You paid how much?!!!

Today (Friday) was a busy day, checking out of one hotel, collecting the rental car, and checking into the final hotel of this trip.

Yet again it was an early start for me, as Star Wars has no room for malingerers. I was in line for Early entry at 6:30am and lined up at the Frontierland barrier gate just after 7:30am. When the portal opened I charged through like I was a Labrador chasing a bacon sandwich, and ended up being in the first Rise of the Resistance boarding group of the day.

I cannot overstate how incredible this ride is, but maybe the fact that from the time I rode it in the first boarding group, to exiting the ride, the standby line had swelled to 90 minutes, and continued growing to over two hours, illustrates its magnificence.

My Star Wars appetite was not yet sated, so I headed straight down the Single Riders line for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. This time I was the engineer, so I was able to fully enjoy the ride without worrying about my breakfast making a reappearance due to motion sickness.

By this time it was just after 9am, and time to meet Jean, who prefers to operate on a more relaxed schedule than I do. After some more merchandise shopping we boarded our submarine for Finding Nemo’s Submarine voyage.

Stepping back onto dry land it was time to catch the monorail out of the park and back to the Grand Californian to check out.

Since checkout was 11am and my Turo rental wouldn’t be dropped off until just after 1pm we had some time to kill, so we spent it soaking in as much grandness as we could. I also availed myself of the fitness centre facilities, grabbing some bottled water and free protein bars. I didn’t actually workout, I just went directly to carbo loading.

When our traffic delayed Turo finally arrived I had a lightning course in operating the Mustang Mach E, before I got behind the wheel and back on US roads to drive to my favourite Anaheim hotel, The Ayres.

We had a few hours to relax and unwind before the really big event of the day, our dinner reservation at Club 33. For those who haven’t heard of Club 33, (probably most of you) it’s an insanely exclusive private club inside the Disneyland Park. It was personally designed by Walt, and has a very limited membership. You have to be invited and approved to become a member, and then there’s the small matter of the $30,000 US joining fee, and annual fees of $15,000. So how did we get in? Jean has a client who is a member, who very, very kindly arranged a dinner reservation for us.

Arriving at the club’s secret entrance just after 8pm we buzzed the intercom and were swiftly ushered into the inner sanctum. Over the next two hours we had the most refined, and delicious dining experience of our lives. It was also the most expensive dinner I have had, and probably ever will have. How expensive? Well this meal, including tip, came to just over $350 U.S., which at today’s exchange rate is just shy of $700 NZ. It was four courses, from starter, to appetiser, entree and dessert, each course expertly prepared and exquisitely presented. It is insanely expensive, but this food was beyond delicious, and this experience literally cannot be bought, it is the definition of priceless.

On a high from this singular evening, we left the club just in time for the late performance of the Fantasmic show on the Rivers of America. Then there was just time for one last longing visit to Galaxy’s Edge before leaving the park and catching a Lyft back to the hotel.

What a night, and what an extraordinary Disneyland experience we’ve had!Read more