Disney Magic is Truly Real! Part 1

I believe that the magic of Disney is real.  I really do.  I know it feels like some of it is missing lately, but I believe it is still there.  I am also a firm believer that we can help with that magic.  When Chris and I have gone to the parks lately we have taken giveaways with us.  I make buttons and we take other things, also.  Meeting people is a lot of fun!  Disney people are the best - well, the good ones!  And spreading the magic is a great feeling.

This last week we received some Pixie Dust of our own - and it was MAJOR!  Seriously amazing.

We went to Disney’s California Adventure (DCA) to have lunch and go out to the Pixar Pier for a few hours.  That was the plan.  We went to check in for our lunch reservation at the Magic Key Terrace (above Wine Country Trattoria, for Magic Key holders) and went to sit on a bench to wait for the text that our table was ready.  We met a cool lady named Connie who had on a great Star Wars shirt.  She and Chris chatted about Star Wars - both of them are huge fans!  We gave her some buttons and chatted with her for 20 minutes or so.  During this time another nice woman sat on the other side of Connie and would smile and laugh at the things we were saying. I think Connie said something about us spreading magic and the other woman started talking to us.

She asked if we liked Star Wars - I pointed to Chris and he said “yes”!  She asked if we were Disney fans - we said “oh, yeah”.  She said “Mother’s Day is coming up, isn’t it?”  We said “it’s this weekend.”  She asked Chris if he wanted to do something nice for me.  Of course he said yes!  Then she asked us if we had plans for dinner.  We hadn’t actually thought that far ahead, so the answer was “no”.  She was looking at her phone, so we thought maybe she had reservations at Lamplight Lounge or something that she was somehow going to transfer to us.  Then she dialed a number on her phone and put it on speaker. 

A man answered the phone and said…….. “Club 33”.............
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Our mouths fell open and we just looked at each other with big eyes!  And Connie did the same thing!  Our new friend checked on availability for that night for a party of 2 and they were able to fit us in.  WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  She said that she wanted to give us some magic since we were giving magic to others!  WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?  We spent some time with her getting everything squared away (I won’t go into detail on that!) and then we had to go shopping!  Club 33 has a dress code and we were not prepared!  So we bought a dress for me at Elias and Co. in DCA, then went to Target!  It was across the street from our hotel - so convenient! - we needed shoes, pants and a nicer shirt for Chris and a purse for me - my big Disney backpack was a bit much!


We went to our hotel to change and get ready.  Then back to Disneyland for our reservation.  It was a dream.  An absolute dream.  It still feels surreal!  We rode the train from Main Street to New Orleans Square so that we didn’t have to fight the crowds walking to the door.  We have taken pictures of the Club 33 door several times over the years.  We never expected to be able to go through the door!  It was CRAZY!  But AMAZING!

​Things like this don't happen for us.  She truly made a dream come true for both of us!

We took pictures outside the door, then we went in. 
You read that correctly - WE WENT IN!!!!! 
There’s a little room where they check you in. 
After that - the beautiful staircase!  
We got the iconic staircase pictures! 
​ It was like a dream!  

We went up the elevator and entered into the reception area with it’s absolutely gorgeous chandelier.  One of the most beautiful chandeliers we have ever seen.  They took us to the guest book to sign in.  When the guest book is full it will go into the Disney archives.  We will always be part of Disneyland history now.  We worked really hard to keep our cool and not geek out or cry like babies.  We didn’t want to give our new friend any reason to regret giving us this extraordinary gift.  I think we did ok.  

The nice young man who took us to our table gave us some history of the items we passed along the way.  We were allowed to take pictures of anything we wanted, except the other guests and the bathrooms.  So we have a gazillion pictures!  Part 2 of this post will feature the food, Part 3 will have lots of scenic pictures and history. 

​We were seated in our own little alcove.  It was really nice!  The dishes on the table were beautiful!  They were not the dishes we used, they were only there for beauty.  
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It’s a 4 course dinner.  The food was wonderful.  Similar to Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle - maybe a couple of notches above.  It’s the atmosphere and the history all around that makes it so special.  Knowing the history of it - this was Walt’s dream that he never got to experience.

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After dinner we went out on the veranda to look out over New Orleans Square.  At this time most of New Orleans Square is boarded up for construction.  So we have a lot of pictures of that.  But look past that and it’s a great view of the water and some of the things that are not boarded up.  We soaked it in!  The artwork around the restaurant is fabulous.