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News Club 33 coming to Walt Disney World this Fall
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
TP2000
Well-Known Member
The vast majority of Disneyland's Club 33 folks live west of the Rockies, or work for Disneyland sponsors headquartered west of the Rockies. Honda Motors of America, a Club 33 executive member and major Disneyland sponsor (sponsors Autopia and fireworks and Grad Nites) that has no sponsorship presence at WDW at all, for example. Honda has its American corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, so why would those Honda execs want Club 33 access out in Orlando instead of Anaheim?
I've done some digging online today, with a spiced apple cider at my side for good measure, and I can't find any evidence that Club 33 in WDW is actively pursuing a membership base right now. And with the radio silence we've heard from Disney on this, it appears that Club 33 at WDW is on hold. Whether that hold is temporary and they'll revive it in 2018, or whether that hold is more long term and it may be years or a decade before it resurfaces again is unknown.
But something happened to stop the active pursuit of a WDW Club 33 membership base in its tracks for 2017, and likely 2018.
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JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
If its "on hold" what the heck are they building in the MK?
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
I'd love to know
I think there was some error in translation, it was never 'Club 33' but '33 cabanas.'
Club 33 in Disneyland works because the vast majority of people you see dining there on a regular basis are guests of a member company. It's not so much Disneyland sponsors as it is Southern California-based companies who hold corporate memberships and use the privileges to dole out to their own executives, potential clients, etc. Additionally, Disneyland draws its base largely from Southern California making using such a facility a reasonable proposition. In Florida, there isn't nearly the base of corporations who would use these lounges with any regularity (the average Disneyland guest visits twice per year, while Florida is every three years) or at the price point.
What would make sense, in my opinion, is to offer a VIP lounge in each park to a swath of different high-value guests, either as an up-charge, a perk for being a concierge (or VIP tour) guest. You could also offer membership as an premium charge on annual passes. Something a little more accessible to Florida's more modestly wealthy clients and not requiring an annual membership.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
I also am wondering if this is the direction they are going to go. Not quite a real membership "club" like 33, but something for big spenders, some corporate access, VIPs and anyone else who is willing to pay $$. Whatever "membership" they come up with, I'm sure it won't be nearly as complicated or expensive as what is done out in California, for all the reasons already mentioned in this thread.
That said, if they go that route, I don't know how they reconcile the differences between corporate types from conventions and slovenly f@nny pack tourists who will pay anything to Disney to feel special. An interesting mix.
True but I think, again, the geography and culture play a difference there. At Disneyland, a lot of Club 33 guests show up just for a high-class dinner and to watch Fantasmic. In Florida, I can't imagine a convention client taking a bus to the Magic Kingdom for the sole purpose of visiting this venue. It's more likely they'd do it on "park days."
Horizons '83
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Most of the Club 33 members use it as a tool to bring/wine and dine potential clients, so to me proximity to hotels really isn't much of an issue when you are dropping that kind of $.
Right - that's my point. There just isn't that kind of regular demographic at WDW. In Anaheim it's a regular tool tool because there's so many local businesses and Disneyland is frequented so often by locals. In Florida, it's just not that kind of business and it would be hard to lure companies on the off-chance a potential client is going to Walt Disney World. There may be some of that, but not in the way to fill up a four separate lounge/restaurants on a regular basis.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I've dined at Club 33 twice as a guest of Standard Oil of California, and I also agree that the socio-economic demographics of SoCal are very different from Central Florida (those are just facts, really).
I'm just wondering what happened to Club 33 at WDW? There was a pseudo-formal announcement early this year, there was buzz that we'd see the formal launch "this fall", and then.... nothing.
Now it's Christmastime, and we haven't heard a word on this. What happened? Put on hold short-term? Or put on hold long-term?
None of our insiders seem to know, and no one is talking, which makes it even more interesting.
Who knows, but my guess is they did some market research and quickly discovered they couldn't get nearly the membership base they were expecting at the price-point they were hoping for.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Gee, if it isn't happening I wonder why they are building?
https://forums.wdwmagic.com/posts/7947711/
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TP2000
Well-Known Member
Perhaps. We all kind of assumed the WDW Club 33 would have to have a different type of business model and membership agreement to make it work for Central Florida's demographics and economics. But you would also assume they had already figured that out, gotten buy off from the sharp pencil boys, and knew they could get the financials to work with whatever modified Club 33 experience they would create.
I can't believe TDO didn't already have a firm business plan approved before they made an announcement about it.
Good question. What are they building there and why? Because they certainly aren't actively cultivating a Club 33 membership list right now, nor have they announced anything as "this fall" has now passed and turned into early winter. Something happened in the last six months somewhere.
Maybe interest was too soft, so they are going to build a Club facility and use it as an open house model tour to show off what you could get if you joined Club 33? They maybe needed a physical space before they could get real people to pay to join? Maybe the Club 33 mystique that is so well known in Southern California just didn't translate to Central Florida, and they need a physical space to show off?
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
That is the location rumored and stated since Spirit broke that 33 was coming to the world. Skipper's certainly needs no expansion after being open 10 minutes.
There are 20 days left in "Fall, 2017."
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Since when has that stopped them? re:NFL
GlacierGlacier
Well-Known Member
But what if club 33 has already opened? And it's so secretive not even the disney execs know about it? In fact, it's so secret not even the people inside club 33 know they're in club 33?
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Not like they will stand out front and direct people to look at the new 33 construction but maybe they put up a kiosk to sell memberships. If it works for DVC why not 33?