What made the privilege of experiencing Club 33 at Disneyland the other night so memorable, besides sharing it with family, was the fact that this will be the last time I will get to see this historical venue, intact, as Walt Disney had originally envisioned and constructed.
Walt himself never wanted his theme parks to become museums. He wanted them to continue to grow and evolve. While most of the expansion we’ve seen around the Disneyland Resort over the years, for the most part, has been positive, each change brings with it a removal of the “original.” Personally, I am always in favor of evolution and expansion, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the truly historical nature of these original constructions as well.
Having grown up in Southern California, one becomes distinctly aware of the lack of history. To find it, you have to seek it out. I spent some time in Ireland a few years back, and marveled at the preservation of castles built as far back as the 1500’s.
Southern California is a bit devoid of this experience, so a place like Disneyland, which I have been visiting ever since I was a child, has very much become that historical destination that fills me with my own sense of nostalgia, along with the wonder and excitement as well. I can remember parking 10 feet from the front entrance turnstiles when Disney California Adventure was just a parking lot.
I can remember journeying through the middle of Matterhorn Mountain on board a Skyway. The lines that stretched all the way out to Main Street when Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye first opened were a site to behold.
Last night, my mom reminded me of our family’s own first experience at Club 33 as invited guests when we were very young, when Mickey Mouse himself came to visit us when we were dining.
Years from now, we will walk past the original secret entrance to the club in New Orleans Square, which will still remain, no longer utilized, and I will remember walking through those doors. The vintage elevator, which we rode up last night, will still be preserved for historical purposes, but will no longer be in service. These memories will be lasting.
Yet I’m tremendously looking forward to what this new club expansion will bring. The changes are very necessary.
Doubling the size of the kitchen might finally allow the chef to prepare more original inspired dishes on par with something you’d find at a Mastro’s Steakhouse. Adding a Jazz Club will give the members a bit more bang for their buck, providing a fun, social atmosphere to enjoy cocktails, music, and fantastic views. Expanding the dining area will provide more opportunity for a greater number of members to enjoy.
For a more detailed look at the expansion plans, visit the following link:
http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2013/10/1/club-33-expansion.html
Club 33 right now feels solely historical. When it re-opens, it could surely become THE spot once again, reintroducing its original mystique to a new generation of members.
We reveled in the enjoyment of the club as it has been preserved for so many decades. If given the opportunity again, it will be fascinating to see a place so rooted in nostalgia and history, so reliant upon this mystique with its membership, maintain its theme and yet modernize itself to the expectations of today’s generation.
I have a feeling it will still be every bit as classy, and as it always has been since the beginning, an extremely rare treat to experience.