Monday, July 06, 2009

Luxury ahead

I wake around seven o’clock. Wow, what a day yesterday was. I got back to the hotel room just after 2 p.m., and most of the time since then I’ve been sleeping, and sleeping hard.

It feels like I’ve had more sleep in the past 17 hours than I have in the previous five nights combined. I will never doubt again when a celebrity takes time off from performing for “exhaustion.” Okay, I probably will doubt, but maybe not as much.

I take it slow in getting up and going. My breathing is noticeably better yesterday, but of course I’ve been resting for most of the last day. I plan to take things sloooooowly today, do what I can, see what I can see, ride what I can ride, but without any hurry. The only place I have to be today is Club 33.

Ah, yes! Club 33 is today! Wow. I hope things go as planned with our reservations, admission, all that fun stuff.

If you are ever fortunate enough to have a Club 33 member make you a reservation – and sorry, since mine was a friend of a friend, I can’t divulge my contact – here’s the procedure for dining at Disneyland’s finest and most exclusive restaurant.

First, it is at the same time both one of the most expensive and least expensive restaurants at which you will ever dine. How is that possible? Well, their flat charge for the food (not including beverages – it is the only place in the park that serves alcohol) is the going rate for a single day adult park admission to Disneyland, currently around $70. Per person.

That exorbitant price gets you a fine dining experience like no other, surrounded in luxury, pampered with excellent service, with gourmet food, and steeped in Disney history.

And, oh yeah, it also includes park admission.

That’s right, you pay through the nose for your food, but when you are on the reservation list, you get into the park for free. In fact, currently (the policy seems to vary) you get into both parks for free – you get a one-day Park Hopper pass for each person in your party! So when you factor in that you don’t have to pay to enjoy Disneyland and California Adventure all day, the meal is practically free.

It pays to have friends in high places.

Somehow we’ve managed to have amazing, exclusive experiences on many of our Disney trips. On the first of the three Disney cruises we’ve taken, we were upgraded to Category 3 one-bedroom suites, complete with a large balcony, large living and dining area, huge (by cruise ship standards) bathrooms and a walk-in closet.

On the most recent cruise, we were upgraded again – this time to the Walter E. Disney Suite, a Category 1 suite, the largest and most luxurious passenger space on the vessel, with two bedrooms, a dining room, sleeping space for all six of us (plus more if needed), a forty-foot private balcony, and TVs in every room, including the bathrooms (where I could watch classic Disney movies while soaking in the giant whirlpool tub)! And both upgrades came with concierge service – and boy, you think you’re being pampered in a normal stateroom, wait to you have your concierge stopping by with personal weather reports, room service from any of the ships restaurants served on fine china in your dining room, private receptions…

And so today, we get another luxury experience to add to our collection. Don’t know how we keep getting to do these things, but it sure is fun to pretend we can afford them all the time!

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