MickeyMinnieMom
Well-Known Member
You assume so much. And you're incorrect. But that's never stopped anyone on here!
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News Club 33 coming to Walt Disney World this Fall
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Sometimes when you hear hoofbeats, it really is a horse.
Josh Hendy
Well-Known Member
Well ... unless the clubs were incorporated as arms-length, non-profit entities ... no other conclusion is objectively possible.
The issue being disputed is whether subjectively it is "wise" or "fair". The essential motive is obviously a money-grab I.e. make profits.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
I asked you before and you didn’t answer, are you a member of the club in Florida?
TP2000
Well-Known Member
It really is interesting how the two clubs are so different, isn't it?
One of the things we haven't heard from WDW members here is about any of the special events that Club 33 may host throughout the year, and I would be fascinated to hear about their experiences with the WDW special events.
At Disneyland they'll have theme evenings, with a speaker like Tony Baxter who will discuss building Indiana Jones, and then the club members will go ride Indiana Jones before returning to a themed 1930's adventurers dinner.
They also host some very big social events through the calendar year. Candlelight Ceremony the first weekend in December is hugely important for club members, there's a separate reserved seating area at Candlelight right down in front for Club members and their guests, and the members go all out on their outfits and a big Christmas dinner in the Grand Salon before or after the ceremony they attend. Candlelight Weekend is a social calendar highlight not to be missed for club members.
Every year they have the annual Club 33 Jazz Festival in the park after it closes, and some truly wonderful jazz musicians come in for concerts and jam sessions around New Orleans Square. That's a hugely important social event for the club members I do know, and it's a social calendar highlight for them. The park is closed for the Jazz Festival, they have all sorts of characters and live entertainment and open bars around New Orleans Square, live bands on the Mark Twain riverboat, and in the Blue Bayou and French Market, while dinner and more jazz (and quite a few cocktails) are served upstairs in the club itself.
This year's program...
Club 33 Jazz Festival - Blue Bayou Restaurant Jam Session
Tiana and her Flapper Crew dance to a jazz combo in an empty New Orleans Square at the Jazz Festival...
And on through the social calendar; a SoCal car club themed rock n' roll night in Cars Land, a California wine evening with California vintners displaying and explaining their wines, etc., etc..
I do know from talking with some members that these social events are very important to them and a huge reason why they belong to Club 33 at Disneyland. And I can understand that, as some of those events do sound quite special and are uniquely a Club 33 offering. You can't buy a ticket to any of this stuff, not even Candlelight Ceremony. You only get these experiences when you are a Club 33 member. And that adds to the value proposition of membership.
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Rteetz
Well-Known Member
If I was a member I wouldn’t promote that. It opens a can of worms of people asking you to be able to go. It could also have a negative impact on your membership potentially leading to your removal.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
It really is interesting how the two clubs are so different, isn't it?
One of the things we haven't heard from WDW members here is about any of the special events that Club 33 may host throughout the year, and I would be fascinated to hear about their experiences with the WDW special events.
At Disneyland they'll have theme evenings, with a speaker like Tony Baxter who will discuss building Indiana Jones, and then the club members will go ride Indiana Jones before returning to a themed 1930's adventurers dinner.
They also host some very big social events through the calendar year. Candlelight Ceremony the first weekend in December is hugely important for club members, there's a separate reserved seating area at Candlelight right down in front for Club members and their guests, and the members go all out on their outfits and a big Christmas dinner in the Grand Salon before or after the ceremony they attend. Candlelight Weekend is a social calendar highlight not to be missed for club members.
Every year they have the annual Club 33 Jazz Festival in the park after it closes, and some truly wonderful jazz musicians come in for concerts and jam sessions around New Orleans Square. That's a hugely important social event for the club members I do know, and it's a social calendar highlight for them. The park is closed for the Jazz Festival, they have all sorts of characters and live entertainment and open bars around New Orleans Square, live bands on the Mark Twain riverboat, and in the Blue Bayou and French Market, while dinner and more jazz (and quite a few cocktails) are served upstairs in the club itself.
This year's program...
Club 33 Jazz Festival - Blue Bayou Restaurant Jam Session
Tiana and her Flapper Crew dance to a jazz combo in an empty New Orleans Square at the Jazz Festival...
And on through the social calendar; a SoCal car club themed rock n' roll night in Cars Land, a California wine evening with California vintners displaying and explaining their wines, etc., etc..
I do know from talking with some members that these social events are very important to them and a huge reason why they belong to Club 33 at Disneyland. And I can understand that, as some of those events do sound quite special and are uniquely a Club 33 offering. You can't buy a ticket to any of this stuff, not even Candlelight Ceremony. You only get these experiences when you are a Club 33 member. And that adds to the value proposition of membership.
Exactly! And the opportunity to ride in the Lilly Belle... all the little things that make it something special. Still over priced... but special. (Which is the Disney way!).
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Other posters have said they were members in this thread. She doesn’t have to answer the question, but I’m allowed to ask
Benjamin_Nicholas
Well-Known Member
This is spot on.
33 (and, by proxy, Golden Oak) create this ease to doing Disney... Or, not doing the parks at all and just relaxing on property.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
How does 33 help you to relax on property outside of the parks? Does it get you into restaurants without ADR? Or do you mean you can relax outside of the parks knowing you don’t have FP deadlines to get to?
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I think it's also worth noting, and others might find it interesting, that Shanghai Disneyland opened in 2016 with a Club 33, and the Shanghai version mirrors the Anaheim and Tokyo clubs by offering a fine dining restaurant for members.
It's a different sort of contemporary look in Shanghai, instead of the themed vintage looks of Tokyo and Anaheim, but it offers the same level of service as the other Club 33 concepts in Japan and California.
Shanghai Disneyland Club 33 dining room...
I mention this because after three years of operating a Club 33 concept at WDW, they appear to be moving forward with operating that version without a restaurant option whatsoever. Somehow the business model for Club 33 at WDW is based on not having to offer fine dining, which I find really interesting that they are able to get away with that at WDW. But there we are!
It's a different sort of contemporary look in Shanghai, instead of the themed vintage looks of Tokyo and Anaheim, but it offers the same level of service as the other Club 33 concepts in Japan and California.
Shanghai Disneyland Club 33 dining room...
I mention this because after three years of operating a Club 33 concept at WDW, they appear to be moving forward with operating that version without a restaurant option whatsoever. Somehow the business model for Club 33 at WDW is based on not having to offer fine dining, which I find really interesting that they are able to get away with that at WDW. But there we are!
That's really interesting to me, thanks for confirming. When a Disneyland member told me there was no reciprocity benefits between the coasts in the contract, and then showed me his Club 33 contract book to prove it, I was floored. The two coasts are entirely separate and have no ability to offer benefits, or even a courtesy, between the two resorts.
Again, that's just so weird. I have family down in San Diego that have been members of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club for several generations now, and just like any good club there is reciprocity between country, yacht and beach clubs around the world for them; we've had a nice weekend at the fabulous Coral Club up at the Santa Barbara Four Seasons thanks to that reciprocity, and even had dinner once at the Hurlingham Club in London thanks to that reciprocity built into the contract 6,000 miles away in La Jolla.
A good reciprocal program benefits the members when they travel, and can bring a fun and cosmopolitan new vibe into the home club as well when those members from around the world visit the home club.
The only thing I can think is that this is a money grab by Disney. They want to force those truly interested in a Club 33 membership on both coasts to go through the financial process of joining each club separately. I can think of no other reason, but if there's someone with a different theory out there please weigh in!
And while I recognize you'll hang on this no reciprocity thing as ammo, I'm a moth to the flame and will respond....
Your examples are in a completely different world than 33 - anyone can book at La Jolla B&T or Coral Club. I guarantee if LJB&T had enough member demand to fill their rooms, they wouldn't be letting anyone who can fog a mirror book directly from their website.
DL33 has existed for decades and capacity was built around their membership. Yes, your family was set up at some obscure social club in London all the way from San Diego - I'm guessing that reciprocity link has been used 3 times in all of history. There would be exponentially more use between WDW/DL clubs and neither were built with the capacity to do so.
But the reality is that a concierge based reciprocity isn't needed - as I said before, members of both clubs are very friendly towards each other and host travelers all the time. I've never heard another member complain we don't have it and it's a lot more fun to be hosted through the front door by friends than through the back door by a concierge desk.
And I love the use of "money grab" and its negative connotation. Joke's on Disney.
MickeyMinnieMom
Well-Known Member
“We”?Somehow the business model for Club 33 at WDW is based on not having to offer fine dining, which I find really interesting that they are able to get away with that at WDW.
But there we are!
Not sure why it’s “really interesting”. As I said before, these are different markets, with different options for fine dining. WDW has far, far more, obviously. Who knows — maybe some day they’ll add a full restaurant in WDW — but it’s not confusing as to why the demand for that wouldn’t be that high in comparison to the other parks. Pretty straightforward.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
“We”?
Not sure why it’s “really interesting”. As I said before, these are different markets, with different options for fine dining. WDW has far, far more, obviously. Who knows — maybe some day they’ll add a full restaurant in WDW — but it’s not confusing as to why the demand for that wouldn’t be that high in comparison to the other parks. Pretty straightforward.
MK doesn’t have anything I would call fine dining, I'm personally surprised that the mk club doesn’t include a restaurant.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
“We”?
Not sure why it’s “really interesting”. As I said before, these are different markets, with different options for fine dining. WDW has far, far more, obviously. Who knows — maybe some day they’ll add a full restaurant in WDW — but it’s not confusing as to why the demand for that wouldn’t be that high in comparison to the other parks. Pretty straightforward.
I only meant "we" as those of us enjoying this thread conversation, not that "we" are all of the same opinion on this.
As for fine dining at WDW (and yes there are some great restaurants at WDW), it's located in a small southern city with a lower than average median income, so there's not much else going on in Orlando besides theme park restaurants. The three other Club 33 restaurants are located within mega-cities that are world capitals of finance and power with median incomes way above average, so fine dining options abound in those communities.
Because of that very different socio-economic situation in Orlando and lack of options, I would have thought a Club 33 dining room, if not three or four separate dining rooms across multiple parks, would have been a mandatory part of the experience when they opened this concept at WDW. But somehow they've put together a business model that allows them to only offer cocktail lounges and a lower level of service while maintaining a similar pricing structure as Anaheim.
You don't think that's interesting that they can get away with that at WDW? I do.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I brought up the reciprocal policy, or complete lack thereof, because I think it's interesting that the same company running the same club in the same country wouldn't build in reciprocity. Even if it's an add-on upcharge for Platinum members only, or something.
I'd love to hear their thinking on why that's not an option. Call it the Club 33 Titanium level or something.
MickeyMinnieMom
Well-Known Member
On property in WDW there are many options. That’s the point. If someone is primarily interested in a fine dining vacation they’ll go to Paris, NYC or any number of other cities. While vacationing in a theme park, it’s great to maximize that experience and not have to leave it. One can stay in the WDW bubble and go to V&A, a monorail ride from MK. In DL, no such option. Thus the greater attractiveness of a full dining 33 option there. Less demand in WDW. Simple.I only meant "we" as those of us enjoying this thread conversation, not that "we" are all of the same opinion on this.
As for fine dining at WDW (and yes there are some great restaurants at WDW), it's located in a small southern city with a lower than average median income, so there's not much else going on in Orlando besides theme park restaurants. The three other Club 33 restaurants are located within mega-cities that are world capitals of finance and power with median incomes way above average, so fine dining options abound in those communities.
Because of that very different socio-economic situation in Orlando and lack of options, I would have thought a Club 33 dining room, if not three or four separate dining rooms across multiple parks, would have been a mandatory part of the experience when they opened this concept at WDW. But somehow they've put together a business model that allows them to only offer cocktail lounges and a lower level of service while maintaining a similar pricing structure as Anaheim.
You don't think that's interesting that they can get away with that at WDW? I do.
I know some on these boards are determined to always conclude that everything is a money grab, Disney is just fleecing people, some have nothing better to do with their money and are being duped into an inferior offering, etc. Nothing anyone can say to change this. If they add a restaurant in WDW in the future, you’ll have different things that you’ll find... “interesting”. Have at it!
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Actually.... that’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m certain that the club 33 restaurants around the world operate at a high profit just as restaurants. (Meaning take away the club memberships and they are still making a high profit). So it seems surprising that Disney didn’t include one in Florida, as I said, specifically in MK where there is no fine dining.
Benjamin_Nicholas
Well-Known Member
Golden Oak gives full access at Four Seasons, so that's one aspect of relaxing for me (spa, golf, etc).
Yes, 33 will ensure I don't need to worry about a res, as well as FP. However, GO can load up members on FP as well.
Unless it's a special event, I don't regularly do the parks. If there's family or friends involved, we end up using Disney VIP. It's just easier that way.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
No, she isn't.
FWIW, I don't see the appeal of a WDW33. I see the appeal of some of the perks as the two members here have spoken about. I don't see the appeal of bundling them into one large purchase though. Which is what it appears to be. The DDP of VIP perks.
The appeal of an exclusive Country Club, ala Ridgewood or Hamilton Farms or some such, is the access to the course, the networking, the prestige. Even DL33 has this, access to Club 33, networking, prestige. WDW33 has none of those things, so it loses it's appeal in a hurry.
Now, having said all that, I have no problem with it existing or with folks who are serious WDW lovers being members. You go to the parks multiple times a year and still love the product that TDO is putting out, then good on you. It's in small enough numbers, and the locations of the clubs are small enough that they don't take away from the regular guests, that it's all good.
I do find the conversation about the club to be interesting, and I am happy to have actual members here relaying their experiences.