Club 33 What to expect at lunch?

[Micca]

We were lucky enough to get a friend of a friend to make a Club 33 lunch ressie next month What can we expect? Food selection and prices are of interest, along with any other info.

 

[whiles]

Micca,

Some Club33 information for you: congratualtions on your reservation , you will not be dissapointed. Bon Appetit!

Club 33 is a private restaurant in New Orleans Square, upstairs from the Pirates of the Caribbean. Its front door is plainly visible next to the Blue Bayou restaurant on Rue Royale. This door, always locked, bears no obvious identifying features. The only clues to its identity are a brass doorbell and an elliptical plaque, both bearing the enigmatic twin numerals.
Advance reservations are required, which can be made only by a dues-paying club member. Individual dues are $1,750 a year, and the waiting list is about 3-1/2 years long. Corporate memberships cost more. Corporate members include AT&T, Bank of America, Carnation, Dole, General Electric, Gulf, Monsanto, Rockwell, and Welch's.
After being buzzed in, you confront the lobby. The room is decorated in dark wood and rich red carpeting. The staff, impeccably dressed and coiffed, takes coats and umbrellas, then ushers you upstairs. You can choose to climb the stairs, or ride the ornate elevator to the upper floor. Only four can fit in the elevator.
Upstairs another staff member helps you out of the elevator. In this room is a replica of the telephone booth from the movie The Happiest Millionaire. Calls from this phone are free.
From the elevator, you can walk straight ahead into the Trophy Room, or jog left and right into the corridor.
The Trophy Room is decorated in a subdued Adventureland-style theme. Tiki masks and so forth hang on the walls. There are also stuffed birds here. Hanging overhead are four chandeliers, each incorporating an obvious microphone. They have long since been disconnected.
The Corridor is where the buffet tables stand during the week. The area itself is populated with many artifacts from the Victorian era. There is a harpsicord here, kept in tune. There is also a grandfather clock and a spheroid mirror. The house wines are displayed here. (There is full bar service in Club 33, making it the only place in Disneyland where anyone can purchase alcohol.)
Beyond the Corridor lies the Main Dining Room. Both the Corridor and the Main Dining Room sit atop Café Orleans. The Trophy Room and kitchen are above the Blue Bayou.
After you are seated, a tuxedo-garbed waiter furnishes a menu offering a variety of French cuisine. Lunch starts at $15 or so for a lunch salad. Dinner is more expensive, at around $25 for entrees. Drinks are extra.

thanks,
whiles

 

[dsnylndmom]

When we were there in July we went to the lunch buffet. It was $45 per person, not including tax or beverage or tip. It was expensive but delicious and worth every penny!! You'll love it

 

[Micca]

My ressies are still several weeks away, but we're excited already. There seems to be a bit of a discrepancy on the price of the lunch...$15 salad or $45 buffet? Is that how it works? We'll happily pay whatever it takes, I was just curious about the expense. Is there a gift shop of 33 items? Thanks again

 

[dsnylndmom]

Yes there is an area with Club 33 souveiners that you can purchase. They are in a big glass case right next to the bathrooms. I've only been there once and they only offered the lunch buffet when I was there so that's all I can tell you about. We had 6 people and our bill for 6 buffets, soft drinks and a few cocktails was $400. But the food was incredible. The pasta area, where the chef prepares it for you right there was awesome and the desserts were divine. Be adventurous! Make sure and take lots of pictures. Unfortunatley, when we went someone had stole the 33 sign from the front so we didn't get a picture of that!

 

[almostGoofy]

Originally posted by whiles
Micca,

and the waiting list is about 3-1/2 years long.

My sister, whose a member, tells me that the waiting list is now 5 years.

Whenever I've been there for lunch, it's only been a buffet lunch. I can't tell you how much, my generous sister has paid for myself and family but she did mention that it's about the same price as admission so $45 sounds about right.

You should also know that your admission ticket is a one day park hopper.

BTW, check in is at guest relations to the left of DCA. It can take a while to check-in if there are a few people ahead of you. They take care of a variety of problems, almost all of which are time consuming. There were four people ahead of me and it took 20 mins. before my turn.

 

[Micca]

More good advice We'll be at DL and DCA all day so we'll be checking in first thing in the morning. Good to know about the guest relations window at DCA. I've haven't been to DL since the late 80's and DCA, of course, wasn't there! Is there a new parking sitch with DCA, or is it all still the old DL lot? Do I enter from a different location?

Thanks for all the help folks. BTW, we're there on a Friday and Saturday in November. Lunch at 33 will be Saturday afternoon.

 

[almostGoofy]

Parking has definitely changed. Since they built DCA on the old parking lot, very little of that parking lot is left. There is now a parking structure located off Disney Way for both parks. The structure is north of the DLH and DTD. There is one loading area for the trams at the parking structure and one drop off area for both parks and DTD. It's towads the end of DTD and a short walk to the entrance plaza. The entrance to DCA is directly opposite DL's entrance.

BTW, the most confusing thing for me with the parking structure was where I was exiting. The first few times I didn't know which street the exit was leading me to. The exit leads you back onto Disney Way with the first intersection being Ball Road. If you were to turn right onto Ball Road, the next intersection would be Harbor Blvd. I don't know if anybody else had that problem but it sure through me for a loop the first few times.

Also, to clarify where check-in is for your park tickets when dining at Club 33: it's to the left of the DCA ENTRANCE, not to the left of the park. You'd probably would have figured that out but I thought I'd mention it just in case. Also be sure to have your I.D. You'll need that when checking in.

To check in for your lunch reservation, there is a plan, non-discript door next to the Blue Bayou with the address number "33" above it. If you're facing the door, to the left of it is a brass plated lid to the call box. Just lift, press the button and let them know who you are and when you're reservation is.

Enjoy, it's definitely the best food in the park!

 

[Micca]

Cool Goofy! Thank You We'll be in the parks two full days. Any suggestions on where else we should eat? We like the full service restaurants at WDW. DW is pretty conservative on her meal selections, I will eat anything that is tasty. Also any tips on especially good snacks or counter-service. I remember we at at Blue Bayou in 1980 and thought it was cool.

 

[almostGoofy]

The only table service restaraunts in DL are Blue Bayou and Carnation Cafe. It's been decades since I last ate at Blue Bayou and I've never eaten at Carnation Cafe. Red Rocket's Pizza Port in Tommorowland has decent pasta. My kids like the pizza but, they're only 4 and 6 years old so just about any cheese pizza is going to be good to them. This is not to say it isn't good, just that these are the opinions of young children. We've also have eaten at Rancho del Zocalo next to Thunder Mountain. The BBQ offerings were not bad. They also offer Mexican food as well. Both the Pizza Port and the Rancho are scramble service.

I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help in this area. I personally think that the overall food quality at WDW parks is better than at DL with the exception of Club 33. You might want to also consider dining in DTD. La Brea Bakery, well known in this part of California for their artisan breads, has a sit down cafe with table service as well as express counter service. It's a short walk form both DL and DCA's entrance. For fine dining, I can recommend the Napa Rose in The Grand California Hotel. This restaraunt rates high in the Zagat guide. Food and service is excellent. It's also expensive.

As far as DCA is concern, the only place I've eaten at is the Fortune Cookery (counter service). DON'T EAT THERE. I had a terriyaki chicken bowl and it was terrible. The two winery restaurants are suppose to be pretty good. There is also a bakery near the front of DCA called Bakers-field. You'd be better off exiting the park and going over to the nearby La Brea Bakery instead. Whatever pastry I bought at the DCA bakery was kind of hard and dry.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[Micca]

You've been a tremendous help Goofy. Thanks so much

 

[NandP]

Can a member make ressies for a non member to eat there? if so, how do you get the card key to open the door??

 

[dsnylndmom]

NandP yes they can. That's how we went. We went to the little speaker box outside club 33 and told them the name the reservation was under and they buzzed us in. We had to show ID when we picked up the tix from over by DCA.

 

[my3kids]

If you have reservations, is the admission ticket included??? One of the above posts made it sound as though that was the case. If it is, then lunch is essentially free????

 

[dsnylndmom]

Yes when you have a reservation at Club 33 you get a one day park hopper and the tickets do say Club 33 on them! Great souveiner!!

 

[Micca]

Spent the weekend at DLR and had lunch at Club 33 on Saturday We were absolutely thrilled to get in for the lunch buffet thanks to a biz asssociate with one degree of separation It reminded us of a country club. We were seated by a window so we could look out at the throngs of guests below in N.O Square. The food and service were exquisite, and it was the most expensive lunch we've ever had I had to have a souvenir and settled on the shot glass Even it was expensive at $18 Whaddaya gonna do? It may have been a once in a lifetime deal.

We've been to WDW dozens of times, DL only 3-4 times. We both thought DL was wonderful and relished the chance to try out the exclusive attractions and were BLOWN AWAY by the Holiday Haunted Mansion. It exceded our expectations by a mile.
We also feel that DCA is a park with great potential. We both loved SOC and DW loved Calif. Screamin'.

BTW, I know DL has castle envy when compared to the WDW castle, but the DL castle was decked out for Christmas and looked really pretty. Great trip. Thanks for all the tips/suggestions.

 

[year2late]

What a great trip!

You know I never realized how small Sleeping Beauty's castle was until I saw Cinderella's!!

I echo your sentiments about DCA, I agree it has alot of potential. When all is said and done, we probably spend more time in DCA!

 

[Disney-Kim]

We were lucky enough to have dinner at Club 33 last week. It was extremely expensive. There was a note on the bottom of the menu that said $47 mininum charge per person. I was told that is because reservations include park entrance.
The entrees were $36-39 each ala carte. the salad was $7 and the appetizer was $14 for 2 shrimp.
was very expensive and ok food. I have been told the chef is the same as the chef at Blue Bayou.
We also bought a couple souveniers...would have liked the license plate holder that said "Club 33 Member" but they didn't have any.
Many people went out to the balcony to watch Fantasmic and the fireworks. It was neat to see all the people and realize that you are actually above the French Market eatierie and not above Blue Bayou.

 

[Micca]

That's interesting about the chef for 33 being the same as Blue Bayou. We had lunch the day before our 33 ressies, and DW commented that they probably share a kitchen and CM's.

 

[Disney-Kim]

I actually asked the manager if the myth was true that they share a kitchen with BB and he said "no" they have their own. But I guess they share a main chef.

was the experience as much as you thought it would be ??

did you go in the womens bathroom? the toilets looked like chairs.