When I was plotting out how Sean Colbeth would reconnect with his best friend Vasily Korsokovach in Outsider, I’d had in the back of my mind the notion that Vas — being a prototypical Southern Californian — would have a certain affection for Disneyland. That notion blossomed into his purchase of a condo in Anaheim specifically due to its magnificent views of the nightly fireworks show over Sleeping Beauty Castle. We (as readers) get a brief glimpse of said condo at the tale end of Outsider as Sean wrestles with whether to return to his old job in Maine or go private with Vasily. Fortunately (or not, depending on your perspective), Sean heads back East and leaves Vas to forge onward in his new career.
The depth of Vasily’s fondness for all things from the Mouse House didn’t truly become apparent to me as the writer until I began work on his first solo book, Pariah. Given that the events in that novel take place before those in Outsider, I knew I’d be able to explore the condo in more detail and get the insider’s take (from Vas) on why he’d purchased in that particular location. One reason was purely pragmatic, for the cost of housing in California more or less pushed him into something affordable; the fictitious Rancho Linda is modeled on multiple Orange County municipalities where there are a few too many zeros appended to end of any real estate listing. His other motivation, of course, was being able to see Disneyland from his condo, something I’m sure only super-duper-serious fans would truly appreciate.
In real-life Anaheim, there are no apartments, condos, or, frankly, single family houses located where I plopped the fictional building housing Vasily’s condo. There are good reasons for that, most notably being that the area immediately surrounding the park is taken up by 1) multistory hotels, 2) retail shops supporting them and 3) the network of roads to get guests to the park. I’m also certain that folks who live well outside of the circle that is the Anaheim Resort are quite tired of the nightly fireworks show, as well as the cloud of smoke and ashes that comes with it. One of the joys of writing fiction is my ability to craft a world as I see it or as I need it to be; for my purposes, allowing uber-fan Vasily to live within walking distance of the park was an opportunity too good to pass up.
As I dove further into Vasily’s backstory in Pariah, it gave me a chance to touch on the life he might have had if his parents hadn’t disowned him. Tying that back into his love of Disney allowed me to have him visit the very real, very exclusive Club 33 hidden above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. Full disclosure: when I wrote those scenes for the book back in 2020, I had not actually been to the club myself. I based Vasily’s experience on research I had done, which included several thick reference books in my library covering just about anything you would want to know about Disneyland, Walt Disney World and the Walt Disney Company; I also have multiple biographies of Walt Disney himself, each of which describes the concept the founder had for the club and attached apartment in significant detail. In short, I had a lot of material to work with, enough to make some educated guesses about what dining in Club 33 might be like — and how someone who was no longer an official member might be treated.
Getting into the club myself had long been a wistful bucket-list aspirational dream, but I was also realistic about my prospects of fulfilling it. It seemed that the best I’d be able to do was live vicariously through my character — at least, until the phone call came in from my friend earlier this year. I’m not entirely sure how he pulled it off, but somehow he managed to score us an invitation to lunch at the club through another friend of his who, as it happens, has been a member for years. I’ll be honest, I thought he was pulling my leg — my friend is as much a Disney fan as I am, and well aware of my dream — so it wasn’t until I found myself standing with him at the literal door that I truly understood it was happening.
Out of respect for the members of Club 33, I won’t get into specifics of what (or who) I saw while I was dining there with my friend; frankly, I think the pixie dust of the experience has made the whole thing a but hazy for me anyway — either that, or the multiple New Orleans-inspired Hurricanes I foolishly ordered. (Pro tip: alcohol on an empty stomach is never a good idea.) What I will say is this: the service was extraordinary, the food, divine; the views, well, those were spectacular on a level I’d never expected.
I got quite a bit right about the space and the experience, but actually seeing the rich detail in the dining room and the hand-painted artwork depicting portions of the park created a depth that I’d not captured in my original prose. Our table for two was nestled into a window that overlooked an interior section of New Orleans Square, giving us a unique view on the world below; after we were finished with our meal, we were able to head out to the wrought-iron balcony to take photos of the Rivers of America and Sleeping Beauty Castle just beyond. I could easily picture what taking in Fantasmic or the fireworks would be like from that spot, and immediately decided that Vas would do just that in a future book (assuming I can work it in).
Time blew by while we were there; our reservation was for noon, and it was close to three when we finally rolled ourselves out of there, satiated in ways I’d never expected. I thanked my friend profusely, with a nod to his friend for allowing us the opportunity to experience such a wondrous once-in-a-lifetime thing.
We talked as we walked to our next destination about whether we would ever want to go back, and I found myself amazingly torn. I don’t doubt I would accept a followup invitation in a heartbeat, but part of me worries the second time wouldn’t be quite as magical as the first. That has happened to me before, and I simply don’t want to tarnish the experience I had.
For it is one I will treasure for a lifetime.