Off to guest relations to grab our discounted tickets. We had reservations for Club 33 at 2 pm. In the past they used to give you a free 1-day hopper ticket for dining at Club 33, now it has changed to a 20% discount. A 1-day hopper ticket in 2014 has increased to $150.
Our first stop for the day is DCA. Been going to Disneyland on the weekday for several years and it seems to be getting more and more popular. Usually it's slow on Mondays in October.
While everyone else was getting coffee and breakfast goods. I headed off to snag some fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers.
Even though the line was wrapped around the corner. It only took me about 5 minutes to get fast passes and surprisingly a lot were still available. I have heard that they are being very strict about guest returning on time for their fast pass. I usually save my fast passes for later in the evening and use them.
I have noticed that on the fast passes it does state that early or late arrivals cannot be accommodated. I don't think that was there before. Also in the past you were only allowed one fast pass per park and could only get another once the current fast pass time has been met, then you were allowed to get another one. Now printed on the ticket they allow you to get another fast pass earlier than scheduled. It will tell you what time you're allowed to get another. That is definitely. I don't like this new method of fast pass use. It throws off my strategy of going through the park rides.
I can't say for sure how strict they are, because I didn't arrive late to any of the ride, but I did use some expired fast passes a few months ago back in May and I had no problem.
After grabbing fast passes for RSR I headed over to Grizzly River Run and got passes for World of Colors.
Was able to get both passes and they guys barely made it to the front of the line.
I love Disney's creativity when it comes to their candied apples. My favorite is the poisoned apple (not pictured)
John with an epic win on snagging the bill for breakfast goodies.
Alright people.. We can walk and eat at the same time. Let's go to Midway Mania.
Got to Midway Mania and they were having technical issues. So we got on California Screamin
Fun fact thanks to Ashlie. The person that voices California Screamin is none other than Neil Patrick Harris. (Doogie Howser, How I Met Your Mother, Harold and Kumar)
After knowing the fact you can really tell it him. He does the safety talk while boarding the ride also the 3-2-1 countdown.
By the time we got off the ride, Midway Mania was operational again.
Robyn's Disney inspired nails.
The player with the highest score gets to buy the next round of snacks.
Looks like I won!
I'm not sure why I had never done it before, but I Googled must eat foods in Disneyland and found this list of the top 15 Disneyland food worth waiting in line for.
2 of the 15 items were at the Cove Bar. I have walked by this place so many times and have never noticed it before, but once they mentioned it's location I knew exactly where it was. So that's where we went.
#4 on the list was a Zombie. It mentioned that it varies depending on the bartender, but it's usually 5 different rums. Mine came out looking like the undead already. Looked nothing like the online picture.
Robyn got the Godiva infused strawberries. They come with little plastic tubes/syringes that inject the strawberry with 3 different Godiva liquors (alcoholic) Hooray!
Thi had the Magical Star Cocktail.
Ashlie had the Pinacolava. This drink was amazing. Alcoholic, but tasted like a dessert.
Jimmy and I got the zombie and it was really good. After having a sip of ours Jason wanted one also. I think Jason's bartender took a lot more time and care with his Zombie, because it came out way better looking than ours. Now this drink looks like the online picture.
It was around 11:30 am and our lunch reservations was in a few hours. We didn't want to ruin our appetite so we only had two orders of Lobster Nachos. Yup you read that right Lobster Nachos.
#14 on the list. This was delicious. I would I could have had more, but better things were to come.
It was a nice size appetizer, easily shared between the 5 of us.
By the time we finished Tom had just arrived to Disneyland. So we headed over there to meet up with him.
Look at that candy corn cotton candy. I love the little details Disney puts into everything.
After meeting up with Tom, he filled us in about all the new renovations of Club 33. Found out that the new Jazz Lounge. It's actual name is Le Salon Nouveau, but I like calling it the Jazz Lounge. We were informed that we were allowed to arrive an hour before our lunch reservation to the lounge to have drinks. Or course we were not going to pass this up so while the group headed to Club 33, I headed to Space Mountain to get fast passes.
Along with the new renovations of Club 33. The entrance to Club 33 has changed. The old door is still present, but the new door is just a few feet away.
The old entrance next to Blue Bayou.
The new Club 33 entrance.
The new entrance leads you to a small room.
That has a small concierge desk
and a cabinet with Club 33 merchandise. They had also updated the Club 33 logo along with the renovations. I'm glad I have some of the old merchandise
The small room leads you to the Court of Angels.
The Court of Angels had been open to the public in the past, but looks like is now exclusive to Club 33 members & guest now. I do enjoy the new waiting area. The old location had such a small room that most of the time we had to wait outside the door. With the Court of Angels there was plenty of room for us and others to wait.
Cold water is available, and you can also see the old entrance into the Court of Angels which is now closed off... and I think that kid is tired.
They also had cold towels to cool you off.
A major thing missing from the entrance is the French Lift. Which I am bummed about. There was so much history to that piece.
Through the wine cellar is the Jazz Lounge.
There are four well decorated booths surrounding the entrance to the lounge.
This is the old French Lift. It looks surprisingly small compared to seeing it in the elevator shaft. At least they turned it into a little seating area.
The new Jazz Lounge is very elegant. I love the look and feel of it. It's amazing!
Located in the lounge is the grand piano. I was told that a few pianist were invited to record some music on it. The piano is playing back the recordings. I was also told that if another person has the same piano somewhere else in the world they can remotely sync and play from where ever they are at and it will play live at Club 33. Pretty cool that they have the potential to have famous artist play remotely.
They had moved the telephone booth near the bathrooms. It's kind of out of the way and if you never go to the restrooms you will never see it.
The restroom is very nice.
Shoe shiner
Mouthwash
I'm not sure what it was in the jar, but I took one.
I was a bit disappointed with the old bar and drink menu or lack of one. So I am very glad to see this new extensive drink menu. These are the kinds of drink I would have expected an exclusive restaurant to have.
New Club 33 coasters. Tom got me a stack of these :)
#1 Lucid Absinthe. Never had Absinthe before. This is probably one of the best times to try it.
Cold water slow dripped over sugar into Absinthe.
There's also a bar menu, but I can't imagine anyone eating at the bar before their meal.
The photo's slowly change throughout time. It's not instant either. Every time I passed by the photos there was something different. It's very similar to the active things you would normally find in the Dream Suite, which we were luck enough to tour in 2012. Click here.
This is the Lucid Absinthe after it has finished. It started off green.
Robyn had the Club 33 Diamond Martini. Truffle olives and Diamond shaped Ice cube/block/diamond... whatever.
I think John had the Sazerac
I don't always drink Absinthe, but when I do. It's in Club 33.
Jason and Nicole had the French Martini.
Thi asked me if there was a dress code for Club 33. I told her no tank tops... guess what she decided to wear? So they gave her a Shawul.. I think that's what it's called.
I think Jimmy and Ashlie are enjoying their first Disneyland trip with me.
What left of the Diamond Ice.
Finally our table was ready. So off to lunch we go.
There used to be a fireplace here, but it's been removed and replaced with a bay window. It really brightens the room up and you can really notice it from outside Club 33 especially at night.
The lunch has been changed and is different now. Before it used to be a cold plate appetizer buffet, then you would choose your main entree and finish with a dessert buffet.
Now you have a choice between a 3 course meal for $70 or a 4 course for $80.
French Martini
My goal is to eventually try everything on the drink menu. #2 Vieux Carre
Blue Crab and Artichoke Gratin
Quail
For my first course I had the Sausage and Pate
Tom, going a little off menu and got the chili.
You can't really tell but it's didn't look like chili. It looked more like steak and beans and was amazing. Was told they use the end cuts of the Filet Mignon to make the chili.
Second course I had the Squash soup.
Tomato salad with fried Burrata. I tried an piece and it's delicious. Going for this next time.
Took a little break with another drink. #3 Sidecar
Hurricane.
The server folded Nicole's napkin into a robe.
Berkshire Pork Medallion
For my 3rd course I had the Filet Mignon. Now I was really looking forward to the Chateaubriand, but Chef Marcel had left during the renovations. He is now over at Steakhouse 55 which is over at the Disneyland resort. Looks like I'm going to have to stop by there now. Also missing from the menu is the Truffle Mac & Cheese.
But I must admit the Filet Mignon was a nice replacement for the Chateaubriand.
Chicken
Phat had the Citrus Lobster Salad. He said it was really good and had a good amount of Lobster.
The Filet Mignon also comes with a side of Bernaise sauce.
#4 I asked the server to pick out something for me, because I had already tried her top choices. She brought me Mr.Well-be-loved. This was an excellent choice.
and for our final course I had the warm monkey bread.
Vanilla Mascarpone Velvet.
with a little bit of edible gold.
Classic Opera Cake
After our meal Tom set up a tour of the new Club 33 for us. They changed the floor.
The famous vanity from Mary Poppins is still there.
I think that is the Vulture from the trophy room and it move too!
An art piece of the old Club 33 entrance.
If you noticed from an earlier picture I had above that there was a crowd in the ballroom painting. Everyone had left and now it is a lone janitor sweeping the floor.
I'm not sure if there was a log book at the old Club 33, but here is the log book.
After our tour we spent some time out on the balcony.
Jason and Nicole's second year on this trip. Hopefully they keep it up.
For as long as I've known Tom I had never taken a pic with him. Better now than never.
Club 33 kids menu. I didn't even know they had one.
Buying some of the new swag.
Look the ball room is crowded again. Eventually the picture turns from black & white to full color.
I love the new bar. It's way better than the old one.
A jar of nutmeg.
We ended up back in the lounge to hang out and have some more drinks.
For drink #5 Hurricane. (I forgot to snap a pic)
It's amazing how you can forget that this whole time we were in Disneyland. Eventually it was time to leave and go on some rides. We stepped into Disneyland around 12:30 pm and it's now 6 pm and we have rode one thing yet.
Tom took us to the back side of the Haunted Mansion. Some of us had not gone back here yet.
Pet cemetery.
After getting some fast passes for Splash Mountain we headed over to Thunder Mountain.
I haven't been on this ride in years, but it was way better than I last remember.
After Thunder Mountain Tom was able to get us some fast passes for Star Tours.
#5 on the food list was Matterhorn Macaroons from the Jolly Holiday Bakery.
They were amazing. It's something I have to stop for on a regular basis now. Totally worth being on the list.
After Star Tours our fast passes for Space Mountain was ready.
After Space Mountain it was time for Tom to head home. So we parted ways and we met up with the rest of the group that didn't go on the rides.
Our fast passes for Splash Mountain were ready so we headed in that direction. Some of the other people in the group snagged a table for the Fantasmic show that night.
Splash Mountain was Jimmy's best idea. I didn't get wet because I sat in the far back, but not the rest of them.
After Splash Mountain I tried to get #8 on the food list. Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Sandwich from Pooh's Corner, but they were all sold out. I was informed that they do carry it at the bakery in Main Street and you can also find it at the bakery in Downtown Disney.
We sat down for Fantasmic and ordered dinner.
Corn Dog, Fish and Chips, and Chicken Tenders.
#9 on the food list was Mickey Beignets. They had regular and pumpkin, but it wasn't that good, only because these had been sitting for a bit and weren't fresh.
The start of Fantasmic. it's has also been a while since I seen this show.
The show was still great as usual. By the time Fantasmic was over it was closing time. :(
Walking out of Disneyland through Main Street is like one of the most depressing things.
Phat's a big kid at heart.
Stopped by the Disney Store to do a little shopping.
The last picture of the night. One which was once full is now empty. Ever wonder how many cars the Micky and Friend Parking Garage holds? We were told by a cast member 11,000
You guys ride in style! Great pics of the secretive 33!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark. We try to go all out when we're on vacation. Also helps knowing some of the right people.
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