Here’s What the Private $18,000 Dinner at Disneyland Is Like

There are certain exclusive experiences offered at Disneyland that allow you to soak in the ultimate level of Disney magic, like visiting Walt Disney's firehouse apartment in Walt's Main Street Story Tour, enjoying a VIP Tour, or visiting Club 33. One special experience, however, stands out as the height of luxury: the 21 Royal dining experience.

This exclusive experience includes the rare opportunity to enjoy dinner in a private space that was envisioned by Walt and Lillian Disney to host VIPs at the park. At 21 Royal, guests have the chance to explore the suite and enjoy a lavish and memorable dining experience.

Keep reading for more details about the 21 Royal experience at Disneyland and what it includes!

Background of the 21 Royal Suite

While Walt Disney did have his apartment above the Town Square Firehouse at Disneyland, he wanted a larger space for events, and so the suite above Royal Street in New Orleans Square was designed to be a private space where Walt and Lillian Disney would host dignitaries and other special guests. Walt brought in Dorothea Redmond for the apartment's design. This was going to be a second apartment at Disneyland for Walt Disney.

The project unfortunately wasn't finished before Walt Disney's passing, and it was put on hold, as Walt's family felt it would be difficult to be in the space without him. The space eventually housed the Disney Gallery from 1987-2007 with various exhibits and artwork.

Then, it closed to be remodeled into the Disneyland Dream Suite based on Walt's original vision for the private apartment, closely following the design drawings from Dorothea Redmond. The space features a living room, an open-air patio, two master bedrooms, and two bathrooms. One master bedroom is themed to Adventureland and the other to Frontierland.

In a Disney Parks video with Roy P. Disney and Ryan March, you can see a detailed look at the elegant space and some of the special effects featured. See the Frontierland bedroom below:

There are beautiful design details throughout the suite and special effects, like this model train that runs on a track around the Frontierland bedroom:

During Disney's “Year of a Million Dreams” promotion in 2008, guests were selected at random for the opportunity to stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite. Other opportunities like promotions and sweepstakes gave winners the chance to enjoy a stay in the suite in the years that followed.

The space was finally turned into 21 Royal, the exclusive dining experience, in 2017.

21 Royal Experience

The 21 Royal dining experience is available for parties of up to 12 guests, and it includes admission to Disneyland as well as valet parking for the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. While the experience already comes at a steep price, one publication, Voice of OC, reports that the cost has recently risen to $18,000. As you can see in the picture above, 21 Royal is decorated in the Empire style made popular in 19th century New Orleans.

On the night of the 21 Royal experience, guests will arrive at Dinsey's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and be greeted by the valets. After the entirety of the party arrives, a VIP escort will take guests to the site of the dinner party.

First, professional butlers will serve signature cocktails in the salon, then guests will go out to the patio for a reception. Guests will also have the chance to explore the different rooms of the suite and learn about their special features. Then, guests will enjoy dinner around a table with white linens, flowers, and gold-plated dinnerware and fine crystal.

The menu for the 21 Royal experience is crafted by a culinary team of Disneyland Resort Signature Chefs and an expert sommelier. The chefs work with both local and international premier suppliers to gather top-quality ingredients for the meal, and the dinner also features pairings from the 21 Royal wine collection.

The experience ends with dessert on the private balcony overlooking the Rivers of America and views of the park's entertainment on certain nights (like Fantasmic!).

You can see abc7tony's TikTok video detailing the 21 Royal experience below. In the video, you can see the details of what the experience includes, a look at the food and drinks, the view of the nighttime entertainment from the balcony, and a tour of the various rooms in The Royal Suite as well as special effects they feature like the “goodnight kiss” in the bedrooms, moving model trains in the second bedroom, a beautiful starlight lighting effect above the bathtub, and more.

@abc7tony This sums up our fine dining experience at 21 Royal at Disneyland. #21Royal #finedining #dinseyland #disneylandsecrets #disneylandfood #disneylandresort ♬ original sound – Tony Cabrera

This looks like such an incredible, memorable experience!

In the second half of the Disney Parks YouTube video with Roy P. Disney and Ryan March, you can see a detailed look at the 21 Royal suite:

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