This past April I experienced my first Dapper Day. Dapper Day is an amazing event that is held at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris.  It started as a way to pay homage to the way people used to dress when they came to Disney. They dressed in their best: pearls, heels, and bow ties! My first Dapper Day didn’t go exactly how I would of liked it to have gone, but I am sharing with you my Dapper Day tips so that you don’t make the same mistakes I did.

Dapper Day Tips

1. Plan your trip. My birthday was on Dapper Day so I had already planned an overnight with my sister in law, Jen, and my husband for the night of Dapper Day. My husband worked on Dapper Day and was going to meet up with us for dinner at Raglan Road. I decided last minute that I didn’t want to get ready for Dapper Day so early in the morning, so I added a night on to my reservation. I left a day early which left me forgetting some key items to my outfit. Jen completely forgot her outfit. I felt so bad for her. If you are traveling any amount of distance, stay the night before and after. It will make your trip so much better.
2. Plan out your outfit. I had a rough idea of my outfit, but didn’t try it on and put it all together until the day before. I wish I would have. I was running around the day before picking up certain items and then forgot to pack some of the items. Dapper Days are announced well in advance, so I will be very prepared for the next one in the fall. I am making my dress for the next one, I mean I have to do Disney on a budget. I still haven’t decided if I want to make or buy a Petticoat for the next outing. Sometimes it is more frugal to buy than make.

   Photo Credit: Disney Dapper Darlin’ – “My favorite from that day! Anna jumped up and down and grabbed my hand and said…I! Love! Your! Dress! She was the sweetest.”

3. Prepare for all weather. It may rain, it may be blazing hot. Make sure you have accessories for each. Parasols and hats help with the sun. Umbrellas help with the rain. I made the mistake of not putting on sunblock. It was cloudy for most of the day and then the sun came out. It was out long enough to burn me good.

   Photo Credit: Disney Dapper Darlin’ Jen O’Winkle

4. Wear comfortable shoes. Many people wear heels to this event. Many props to those who do! This plus-sized princess couldn’t deal with that. I wore tennis shoes. If you want to wear heels or dress shoes, please make sure to have a back up pair of comfy shoes to switch into for later in the day.

   Photo Credit: Disney Dapper Darlin’ Cat McLaughlin

5. Try to go to some of the meetups. The Dapper Day page lists a general timeline. I went to the People Mover and River Boat “meet up” and it was pretty amazing to see so many Dapper people all doing the same thing. There are lots of Disney fans pages that host little meetups and I am a member of the Dapper Darlin’s which had a few fun photo opps.It was their video that they made for the fall Dapper Day that got me so excited to participate this year. 
6. Make new friends. This is where I kind of failed. I wanted to make new friends. I mean, these are the kind of friends I want. Nobody gets you better than a friend who loves Disney, plus they have great style! I was too reserved and kept quiet. I was afraid to strike up a conversation. I don’t know why. It seems like most of the Dapper people are friendly. I especially love the girls in the Disney Dapper Darlins group. They host Dapper meetups throughout the year, so I will be blogging about those in the future. I can’t wait to get to know these wonderful ladies and gentlemen better.

   Photo Credit: The Hepburn Movement

7. Have fun! This is what I did do right during Dapper Day. I had a blast! I enjoyed the compliments. I enjoyed people watching. So many people Disney Bounded, it was amazing! I wish I had as much creativity as some of the people I saw.

   Photo Credit: Disney Dapper Darlin’ Samantha Roemer

   Photo Credit: Disney Dapper Darlin’ Barbara Royse

Dapper Day Dates 2016 and 2017 

• October 15th, 2016 – Disneyland Paris
• November 6th, 2016 – Disneyland California
• November 12th, 2016 – WDW Epcot
• April 23rd, 2017 – Disneyland California
• April 29th, 2017- Dapper Day Magic Kingdom
• April 30th, 2017- Dapper Day Epcot
• May 6th, 2017 – Disneyland Paris

Have you been to Dapper Day before? What Dapper Day Tips do you have to share, let me know in the comments!

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