Swtonscrappn
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2012
A little pre-amble:
My husband and I had planned for our 15th wedding anniversary trip late last fall. My sister-in-law (my brothers wife) had offered to watch our children for a long weekend, while we went to Disneyland. Around the same time we started planning this trip, she came and stayed with us for several weeks in November, while my brother was working out of state. He came to our house the Sunday before Thanksgiving, ran to their home (about 90 minutes away) Monday to finish some jobs that he had put off while he was gone, planning to return Wednesday morning for the holiday.
My 26 year old sister-in-law died in our home early Tuesday morning from an undiagnosed heart defect, while my brother was away. Needless to say, we had a very difficult holiday season.
After the New Year, we decided that we were going ahead with our trip, choosing to bring my brother and our kids. My brother had never been to Disneyland.
Around March we were talking about things to do in Disney and I mentioned the "secret" club and what little I knew about it. I told him that it was something that most huge Disney fans en-devour to do sometime in their life...a regular bucket list item for many of our DIS'ers.
(For me, Club 33 was one of those things that would be a great opportunity, but I wasnt holding my breath to ever get to visit. We live in Montana...not somewhere I have a lot of contacts LOL)
He was very eager to do something so exciting and exclusive. He is an business owner with hands in many fires and he has many connections. He started asking every one of his business contacts about an invite, without success. When he would fly for work, he would talk to flight attendants and ask them if they met any Club 33 members to give them his card. This became his ultimate wish item for our Oct trip. (Oddly enough, he's never been on this board--he could have found many more like him LOL)
One night in late August, I was on the Dis-boards looking around before bed. I was just about to shut down, when I noticed I had a private message. I have NEVER had a private message on this board, so I kinda thought it was probably months old. Thankfully, it was only a few days old. The message said that the writer saw that I was celebrating my anniversary in Disneyland, and if I would like to eat at Club 33 as part of my celebration. The blood literally drained out of my face. As soon as I recovered, I answered with an absolute YES!! The reservation was made for my entire family (I couldn't do this once in a lifetime thing without them), and I got to have the joy of telling my brother that I just happened to get an invite to Club 33.
We went on Sat. Oct 12th for lunch. It was me, my husband, my brother and our three kids:
Me and my brother deciding to eat at Club 33
My husband and Children going up the special elevator
When we got there, they did not have the 33 Chargers on the table, so we weren't able to see that, but everything was very nice.
My husband and brother choosing their meal.
Our appetizer (SOOO GOOD!)
We made it a point to visit the lady's room. My 9 year old has since been obsessed with obtaining a vanity table and having a princess toilet.
I had the Chateaubriand, and it was sooo tender. My dh favorite DL drink has always been the Mint Julep; but now its the Club 33 Mint Julep with burbon. My brother had the Squash soup. My daughter was very pleased to get her fruit salad on ice:
After the dessert bar, we went and sat on the balcony for a bit.
Near the end, we did some shopping in the souvenir case. They did have the ears and the pins available, and we bought both. I also bought the really neat pen set, and a polo shirt for my husband. We got free copies of the club history. The hospitality was exceptional.
The person who invited us to Club 33 does not know about our family situation. His invitation was very special in a time of extreme hardship. The visit to Club 33 was something that we could never earn, and it was only through his generosity that we got this once in a lifetime opportunity. It helped make this trip such a magical time for all of us and allowed us to pull together as a family after a very difficult time. It touched us to the bottom of our hearts.
So, if you ever get a private message with an invite to Club 33, know you are in for a wondrous time!
My husband and I had planned for our 15th wedding anniversary trip late last fall. My sister-in-law (my brothers wife) had offered to watch our children for a long weekend, while we went to Disneyland. Around the same time we started planning this trip, she came and stayed with us for several weeks in November, while my brother was working out of state. He came to our house the Sunday before Thanksgiving, ran to their home (about 90 minutes away) Monday to finish some jobs that he had put off while he was gone, planning to return Wednesday morning for the holiday.
My 26 year old sister-in-law died in our home early Tuesday morning from an undiagnosed heart defect, while my brother was away. Needless to say, we had a very difficult holiday season.
After the New Year, we decided that we were going ahead with our trip, choosing to bring my brother and our kids. My brother had never been to Disneyland.
Around March we were talking about things to do in Disney and I mentioned the "secret" club and what little I knew about it. I told him that it was something that most huge Disney fans en-devour to do sometime in their life...a regular bucket list item for many of our DIS'ers.
(For me, Club 33 was one of those things that would be a great opportunity, but I wasnt holding my breath to ever get to visit. We live in Montana...not somewhere I have a lot of contacts LOL) He was very eager to do something so exciting and exclusive. He is an business owner with hands in many fires and he has many connections. He started asking every one of his business contacts about an invite, without success. When he would fly for work, he would talk to flight attendants and ask them if they met any Club 33 members to give them his card. This became his ultimate wish item for our Oct trip. (Oddly enough, he's never been on this board--he could have found many more like him LOL)
One night in late August, I was on the Dis-boards looking around before bed. I was just about to shut down, when I noticed I had a private message. I have NEVER had a private message on this board, so I kinda thought it was probably months old. Thankfully, it was only a few days old. The message said that the writer saw that I was celebrating my anniversary in Disneyland, and if I would like to eat at Club 33 as part of my celebration. The blood literally drained out of my face. As soon as I recovered, I answered with an absolute YES!! The reservation was made for my entire family (I couldn't do this once in a lifetime thing without them), and I got to have the joy of telling my brother that I just happened to get an invite to Club 33.
We went on Sat. Oct 12th for lunch. It was me, my husband, my brother and our three kids:
Me and my brother deciding to eat at Club 33
My husband and Children going up the special elevatorWhen we got there, they did not have the 33 Chargers on the table, so we weren't able to see that, but everything was very nice.
My husband and brother choosing their meal. 
Our appetizer (SOOO GOOD!)We made it a point to visit the lady's room. My 9 year old has since been obsessed with obtaining a vanity table and having a princess toilet.
I had the Chateaubriand, and it was sooo tender. My dh favorite DL drink has always been the Mint Julep; but now its the Club 33 Mint Julep with burbon. My brother had the Squash soup. My daughter was very pleased to get her fruit salad on ice:
After the dessert bar, we went and sat on the balcony for a bit.
Near the end, we did some shopping in the souvenir case. They did have the ears and the pins available, and we bought both. I also bought the really neat pen set, and a polo shirt for my husband. We got free copies of the club history. The hospitality was exceptional.
The person who invited us to Club 33 does not know about our family situation. His invitation was very special in a time of extreme hardship. The visit to Club 33 was something that we could never earn, and it was only through his generosity that we got this once in a lifetime opportunity. It helped make this trip such a magical time for all of us and allowed us to pull together as a family after a very difficult time. It touched us to the bottom of our hearts.
So, if you ever get a private message with an invite to Club 33, know you are in for a wondrous time!
Wow! Now that's Pixie Dust...
