Club 33 membership not only allows access to Club 33 in Disneyland and the new 1901 Lounge in California Adventure, but also includes additional perks such as exclusive sneak peeks, the use of VIP tour guides, valet parking, complimentary hotel upgrades, annual passes to all domestic Disney parks, and 50 single-day passes for members to distribute as they wish.

Officials declined to say how many people would be added to Club 33. For now, they said, 100 embossed invitations would be sent to those already on the 800-name waiting list. If you are interested in adding yourself to the list, you can do so by sending an email to club33interest@disneyland.com. However, Club 33 membership does come at a price. Individual initiation fees are $25,000 with annual dues of $10,000.

Here are a couple of sneak peeks at the 1901 lounge.

The Disney Parks Blog released this short video in which two primary graphics designers explain how their research led to the final product.

Check out the video below where Disney has provided some behind the scenes glimpses of final details being added to DCA. Full press release following the video.

Official Press Release:

Cars Land expands Disney California Adventure by 12 acres and immerses guests in the thrilling world of the Disney•Pixar blockbuster “Cars.” Guests will feel as if they have stepped into the town of Radiator Springs as they enjoy three family attractions showcasing characters and settings from the movie, plus “Cars”-themed dining and shopping locations such as Flo’s V8 Café, Ramone’s House of Body Art and Radiator Springs Curios.

One of the largest and most elaborate attractions ever created for a Disney park, Radiator Springs Racers is a twisting, turning, high-speed adventure through Ornament Valley and the town of Radiator Springs. Luigi’s Flying Tires invites guests to glide on air aboard special tires, whirling around with their pals. At Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, guests will whip around behind a baby tractor and enjoy tunes from a giant jukebox built from Mater’s most prized possessions.

Starting June 15, guests will enter Disney California Adventure along Buena Vista Street, a place that transports them to an era when Walt Disney arrived in California with new dreams: 1920s Los Angeles. Buena Vista Street features Red Car Trolleys, inspired by the transportation system that once served Southern California, and the Carthay Circle Theatre, modeled after the site of the 1937 world premiere of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Carthay Circle Theatre will include a lounge and the elegant Carthay Circle Restaurant, designed to be the premier dining location in Disney California Adventure.

Adding to the fun at Disney California Adventure this summer will be the new Mad T Party in Hollywood Land, the return of Pixar Play Parade, and the new Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop at Pacific Wharf. Mad T Party will feature nighttime, family fun inspired by the wild and whimsical world of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

The summer debuts of Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and Carthay Circle Theatre complement previous additions to the park, including the 4D fun of Toy Story Mania; the spectacular after-dark “World of Color” show; The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure; Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta and Paradise Garden Grill restaurants, plus the re-themed attractions Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Silly Symphony Swings and Goofy’s Sky School.

To accommodate a media preview and make final preparations for the exciting debuts, Disney California Adventure will be closed June 14. The fun, new attractions, locations and entertainment will open to the public June 15.

Enjoy!

Pick Your Spot By Night’s End

Decide if you want to end your night with fireworks and Fantasmic at Disneyland, or ElecTRONica and World of Color at Disney California Adventure. Park hopping may not be allowed if the parks get too crowded, so pick a park and stick with it.

Get To Park As Early as Possible

Plan to be at the park ALL day. No really! Both parks may reach capacity before noon, and you may not be allowed to enter or re-enter the park once the crowd-control restrictions are in place. This is not the day to go “off-site” for lunch, or return to your hotel room for a nap.

Be Willing to Skip Stuff

This is not the day for riding every single ride and seeing every single show. Utilize the Fastpass service wherever possible to reduce wait times, but be prepared for long lines. If you have a iPhone you can download a diversion like the Wishing Stars application to play between rides, or pick up a copy of the Disneyland edition of the Hidden Mickeys book to read while you’re waiting in line, and use a smartphone ap like Touring Plans to keep tabs on wait times.

Be Flexible

While a little planning can help make the day more enjoyable, you should also be prepared to be flexible and change your plans on the fly. Expect to grab a meal on the run if your preferred restaurant is too busy, skip a favorite ride if the line is too long, and explore parts of the park you may never have seen before.

Visit Movie-Based Attractions

Whether it’s Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Captain EO, It’s Tough to be a Bug, or  Muppet*Vision 3-D, movie-based attractions offer an opportunity to get out of the crowds and sit down, even if just for 15 minutes. Visit the Blue Sky Cellar in DCA, explore the Disney Gallery on Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., or go play with some new and not-so-new technology in Innoventions.

Don’t Waste Your Day For the Perfect View

Unless you’re willing to get there at park opening and sit on a bench for hours and hours, don’t even worry about seeing the midnight fireworks from directly in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. There’s a large group of folks who make it an annual tradition to hold that prime bit of real estate so they’ll have the perfect view of the festivities, and the area will be completely full by mid-morning.

One strategy for getting a good view of the fireworks is to wait until just after the Believe… in Holiday Magic show ends (it’s scheduled for 8:45 p.m. on December 31st), and then grab a spot as people leave that show. You’ll still have a three-hour wait until the Midnight show, so bring something to pass the time. You may also opt to view fireworks near “it’s a small world,” which is usually less crowded than Main Street.

Bring Warm Clothing and Be Able to Layer

It can get really chilly inside the parks at night. Locker rental is much cheaper than purchasing Disney-priced sweatshirts, scarves and gloves, so plan ahead.

Wait For the Rush to Pass

The Resort often suspends tram service immediately following the fireworks shows due to the number of people trying to exit the parks, so wait around a bit if you don’t want to walk back to the parking structure.

Great tips from MousePlanet. Of course if you are like me, you’ll completely avoid the park during busy times such as these. To be in the park during these type of events is not for the faint-hearted. However, if you dare, there is no better place to spend New Year’s Eve, that is if you follow these and other steps to ensure the best experience.

Guests will be able ride the Red Car Trolley up Buena Vista Street to the park’s new icon, Carthay Circle Theatre — a recreation of the original theater where “Snow White and Seven Dwarfs” premiered in 1937. Guests will also be able to experience the park’s 1920′s style architecture which will include a mix of stores, eateries and guest service.

And with no further ado, here is the video.

Eleven parks later and a media company that is one of the largest in the world, that original theme park has quite a history. The Infographic below, courtesy of City Traveler, takes us through the events of Disneyland’s grand opening all the way up to events as recent as the reopening of Star Tours in 2011. Enjoy!

[Click to Enlarge]

Additionally, the Orange County Register created a neat graphic which details what’s in store for the 12-acre addition to Disney’s California Adventure.

Looking at this layout, there will be three attractions (Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Luigi’s Flying Tires and Radiator Spings Racers), three food venues and three retail shops.

Personally< I can’t wait for it to open so I can take my grandson who is a Cars fanatic.

Spoiler Alert:

Disney’s newest dark ride attraction is based on the film The Little Mermaid and scheduled to officially open June 3, 2011. CM previews for the ride took place between May 20-26, which have been followed by a preview for annual passholders, and then possible guest soft-openings leading up to the June grand opening.

So no doubt the first full ride video I have come across came from one of these sources. The attraction itself incorporates an Omnimover ride system, very similar to the one currently in use at the Haunted Mansion. In this manner, Disney Imagineers can rotate the ride vehicles to show guests what they want them to see any any point in the ride.

With no further ado, here is “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure” full ride video shot by YouTube user Asianjma123.

The animators compare the audio-animatronic figures in the attraction to their original drawings produced for the film.

The video reveals quite a bit of the six minute dark ride. So if you can’t wait for the opening next month, enjoy the video below.

The video moves quickly from scene to scene so you may want to watch it once then run through it again and pause several times to see some of the detail of the new ride.

And now, enjoy the video!