed by the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" Tour. Everyone RAVES about it. I was pretty bored. The recordings were not audible, the information was not new to me either. (And I am a Disney FAN, but no expert). The visit to Club 33's lobby?? I was underwhelmed, it seemed old and uninteresting. The only thing I liked was the visit to Walt's apartment.

So you are not alone....... But I only spent a fraction of what you did!

"Recordings"? So what you took was not a live tour? That would be a big difference then. We have done that tour twice and loved it both times. I knew most of what the tour had to share, but still had a ton of fun, with a great live tour guide! I got to chat the guides up both times to get even more great info from them that wasn't tour-specific.

There are segments of the live tour during which recordings are played. I believe this is what PatMcDuck is referring to in the post you quoted.

- Dreams

 

[Malcon10t]

this is a great point, but I will say that every aspect of a meal that costs $150per person, including two very young children, should be excellent, ESPECIALLY the service.

Food itself is $85-100 for adults, and I think $65 for children. (Might be $55.) Alcohol is additional. If you were to have the Vintner's menu with wine parings, that would be $135 per adult, plus tax and tip.

Again, I am sorry the OP had a bad experience. We love the Club for dinner. I've never had bad service in 5 years of going.

 

[T0rrent]

"Recordings"? So what you took was not a live tour? That would be a big difference then. We have done that tour twice and loved it both times. I knew most of what the tour had to share, but still had a ton of fun, with a great live tour guide! I got to chat the guides up both times to get even more great info from them that wasn't tour-specific.

I'm thinking he probably means the recordings of Walt's speeches, which if you get more than a few feet away from your tour guide, the audio does cut out. But that's just a limitation of wireless technology, not anything on the tour. I personally loved that tour.

For the OP as Malcom and another suggested, I'd also highly recommend contacting the sponsor and see what s/he says.

 

[Amommy21]

Your kids looked darling!

We had an issues staying at The Grand once and they more than took care of us! Make sure to send in your review and comments about your dinner.

 

[cmwade77]

Carthay is quite noisy and somewhat chaotic, so I also would not recommend it for a special meal. The service and food has improved since opening.

Really? This was the total opposite of our experience, but we did go the day after opening day. We were seated inside, I don't know if that made a difference or not.

 

[Malcon10t]

Really? This was the total opposite of our experience, but we did go the day after opening day. We were seated inside, I don't know if that made a difference or not.

We were seated inside, it just wasn't good. Service was slow to non-existant. Food was meh... Sorry, didn't make an impression to make me want to go back. I'm glad you had a positive experience. Too many have had complaints. They have said the food/presentation is better when Chef Sutton is on the floor.

 

[Cinderpamela]

I just wanted to add that though your evening did not go as planned, your children looked absolutely adorable! You are very talented to have made those amazing outfits!

I second dismomofbn!! Those outfits are pretty darn amazing!

We were fortunate enough to dine once at Club 33 a few years back and had really friendly service. I am sad to hear that it was not a good night!

You should definitely contact them.... give them a chance to make it right.
Start with the contact us button and then escalate it to the Public Relations department if that doesn't work.