Club 33 Membership Changes for 2012

[David A]

All that said, we are nevertheless completely heartbroken! We adore all things Disney and we absolutely would have joined at the gold prices. Those prices were "low" enough for our budget that we could sleep at night even if there was a year we couldn't go ourselves. I guess we will have to go back to hoping we cross paths with a member one day who can guest us so we can experience the magic just for a day!

You're certainly not the first to be heartbroken by current Disneyland management and please accept my most sincere apology as a Club 33 member.
Sadly, Club 33 has lost most of it's shine due to these recent changes and we (most members) feel quite battered and in many cases betrayed by George and current TDA management.
The club has always been such a fantastic entity within the park and since 1967 was never treated as cash generating attraction. This has changed and most will concur.
We're almost embarrassed to use our card within the park.
I would encourage you to write a letter to Disney and express your most sincere thoughts, good or bad, it's your letter. But, please write them and let them now.
Most of us are not pleased with current Disney management and their treatment of Club 33, another letter will help our cause.
Thanks!

[Osky]

All that said, we are nevertheless completely heartbroken! We adore all things Disney and we absolutely would have joined at the gold prices. Those prices were "low" enough for our budget that we could sleep at night even if there was a year we couldn't go ourselves. I guess we will have to go back to hoping we cross paths with a member one day who can guest us so we can experience the magic just for a day!

Welcome to MiceChat. I completely understand how you feel. At Gold, it was a slam dunk for me. At Platinum, it has resulted in a lot of "soul searching" and value calculations. Everyone values things differently. Hopefully you will have that opportunity down the road.

[Rachane]

... All that said, we are nevertheless completely heartbroken! We adore all things Disney and we absolutely would have joined at the gold prices. Those prices were "low" enough for our budget that we could sleep at night even if there was a year we couldn't go ourselves. I guess we will have to go back to hoping we cross paths with a member one day who can guest us so we can experience the magic just for a day!

Any member of Club 33 can make dining reservations for you at the Club. This does not impact the member's 50@/year ParkHopper admission quota unless he also uses spaces from that quota for Park admission.

In this thread I have read more than a few "heartbroken" posts from persons on the waiting list who couldn't handle the Platinum costs. I called the Club today and asked, "What if some of us want to be helpful and make some reservations for unhappy waitlistees?"

I was given two cautions:

(1) If a member makes a reservation for a party and that party is a no-show, the member is billed $100.

(2) While a member may not be directly responsible for the conduct of a party for whom he makes a reservation, he runs the risk of possible reflection upon him if, for example, the party shows up improperly attired and/or conducts itself unacceptably while in the Club.

What this means in practice is that members will probably make reservations only for those they know well enough so that neither #(1) nor #(2) are concerns.

[Mr.Abominable]

Will the "Access to Special Events" benefit be the same for Gold and Platinum?
Have Gold members been invited to the Carsland Event, June 13-14?

Was this extended to current Platinum members in the club or to those new Platinum members who are officially starting their membership this month?

[LesBesTes]

In this thread I have read more than a few "heartbroken" posts from persons on the waiting list who couldn't handle the Platinum costs. I called the Club today and asked, "What if some of us want to be helpful and make some reservations for unhappy waitlistees?"

That's what I love about true Disney fans... they want to share the magic and are genuinely kind and helpful people. The spirit of Walt clearly lives on in many of Club 33's members even if many question whether the club is keeping it in mind these days!

I was given two cautions:

(1) If a member makes a reservation for a party and that party is a no-show, the member is billed $100.

(2) While a member may not be directly responsible for the conduct of a party for whom he makes a reservation, he runs the risk of possible reflection upon him if, for example, the party shows up improperly attired and/or conducts itself unacceptably while in the Club.

What this means in practice is that members will probably make reservations only for those they know well enough so that neither #(1) nor #(2) are concerns.

I'm sure many people who really have an interest in the Club would go out of their way to address those concerns in some way. Heck, I'd probably be willing to meet a potential host in person to be vetted, submit myself to a background check, put down a security deposit (to address the $100 no-show issue), or even fly down last minute to Southern California on a day the member is there to accompany him/her in person. Or all of the above. :-) Of course, that all would require a lot of time and effort by a member host, which isn't really what anyone is aiming for! A girl can dream though...

I can at least console myself with the fact that I'm young and I have many more years to cross paths with someone in person who is a member. Since I live in the SF area and work in an industry that has a fair share of entertainment/media/tech clients, I'm sure I have a connection to a company that is a member who can get me in at some point. Now I just need to figure out who that is!

---------- Post added 06-06-2012 at 09:22 AM ----------

I would encourage you to write a letter to Disney and express your most sincere thoughts, good or bad, it's your letter. But, please write them and let them now.
Most of us are not pleased with current Disney management and their treatment of Club 33, another letter will help our cause.
Thanks!

Thanks, David A for the suggestion. I will do that!

[macindan]

Was this extended to current Platinum members in the club or to those new Platinum members who are officially starting their membership this month?

One of the new members told me that they are not included as their memberships do not begin until June 15th. Not sure if that has changed in order to fill up these events.

[Nonsuch]

One of the new members told me that they are not included as their memberships do not begin until June 15th. Not sure if that has changed in order to fill up these events.

I know a new Platinum member who was invited to a Carsland preview the evening of June 13 and the California Adventure media day on June 14. This non-transferable invitation is for the member and 1 guest. This seems better than the June 9 preview discussed earlier in this thread.

The expansion of California Adventure is a very special event, so this might just be a special "Thank you" to Platinum members, or it might be the start of further erosion of benefits for Silver and Gold Members.

[Malcon10t]

Well, don't want to throw the group into a tizzy, but this did tick me off. Someone just reported on another board that they booked a VIP tour for their family and among the perks offered was dinner at the club. That would be during member hours.

[Osky]

Well, don't want to throw the group into a tizzy, but this did tick me off. Someone just reported on another board that they booked a VIP tour for their family and among the perks offered was dinner at the club. That would be during member hours.

Has anyone confirmed if this is possible? I understand how that would completely upset the members.

[Disneynut]

Well, don't want to throw the group into a tizzy, but this did tick me off. Someone just reported on another board that they booked a VIP tour for their family and among the perks offered was dinner at the club. That would be during member hours.

Several months ago I made a statement that the club would no longer be exclusive (meaning only available to members and their guests). I referenced a phone call to Disney Meetings where I was told that Club 33 was available as a venue to those who were planning corporate functions. I was advised that they would have more information at a later date (this was in the midst of their changes).

While I have not confirmed if the VIP tours do have access, it would not surprise me. They allowed D23 to host events there. My favorite line in this thread was the person who excused the D23 event by saying she was told a member made the reservation for one of the executives at D23 so they could host the event.

[AdamG2]

We got an invitation to join this week after having been on the waiting list for years and I'm not sure what we are going to do. I have been going back and forth with questions for the staff. Prior estimates had us 5 years away from an opening, and the gold prices were a lot easier to stomach. LesBesTes made a lot of good points in her post about why they decided to turn the opportunity down. I LOVE DL but don't know if I want that to be a vacation EVERY year, and I couldn't stomach paying 10k to not use something every year. For me, I'm not happy about the 3x increase in annual dues, even if they do give you benefits. While the prices are higher, they will never be lower going forward. If I say No, I predict it will be another 10+ years before our name comes up again as the waiting list is filling up again. Since we live in WA state we would only be able to visit the club a few times a year, and I have no idea what we would do with 50 passes. I think the VIP tour would be useful as that would allow us to visit the park during busy times. We have had the opportunity to dine at the club before and really enjoyed it. Could some existing members weigh in with some of the events that have been offered to members in the past? I’m interested to hear the thought process that other recent invitees went/are going through (thanks Jiminee). I feel for the existing members, but for prospective members we have no choice. I envy your ability to stay a gold member.

[Malcon10t]

I have only attended Candlelight a couple of times and the recent Voices event. I have enjoyed all the events I have been to.

[Rachane]

Could some existing members weigh in with some of the events that have been offered to members in the past?

Caveat that I haven't kept a record of C33 special events that arrive in the mailbox every month or so. My impression, however, is that more of these used to be dinners coupled with extremely interesting behind-the-scenes presentations and tours, such as a discussion of Indiana Jones by the Imagineers who worked on it, followed by a "lights on" ride, followed by a tour of the maintenance building for the troop carriers, demonstration of their sound systems, hydraulics, etc.

When DCA first opened, there was a lavish C33 banquet in the Grand Californian, with Mouseketeers Sherrie and Bobby greeting everyone, followed by a preview of "Soarin'".

Later, following a similar Imagineer presentation, there was a C33 preview of the "Tower of Terror".

Another nice Club event was a walking tour of the Disney Studios, again with a nice on-site luncheon.

Always such events were accompanied by a special memento, such as a large brass Hollywood Tower Hotel key to "room 33", elegant enameled pins, etc.

My impression [and I am willing to be corrected] is that more recently special events have tended to be just extremely expensive dinners at the Club with a company guest speaker, and/or wine from a procession of wineries up in Sonoma/Napa. As we don't drink, these are of no interest to us.

I seem to recall that some years ago the Club sent questionnaires to members to get feedback on the sort of activities we'd like, but I haven't seen these recently. I have no idea how current special events are planned.

[AdamG2]

The Imagineer/behind the scenes events are the type of thing I would be interested in. The wine tasting I could do without. We don't live in the area, so it would have to be a great event to draw me in.

[Lighthope]

We got an invitation to join this week after having been on the waiting list for years and I'm not sure what we are going to do.

<snip>

For me, I'm not happy about the 3x increase in annual dues, even if they do give you benefits.

<snip>

Since we live in WA state we would only be able to visit the club a few times a year, and I have no idea what we would do with 50 passes. I think the VIP tour would be useful as that would allow us to visit the park during busy times. We have had the opportunity to dine at the club before and really enjoyed it.

It can be difficult weighing the cost/benefit ratio, especially since Club 33 membership carries with it such intangibles as being part of something "special".

Living in Washington State does also increase the cost, what with travel, lodging, etc.

Ultimately, and this is a bitter pill to swallow, the value of Club 33 really comes down to being that exclusive I-Have-What-Others-Don't-Have frill. There is nothing wrong with that. Collectors thrive on that. But in terms of free passes and a couple exclusive events, you need to spend far more time at Disneyland than you will ever do, living as far away as you do, in order to balance out the investment if you are simply calculating ala carte purchases vs plunking down membership fees

The big question is: Is having a Club 33 card worth 30 thousand dollars plus another 10 grand a year? Or, can you plunk down a few hundred, grab that Premium Annual Pass (including all the goodies that go with it...including some special events for them), and give up on some admittedly nice atmospheric fine dining?

Admittedly, the choice was rather easy for me. I have a nice name tag and can get to all sorts of places the public never will. All it cost was my soul. haha!

So there really is your choice. It's your money. Do with it as you will.