Longtime Disney Fans Expose Company and Its Ultra-Secretive Restaurant: ‘It’s a Cult’
The article tells the story of Scott and Diana Anderson, a couple who were devoted members of the exclusive Club 33 at Disneyland, until their membership was revoked after an incident involving Scott’s health. The couple, who spent years trying to gain access to this highly secretive restaurant, paid a hefty $50,000 in dues for their first year and frequently visited the club. However, over time, they became disillusioned with its management and atmosphere.
In a controversial incident in 2017, Scott was found unwell in the park, which he claimed was due to a vestibular migraine rather than excessive drinking. Despite this explanation, Disney decided to terminate their membership, prompting the couple to pursue legal action against the company, which they ultimately lost.
Now reflecting on their experience, the Andersons describe Club 33 as “cult-like” in its environment, where members idolize Walt Disney and often sell access and merchandise related to the club. They share differing opinions on theories surrounding the club’s name, with Scott suggesting a link to Freemasonry, while Diana disagrees. Despite their ban from Club 33, they remain able to visit other areas of the park.
You won’t find looser lips than that from a jilted lover.
Apparently, that adage even applies to multi-billion dollar conglomerations — like the Walt Disney Company.
Scott and Diana Anderson, a married couple that could easily be described as “Disney adults” up until recently, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about just how cultish the House of Mouse could be.
And they used one of Disney’s most highly secretive and exclusive haunts to prove their point.
For those not in the know, one of the most exclusive restaurants in all of Disneyland (the one in Anaheim, California) was the little-known Club 33.
“Since 1967, the club has served Disneyland‘s highest-rolling VIPs,” the Reporter described.
The eatery sits above the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride and for many years was mythologized as the only place in Disneyland where customers could purchase hard liquor.
(Disneyland has since loosened its restrictions on selling alcoholic beverages on site.)
For the Andersons, getting into Club 33 was a years-long goal.
“The Andersons, both 60, have been together for 44 years,” the Reporter noted. “They waited 12 of those years to receive their Club 33 invitation, shelling out $50,000 for their first-year dues alone. They got their money’s worth, however, using the clubs upward of 80 days per year.
“By their fifth year of membership, however, the magic was fading: They say new managers had taken over, their favorite chef was gone, and they were repeatedly slapped with member violations.”
Disney’s faded magic is hardly anything new, but there was one particular incident that especially soured the Andersons on Disney — and Disney on the Andersons.
In 2017, Scott Anderson was found by park security looking like he’d had one too many drinks, as he was visibly sick on a bench.
Anderson claims that a “vestibular migraine” triggered by red wine caused the volatile reaction and that he was not simply drunk off his rocker.
Disney did not buy that explanation, and a month later, the couple was informed that their Club 33 membership had been revoked.
The Andersons lost a lengthy and pricey legal case against Disney over this — but with that in the rearview, the couple also appears to have, as the Reporter puts it, “no more Donald Ducks to give.”
Diana Anderson began this exposé with the Reporter by describing just how commonplace purportedly banned practices were at Club 33.
“The worst part with Club 33 is, conservatively, 80 percent of all members are selling access,” Anderson said. “And they’re selling all the merchandise online. They’re making cottage industries off this place.”
Scott Anderson also didn’t appreciate the cult-like devotion to park and company founder, Walt Disney.
“It is very truly cult-ish,” he said. “Every time they built a new ride and it wasn’t up to snuff, [members] are like, ‘What would Walt do?’”
His wife doubled down on that description: “It is a cult, and Walt’s the messiah.”
Funnily enough, Scott and Diana do disagree on one Club 33-related conspiracy.
Scott believes that the name “Club 33” comes from Walt Disney’s supposed connections to the shadow Freemasons group.
“Walt was a Freemason, and that is the highest level: Level 33,” he explained.
“That’s all speculation. You can’t find any written evidence that that’s where 33 came from,” Diana responded.
While the two are suspended from the highly exclusive eatery, they are otherwise allowed in the theme parks.
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