A Dapper Day Indeed!

By: Arnick

This past Sunday, March 9, 2014, we had a swell time at Disney World's Magic Kingdom! It was Dapper Day!!! Dapper day is an individually organized fan-based day not associated with Disney, that's thrown at Disney World and Disneyland. At Disney World It's held twice a year in spring and fall. At the Magic Kingdom and spring and at Hollywood studios in the fall. My husband Jared, my 9 month old baby, JD and myself headed to Disney in our finest. We were excited to see the the different ideas of "dapper attire."

There were all types of styles, anywhere from the 1920s to the 1960s. We saw flapper dresses to pin-up style dress and Dapper Dan's to Italian cut suits.

We started it off right by taking the ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom.

Shortly after we stepped inside the park did a couple stop us and wish us a "Happy Dapper Day" and handed us our dapper day pins!

So it began. We were stopped by quite a few people and asked why there were so many of us dressed up and if we worked for Disney. That was pretty neat. So we gave them the run down on the day. Hopefully next year they'll join us.

I wore my hair in a 1940's style with the 1940's make up in the classic red lips. My husband had on his black slacks, black suspenders, and dark blue tie. And the baby had on his fancy pants, with his baby suspenders and brown boots to match. My snazzy men!

Before we hit the main meeting spot we stopped by to say hi to Mickey! It was JD's first time meeting him in person. And boy was our little man excited!

Once our picture with Mickey was taken we headed off to the Liberty Square Riverboat for a huge rendezvous at 3 o'clock with the participants of Dapper Day. It was such an awesome sight to see. And an even more exciting experience. Everyone had a smile on their faces. As everyone began to board the boat, from every direction you heard "Happy Dapper Day!"

While enjoying the boat ride we walked around and people happened to notice our little one. At which point our baby affectionately became known as "Baby Dapper". We waved at people as we passed by on the boat and owned the part. 

As the boat ride came to an end, we caught the tail end of the new fantasy parade. Catching the new Maleficent and her fire-breathing metal self. Hopefully next time we come we will see the entire parade. When the boat docked we said our goodbyes and headed home.

What a day we will never forget. Hopefully the beginning of many. So next time you come to Disney try and make it on a Dapper Day!

A Bonus Dapper Day at Disneyland

My wife and I took a trip to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim in February of this year.

Originally, we were supposed to be there from February 20th thru to the 24th, but Mother Nature had other plans for us.
We were walking back to our resort, the Grand Californian, after breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel, when I got a text from our airline saying our flight had been cancelled due to a snow storm in Denver, Colorado, where we had connecting flights. Immediately upon return to our room, I was on the phone trying to get a different flight. The only thing available was the next day. While I started the search for another room, my wife went to guest services, and added another day to our park tickets.

We got another room at the Paradise Pier Hotel, across the street from the Grand Californian. After check in, we headed right back to Disney California Adventure. When we got there, we noticed many guests were dressed in vintage clothing from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

It turned out that this was an unofficial event known as Dapper Day. From the Dapper Day website:
Started spring of 2011, DAPPER DAY organizes fashionable gatherings at The Disney Resorts in LA, Orlando, and Paris: a spring, all-day event, and a fall "evening affair." For the 21+ crowd there's our periodic cocktail party "FOLLY" held at exceptional venues around LA throughout the year.
It was pretty awesome! If we'd known, we absolutely would have dressed for the occasion.

This event is particularly suited (no pun intended) for Disney California Adventure, as the park has a nostalgic feel throughout.

In fact, the characters here even dress Dapper, in costumes only available at Disney California Adventure. Note our "flight home" clothing. Not awesome.

My wife Googled Dapper Day. In addition to the official website, there was a link to a pin on eBay. It even said Dapper Day pin in the description! We went to Elias and Co, on Buena Vista Street, and found the pin. Upon closer inspection, we realized it says nothing about Dapper Day, but as it's Mickey and Goofy dressed as Dapper Dans, we bought it anyway to commemorate the day. It was $12.95.

Upon returning home, we checked the website again, and this is indeed Disney's official pin commemorating the day. So if you are into dressing in vintage clothes for fun, and your next Disney park trip coincides with one of the events, get Dapper!