Keurigirl
let's all sing like the birdies sing
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2008
- Messages
- 693
We just returned from Disneyland trip for my 35th birthday. All Disney trips are special, but this one was significant to me because it was more for me than for our kids or our family. My husband had surprised me with it reservations for dinner at Club 33 to celebrate my special day.
As any Disney fan knows, a dinner reservation at Club 33 is like THE EVENT. It's something amazing, something special, something just so stinkin' cool for us Disney peeps. For the weeks leading up to our trip I was so excited I started to get sick from anxiety. We were going to CLUB 33!!! I spent a ton of time sewing special outfits for my kids, thinking about what it would be like, and reading as much as I could find online about Club 33.
Maybe I should reinforce that we're Disney people. We love Disney. We believe in the Disney "Magic". We try and visit the parks a couple times a year, and we've been on four Disney cruises in the past two years. I don't say that to sound pompous or self-important. I say it simply because it is very difficult for me to find fault with Disney. We get Disney. We love it.
We had reservations for 5:30 on Saturday night. We spent the morning at Disneyland, and then headed back to our hotel (DLH) at 1:00 so we had plenty of time for naps, resting, and changing into our evening clothing for dinner. I had packed "fancy" clothes, as my daughter says, and wearing our finest (or at least a suit for my husband and cocktail attire for myself), headed back to the park at 4:45 to make sure we were there in time for our reservation.
Camping outside the Club waiting for the opening we were just giddy with joy. This was a "bucket list" item for us, something we'd always wanted to do. That it was for my birthday surprise just added to the experience. We took photos in front of the door, we talked excitedly to each other, and patiently waited for our time. I had prepped our kids (almost 4 and 7) about our trip to Walt's secret club, and they both were excited for a fancy, special evening.
Here are my super excited kids waiting for our reservation:
What we ended up with was basically a really awful experience. I could go into detail, but will just leave it with the fact that aside from our initial greeting and seating, which was done by the club hostess, we were never made to feel welcome. We were not offered a smile, a warm gesture, anything from our server. He acted as if he were doing us a favor by allowing us into his restaurant. The other hostess running around was worse, she snapped at my husband both times when he asked her a question (one about where the restroom was, one a question about the location of the club). I receive better service from a simple chain restaurant then we got from our server at Club 33. Heck, I'd received a friendlier smile earlier that day when I got corn chowder in New Orleans Square!
I do know that they were having issues with their computers - they could not order food with them and in turn had to write up orders on paper and hand deliver them to the kitchen, nor could they process credit cards (taking them to the adjoining Blue Bayou to process). I do not think, however, that either of these issues should have resulted in the type of service we received.
This was a once in a lifetime experience. Something that we've longed for, dreamed about, and then anxiously awaited once we had a reservation. It was my birthday dinner. It was $600. And it was awful.
I'm just so sad about it. It's something I will likely never get to do again (and wouldn't want to, if that is the way people are treated) and I feel very let down by the whole experience. I keep going over and over in my head about something we did wrong, but can come up with nothing. We dressed above and beyond what was asked of us, our children were perfect angels the whole time we were there (seriously, I was surprised how good they were). I was thankful and respectful of the club and the cast members there (even though they were not nice to us). As we were checking in the hostess asked if anyone had been to the club before, and all of the other parties that dined at our same time slot (6, I believe) were all there for their first time too. The only thing I can come up with is that they were having a bad day due to other issues, and it just spilled over into our dinner. Which really, really, really sucks. I want to say it was amazing. All my friends and family were so jealous that we were getting to go, and they keep asking me how it was. I haven't said anything to any of them because I don't know what to say. I don't know anyone who had a bad experience there.
I feel like I want to reach out to the club and let them know what happened. No one should have the kind of experience we did. Club 33 is an experience that people dream of, and when that dream comes true, it come true! It shouldn't be so much of a disappointment that it kind of ruined your whole Disney birthday trip. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I would appreciate it.
As any Disney fan knows, a dinner reservation at Club 33 is like THE EVENT. It's something amazing, something special, something just so stinkin' cool for us Disney peeps. For the weeks leading up to our trip I was so excited I started to get sick from anxiety. We were going to CLUB 33!!! I spent a ton of time sewing special outfits for my kids, thinking about what it would be like, and reading as much as I could find online about Club 33.
Maybe I should reinforce that we're Disney people. We love Disney. We believe in the Disney "Magic". We try and visit the parks a couple times a year, and we've been on four Disney cruises in the past two years. I don't say that to sound pompous or self-important. I say it simply because it is very difficult for me to find fault with Disney. We get Disney. We love it.
We had reservations for 5:30 on Saturday night. We spent the morning at Disneyland, and then headed back to our hotel (DLH) at 1:00 so we had plenty of time for naps, resting, and changing into our evening clothing for dinner. I had packed "fancy" clothes, as my daughter says, and wearing our finest (or at least a suit for my husband and cocktail attire for myself), headed back to the park at 4:45 to make sure we were there in time for our reservation.
Camping outside the Club waiting for the opening we were just giddy with joy. This was a "bucket list" item for us, something we'd always wanted to do. That it was for my birthday surprise just added to the experience. We took photos in front of the door, we talked excitedly to each other, and patiently waited for our time. I had prepped our kids (almost 4 and 7) about our trip to Walt's secret club, and they both were excited for a fancy, special evening.
Here are my super excited kids waiting for our reservation:
What we ended up with was basically a really awful experience. I could go into detail, but will just leave it with the fact that aside from our initial greeting and seating, which was done by the club hostess, we were never made to feel welcome. We were not offered a smile, a warm gesture, anything from our server. He acted as if he were doing us a favor by allowing us into his restaurant. The other hostess running around was worse, she snapped at my husband both times when he asked her a question (one about where the restroom was, one a question about the location of the club). I receive better service from a simple chain restaurant then we got from our server at Club 33. Heck, I'd received a friendlier smile earlier that day when I got corn chowder in New Orleans Square!
I do know that they were having issues with their computers - they could not order food with them and in turn had to write up orders on paper and hand deliver them to the kitchen, nor could they process credit cards (taking them to the adjoining Blue Bayou to process). I do not think, however, that either of these issues should have resulted in the type of service we received.
This was a once in a lifetime experience. Something that we've longed for, dreamed about, and then anxiously awaited once we had a reservation. It was my birthday dinner. It was $600. And it was awful.
I'm just so sad about it. It's something I will likely never get to do again (and wouldn't want to, if that is the way people are treated) and I feel very let down by the whole experience. I keep going over and over in my head about something we did wrong, but can come up with nothing. We dressed above and beyond what was asked of us, our children were perfect angels the whole time we were there (seriously, I was surprised how good they were). I was thankful and respectful of the club and the cast members there (even though they were not nice to us). As we were checking in the hostess asked if anyone had been to the club before, and all of the other parties that dined at our same time slot (6, I believe) were all there for their first time too. The only thing I can come up with is that they were having a bad day due to other issues, and it just spilled over into our dinner. Which really, really, really sucks. I want to say it was amazing. All my friends and family were so jealous that we were getting to go, and they keep asking me how it was. I haven't said anything to any of them because I don't know what to say. I don't know anyone who had a bad experience there.
I feel like I want to reach out to the club and let them know what happened. No one should have the kind of experience we did. Club 33 is an experience that people dream of, and when that dream comes true, it come true! It shouldn't be so much of a disappointment that it kind of ruined your whole Disney birthday trip. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I would appreciate it.
