I made it in...

Ok, I have finally achieved a Disney milestone i didn't know if i would make...i have joined Ally as a cousin who has dined in Club 33 at Disneyland (if others of you have, I apologize and let us know!) I was in Anaheim for this year's annual athletic trainers convention and one of our medical vendors invited our staff to a dinner/reception in Club 33. My boss and other assistant made sure that everyone attending knew about our cousin challenge and my affection for all things Disney. i'll try to keep this short, but the invitation came with a ticket to the park and a map (like i needed it!) so our other assistant and i headed into the park around 8:30 pm for dinner (the others were there already). Once we got the the door and i wiped away a tear ;o), i knocked on the door. NO ANSWER! then i looked to the left and noticed a metal door that i pulled down and pushed the button. within seconds, the door opened and a young lady confirmed our party and let us in. the reception area is small and lead up to some stair that take you up to one of the two dining areas. imagine my surprise when she asked, "is one of you Jeff?" I said, uh, yeah, and she said she heard that i was a big fan and to let her know if she could answer any questions. my boss had obviously been there already!

we went upstairs to one of two dining rooms and sat down at one of the tables. the room was decorated with a bunch of memorabilia including photos, framed posters commemorating various milestones such as the opening of rides and Fantasmic, and mounted on the wall was the knife and serving utensil they were saving for Walt's 100th birthday (I guess they'll have to wait until they unfreeze him for that). Dinner was great (Salad, scallop risotto, filet mignon, and some kind of rich chocolate fudge dessert. - oh and lots of wine!).

After dinner and the usual testimonials and thanks, we went outside and watched a little of Fantasmic from the balcony. it was pretty fun to see from that vantage point. It was definitely a memory I won't soon forget! Hope you all are well. On another note, thank you all for your thoughts and support in the past few months with everything that was going on between Kristina and I. i have appreciated your love and support in helping get though this tough time.

jt