This is what it's like to eat at the secret Disneyland club that has a 14-year waiting list
Tuxyso/ Wikimedia Commons & Christina Martini
The INSIDER Summary:
- Club 33 is the not-so-secret club hidden in plain sight in Disneyland. Unless you're a member (and there's a 14-year waiting list for membership) or know one, you can't get in.
- Lilian Disney designed the interior of Club 33, but Walt died before it was constructed.
- We spoke with three lucky guests who recently had the opportunity to dine there.
Right in the middle of New Orleans Square in Disneyland, located across from La Mascarade d'Orleans, is the inconspicuous entrance to one of the most-whispered-about spots in Disney parks across the globe: Club 33.
Club 33 is a secret five-star restaurant that the regular public cannot access. There are only two ways to get into Club 33: become a member, or be invited by one.
Membership costs up to $100,000 annually, with a reported $12,500 to $30,000 in additional annual fees. As of 2012, there was a 14-year waiting list for membership applicants.
The club was the brainchild of Walt Disney himself, who, after the 1964 World's Fair, envisioned opening a secret apartment for entertaining corporate sponsors and special guests near his own apartment, which was above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Unfortunately, Walt Disney never saw his idea come to fruition, as Club 33 opened in 1967, about six months after his death. Originally designed by Walt Disney's wife, Lillian, Club 33 underwent extensive renovations and expansions in 2014, and now looks completely different than it used to.
INSIDER spoke with three lucky diners who got the rare opportunity to visit Club 33. Lily Hopkins dined there with her brother, Max, and his girlfriend, Christina Martini, in June 2017, during the club's 50th anniversary celebration. They got reservations through Michael's co-worker.
Keep scrolling to see what it's like to eat at one of the world's most exclusive clubs.
This is the original entrance to Club 33, though it fell out of use after the 2014 renovations, when a second entrance opened up.
"When we got to the area, we had to make sure to go to the right door because there are two doors," Martini told INSIDER.
The new entrance opens up into the picturesque Court of Angels.
Members only need to swipe their membership cards to get in, though "regular" people must be buzzed in.
"After confirming your last name and reservation through a speaker outside the secret door, the staff buzzes you in and you enter a beautiful courtyard where they offer to take your photo before walking upstairs to the actual restaurant," Hopkins said.
A staircase at the back of the Court of Angels leads up to the actual entrance to the Club 33 lounge and restaurant.
"My family goes to Disneyland often, so Club 33 has always been a fun mystery/myth," said Hopkins. "We would pass the secret door making jokes about all the celebrities that must be inside. It was really exciting to finally be able to see it for ourselves after talking about it all these years."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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