The Andersons were kicked out of Disneylands most exclusive club.
They would not go willingly.
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September 3, 2017, was like so many other late-summer evenings at Disneyland.
It was almost 10 p.m. when security received an urgent dispatch.
A guest was apparently showing signs of distress on a log-cabin-style bench outside Grizzly River Run.
But he knew he needed to get him out of the park conspicuous drunkenness at Disneyland is strictly forbidden.
He asked Anderson to call a friend to come collect him.
Come get me, Anderson snarled into his home screen.
Torel was nearby at the Grand Californian Hotel.
He rushed back to find his friend surrounded by security guards.
Anderson wasnt drunk, he said hed had a vestibular migraine.
And furthermore, he was being targeted.
It wasnt until Diana and Scott Anderson went to Disneyland with their child that they really understood it.
But with Stuart Stumanu to his parents the place transformed.
(Disneyland pipes scents onto its streets through so-called Smellitizers in the hopes of evoking this exact feeling.)
As Stuart grew, they, like many millions of Americans, made Disneyland their special family tradition.
Thats how it gets you, Diana says.
Stuart lost his first tooth at Disneyland.
He went to the bathroom by himself for the first time at Disneyland.
He fell asleep in the stroller for the first time in his life at Disneyland.
Plus theyd receive a subscription toDisney Newsmagazine.
Best of all, they began receiving the occasional invitation to member-only events.
Scott broke his shoulder earlier that day, but the family decided to make the trip anyway.
We werent missing the grand opening, he says.
By the time Stuart was 12, hed been to Disneyland 115 times.
The passes were nice.
But as the years went by, they began to wonder about Club 33.
Still, she figured why not just try?
In the fall of 2002, Diana called member services and asked to be put on the list.
Then, she says, we waited.
Walt Disney decided to build his own private club after visiting the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York.
Disney imported a reproduction of a Victorian-era French elevator to carry guests between floors.
An animatronic vulture perched in the dining room was designed to chat with guests while they ate.
Club 33 is Disneylands new center for VIP guest relations, read the original pamphlet.
The club was six months from opening when, in 1966, Walt Disney died of lung cancer.
Little has been renovated, or moved, or changed.
At one point, a spot wouldnt open up for 18 to 20 years, a current member says.
Others estimate five or ten.
An online inquiry submission form only says someone may be in touch if an opportunity presents itself.
Once in, members are given a list of governing rules.
While drinking is permitted, members are never to become visibly intoxicated.
Members are strictly prohibited from reselling official Club 33 merchandise, though many choose to ignore this.
Members are never to solicit celebrity autographs.
(Tom Hanks is a member; so is John Stamos.
Its been rumored that Katy Perry and Taylor Swifts feud started in the dining room.)
In fact, failure to comply with any of these rules can result in a formal warning.
And management has free rein to cancel any membership, for any reason, at any time.
The intrigue is part of the appeal.
Articles written about the place rarely quote actual members.
Its like Fight Club, one told me.
The sense of mystery has led to speculation.
On forums, some Disneygoers wonder if the club is a cabal.
(Disney declined to participate in the reporting of this story.)
By June 2012, Diana had given up hope on ever getting in.
Stuart, already a young adult, had lost interest in anything related to the park.
Her hands shook on the drive home from her P.O.
She knew enough to know what this meant.
Disney with no hassle, forever.
She couldnt wait to tell Scott.
I said, We got the invitation.
And hes like, No way.
The initiation fee was $40,000, plus another $12,000 annually.
I didnt want to tell Scott the price because it wasnt what he was expecting, she says.
Dianas long-term intent was that when we get old, Stuart likes it, Scott says.
We hoped the membership would live on forever.
There were Irish step dancers, lobster rolls, and limited-edition merch.
Afterward, they stayed the night in a sprawling room at a hotel in the park.
Its a different world, he says.
I was like,Now I get it.
Now Im grasping why people would want to be a member.
Once they got back home, Scott called membership services.
A guest felt heard in a place like this.
Minor celebrities, likeThe Officestar Kate Flannery, joined them for drinks.
Even if I was alone, I never was alone, Diana says.
By that summer, they were going to Disneyland nearly every weekend.
Not long after they joined, the club closed for renovations.
This concerned the Andersons.
Would the new, expanded dining room be as intimate as the original?
As true to Walts vision?
If Disney were alive, would he have demolished the Trophy Room to update the kitchen?
Still, when Club 33 opened back up less than a year later, they were impressed.
The doors were repainted a lacquered robins-egg blue.
Cherished antiques like a club-footed console featured inMary Poppinsremained, thankfully, prominently on display.
They especially liked the new Le Salon Nouveau, a drop-in lounge created to complement the formal dining room.
But soon they found other problems.
He called management and convinced the club to cut him a check for $15,000.
Later, they toggled back to executive for free.
They both chatter to other members so much.
Both couples had been members for about three years, and both lived in the Phoenix area.
Ted worked in the same office as the Andersons financial broker.
After that, Scott made it his mission to get Ted kicked out of the club.
In the meantime, he and Diana refused to visit if they knew the Crowleys would be around.
Only negative here is [with] a few non-compliant members.
Usual suspects Im afraid.
(Ted Crowley didnt respond to request for comment.)
It was odd if they were both in the lounge, a current member says.
It was the Hatfield versus the McCoys.
Hello Luke, he wrote.
I am sure moving over to Club 33, that you are going to be very busy.
My wife and I are going to be in the parks today through Wednesday.
If you have any opportunity at all we would love to introduce ourselves and meet you in person.
c’mon let me know if this is a possibility.
Thank you and congratulations on the move.
The meeting didnt go as Scott hoped.
It was like one in the afternoon, Scott says.
We were having a glass of wine.
The relationship devolved from there.
As a onetime assistant to disgraced former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Stedman had some experience handling conflict.
He asked his staff, Anyone have some backstory?
The two arranged a call.
If the club maintained its essence after the renovation, Stedman ushered in changes.
We dont drink a lot, this member told me.
The Andersons, meanwhile, were convinced Stedman hated them.
Within months, Stedman started closing the club earlier.
He tried talking to Stedman about this; the conversation grew heated.
Thats a huge fucking benefit, Scott remembers saying to him over the phone.
And Luke says, Hours arent benefits!
Soon after, Diana was written up for using inappropriate language during lunch.
In Dianas version, any colorful language was said in jest.
Still, the club issued her a warning and a 30-day suspension.
In a lengthy email to management, Diana vowed to take Herculean action to remedy the situation.
She has the right attitude, Stedman wrote to his team.
We also now have a warning on record.
But the managers only grew more irritated with the Andersons.
In late March 2017, Diana organized a Saturday kiosk krawl, with stops at restaurants across the park.
This is not an excuse to overserve or allow poor behavior, he warned.
This ought to be fun, another manager wrote with obvious sarcasm.
Stedman, who copied in top Club 33 brass, asked to see the posts.
On the Sunday before Labor Day 2017, the Andersons had been avoiding Club 33 on purpose.
They felt like the waiters were watching them.
So instead, they spent the day at 1901.
(Club 33 members are automatically given 1901 membership.)
At 9:31 p.m., the tab was reopened to accommodate one more bottle of medium-bodied red.
Then, all of a sudden, Scott says, he didnt feel well.
He recognized the symptoms immediately.
I started popping my ears and belching.
Its just what occurs before I get going into migraine mode.
I excused myself and I left.
Hed barely left the club when he realized he could go no further.
My head started exploding and I sat down on a bench and Im like,Fuck.
Now Im screwed.Then I was just waiting.
Shes there until close and forced out.
I was like,Shit, is she coming?
After Officer Rodriguez dialed Torel, the Club 33 member, he placed one more call to Reynoso.
Its like the world just lit up for Allicia, Scott says.
An hour later, Reynoso requested the security report.
Really needs detail in the statement, he wrote back.
Can you get that for me?
like mail your Club 33 Membership Cards to us at your earliest convenience, it read.
We knew we were being targeted, Diana says.
It was extremely obvious we were being targeted.
Finally, on August 5, 2024, the Andersons were able to present their case before a judge.
And from the outset, it didnt go their way.
Orange County is fucking Disneys neighborhood, Scott says everyone has a connection to Disneyland.
They appealed the ruling in December.
Instead, theyre spending more time at another Los Angeles members-only club, the Magic Castle.
That club meant for magic enthusiasts is bigger than Club 33.
It has five bars, a library, and a couple thousand members.
There are Houdini seances.
On a recent Friday, Diana and I met there for an early lunch.
She knows everyone, says her friend, who works as a tour guide for another big entertainment conglomerate.
Diana took a couple extra magnets to put in her purse.
The place looks a little tired, and there are no rides, but thats okay.
She showed me how to tell when youve stepped outside the original house of the Magic Castle.
The waiter nodded and laughed graciously.
Diana ordered another glass of white wine, which she drank slowly with ice cubes.
With a little needling she admitted, They are lovely members.
Diana asked, Were we ever obnoxious, drunk, loud, abusive?
No, responded Janeen.
The staff love them.
Additional reporting by Lydia Horne.
