Club 33 Expansion News

You may remember that I tipped you all off, early 2013, about the possibility a Haunted Mansion Holiday restaurant coming to the area above the French Market. Well, there has been a flurry of activity regarding this space, and it turns out management is going with a Club 33 expansion into this area. (There was a recent Club 33 mailer involving some mysterious “big news”). Just got this specific info today:

1. Club 33 will be expanded to the area above the French Market.
2. The Trophy Room (I think nowadays called the Walt Disney Room), with the audioanimatronic vulture, will be gutted to become part of a new kitchen expansion.
3. Guests will be able to walk from guest areas of Club 33 to the new dining room over the French Market. (This is already possible for castmembers as this area is home to Club 33's wine cellar, and other storage.)
4. This expansion project will take 5 months to complete.

While this sounds like a Club 33 exclusive dining room, I believe that the staircase in the Court of Angels will also allow access to this dining room (just goes to management offices now), which perhaps could be used to host some exclusive future events for general park guests. And since it has a nice view of the area near the Haunted Mansion . . .

Wow, can't believe they would "gut" the Trophy Room.


Oh wait, yes I can :(

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Originally Posted by whitestrat

Wow, can't believe they would "gut" the Trophy Room.


Oh wait, yes I can :(

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Yeah, well, I bet the audioanimatronics (what is left of them) will be sent to the archives, ditto for the chandeliers with microphones. The original stuff, like Lillian Disney's butterfly collection was moved out a long time ago . . . overall the room looks kinda dated, and isn't nearly as nice as the main dining room.

Sounds like an unnecessary waste of valuable space.

The lost of the Trophy room is sad. Though it certainly was not spectacular, it was neat to be in a room that you knew Walt had a hand in, and how you could still see how he would surprise and delight his guests in this room. More then any other room in the club, I think this room had the strongest ties to the legacy of Walt, and I had thought that was what Club 33 had morphed into, a private club to be sure, but with its biggest differentiator being that tie into the legacy and history of Walt Disney himself. I am guessing this move signals a mindset change on what Club 33 use to be, and what it will become.

Only one thing is for sure, TDO is to blame for this, and the club's membership, like the WDW fan base, deserves this as they have not drastically reduced in numbers after benefits have been reduces and costs increased. ;)

While I don't want to say this is a decline by degrees in that it doesn't effect the majority of park guests, I can say this is a prime example of current management's philosophy of reducing value while imposing overall costs onto their guests. So sad, and so sad to see them remove a huge part of Walt's presence in the park.

Even though I'll probably never see the inside of Club 33 again, or any of the new expansion, I'm somewhat saddened by the knowledge that the Trophy room will be lost. Somehow, without the same history as the original section, the new area will have much less mystique to me.
I'm glad at least, that I was able to see the original club at least once before all this went down.

I can't believe they are getting rid of the Trophy Room...so much history there. Club 33 is no longer Walt's dream for entertaining the parks VIP's.

So as far as the members go, does this mean they will not have access to the Club during the renovation? Are dues being reduced for 2013 as a result?

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Originally Posted by GiRiMama33

So as far as the members go, does this mean they will not have access to the Club during the renovation?

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The large dining room will remain open for business as usual.

wow..................
by-by trophy room:crybye::crybye::crybye::crybye:

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Originally Posted by k_peek_2000

Sounds like an unnecessary waste of valuable space.

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Certainly as it is being used now.

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Originally Posted by chesirecat

You may remember that I tipped you all off, early 2013, about the possibility a Haunted Mansion Holiday restaurant coming to the area above the French Market. Well, there has been a flurry of activity regarding this space, and it turns out management is going with a Club 33 expansion into this area. (There was a recent Club 33 mailer involving some mysterious “big news”). Just got this specific info today:

1. Club 33 will be expanded to the area above the French Market.
2. The Trophy Room (I think nowadays called the Walt Disney Room), with the audioanimatronic vulture, will be gutted to become part of a new kitchen expansion.
3. Guests will be able to walk from guest areas of Club 33 to the new dining room over the French Market. (This is already possible for castmembers as this area is home to Club 33's wine cellar, and other storage.)
4. This expansion project will take 5 months to complete.

While this sounds like a Club 33 exclusive dining room, I believe that the staircase in the Court of Angels will also allow access to this dining room (just goes to management offices now), which perhaps could be used to host some exclusive future events for general park guests. And since it has a nice view of the area near the Haunted Mansion . . .

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The new room over the French Market will be themed to a jazz club with a stage that will be used for musicians as well as speakers during member events. The space was originally designed in the 60's to be a jazz club open to the public with an elevator on the exterior of the space between the French Market and the New Orleans Restrooms. Artwork for this elevator can be seen on the staircase that wraps around the lift in Club 33.

And the Trophy Room is still known as the Trophy Room. It was called the Disney Room from the late 90's thru the mid 2000's when it was decorated with photos of Walt. It was redressed with nature themed artwork from the Jungle Cruise and other artifacts including framed Butterflies to reflect the original decor of the room.

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Originally Posted by GiRiMama33

...Are dues being reduced for 2013 as a result?

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No chance of that, dues will go up.

Just making room for new members, higher paying guests.
They say in sales, the top 20 percent of customers provide 80% of sales. Thus the motivation to expand one of the more expensive venues in the park.

I'll be visiting Club 33 for the first time this Christmas. I'll have to make sure and get some extra pics of the trophy room, since it's going away.