I thought I'd just add on to this thread to tell about our Club 33 lunch on Jan 28. It was to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday, though the trip was delayed several times due to factors outside of our control
My daughter lives in Irvine, where she's going to school. I flew down Thursday afternoon from Sacramento and she picked me up at SNA. After dropping off my stuff at her apartment, we headed over to DLR. We didn't have a reservation or ticket (I have a Dream pass, though) for that day but we wanted to stroll around in DTD and get a celebratory something at Tangaroa Terrace. We parked at Mickey & Friends, and holy moly! I had no idea parking was $30, but it was nice to get some good out of the "free" parking on my pass. Went over the bridge from the parking structure which was convenient to Tangaroa/Trader Sam's, so thanks to those board members who have mentioned that tip.
We did not have reservations for TS's and just figured we'd sit outside on the terrace. We checked in and asked if they were taking TS walk-ups but were told no, they were busy (what we expected) and in about 5 min the hostess to come and take us to our table on the terrace. The sun was directly in our eyes and she told us to just hang on a sec as she was going to check something...and she came back asking if we'd like to go inside because there were 2 barstools available! That was perfect! The bartender noticed my dd's birthday button, found out it was her 21st, and really went all out to make it special for her. We had a blast! We ate there, celebrated with all of the other people having fun, and eventually went back to dd's apartment.
The next day, Friday the 28th, was our
Disneyland/Club 33 day. We had an 11:20 reservation and decided to dress in our Club clothes and take some spare stuff in a backpack. We parked in the structure again (feeling better and better about my Dream pass) and walked the tramway over. Daaaaaang, that's a long walk. We're both in good shape but I really don't understand how they've not yet brought back the trams because there are so many people who struggle with a walk like that.
We stopped and rented a locker on Main St, looked through some shops, and it was soon time to check in at 33. Out of all the times I've been, this was the first where they simply took us straight up to the club instead of offering us water or tea in the Court of Angels first. I figured we could just explore it and take pictures after we were done, and that's how it went. We were ushered upstairs and into the host/hostess area where they welcome you and show you the merch cases, take coats/bags, etc. We were told a bit of the history as well. Then we were led into the dining room and seated at a beautiful table for 4 in the far corner of the room, next to a window on one side and a door to the balcony on another. I ordered the "Lady of Singapore" drink and DD had a mimosa. Oh, that Lady of Singapore!! I'm in love with that drink. It's a soft, creamy pink and so delicious.
The staff were attentive, efficient, and a couple of them very friendly (Club staff is always attentive and efficient, but often in the English butler kind of way where they are serious and quiet and a little intimidating to me). I was happy that our main server was full of smiles and made lots of suggestions. He even brought us champagne to celebrate! I usually order the same basic things, but this time I decided to go with what our server suggested and also what I'd read about here. We had the same menu posted above.
I ordered the artichoke heart appetizer and my daughter got the cheese board (listed as a dessert). I always get the cheeseboard but I thought we could share and try each. While the artichoke was very good, it was also very rich and I only wanted about 1/4 of it. DD was too happy with her cheeseboard to want any more than a bite of mine.
We both ordered the chestnut soup, though again, I almost always order salad. I'd read so many raves about the soup, and it was highly recommended by our waiter, so that's what we got. Neither of us liked it. The duck confit that was in the center of the bowl was good, though I never really figured out how you were supposed to eat it with only a spoon. The soup looked like gravy but it was cool they way the server poured it from a pitcher in a swirl around the duck confit in the center. I took a little video of that but I don't know if you can post video clips so I'll probably just post a picture. Our waiter came over to see how we liked it, noticed we weren't eating it and whisked it away. He brought us the salad with apples and pecans instead! That was awesome.
For our main dish, I ordered the filet mignon (I get it every time, though I always think I'll try something new) and DD ordered the fish of the day. I don't remember what it was called, but the waiter said it was superb and "so buttery!" The filet was delicious as ever, but I didn't care for the fish. DD liked it, but it wasn't what either of us had envisioned from the "buttery" description. It was, in my opinion, more like "squishy", which I guess is the texture of soft butter so the description wasn't really wrong, ha ha.
We both ordered the sticky toffee date cake for dessert. It was delicious. I don't think I've ever had a dessert I didn't like. We also had cappucinnos because I couldn't resist after seeing the pictures posted above with the '33' over the foam.
We didn't get any merch. Lunch was $130 each plus drinks and cappuccinos, so our total was right around $470 (ouch) but definitely a memorable 21st birthday!
. I've never had the cappuccino either, but it looks so pretty in photos I will definitely be trying one when (and if!) I visit again.
