For dinner, we had two options, a seasonal five-course prix fixe menu and an a la carte appetizer and entrée menu. Everyone at our table chose the a la carte menu, which required spending the cost of a one-day park ticket. This requirement is almost laughable, as each of our meals easily exceeded twice the cost of a one-day park ticket. Sarah and I ordered the same appetizer, the crab cake.
Unlike many crab cakes that are composed primarily of filler, these crab cakes are almost completely crab. The “other stuff” is there, presumably, just to hold them together and give them some additional flavor. The sauce was rich and creamy, which was the perfect compliment to the lump crab meat. The sauce definitely provided a good balance to the flavor and made the already moist crab cakes (few things are worse than a dry crab cake) even more succulent.
For the main course, we again both ordered the same thing, the Chateaubriand. We had heard from Club 33 members on the Lilly Belle that the Chateaubriand was to die for, and it looked to be one of the best options on the menu, so we opted for it. Upon seeing it, we had high expectations. It was a thick cut, dosed in a Cabernet reduction and beautifully garnished with mashed potatoes and baby tomatoes. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving.
The filet did not cut easily, our first sign that something was amiss. It was not all that tender and not especially flavorful. Likewise, the potatoes tasted as if they were prepared from a box. The Cabernet reduction was the one star of the meal, and it was excellent and would have weaved together with a superior piece of meat, say the filet I had earlier in the trip at Napa Rose, most excellently. The Chateaubriand was by no means terrible, but I would probably place it in the bottom 10% of all $40+ plates of food I have had in my life. I was somewhat hopeful that maybe my specific cut was an anomaly, but no one at our table was overly-positive about their meal. It was still good, just not nearly what I expected after all of the hype and given the $47 price.
Here are the entrees the Works ordered:
Dessert was next, and while my selections for the appetizer and entree were clear almost immediately upon seeing the menu, dessert presented more of a dilemma. Many of the choices sounded great; I needed to choose carefully as this was Club 33’s last chance at redeeming itself for the sub-par entree.
Perhaps it was the delightfully strong gin and tonic setting in, but the Mascarpone Lemon Cheese Cake and a Banana's Foster's Caramel Reduction really hit the spot. Rich and decadent, with an exquisite presentation, the two “sides” of the dessert contrasted each other well, without being too stark. A very imaginative dessert, to be sure, and an excellent conclusion to the meal.
Another dessert:
With regard to the food specifically, even though the drinks were good, the appetizer was great and the dessert was great, the sub-par entree really impacted the ultimate score I’d give the cuisine (a B-). Similarly, our service was poor, as our waiter seemed pre-occupied throughout the meal. I’m not sure if this was because we weren’t actual members or what, but it also impacts that score a bit.
I earlier alluded to the fact that the Chateaubriand, purportedly one of the top menu items, was a sub-par item for this tier of restaurant. As I said at the outset, Club 33 is not a restaurant, it is the ultimate Disney fan experience, which happens to include a meal. Club 33 is not the most-sought after and elusive experience for Disney fans, with a closed waiting list because of its reputation as an exceptional restaurant. If you want to dine at an exceptional restaurant at Disneyland, you should be heading across the Esplanade to Napa Rose. There’s no waiting list there, the food is easily twice as good, and the prices are substantially less.
No, Club 33 is the Disney Holy Grail because of its history and exclusiveness. There is truly nothing else like it in the Disney universe. You don’t eat there because of the food, you eat there because of the ambiance.
Thankfully, during the course of the meal, our waiter, Alistair (whose name I’m probably slaughtering with that spelling), offered to give us a post-dinner tour of the Club. We immediately and enthusiastically accepted his offer. Although I wanted to savor the experience as much as possible, this tour was in the back of my mind throughout dinner, and I was quite excited for the tour to arrive.
The tour was interesting, to say the least. By the time we were finished eating, the room of the restaurant where we were seated was fairly empty, with the exception of a couple of tables, meaning that our tour would not be rushed, nor would it interfere with other guests’ enjoyment of their meals.
Alistair mixed history of the restaurant with news and “facts” about the parks. I use air-quotes around facts because many of these facts were far from facts. An example of such a fact was his description of the Carthay Circle Theater (or as he called it, “Carthaway”) replica being built at DCA that had it housing a Snow White attraction that, to the best of my knowledge, is not being built). Because I know many of the information he presented to us regarding the Parks was incorrect, I am hesitant to transcribe the facts that I cannot verify concerning Club 33, as I don’t want to perpetuate even more misinformation about the Club, Wikipedia style!
That said, here’s my capsule account of the tour, including the information I have been able to verify as accurate. After leaving the main dining room, where we were seated, our tour proceeded to the room that’s known informally as the Trophy Room.
Over the years, this room has changed, with animal heads and other once-living creatures removed from the years gradually as Disney attempted to distance itself from sport-hunts. The references to hunting are now more subtle, with memorabilia, art, and masks displacing some of the actual trophy heads.
Some remnants of the previous decor remain. An Audio Animatronic vulture that once entertained diners still sits perched in the upper corner of the room under the door, and microphones/speakers that were once used for the vulture’s interactive “show” can be found in the light fixtures hanging about tables.
The Trophy Room is smaller than the main dining room, and appears set for parties and visiting dignitaries who demand privacy from the rest of high society (although when we were there, I was surprised at how many of the patrons appeared to be “regular folk” just like our party; there were few patrons who seemed as if they were part of the pantheon of Southern California’s elite). If Teddy Roosevelt ever ate at Club 33, this is the room I imagine him utilizing. It oozed of restrained and refined manliness, yet I can’t help but imagine the place becoming a rowdy bastion of ‘stories from the hunt’ of an African hunting expedition amongst the elite after the liquor began flowing. Perhaps I let my imagination get the best of me. It definitely has a cozier feel, but is equally as ornate and well-appointed as the main dining room.
Leaving the Trophy Room and continuing down the hall, we encountered one of the Club’s more famous pieces of decor: a phone booth. This functional phone booth is quite ornate, with its bevelled glass windows and flawless oak panels is actually a prop from the 1960’s film, “The Happiest Millionaire,” which is one of the last films Walt Disney personally touched.
In the same vicinity is another movie prop, and arguably the Cub’s most famous piece: an ornate walnut table with white marble top. It was used in the legendary 1964 Disney film, “Mary Poppins.”
Of course no tour is complete with a stop in...the lady’s restroom...yeah, I don’t know what to say about this one. Sarah took photos of the restroom, and it’s pretty luxurious for what it is. Sorry if these photos offend your sensibilities, but I thought they were pretty interesting.
Moving along with the “normal” tour, one of the highlights of the restaurant is probably the piano just past the Gallery and across from the bar. Seemingly innocuous and no more refined than your average piano (at least to my untrained eyes), the inside of the lid features a meticulous painting of 19th century New Orleans Harbor.
Sadly, as implied above, Walt Disney never lived to dine at Club 33. Around the time of Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary, the Club had a painting commissioned of Walt dining at the restaurant. The painting now hangs in the restaurant, and features Walt at a window table, with the Mark Twain Riverboat outside, sipping a cup of coffee as he reads the paper. As far as art goes, this is probably the only piece I have ever seen that actually gave me chills. It is truly a moving piece of art.
At the end of the tour, in typical Disney fashion there was, of course, a gift shop! (This joke is so tired now, but what the heck.) Contrasting typical Disney fashion was that there was no counter or cash register nearby or any other means of knowing how to make a purchase. Rather, you simply loitered around a glass case, and sooner or later, a Cast Member would ask you what you’d like to purchase. It was almost as if the case was daring you to buy something, and waiting around a bit before being able to make a purchase was like even deeper initiation into “The Club.” If gift shops (or cases, in this case) could talk, this one would say, “I don’t need a person hawking goods bearing the exquisite logo of this Club. I’m cool, you know that, I know that. You want to buy me--you’ll wait around until we’re good and ready to sell something to you.”
I was going to purchase Club 33 ears, but ultimately opted against them once I saw them. Sarah purchased a baseball hat. There were something interesting items, most noteworthy the class ring style men’s rings. However, most of the items were stock print-shop clothing with the “33” logo emblazoned on them. Definitely nothing imaginative, and not what I expected for such an exclusive club. I have heard that they once sold prints of the Walt painting I mentioned earlier. Had that been available, I think I would have purchased it regardless of the price tag.
Keeping in mind my lukewarm review of the meal itself, I would give our experience at Club 33 a 10/10. (
Click here for my full review of Club 33, which is a variation of what's present here.) If ever a restaurant deserved a mantra of, “come for the food, stay for the experience,” it is Club 33. Our hours there will likely go down as some of the best ever in any Disney park, and if we ever have the opportunity to go back, we will in an instant.
After the Cast Member returned with Sarah’s hat, we slowly made our way down the stairs and to the exit. We knew this time would come, but we were in no way prepared for it. Some kids dream of camping out in the Swiss Family Treehouse overnight, I think my dream place to stay the night would be in Club 33/the Disney Gallery.
As the door slowly closed behind us, we turned back for our last peak inside the Club. Right around the time we headed into New Orleans Square, the food comas set in. We still had a little bit of time left until the park closed, so we set out to hit a few attractions before closing. By this time, I was so drowsy that I barely even remember what we did. I know we hit Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, and I think that was it.