About Club 33

Photo taken by Michelle McHugh October 2010.

Does the door in the picture above look familiar? It's located directly next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square and what's behind the door is intriguing. Behind the door is a private club, Club 33. 

History
The story goes that Walt Disney came up with the idea while working with various corporate promoters for his attractions at the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. He noticed the many VIP lounges that were available for the corporate elites and wanted something like that for his own park. When New Orleans Square was planned a private lounge was included. Dorothea Redmond was asked by Walt to paint renderings and Emil Kuri was hired to decorate the facility. While originally intended for exclusive use by Disneyland's Corporate sponsors and other industry VIPs, when Club 33 was finally opened in May 1967 individual memberships were also offered. This might have been because Walt had died 5 months prior thus the final plans were then changed. As of 2011, there is a 14-year waiting list for new memberships. Corporate members pay an initiation fee of $27,500, and individual members pay $10,000 in addition to annual dues, which are about $6,100 or $3,500, respectively. The various fees may change annually.