My Fall, 2014 Dapper Day Trip Report... first trip as a couple without the kids.

[petals]

luvin the updates. Wow the monorail goes superclose to the matterhorn! I love the little tiny bear Michael has on the PP ride. I never spotted that in WDW before.

 

[Disneyluvr2]

Thanks for the Disney fix today, Whoever!! Can't wait to hear about lunch!

 

[whoever]

At six minutes to nine we were off Alice. I really love the plussing inside the ride. I've even watched side-by-side videos to make sure I've noticed everything. The interior of the ride is extremely well done. The vine... most people probably know my position on that... the original vine was superior in every way but the fall risk. It definitely takes away from the show. I digress....

At this point, the park was just about ready to open. We agreed the wife would head over towards NOS to scout things out while I went and grabbed FP for Space Mountain. I got there about 2 minutes before open, and had a wait in a short line to get my two FP for us. Afterwards I did my best impression of a salmon swimming upstream. The herd of people coming up the ramp to space was astounding, and us EMH FPers were having a hard time going down it. After the initial rush, I did my best impression of a running back dodging through the people wandering aimlessly staring at their maps or electronic devices instead of where they were walking. As I passed the entrance to Tomorrowland, I noticed Alice and the Mad Hatter afoot... I did a quick setting adjustment and snapped a pic on the run, not even pausing to frame the shot.

I had received a call from the wife mid-tomorrowland and knew that a line was quickly forming for Haunted Mansion Holiday and pretty much nothing else on that side of the park, so I was on a mission to get over there. A quick jaunt through Frontierland saved me from the crowds of Adventureland, and I found the wife near the ever increasing end of the line all the way back by the bridge to Pirates. We aren't line holders. I hate it, and if your whole party isn't there, I don't believe you should be in line, so she was continuously moving toward the end of the line waiting for me to arrive, which had taken me until 09:06. Thankfully it was moving quickly, and we spent only twenty-four minutes waiting AND riding and were walking out the exit by 09:30

I do like the decorations and effects, but I'm a die-hard traditional HM fan. The projection they do for the stretching room does as some life to it all (pun intended)

 

[whoever]

As most have probably already seen/heard, they went with a gingerbread Iron Maiden with Candy Cane spikes for the gingerbread house this year. The smell of gingerbread was oddly absent though from prior years. You can see Zero helping to decorate the Christmas tree in the ball room. So much going on, I wish we had made it on a second time to check out all the details vs. studying my photos to do it.

Snake eating our heads:

 

[whoever]

A quick evaluation and we decided Pirates was our other must-ride that morning on the West end of the park, so we headed directly over and walked through the increasing queue.

 

[Disneyluvr2]

No gingerbread smell on our HM ride either. I really missed that. It's always one of my favorite parts of the ride.

How in the heck do you remember what time you got to each ride and how long you spent in line?? I love that part of the details! LOL!

 

[whoever]

How in the heck do you remember what time you got to each ride and how long you spent in line?? I love that part of the details! LOL!

To quote Henry Jones Sr. from The Last Crusade... "I wrote it down so I didn't HAVE to remember".

 

[whoever]

We got off Pirates at 09:53 and decided it would be a great time for a snack at the French Market as we had consumed no nourishment this morning. What better to sustain oneself than an iced latte, a mint julep, and pumpkin mickey beignets??? Nothing I say!!

By 10:22 We enjoyed every morsel, and hand nothing to show for ourselves but a pile of powdered sugar and two empty cups. A quick glance at our fast pass told us we better get a move on to the other side of the park. As we were making our way to Tomorrowland via Adventureland we grabbed some Indy FP for later use.

We loved the FP this morning. The queue was backed up half way around the upper deck, and we simply walked on until the queue in the boarding room.

Doing Space only put us at 10:42 as we exited, so we had PLENTY of time to hit other attractions in the park before we needed to go back to the hotel to change for our 13:30 lunch appointment.

What to do???? We just sort of wandered...There was something happening at the front of the Castle, so we decided to go around it via the entrance over by the Fantasy Faire. Never did see what the hoopla was about, but all the Fantasyland queues were full... even the likes of Pinocchio. We decided Thunder was what we wanted, and headed that way via the back side of Fantasyland.

By 10:58 we had settled into the queue. It wasn't a long looking queue, but it sure was getting hot by now. We clung to every bit of shade the queue afforded us. One thing about those Trilbys, with the stingy brim they have, you get not a whole lot of shade off of them.

Thunder took us to 11:13, and we had some time to kill before our Indy FP was up, so we did some browsing in the shops of Frontierland. Lots of neat stuff in there. Not neat enough for us to buy any of it.

We ended up getting in the Indy queue at 11:22, and a mere twenty-two minutes later we were off. It was time to head back to the hotel, so we made our way through the Main Street Shops to take advantage of the air conditioning, crossed the esplanade, made our way through the Buena Vista shops for the same reason, doing some mild browsing along the way and finally hit the lobby of the Grand at 12:13.

I'm not sure if most people really take the time to look around both the shops on Main Street and the shops on Buena Vista, but they are beautifully themed, and have some really nice pieces. Being that it was Dapper Day weekend, I thought that the hat displays were all the more appropriate and interesting.

 

[whoever]

Afer a quick cool-off in the room and a change of attire for myself, we left at 13:08. I pegged twenty-two minutes at more than enough time to make our way through DTD, get through the turnstiles and over to NOS from our room on the very far side of the Grand. We were moving at an OK pace, so by the time we got to the magical door five minutes before our appointed time, the heat was getting to us.

As I approached, there was a group of people milling about. One of them, a girl was taking an extreme closeup pic of the intercom plaque. I politely waited for her to finish, and then pressed the button. Now I'm not a C33 regular, and this would only be the second time I've ever buzzed myself in, so I was still awkward at this whole thing. A voice came over the intercom asking if I had a reservation. I replied I did, gave my name and party size, and within moments the door opened and we were ushered in to the inner sanctum. We were quizzed on our party name again (the intercom must be as hard to understand on the inside as to those of us standing outside). They informed me someone would be down to get us momentarily and that we could wait in the court of angels.

They had refreshments (strawberry cucumber water it looked) and there was one other party waiting. After probably only a minute, maybe two, we were taken upstairs and through the doors to the new lobby of the club. Our table was ready immediatley and we were escorted to it. The interior of the Grand Salon had changed significantly in both appointments and layout where the bar had previously been and the new elevated corridor was added.

Imagine both my joy and surprise when we were ushered to the corner table in the North West corner of the room. For those who have read my May, 2013 trip report, you will remember this is where my wife and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Hopefully this dining experience would be a little less smashing (there's a pun there). The first thing I noticed as we sat down was that the table was smaller than I remembered it. As I looked around the Salon, I remarked that the whole place looked more crowded. While I can't say for certain, I believe they've fit more tables into the same space.

Promptly, our waiter arrived (actually a pair of them), the menu and wine/drink novel (I say that jokingly, but it is a sizeable volume of beverages) were explained, and we set to the arduous task of choosing our drinks and menu selections. Drinks first as it would be nice to get those going. I vacilated on whether we needed a bottle of wine for the table or not. After much deliberation, I decided no. We'd do mixed drinks as it was lunch, not dinner and we should keep it slightly lighter.

Amy liked the looks of the Ruby, which was a non-alcoholic drink of I believe selzter water, Ruby Grapefruit juice, elderberry essence, and a slice of grapefruit wedged in the glass for garnish. (if anybody can get the recipe for this, I would be in your debt... it was great, I had a sip or two) Only problem... she wanted it plussed. Now my wife isn't normally a drinker, but being at Disney without kids, and overnight without kids for the first time in eight years, she was going to live it up a bit. The waiter said he'd see what he could do and recommended a Citron vodka to spice it up. I ordered a Gin Diamond Martini (I love my martinis, both Gin and Vodka).

While he was tackling our drink order, we set to work on the extensive menu. We had decided we were doing the four-course lunch. Now.. I didn't take a pic of the menu, so I can't tell you exactly what our options to choose from were, but I can tell you what we did order.

I decided that for my first course I was going with the Warm Blue Crab and Artichoke Gratin with Lemon Chervil Glasage. Amy shared my sentiment.


For our second course, we had a difference of opinions. I went with the Heirloom Tomatoes Salad with Crispy Burrata Cheese and Green Tomato Gazpacho. She opted for the Watermelon Salad with Southern Orange Crème Fraîche and Petit Greens.

The main course... yep again divided. I did the Filet Mignon with Cabernet Jus and Tender Haricot Verts. She, the Citrus Lobster Salad with Tender Greens, Cucumbers and Southern Orange Vinaigrette.

Dessert... yep.. still difference of opinion. I opted for the Classic “Opera Cake” Manjari Chocolate, Coffee Liquor and Almond Cake with Caramel Crème. She, the Vanilla Mascarpone “Velvet” with Meyer Lemon Basil Broth and Marinated Berries. I would come to find that her choice was influenced by the table next to us (another birthday celebration), where they were practically licking the dish it appeared so good to her.

Our server arrived with our drinks and took our lunch order. He commented on the drink that the bartender who had concocted it labeled it a "Ruby Doo" (like Scooby Doo). My receipt called it a Grey Hound. Whatever it is called, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Such a fun libation. My Diamond Martini was exquisete. It was comprised of No. 209 Gin, Lillet Blanc vermouth, and several truffle olives, served in the C33 signature martini glass with a diamond shaped piece of crystal clear ice... heaven.

Before too long, and with perfect timing, the appetizers arrived. Let me say, this appetizer was astoundingly good. I only have one critique of it, they give you three crostini with which to eat the dish on... I probably would have asked for four (I made do with my fork and the bread they served). I wish I knew what the cheese they use was... my gosh, my mouth is still watering just thinking about it. If I were to dine there with this menu again I wouldn't get any other options from the first course, whatever they were...

Our second course was up again, perfectly timed afterwards. My heirloom tomato salad was just great as well. It had perfect spice in the gazpacho, the tomatoes were a great combination of tart, sweet, and tannic depending on the bite and variety. What really brought this dish together in my opinion was the crispy fried burrata cheese... it was the perfect compliment. Amy's watermelon salad I can't comment on other than it disappeared with not a trace of it to be found on her plate.

Another round of drinks bisected the meal. A Ruby-Doo for Amy, and another Diamond Martini for myself.

The main course arrived not long after the delivery of the drinks and my filet was presented. It was very similar, yet different than the last piece of steak I had eaten at Club 33 a year and a half ago. I cut into it... PERFECTLY cooked. Nice char on the top and bottom, RED inside.. just the way every steak should be prepared. The onions and beans caramelized while still being crisp. The jus... wonderful. I will say the Chateaubriand was richer. The sauce just had a higher-intensity flavor profile and the meat a deeper char on the outside. A great entre and I would not hesitate to order it again. Amy's lobster salad was apparently similarly great as it was gone before I knew what happened.

We let dinner settle a bit and chatted as we enjoyed our drinks. Before too long, out came deserts. Now the day prior, I had received a confirmation call from the club, and when asked if we were celebrating anything special I informed her that we were indeed celebrating my wife's 35th birthday. So what do we see on our dessert plate when it comes out but "Happy Birthday".... but there was only one problem... that was my dessert. I explained it to the waiter and we all had a chuckle about it. It was fine, and the thought was well received (the wife isn't big on announcing things like birthdays and such, so I'm sure she was somewhat relieved.

My opera cake I can only surmise takes a great deal of time, talent, and expensive ingredients to create. My gosh was it delectable... and gold leaf to boot!! I'm a big coffee fan, and tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts (that and Crème Brule), so this was like tiramisu on steroids with way more richness to it. Perfect dessert for the perfect lunch. My wife's Mascarpone... it was pretty firm... almost frozen. This would be my one real disappointment of the evening, it was supposed to melt/blend with the sauce and other ingredients, but all she could do was chop off chunks with her spoon. That being said... she ate it all, so it must have still been a great dessert.

 

[whoever]

After dinner, we received our check, paid, finished the drinks and took a walk out on the West balcony. I wanted to check out the East balcony too, but there was a party down there (completely packed dining room) and I didn't want to disturb their meal by going past.

Those of you who are familiar with my May, 2013 trip report will find that there is a particular pane of glass in this door which is not like the others. It’s tempered should that unfortunate event ever happen again and thicker to boot.

It was still hot, even in the shade so we didn't stay outside for long.

On the way back through, I snapped a pic of some of the new set dressing the imagineers have done next to the new over walk. If you'll look really closely, you'll see something completely unintentional, but cool nonetheless.

Afterwards, we made our way to the lobby for a quick examination of the C33 merchandise cabinet. I've got pretty much all I wanted, but there was still a precious few things I didn't have and was determined to get. First off, my very own Club 33 Diamond Martini Glass... As I've got an old-logo cordial glass, a new logoed one was destined to come home with me as well, and the new logo paper weight... I do have a lot of paper after all. I briefly entertained the Club 33 polo as mine has seen better days, but at $120, it wasn't in the budget. The wine stopper was neat as well, but bottles of wine in my house seldom make it to the point of needing a stopper if you know what I mean.

By now, it was over two and a half hours since we had arrived at the club, and time to make our exit. I was sad, not knowing when I'll get to dine there again, grateful that I've been afforded the opportunity to dine not once, but three times now (counting my meal in Salon Noveau), and excited and elated at the great meal I had just experienced. We walked down the stairs, through the receptionist lobby (they made a nice comment about the C33 Dooney my wife was sporting that day) and back out into the crowded and HOT park. Reality hit us like a ton of bricks as soon as the door clicked closed behind us.

 

[Disneyluvr2]

YES! That's what I'd been waiting for!! Wow, it's amazing how different the Club looks during the day with all that natural light streaming in. I noticed details that I had not seen on our evening dinner visit. Beautiful pics, Whoever! It sounds like you had a fabulous lunch. Was there a lot of seafood on the lunch menu? That was one thing I was really disappointed in with our dinner. I don't eat any type of fish and it seemed about 80% of the menu was seafood. I'd like to give lunch a try next time. Amy's Ruby Doo sounded delicious!!

I loved the pics of you two on the balcony. That's one thing we forgot to do, so I guess we'll have to go back! LOL! Was that Amy in the mirror in the pic you took of the set dressing? Very cool shot!

I didn't get to read your May 2013 TR. I'm guessing there was an unfortunate event with the window and maybe a chair? Yikes!!

Great TR so far, Whoever!! It's like reliving my trip!

 

[whoever]

YES! That's what I'd been waiting for!! Wow, it's amazing how different the Club looks during the day with all that natural light streaming in. I noticed details that I had not seen on our evening dinner visit. Beautiful pics, Whoever! It sounds like you had a fabulous lunch. Was there a lot of seafood on the lunch menu? That was one thing I was really disappointed in with our dinner. I don't eat any type of fish and it seemed about 80% of the menu was seafood. I'd like to give lunch a try next time. Amy's Ruby Doo sounded delicious!!

There were non-seafood offerings with each of the courses, and I didn't feel that it was dominated by seafood. We were actually on the lookout for that because of what you had said the night before. Only two of the four courses had seafood as an option (That I recall, but someone with an actual pic of the menu can probably validate), and only one option per each of those two courses.

I loved the pics of you two on the balcony. That's one thing we forgot to do, so I guess we'll have to go back! LOL! Was that Amy in the mirror in the pic you took of the set dressing? Very cool shot!

You spotted it!!! Gold star for you. That was a great Easter egg I saw when I was processing all the pics.

I didn't get to read your May 2013 TR. I'm guessing there was an unfortunate event with the window and maybe a chair? Yikes!!

Its in my sig if you are interested. Nothing to do with me, I was just sitting there enjoying my meal. It was the result of the patrons one table over while they were goofing off out on the balcony apparently.

Great TR so far, Whoever!! It's like reliving my trip!

Thanks!!! And its only half done.

 

[whoever]

A quick evaluation of the state of the park told us Haunted Mansion wasn't going to be an option. The queue was all the way out to Magnolia Park. We jumped in the queue for Pirates at 16:00. It was a good choice. A relatively short queue and a cool and relaxing float through the Spanish Main left us exiting thirty-two minutes after entering.

What to do next... HM still looked busy from across the ROA. I had a C33 bag with me, so Splash was off the list. Thunder would be the attraction which lured us in next. The queue was practically empty and we were off by 16:45. Upon exit, a CM came to help us out, and took our C33 bag, thanking us for bringing him such a wonderful gift. I had to politely decline the opportunity, but assured him if we were to go again, he could place an order ahead of time. We headed up towards Fantasyland via Big Thunder Trail with a quick stop to freshen up.

Peter Pan had a ridiculous queue and as we hadn't done the dark rides on the west side of Fantasyland, we jumped on Snow White. The queue was full, but it’s a relatively quick loader and we were walking off at 17:09.

We spent some time shopping in both Fantasyland shops and all the way down the East side of Main Street. We checked out the sword/coat of arms shop in Fantasyland, which was the first time I had ever been in that particular shop. Surprised it still exists actually because it can't be a big revenue generator. I think this was the first time I had actually been down the East side, as we always hit the West side. I didn't even realize it was connected in the same manner as the West side was. On our way down the East side, we went into the entrance to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln fully intending to take it in. We got distracted, and had to look at all the beautiful artwork. There was a line formed to meet Mickey and Minnie, and as I don't think we actually have a pic of us with them, the perfect opportunity. I think the Photopass photog took a shot too, I'll have to look at the pic and see if it turned out better than the one taken with my camera.

 

[whoever]

Oh... anybody who's looked at my Pirates photos will notice the guy balancing on the rowboat with the stack of hats on his head is missing.

 

[whoever]

Six minutes before six PM, we left Disneyland and headed towards DTD. We would spend some time in DTD and would find that elusive souvenir we were looking for the girl's aunt. She's a fan of the squeeze toy green aliens from Toy Story, and we finally found her a shirt with them on it. We would make our way through the lobby and hit our room for a break by 18:35.

By 20:07 we were refreshed enough and changed into cooler clothes (at least I was) to go hit DCA. We headed towards Paradise Pier, and the Fun Wheel of Death, only to find it closing just as we walked up. Not to be daunted, I went for a Single Rider Screamin' queue while the wife did some shopping on the boardwalk. I was to be shut down there as well... no Single Rider.

Being a bit ready for a snack, I hit the vendor on the boardwalk which sells the burritos (maybe) and turkey legs. Mere moments after I got in line, the SIX turkey legs they had when I got in line were gone....Arggh!!!! I think I actually said that. We decided DCA was shutting down for us (WOC), and Disneyland was where it was at for the remainder of the night. We were on a quest for what would come to be known as the "Disneyland Turkey leg debacle of 2014". For those of you familiar with not only the best Christmas Movie Ever, but quite possibly the best movie ever, A Christmas Story (see how much I like that movie here: http://www.therpf.com/f9/youll-shoo...story-props-125339/?highlight=christmas+story ), when the Christmas Turkey is DEVOURED by the Bumpis' hounds, the Old Man's expression mirrored mine exactly.... In fact I nearly uttered...his phrase from the movie, but caught myself being that there were children and people with delicate ears present.

30 minutes after hitting DCA, we had been defeated, crossed the esplanade and were approaching the hub where people were already making it an impassable expanse as they had squatted for the fireworks. I zeroed in on the turkey leg cart and probably vaulted a few rope barriers in my quest to get there. I got in line, counted the Turkey legs (TEN REMAINING), and counted the people in front of me (SIX PEOPLE). The first person in line purchased....... FOUR. This was not boding well. The second person in line got one....four people left in front of me and only five legs left. This may get nasty.. How would my rap sheet look I wondered ... "Man arrested in Disneyland after tackling fellow guest over smoked turkey leg". The tension mounted... The next person in line did not decrease the number of turkey legs... there was still hope... down to three people now and a mere five turkey legs to go. The next patron grabbed one. Two people, four legs... this was getting serious... The next patron didn't take any... I think I may have just got down on my knees and praised the heavenly father above for his divine intervention. We were down to one person in front of me and four legs. This is where things got real. I struck up a conversation with the fellow, and politely as I could informed him that if he took four legs, he'd be missing one of his own legs... I joked... maybe.... He grabbed a mere 1 leg and one chimichanga or burrito or whatever non-heavenly delicacy they also sell. A turkey leg WOULD BE MINE!!!!

At 21:00 We settled into a bench in Frontierland with a decent, albeit side view of F! and proceeded to devour the Turkey leg. It was stickier than I remembered, but heavenly smoked goodness... That didn't last long. After fifteen minutes, the Turkey leg was gone, we had become distracted with our side-view of F!, washed off the turkey juices from our hands and faces and decided that a Pirates trip was in order while everybody was watching the show on the River.

 

[whoever]

For those who didn't catch the Easter Egg in m C33 pics, here it is:

This presented itself in my post-processing and I thought "well isn't that a neat alignment"

 

[whoever]

At 21:50, we were off Pirates and the F! crowds were still in FULL effect. We basically had a single choice... we were herded (literally) one way, and one way only, through NOS to Frontierland and out to the hub. There would be NO DISSENTION. You did it or else. No cutting over to Adventureland after the Frontierland shops.. NOPE!!! You were going to the hub whether you wanted to or NOT and heaven forbid you were trying to come into NOS from Big Thunder Trail. NOT HAPPENING. It was pretty authoritarian, and had I NOT been going that way anyway, I would have probably dug in my heels or refused the orders. Alas, we made our way to Fantasyland, and the Peter Pan queue was our destination as the night winded down.

We jumped in line at 22:08 and made our way through the winding queue and just took in the whole scene. There was a LOT of interesting people watching going on at that time of the night.

It would take us 26 minutes to make our way through Peter Pan's queue and experience the attraction which for this time of the night probably wasn't too bad. Afterwards we caught a quick trip on Pinocchio and then decided it was time to call it a night.

On the way out, I was VERY thirsty (in fact I had been since the Turkey Leg Debacle) probably due to the sodium content of it all and the heat of the day. I said we should stop by the Coke Corner on the way out for some refreshment. We did, and I got the largest Coke they offered with a shot of Cherry thrown in, and the wife got a Pretzel. The Coke really hit the spot, but my wife's pretzel was pretty bad. I wouldn't go there again for a pretzel. After consuming all the Coke, and all the ice in the cup, we made our way through the West side Main Street shops and left Disneyland at 23:22. We were just too drained to take in one last attraction. A short walk through DTD later, we hit our room at 23:35 and promptly fell asleep for the next day's activities.

 

[petals]

luvin all the pics. I want that Tinkerbell lantern!

 

[Disneyluvr2]

Well Whoever, you've occupied the majority of my Saturday afternoon with your trip reports...but ask me if I care! LOL!! I had to go back and read your May trip report to see what "smashing event" happened in the Club. Wow, I'm surprised those guests weren't escorted out of the place! I loved all your photos of the old Club! As beautiful as the new Club is, I sure do miss the nostalgia of the old one. And the way Amy found out about your reservation was priceless!! That brought tears to my eyes, knowing how she must have felt!

It sounds like I'll be sticking with the lunch menu next time we visit the Club. Waaay too much seafood on the dinner menu for me! The entire 3rd course was ALL seafood! I did talk them in to letting me order 2 desserts though, instead of the 3rd course, since there were no other options for me.

Great pic of you two with Mickey & Minnie!! And your "Easter egg" pic is perfect! You probably couldn't have done a better job if you planned it!

Can't wait for more pics, but I'm sad knowing it it will be coming to an end soon!!

 

[DizMe]

Oh, man!!! What a great report! Your photos are amazing. I've been in Santa Cruz for a gymnastics meet with the kiddos so I'm sorry I didn't see your latest installment until tonight, but it was worth the wait! You know what I thought the special effect was? I thought it was the Hidden Mickey under the balcony! Leave it to disneyluvr2 to spot the real thing. She catches everything. I just make stuff up.

Thanks for all the info on Club 33. You know what? I never got my martini glass, boo hoo!! I spent too much money elsewhere and reluctantly gave it up. I was very disappointed they had no pins, as that's always a good (relatively cheap) go-to club souvenir . They brought disneyluvr2 an ear hat for her birthday! That was cool. I'm with DL2--I want a Ruby Doo! Wouldn't it be funny if it ended up on the menu? Oh! Want to see my club 33 women's bathroom glamor pose? LOL:

I had a bunch of things I was going to comment on as I went through your report, but since I'm not an engineer (I'm guessing that's what you are, whoever ), I forgot to write them down. I'll have to go back through tomorrow and make sure I have notations.