Here in So Cal, the flex has always been getting invited to the Magic Castle. You never know who will be there and an invitation into the Close Up Room is unforgettable. Even back in the day when the original Club 33 in Disneyland really WAS a mystical place that few knew of with no internet or social media.
I'm a bit biased because of where I live, who I know, and my "associations" with Disney professionally and through family, but to this day, I can still only count on my ten fingers the number of people I know who've been invited to the Castle, myself included (I know two members). Club 33 invites are way more common. Heck, my son went for his 18th birthday.