Where Did Club 33 Come From?

Описание: Club 33. The not-so-secret secret club at Disneyland celebrated it’s 50th anniversary this year. It’s a cool little place that rests within Disney’s history, and today I want to talk about where it came from. Believe it or not, the birth of Club 33 came out of a business disagreement.

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You see, back in 1964 Walt Disney was tapped by multiple corporations to design and build several attractions for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Having Disneyland, Walt certainly didn’t need the gigs, but he saw it as two opportunities combined into one.

First, he felt that corporate sponsored attractions for the fair would allow him and his team at WED to research and develop new technology that could be used in Disneyland without having to actually pay for any of it himself. This was both on a higher level of reusing the general technology in Disney attractions, and also on a more specific level of planning to bring the actual attractions back to the park after the fair was over. After all, what would Pepsi or General Electric do with a ride once everything was finished?

The second benefit was that Walt would be able to use the fair as a gauge to see how audiences on the East Coast would respond to Disney attractions.

So ultimately Walt would agree to developed four attractions for four sponsors at the fair, and in 1964 the world would be introduced to it’s a small world for the Pepsi-Cola/UNICEF pavilion, Ford’s Magic Skyway at the Ford pavilion, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at the Illinois pavilion, and last but not least, the Progressland pavilion sponsored by General Electric, which featured a show called The Carousel of Progress.

Progressland featured a number of smaller exhibits, as well as the carousel. It also featured a VIP lounge. The lounge was accessible by elevator, was able to hold up to 40 people and offered a meeting room, a projector, a CCTV feed of the attraction and pavilion, and most importantly a bar. It was a place for GE executives bring family, friends, and other business associated while they enjoyed not only the pavilion but the fair as whole.

All four attractions at the fair would be a hit, and as he originally planned to do, Walt would quickly begin work on trying to get all of the sponsors to continue their sponsorship by bringing the attractions to Disneyland.

General Electric was willing to help bring the Carousel of Progress to Disneyland, but part of proposition was that they wanted the VIP lounge to make its way over as well. Walt didn’t oppose the idea, but there was a problem. The lounge featured a bar, and Disneyland was a dry park.

Walt had decided early on that Disneyland would not offer any alcohol. He felt that adults drinking too much lead to the undesirable atmosphere that carnivals and fairs were known for. He was striving for a clean and orderly park, and he believed that banning alcohol was a means to achieve that.

According to Disneyland president Jack Lindquist, GE would push back, insisting the lounge offer a bar. Walt said no. The two would reach an impasse that put the entire attraction at risk. So Walt would instead offer a compromise. He would build a seperate VIP lounge in a new part of the park that was under construction at the time, New Orleans Square. It would be limited to park sponsors and select guests that Disney approved. It would be the one and only place you could get alcohol in the parks, and it would only be served along side meals. No separate bar.

As for the name of this VIP club, there are multiple stories behind how Disney would land on Club 33. Disney’s official story is that it’s because the clubs address within the park is 33 Royal Street in New Orleans Square. That one seems kind of silly because it’s Disneyland. The address could have been whatever they wanted it to be. Jack Lindquist says that it was because “Walt seemed to like the number 3 and also because Disneyland’s physical address is 1313 Harbor Boulevard.” Others have theorized that it represents the original 33 corporate sponsors of Disneyland.

Whatever the reason, Club 33 would ultimately open in May of 1967, just six months after the unfortunate passing of Walt Disney. In the fifty years since, the club would grow and become a legendary part of Disneyland’s history. Something many of us have read about or seen from afar, but so few of us have experienced in person. Something that, unbeknownst to many, is the reason we’ve been able to enjoy the Carousel of Progress to this day.