My wife and I attended a luncheon at Club 33 at Disneyland. It's a private club that has a secret door down an alley next to the Pirate's of the Caribbean ride. There is a door with 33 next to it. You press a button and they ask who you are. If you are on the guest list they buzz you in. Inside is an antique elevator Walt Disney bought in France and you ride that up to a second floor where they have several large rooms and serve food and booze.

Everyone was into they were in this exclusive place. A place Walt Disney used to entertain his guests at. Not everyone could come in. We went out on the balcony and looked down at all the plebs below who had no idea we were special.

In reality the food was decent but it wasn't any different than what you would get at a decent hotel. what I did like was the VIP pass that let you cut the lines at the rides. Those were nice!

But isn't that what the temple really is? A VIP club. The celestial room really isn't anything special. It's a lobby. I could sit in the lobby of a nice hotel and enjoy it. What makes the temple special is not just anyone can go in. That's what the church is selling. Exclusivity. It really does stoke people's egos and they buy into it.

Very good insight, Rubicon. Status is a powerful persuader.

I'd rather go to club med.

Do they make you wear special underwear with mouse marks? Do you have to profess that Disney is true, or is a large amount of money sufficient?

I must admit that I find the Disney fixation among well-off Mormons to be, um, odd. At one Utah software company I worked for, a Disney fixation appeared to near universal and highly competitive. I've spent half my life well outside Utah, and never personally knew a non-Mormon family with a Disney fixation, though I am sure they must exist. It seems rampant among the class of Mormons I worked with.

Club 33 sounds more like the Second Anointing. Just being at a Disney resort is the equivalent of going to the Temple.

Brother Of Jerry Wrote:
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> Do they make you wear special underwear with mouse
> marks? Do you have to profess that Disney is true,
> or is a large amount of money sufficient?
>
> I must admit that I find the Disney fixation among
> well-off Mormons to be, um, odd. At one Utah
> software company I worked for, a Disney fixation
> appeared to near universal and highly competitive.
> I've spent half my life well outside Utah, and
> never personally knew a non-Mormon family with a
> Disney fixation, though I am sure they must exist.
> It seems rampant among the class of Mormons I
> worked with.
>
> Club 33 sounds more like the Second Anointing.
> Just being at a Disney resort is the equivalent of
> going to the Temple.

I have a good friend who is non-Mormon (atheist, in fact), and she is obsessed with Disneyland and Disney. She goes there I'd estimate at least once a month and also at least once a year to Disney World in FL. She even goes a few times a year without her kids, which I don't get at all. (Not with her husband--just her.) Getting away from the kids and the spouse I completely understand, but I can think of much nicer places for an adult to escape to which would be the same cost, maybe cheaper, than her trips to Disneyland. My friend is quite overweight too, so how she can stand waiting in those long lines is a mystery to me. She's not the only friend I have who is obsessed with Disneyland, though, just the most extreme.

I think I will tell her about Club 33, because I'm pretty sure she can afford it. She might as well join considering how much money she already gives to Disney.

If they serve alcohol then club 33 is the only place in the magic kingdom that serves alcoholic beverages. Down in Florida beers are sold at the other parks. Epcot center is a nice visit for the beer tasting visit. Though it will cost you more than a bar that has several craft beers on tap.

Steep price to pay to be a member of of club 33 for the blue collar. It's 1 minute of work for those with the cash.

Heading to the food and wine festival at Epcot in October. All the countries have tasting sizes you can purchase. Cheaper than the actual restaurants in the countries, but still expensive.

Although a separate park, they do serve beer over at California Adventure.

I've had a margarita over at California Adventure :-)

Club 33 - for anyone aware of it - it is definitely a very hard to obtain level of privilege at Disneyland. I have had the good fortune to go there a few times. All in all the best part of going to Club 33 is that it is a refuge from the crowds and to have an adult beverage and recharge yourself before immersing yourself back into the sea of people in the Magic Kingdom.

Food is okay and you will very likely rub shoulders with a celebrity or two. Last time I went, we were at a table adjacent to Bobby Burgess-one of the original mouseketeers.

Rubicon Wrote:
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> what I did like was the VIP pass that let
> you cut the lines at the rides. Those were nice!
>
> But isn't that what the temple really is? A VIP
> club


Yes, but...











...the rides at Mormo-World suck!

lol

I got to go there once as a kid. A family member had a connection to get us in. We celebrated my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary in a private dining room.

The annual membership is $10,000, with an initiation fee of $25,000.

Just another thing for my Mormon family to brag and feel super special about. Mormons LOVE elitism.

One memory I have about Club 33 is that in there was the first time I had ever encountered an automatic flushing toilet. I was completely captivated by that! Ha!

I've never been special enough to get into the temple, though...well, aside from baptisms ftd (once) and 2 open houses (San Diego and Sacramento).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2018 02:20PM by bluebutterfly.

bluebutterfly Wrote:
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> The annual membership is $10,000, with an
> initiation fee of $25,000.

So, cheaper than a lifetime of 10% of your income to be in the temple club, then...

And there's alcohol! :)

I thought Club 33 was started by Joseph Smith.



But that number is too low.

Pay an initiation fee, plus on-going assessments. No name on the door. Knock. The doorkeeper asks, "What is wanted?" and you have to identify yourself, hope you're recognized, that your name is on the "guest list." Extend a secret handshake, hope you get it right. Then (big relief!) enter and hobnob among the privileged few.

Or am I getting this confused with some other place?

My favorite joke—

Mickey Mouse is sitting with his lawyer discussing plans for divorce. Lawyer, “Gee, Mickey, saying Minnie is just dumb and stupid may not be grounds for divorce.” Mickey, “I didn't say Minnie was dumb and stupid, I said she was fuckin’ Goofy!

ROFL!

It's even funnier if you say it in your head using that high-pitched Mickey Mouse voice...:)

Baptist funny bone? Surely there’s an oxymoron in there :)

My ex was a "VIP" at Caesar's Palace in Vegas. He claimed he never went there, and never gambled.

I hear that one has to lose a bucket-load of money, in order to become a VIP at a casino, though I don't know the exact amount.

Let's hope it isn't as much as 10% of a gambler's income. I always saw a similarity in temples and casinos--the decor, the scam, the money-grabbing for big business. Disneyland has the fantasies, and the silly hats and costumes in common.