Oh god, what have they done to New Orleans Square?

[Californian Elitist]

Thanks for the nothing response. You incrimented the counter on your profile. Good job.

Flynn is absolutely correct.

 

[flynnibus]

Thanks for the nothing response. You incrimented the counter on your profile. Good job.

Does my profile say "dadddio's educator"? No. I don't need to bring you up to speed for me to be right and I have no interest in investing time in you

 

[dadddio]

Does my profile say "dadddio's educator"? No. I don't need to bring you up to apeed for me to be right and I have no interest in investing time in you

I love that. You have no need to ever explain your crazed theories and random rambles. You just demand that you're always correct. Awesome sauce!

 

[flynnibus]

I love that. You have no need to ever explain your crazed theories and random rambles. You just demand that you're always correct. Awesome sauce!

I explain myself plenty when there is need or a open discussion. But I don't throw good money after bad... And trying to educate you is exactly that.

 

[dadddio]

I explain myself plenty when there is need or a open discussion. But I don't throw good money after bad... And trying to educate you is exactly that.

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

 

[TP2000]

I challenge that statement. Only three factors have ever factored in to becoming a club member: interest, patience, and funding. This is not some kind of invitation only club for special people.

Bingo. There is no scheduled interview with Disney leadership to become a club member. You don't have to submit references and family lineage info, a business resume, letters of reference from your previous clubs and organizations, and Disney doesn't do a background check on you, call your references, confirm your income and net worth, etc.

I have family in La Jolla that have been members of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club for decades, and that's exactly what happens when a person applies to join there, or any well-regarded beach club, country club, yacht club, etc. in this country.

All you have to do for Club 33 is wait on the list and shell out the cash, then keep paying your dues. Disney doesn't even maintain a dress code any more for the dining room. It's all about cash for Club 33, and has been for quite some time.

 

[TP2000]

Andy Castro says where that photo is, it is the entrance to the club. The fake candle is on the bridge to the original dining area and the photo is taken from standing under the bridge that goes to the new Jazz Lounge.

So this is in that back alley next to the restrooms and above where the Christmas shop was? Or is this the backside of the new bridge they built above Café Orleans entrance and Mlle. Antoinette's Parfumerie? Either way, these huge new windows face west or south and look out on a back alley somewhere. But I just can't place where in the back of the land this is.

Where has anyone talked about the off-center window being visible from Cafe Orleans and why would the dining area be the only important area? It is visible, that is what matters.
How is more paint and props going to make a large window smaller? What is the point of new, grand windows if they are going to be obscured? Do you really think they are going to go in now and redo the arch so that the door fits?

I just don't think of it as something people look at much. It's behind a patio that is a sea of umbrellas, wedged in between two giant ficus trees. And it's not even done yet. They still have to add shutters or balconies and "stuff" to this facade.

It will be interesting to see what this pathway view (about the only clear look you can get of this part of the Café Orleans façade) looks like with this big new window when they are done.

 

[TP2000]

I did some googling this morning. They reduced the wait list in two ways. First, they stopped letting people get on the list something like a dozen years ago. Even with this moratorium and having those on the list state their intention annually to remain on the list, it still had a wait time of something like fourteen years. Then in 1012, they allowed 100 people to join when they opened the DCA club (and subsequently opened up the wait list to new applicants). It would not at all surprise me if the current waitlist is far more than 100 people.

Yup, that's a good summary.

I imagine the list is still hundreds of people long, if not 1,000 or more. They've roughly doubled the space of the club, and created a new jazz lounge where members can drop in for drinks and appetizers at any time without a reservation. There are probably more seats in the expanded dining room too, for more available dinner or brunch reservations.

They could probably add 100 or more new members to the club and keep everyone happy with the expanded facility. That's more money for Disney, and a new lounge format that gives members the ability to stop in more often and get a Club 33 experience without much planning. A win-win for the owner and the customers.

Someone in TDA thought about this like a sharp businessman and went after the pent up demand very wisely. Since the corporate memberships are a fraction of what they used to be, TDA realized they need to go after the long list of private folks waiting to join.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Yup, that's a good summary.

I imagine the list is still hundreds of people long, if not 1,000 or more. They've roughly doubled the space of the club, and created a new jazz lounge where members can drop in for drinks and appetizers at any time without a reservation. There are probably more seats in the expanded dining room too, for more available dinner or brunch reservations.

They could probably add 100 or more new members to the club and keep everyone happy with the expanded facility. That's more money for Disney, and a new lounge format that gives members the ability to stop in more often and get a Club 33 experience without much planning. A win-win for the owner and the customers.

Someone in TDA thought about this like a sharp businessman and went after the pent up demand very wisely. Since the corporate memberships are a fraction of what they used to be, TDA realized they need to go after the long list of private folks waiting to join.

I don't know if they're planning to add new members or not. Incredibly enough, the new dining area seats LESS than before.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

The "before" photos just make it even sadder. This is what happens when you let Walt Disney World managers run amok in Disneyland. They ruined the Florida parks, now they're ruining the original!

 

[TP2000]

Andy Castro says where that photo is, it is the entrance to the club. The fake candle is on the bridge to the original dining area and the photo is taken from standing under the bridge that goes to the new Jazz Lounge.

I was still confused on what part of NOS we were looking at in the photos so I had to go look for myself. And Disneyland's 59th Anniversary on an absolutely GORGEOUS SoCal summer day with weather/temps all of North America would envy was a good enough reason!

As I suspected, this project looks very different in person. And they have done a great deal of finishing work already since these photos were taken last week. But it's also obvious there's more to come.

There are now shutters and accessories applied to the exterior of the new windows. You can also tell they've had Disney's own painters in to age and distress and add a patina to the base paint the contractors applied on the new construction; but there's also visible break points where you can tell Disney's artisans have stopped their overnight work.

Needless to say, on Thursday the 17th this scene looks different than it did when this photo was taken last week:

The big new windows have drapery rods now hung up inside, but the draperies aren't installed yet. You can also tell the exterior props and street accesories are only just now beginning to go in; a lot of the new wrought iron balconies don't have their props in yet.

The only thing I found disappointing was the new "stained glass" doors to the old Court of Angels. From 10 feet away they look nice, but get up close and they look suspicious. I tapped on them, and sure enough, it's plastic panels! Cheap and tacky.

Most everything else looked great, although there is still work and finishing details to do. I'll check back in a couple of weeks.

 

[RandomPrincess]

I was still confused on what part of NOS we were looking at in the photos so I had to go look for myself. And Disneyland's 59th Anniversary on an absolutely GORGEOUS SoCal summer day with weather/temps all of North America would envy was a good enough reason!

As I suspected, this project looks very different in person. And they have done a great deal of finishing work already since these photos were taken last week. But it's also obvious there's more to come.

There are now shutters and accessories applied to the exterior of the new windows. You can also tell they've had Disney's own painters in to age and distress and add a patina to the base paint the contractors applied on the new construction; but there's also visible break points where you can tell Disney's artisans have stopped their overnight work.

Needless to say, on Thursday the 17th this scene looks different than it did when this photo was taken last week:

The big new windows have drapery rods now hung up inside, but the draperies aren't installed yet. You can also tell the exterior props and street accesories are only just now beginning to go in; a lot of the new wrought iron balconies don't have their props in yet.

The only thing I found disappointing was the new "stained glass" doors to the old Court of Angels. From 10 feet away they look nice, but get up close and they look suspicious. I tapped on them, and sure enough, it's plastic panels! Cheap and tacky.

Most everything else looked great, although there is still work and finishing details to do. I'll check back in a couple of weeks.

It's looking better!

 

[dadddio]

The only thing I found disappointing was the new "stained glass" doors to the old Court of Angels. From 10 feet away they look nice, but get up close and they look suspicious. I tapped on them, and sure enough, it's plastic panels! Cheap and tacky.

That's a bit of a bummer, but not unexpected. Real stained glass on those panels would be problematic.

 

[Marc Gil]

I'm quite anxious to see what the finished product will look like.

From the photo provided by @TP2000, things seem to be shaping up a bit better, at least in that general vicinity.

I've been following InsideTheMagic's twitter feed. He retweeted some photos of the interior of the new Club 33.

It looks like they were taken from a cell phone, but what do you guys think?

This is apparently the new lobby

"The Hall of Wines"

Tom Sawyer Booth

"Salon Nouveau"

Haunted Mansion booth

Court of Angels: 1966-2013

 

[TP2000]

Wow @Marc Gil that's a very different look for Club 33! They are clearly going for a 1930's vibe here. I've been watching Agatha Christie's Poirot on Netflix recently, and these rooms remind me a lot of the swanky 1930's London sets they use on Poirot.

I'm still confused on how this all pieces together upstairs, although it makes more sense now that I walked through NOS yesterday afternoon. I'd love to see a schematic for how it flows through these upstairs rooms. I'd also love to see some professional photos, or at least pictures not taken quickly with an iPhone.

I have visited Club 33 twice for dinner, over a decade ago as a guest of Standard Oil. This new Club 33 has a much lighter, jazzier feel to it than the old club. And to be honest, the old club felt very... old. Like your grandmas formal Victorian house that someone redecorated once in the 1980's.

Club 33 - Circa 2005 Version

 

[Marc Gil]

Wow @Marc Gil that's a very different look for Club 33! They are clearly going for a 1930's vibe here. I've been watching Agatha Christie's Poirot on Netflix recently, and these rooms remind me a lot of the swanky 1930's London sets they use on Poirot.

I'm still confused on how this all pieces together upstairs, although it makes more sense now that I walked through NOS yesterday afternoon. I'd love to see a schematic for how it flows through these upstairs rooms. I'd also love to see some professional photos, or at least pictures not taken quickly with an iPhone.

I have visited Club 33 twice for dinner, over a decade ago as a guest of Standard Oil. This new Club 33 has a much lighter, jazzier feel to it than the old club. And to be honest, the old club felt very... old. Like your grandmas formal Victorian house that someone redecorated once in the 1980's.

Club 33 - Circa 2005 Version

Quite frankly, I'm not digging the new remodel, at least what I've seen so far.

While imposing, I actually liked the regal Victorian atmosphere of the original Club 33, and while it was regal, it felt more intimate and exclusive.

The new remodel so far looks like a trendy jazz bar IMHO.

 

[TP2000]

The scaffolding is down, walls are down - how are they gonna fix all this stuff without the equipment in place? Seems unlikely the final product will be much improved at this point.

Here's a photo of what I was talking about. Disney has these cranes (AKA "cherry pickers" or "man lifts") that can go into tight, confined spaces like the back alleys of NOS and lift workers up to finish exteriors. http://mintcrocodile.blogspot.com/

Disney uses these machines to install props, age and patina new paint, install exterior faux balconies and fixtures, and add final details. I've seen them do this all the time with construction projects in the parks. Much of it happens late at night after the park closes, but you can often spot this equipment over the construction walls in the last week or two of work. And even after the construction walls come down and people think it's "done", it's not as the project changes daily as these machines with CM's on them roll in overnight to finish detailing a new façade or facility.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Quite frankly, I'm not digging the new remodel, at least what I've seen so far.

While imposing, I actually liked the regal Victorian atmosphere of the original Club 33, and while it was regal, it felt more intimate and exclusive.

The new remodel so far looks like a trendy jazz bar IMHO.

That lobby looks awful IMO.

And still we lose the Court of Angels. That just profoundly irredeemably sucks.

 

[TP2000]

I don't get it. TDA has done such wonderful things for Disneyland. Why did it partially ruin one of the best-themed areas in ALL of the parks?

Yep not so seamless and refined any more! Thanks for sharing

Wow not good.

The large windows and off-scale look reminds me of the recent waterside additions at Epcot - Mexico and Morocco.

Not trying to single you nice folks out, but your sentiments completely mirrored the overall Interwebz a week ago and I thought it would be interesting to compare/contrast them a week later. Because a poster I just read on another site has discovered that the latest Dateline Disneyland photos have shown that a lot more work has been done over this past week overnights, and that as many suspected this New Orleans Square project isn't done yet. http://datelinedisneyland.smugmug.com/DisneylandResort/2014/072014-Edited-Update-Photos/i-QhMZbgp

And it's still not done with CM's stating the project fell behind by several weeks and won't be complete until the very end of July. But here's a few photos of compare/contrast to see where we are now.

A week ago this photo zoomed over a construction wall and made folks angry.

The walls came down, they added balconies, shutters and details while they continue to age the paint and add props, and the similar photo from the similar angle now looks like this. Still with some construction walls up, and not yet finished, but getting closer!

These new windows look into the upper level walkway from the new Club 33 lobby to the new jazz lounge. As seen from a closer angle.

On the direct opposite side, the other half of the new walkway to the bar had this photo taken which also alarmed people a week ago.

Now shutters/pediments are installed, but still some construction walls up and painting and more props awaiting placement here. But it now looks like this.

There are two other areas of the New Orleans Square/Club 33 construction project that riled up the Internet. One was the slightly reworked exit of Pirates of the Caribbean, which still needs to have patina applied to the paint and accessories/detailing added to the new wall. As it looked this weekend...

And then there's the infamous Off-Kilter Window of Doom above the Café Orleans patio.

They've patched up the paint, but this wall is still awaiting its balconies and wrought iron and shutters and props applied to it. Maybe by next weekend? I'll wait patiently, until then it looks like this now... (Shall we have a Monte Cristo while we wait?)

I walked all throughout NOS on my 59th Anniversary Thank You Walt visit on July 17th. Those are the three main areas that were changed physically or cosmetically in New Orleans Square during this project; the new Club 33 bridge/entry complex, the Pirates exit doors, and the Off-Kilter Window of Doom. The rest of the land was unaltered physically or structurally.

And again, the only disappointing thing I found (in my humble opinion) was the new faux stained glass doors that are actually heavy plastic. Tacky!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Still not seeing anything that has been fixed.