Working around crowds on Dapper Day (April 23)

[countofmc]

We were planning on going down Saturday April 22 and entering DL at rope drop on Sunday. I just found out it's Dapper Day. I know it can get quite crowded that day. Are there massive crowds basically from the start of the day, or will it not be as bad at rope drop?

My plan, knowing Sundays are pretty crowded anyways (before finding out about Dapper Day) was to stay in DL from about 8AM - noonish, then leave the parks for a long break and come back at night around 7pm. Not sure if I should alter these plans because of Dapper Day. I could plan on leaving DL at 8am and just plan not to go back the rest of the day, and just go to DCA instead.

EDIT: Forecast is for a really hot weekend (low 90s) as well. Will this impact the crowds anyways, or would that be pretty minimal?

 

[SMD]

Considering there will be many days that are over 100 this year, no, low 90s won't keep people away. I wouldn't take a 7 hour break to avoid crowds. I'd probably just plan to spend the majority of the day in DCA. If you don't have hoppers, you could make an ADR for DL at noon or well before 7. Try to get an FP for 90 minutes after a lunch ADR or an hour before a dinner ADR, then you'd have something concrete planned during the busier parts of the day but without skipping as much park time.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Dapper Day is more of a gathering of friends who share the fashion interest and more interested in photo opportunities then riding attractions,....that they have ridden over and over. They are more likely to have reservations at the restaurants and meet with characters. So your plans that you originally planned will still work and Sunday should not be a problem because most of those folks have left to return home

 

[countofmc]

Thanks! BTW, are the guests at Dapper Day pretty open to having their photos taken by strangers? I am a hobbyist photographer so do think it would be quite interesting to take photos of some of the better dressed guests.

 

[SMD]

I was there on November Dapper Day, and I'd say about half of the people in line for rides in FL were dressed up. It was slightly less in the rest of the park, but we saw participants in every line in DL. DCA was less so, but we might have been ahead of the crowd there.

 

[Scribble Kitty]

Thanks! BTW, are the guests at Dapper Day pretty open to having their photos taken by strangers? I am a hobbyist photographer so do think it would be quite interesting to take photos of some of the better dressed guests.

I'd say everyone is open to being asked, but no one is really comfortable with people taking their photos without their knowledge.

 

[Tasscrapper]

We were just at the parks April 9-13th and went back to the hotel each day for probably 4-6 hours a day depending on the circumstances. We live in Utah but have ap's and know we will be back again. It was a wonderful feeling to know that as our family got hot and tired we could head to the hotel and decompress. There is no way any of us would have been able to do the later night hours without that break. I have no idea how people commando an 8 am to midnight park day. Not everyone went back each night but the decision was up to the individual people. My daily steps were 26,779, 19,403, 23,486, and 25,220. I don't think my feet would have been able to handle being at the parks all day every day, lol. We generally started getting hot and tired around 1 or 1:30. If there had been shorter hours we likely would have just stayed in the parks longer. Do what you feel is right for your family. I personally rode 33 rides, saw the fireworks 3 times from different positions, did a ton of pin trading, a couple meet and greets, saw the Frozen show, and really just took my time. Had I been more focused I would have been able to do more with the same time but I was enjoying chilling out.
I guess what I am saying is don't be afraid of down time at the hotel when the hours are so extended.

 

[SMD]

I'd say everyone is open to being asked, but no one is really comfortable with people taking their photos without their knowledge.

Especially children. Someone could have an extreme reaction to taking photos of kids without asking.

 

[DLgal]

Thanks! BTW, are the guests at Dapper Day pretty open to having their photos taken by strangers? I am a hobbyist photographer so do think it would be quite interesting to take photos of some of the better dressed guests.

As a public place, Disneyland guests should have no expectation of privacy when it comes to photos. Snap away. People dressing all out for Dapper Day are doing it so people notice.

 

[rms123]

We always do dapper day and I've noticed most don't show up until at least mid morning because it takes a lot of work to get dressed up. I'd say the majority would love to be asked for pictures

 

[Xenorye]

As a public place, Disneyland guests should have no expectation of privacy when it comes to photos. Snap away. People dressing all out for Dapper Day are doing it so people notice.

I mean... you're not wrong. But there's a better way to go about it. If you see something cool happening, snap the photo. However as a hobbyist photographer, the OP might want some posed photos too.

OP, I would say ask, and give them your twitter handle or ask for theirs so you can share with them the photos you take. Just an idea.

 

[otten]

As a public place, Disneyland guests should have no expectation of privacy when it comes to photos. Snap away. People dressing all out for Dapper Day are doing it so people notice.

I disagree with this. It is one thing to be in the background of someone's vacation photos because it is a very public place and another for someone to specifically take someone's photo without permission. The fact that someone has gotten dressed up does not automatically give people the right to photograph them. I'm sure most will happily oblige if asked.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ok, well I totally disagree with some of this. Dapper Day is full of many people in awesome outfits PLUS the normal park attendees and EVERYONE is there to ride the rides. It's the busiest day of Dapper weekend because Sunday is the event.

IMHO it will be crazy, crazy busy- pick another Sunday. November Dapper Day was my only one, full disclosure, it was fun seeing the outfits but the parks were PACKED. We did DCA EMH and a couple other rides that day in DL. We were SO grateful we had lunch reservations where we could get out of the crowds for a bit. We left the parks and came back for dinner and it was even more packed, thankfully we also had dinner reservations. We did ride BTMRR after dinner then we left the parks.

Is another day an option, or is it this day or none? Dapper Day was fun for us because we rode things on the other days of our trip and enjoyed seeing all the outfits that day, but the crowds were a lot for me to handle (& I'm a pro at Summer/Memorial Day level crowds). I would have been very bummed if that had been my only day in the parks.

 

[countofmc]

Is another day an option, or is it this day or none? Dapper Day was fun for us because we rode things on the other days of our trip and enjoyed seeing all the outfits that day, but the crowds were a lot for me to handle (& I'm a pro at Summer/Memorial Day level crowds). I would have been very bummed if that had been my only day in the parks.

We are visiting from the Bay Area, but we have APs. Leaving Tuesday, so Monday was always going to be our "main" day. Since our APs are good on Sunday as well, we wanted to make a go of it. Plan right now is to go at rope drop, stay until the crowds become too much, and then maybe call it a day and come back Monday. Other things we can do in Orange County/LA!

As for the photography, yea, whatever the law/ethics, I don't take pics of people without their consent unless it was an accident or they were in the frame. Would adhere to the same rule on Dapper Day, obviously.

 

[gottalovepluto]

We are visiting from the Bay Area, but we have APs. Leaving Tuesday, so Monday was always going to be our "main" day. Since our APs are good on Sunday as well, we wanted to make a go of it. Plan right now is to go at rope drop, stay until the crowds become too much, and then maybe call it a day and come back Monday. Other things we can do in Orange County/LA!

As for the photography, yea, whatever the law/ethics, I don't take pics of people without their consent unless it was an accident or they were in the frame. Would adhere to the same rule on Dapper Day, obviously.

FWIW, I highly recommend lunch at Cafe Orleans on Dapper Day. We did the first seating at 11:30am on the patio and requested railing seats which gave us a great place to people watch. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[maleficent55]

FWIW, I highly recommend lunch at Cafe Orleans on Dapper Day. We did the first seating at 11:30am on the patio and requested railing seats which gave us a great place to people watch. Hope you have a great trip!

This is exactly what we are doing! Well, minus the requested rail seat, I may have to call!

 

[figment_jii]

I don't think you can make a table request in advance. We request a rail table when we check in. Having a reservation for the first seating of the day helps (we almost always have gotten a rail table at that time).