2. The new Club 33

Another of this year’s big stories was the remodeling and subsequent grand reopening of Club 33, Disney’s formerly top-secret and still-elusive private dining venue.  However, it turns out that this development actually has much more to it than anyone ever could have initially thought.

During the behind-the-scenes construction work in New Orleans Square, Disney sneakily added a second private dining room, right next-door to Club 33.  Thought to be called 21 Royal Street – named for its address in the park, just like its predecessor – it will open as an invitation-only restaurant that just might, at some point down the road, open to the average guest, as well.

Disney Dose has the scoop on the just-unveiled project:  apparently, Disney is hoping to make the new venue rival its signature dining experiences of Napa Rose at the Grand Californian Resort and Victoria & Albert’s at the Grand Floridian (at Walt Disney World) – which, yes, means it will include alcoholic drinks, which would mark the first time that guests will be able to drink at Disneyland during normal operating hours (a barrier which Magic Kingdom broke only two years ago).

Its entrance will be located within New Orleans Square’s Royal Courtyard, which was formerly used for merchandise overflow from the nearby Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop, while its main – and small – dining room will be upstairs in a space that, up until 2007, was the home of the Disney Gallery (an exhibit showcasing artwork generated by the first wave of Imagineers when they were designing the park back in the 1950s).

The most intriguing element of 21 Royal Street, however, is actually its possible opening time frame:  January or February of next year.  Pre-existing Club 33 members will be the first to book the new venue; it’s unknown when, if at all, everyone else will be able to make reservations.

What kind of impact – if any – will this development have on Club 33, which comes with an exorbitant entry fee and equally stratospheric annual dues?  Only time, of course, can tell, but perhaps more than any other Disneyland project in recent memory, this one literally has the potential to be either a soaring success (average guests who can make-believe that they’re Club 33 royalty for a day?) or a complete and utter routing that will require the company to retreat, lick its wounds, and readdress the future trajectory of its flagship theme park.