Dapper Day! What exactly is Dapper Day? Here at VetOne Travel, you've probably heard this day being mentioned multiple times by now! But you still have questions on what exactly Dapper Day at Disneyland is about and why should you ever plan your trip around this day!
"But Katie, isn't Dapper Day just dressing up vintage while going to Disneyland?"
Well, yes and no! If you weren't aware, there's a little bit of history behind this massive Unofficial event! Yes, you read that correctly. Dapper Day is an UNOFFICIAL Disney Parks event! Crazy I know.
A Fashionable History!
Dapper Day was created by a man simply known as "J" who at the time was a freelance Artist and Event Designer out of Los Angeles, originally from Fargo, ND. J is a lover of all things colorful, artistic, and fine attention to detail. This is why Disneyland was always a place he enjoyed visiting, because the very aspects that he loved and admired, Disney just did SO well naturally. (I mean, can we blame him?) So J figured, why not combine his love of Disney, detail, and fashion all in one?
Dapper Day started with a dream of wanting to "Step out in Style" without the feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb. And J wanted a place where he could go dressed up and blend in with other like-minded people! After one semi-failed attempt at going to Disneyland with two of his close friends dressed to the nines, where he ended up being the ONLY one in his party to dress up. His two friends changed their minds at the last minute and showed up to their Disneyland day dressed in "tourist drag"(his words lol) to blend in with the general populous. Needless to say, he was a bit disappointed. But as the day progressed, they encountered a young couple who were also smartly dressed for a day at Disneyland just like him. So he knew then and there, that there was a definite want to Dress Up more often, especially in an ever-growing society that thrived on Casual and Comfort clothing. And Disneyland seemed like the best place to get the Pixar Ball rolling!
So for a whole decade (dang!), J sat on this potential event idea of going to Disneyland, dressed in your Sunday best. He put out a call and encouraged others who wanted to "Step out in Style" (you're gonna see this phrase a lot...) with him.
"I decided Disneyland should be the site of our first outing, and it would have to be in the winter as it’s more friendly to multiple layers of clothing, (and generally, the more layers, the better they look). So I put out the call and encouraged anyone who wanted to “step out in style” to join me for a day at the park, Sunday, February 20, 2011. I specified “dress up a little–or a lot!” and embrace contemporary fashion as well as vintage styles. The point was for everyone to celebrate their own style" - J, Dapper Day website
On February 20, 2011, about 100 people showed up at Disneyland, dressed in their absolute vintage and personal best! And the very first Dapper Day was born! And boy, did word spread like wildfire on social media after that! Once pictures were shared all over Facebook (Instagram was still only a baby app at the time!) J wasn't prepared for the wildly positive response his mini-event received. People who missed the event didn't want to wait a whole year for the next day, and begged to go the following week! So hastily, J quickly organized for a second date later in the year on Friday, September 9th for the first Dapper Day Fall Outing. About 450 people showed up for that second date! And he knew this number exactly just based on the capacity they took for both riding the Mark Twain and King Arthur's Carousel. Mark Twain can hold roughly 300 guests safely, while on the carousel, they counted how many cycles it took to accommodate all 450 of the well-dressed guests!
And from there, the following year attendance numbers for Dapper day grew to 1,100 Spring Guests and 4,500 Fall Guests! That was 2012, when the 2013 dates arrived, J and his crew just gave up and lost count of just how many showed up for their Dapper Event! They estimated in 2013 around 10,000 Dapperly dressed attendees came to their events, on top of making the front page of the Los Angeles Times newspaper. By this time, J and his team had begun to plan other Dapper Day events at Walt Disney World AND Disneyland Paris.
"Eventually, one season we filled Disneyland to capacity and the park posted notices that if you left they couldn't guarantee you’d be able to get back in. After that event I received a call from Disneyland operations asking me if I know how many people had joined us that day. I said, “It’s your park, you tell me!” He responded, “Based on our estimates, it appears your event drew between 30,000 and 35,000 additional guests to the parks yesterday.” - J, Dapper Day website
Additional Guests. THAT is the keyword in that entire quote. 30k-35k ADDITIONAL guests flocked to Disneyland JUST for Dapper Day. Can you even imagine?!
NOW....before you panic, I know what you're thinking. That must have been a miserable day at the Parks. Max capacity, elbow to elbow guests. This is definitely numbers of a Pre-Covid Disneyland time. These days, with the Reservations System in place, Disneyland is very unlikely to see this level of packed anymore. For now at least.
And since then, Dapper Day has grown into this incredible two days out of the entire year of coming to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Paris where you can come and live your very best Vintage life.
The Most Stylish Expo on Earth!
What is a vintage/dapper event without the vintage and dapper attire and accessories?! Honestly, nothing, to be completely honest! With the popularity of Dapper Day, it just seemed like the perfect and intelligent thing to include was an Expo filled with all things vintage, stylish, and unique!
From accessories vendors and clothing boutiques, to even hairstylists, barbershops and tattoo artists, the Dapper Day Expo at the Disneyland Hotel is a little bit of EVERYTHING!
It's such a lovely time strolling through the different vendors, with an Old Fashion cocktail in hand, admiring the beautifully crafted items for sale from each booth while listening to live music and just being surrounded by GORGEOUS people!
A personal favorite of mine is going through all the different little boutique booths that offer different accessories to add to your outfits. And since it's a Disney Dapper event, you can be sure that there will be vendors who merge the two concepts together, to create and produce one-of-a-kind Merch that only a Small Business can create!
Passes to enter the Expo always go on sale early for a lower price than that at the door (only by a few dollars though), and include BOTH days of the Expo!
Advance General Admission Passes: $15; sale ends April 22nd at 11 pm PST
Advance Early Bird Passes (get an extra 1 hour of shopping before the general public on Saturday!): $28
Day of/At the Door: $18
Children under 12 and Active Military service members with valid ID receive complimentary admission to the Expo.
And the best part about the Expo, you do NOT need a park ticket to enter! This is held at the Disneyland Hotel Expo Center and is open to the public. The Expo will follow State and private property Health and Safety Guidelines. I did my best to find what exactly that entails, however, the information on the website is not updated to the current State and Disney guidelines. So if you are interested in attending, it's highly encouraged to contact the Expo staffing for further clarification.
Wrapping things Up!
All in all, Dapper Day is a very unique, fun, and stylish event held twice a year at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Paris. Where people of all ages can strut their stuff in their absolute BEST attire. Letting their personalities, favorite Disney Characters, and fashion sense shine through.
If you are thinking to yourself, "But Katie, I have NO sense of style or fashion. Can I still go even if I'm doing the bare minimum?"
YES! ABSOLUTELY YES!!
Dapper Day is by NO means a contest for ANYONE. This event is held for ANYONE who loves Disney and fashion! Whether you partake or not, it's still such an incredible time to go to Disneyland! Dapper Day feels like stepping into a Disney Time Machine. Back to the old school days of wearing a suit and tie just to go to a theme park. Ladies in hats and gloves. Kids in their Sunday best.
I honestly cannot explain it in words properly, but Disneyland on Dapper Day feels so much more magical than any other day. (Christmas season aside, that is a WHOLE different beast lol)
If you recall the scene from Saving Mr. Banks, with Walt Disney (starring Tom Hanks) and P.L. Travers (starring Emma Thompson) are walking down Main Street in the '60s, how every person was dressed so lovely and fashionably, if you've ever wondered what that possibly feels like to be there...
Dapper Day is a way for you to be as close to that feeling as possible.
If you loved this blog, and want MORE Dapper Day content, please follow along for as I will be attending Dapper Day AND the Expo to blog about how my day goes this year! This year, I will be having my hair professionally made up for the occasion and I have the best outfit planned!
I can't wait to share with you all and the Expo findings!
Thank you so much for reading this today. I hope it filled your day with magic and you learned a little more about this infamous, unofficial Disney Event that has grown into a huge phenomenon!
Much love and Pixie Dust to you my readers <3
-Katie
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