Dapper Day at the Magic Kingdom
Although I probably had about 4 hours of sleep, I woke up more excited than the average person who would walk 6 to 8 miles in their Sunday's best. We woke up around 6:30, hoping to catch the first hour of low crowds at 8 AM. I didn't have much time to pick out an outfit, so I reused one that I wore to a somewhat recent Disneyland trip. The difference was that I received a new bow tie, courtesy of Michelle. It very much matched the red hearts that she had on her dress.
After a bit of dolling up, we arrived at the Transportation and Ticket Center. As soon as we got out of the car, Michelle was wondering if we looked out of place. I wasn't expecting a huge Dapper Day crowd at the Magic Kingdom in comparison to Disneyland, simply because of the different demographics at Walt Disney World. There simply is a smaller proportion of locals visiting the Walt Disney World parks in comparison to Disneyland.
First thing on our list was to make our FastPass+ reservations, which we made at the FastPass+ kiosk located right at the entrance to Tomorrowland. We scheduled our FastPass+'s for later in the day, when we anticipated the longest lines. As Disney works out the kinks in FastPass+ (and MyMagic+ in general), they have loosened up on the number of FastPass+ reservations. While it wasn't available during our trip, you are now able to make additional reservations after you have consumed your first three.
With crowds relatively low this morning, Space Mountain was a walk on. In the latter half of the queue, there were some interactive elements to help you forget that a majority of your park admission is spent waiting in lines. These elements consisted of video games with various objectives. In one of them, you controlled a spaceship as you freight items from one side of the screen to the other as you try to avoid flying objects. Since we are usually going when there is virtually no line or bypassing the line, I never got the chance to play around with them.
Usually if an attraction funneled into a store, we would come out empty handed. This time, we passed by the register and spotted a basket of pins. Since Michelle's birthday was in the same month, she got the birthday pin and had it officially annotated by a cast member. Since I wanted everyone to know that it was her birthday too, I grabbed the same pin. After a short while, I ended up putting my pin away as I was getting all of the Happy Birthday comments instead of Michelle. After exiting the store, we wanted to ride Space Mountain again. Looking at the current wait time, we decided to switch our Jungle Cruise FastPass+ to go back on Space Mountain again later in the day. This time, we went to the FastPass+ kiosk located right by Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. This location was rather empty as most guests usually spot the FastPass+ kiosk near Tomorrowland's entrance.
After changing our reservation (and after I was just told it was my birthday by a cast member), we went on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. I'm not sure what I did differently this time, but I probably scored 3 times higher than my previous high score. I'm sure there are tips and tricks floating around the interwebs so you can impress your date, significant other, or grandmother, but you lose the fun in finding out yourself. In hindsight though, I don't remember how I scored so much and I might as well look up which targets are worth the most.
Our plans for the day were really loose. So much so that after Tomorrowland, we spontaneously just went to the corner of New Fantasyland that few people venture off to. The only thing we did there was ride the Barnstormer (and used the very new restrooms).
Joining us today were our friends Katie and Ryan, who also came specifically for Dapper Day. We met up with them at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland and we all had an early lunch. After our meal, Michelle checked wait times via the My Disney Experience mobile app. We chose the Haunted Mansion since it had the shortest posted wait time. As usual, the actual wait time was bumped up a bit by the time we got there. Unlike the queue at the Disneyland version, the version at the Magic Kingdom has a portion of the queue where it is not single file, but rather a 10 person wide stretch. Based on how the "queue" funnels to the right, it's probably best to stay towards the right, a technique often used for the opening to Radiator Springs Racers.
The next ride we chose was the PeopleMover. We had to show Katie and Ryan this classic attraction that used to exist in Disneyland and replaced with Rocket Rods. So this was their chance to experience the ride before Disney decides to rip this version out. Maybe we just used that excuse so we could get off of our feet.
While we were in the vicinity, we queued up for Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. In the queue, you can text a joke to a number provided by one of the monitors. If you're lucky, your joke might be used during the show. Ryan had texted a joke, but his was not chosen. While I would consider Laugh Floor a C-ticket attraction, it does a great job at making each experience different due to the crowd interaction. If you really want to be called out to do something crazy or be "that guy", make sure to sit in a well lit area and near the ends of the aisles.
Katie and Ryan had some FastPass+ reservations coming up, so we split up in the meantime. With no churros in hand from the churro guy, we were craving some sort of dessert. So we went to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. While we were in line, fellow Dappers informed us about a new daytime parade that was going to debut today. They also told us that there were going to be new floats, which included a steampunk inspired rendition of the dragon form of Maleficent. Michelle mentioned that somehow, our trips end up coinciding with something new. It has happened with World of Color and Cars Land. Either it's because we were craving our Disney fill or Disney's subliminal marketing is at play. Michelle ended up getting a single scoop of mint chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone; whereas I wanted something huge, such as the ice cream sandwich. If you knew how big those plates are, you can easily imagine how big this portion was. Michelle ended up finishing her cone, but I couldn't finish my last few bites.
It was nearing the parade time, so we walked around Liberty Square and sat near the Liberty Tree. We were mostly squeezing through people as it seemed like everyone in the park and their unborn child was trying to get a view along the parade route. Although we weren't in a great location, I'll have another opportunity to get closer on another visit, hopefully.
Overall, the floats were a treat for the eyes but the soundtrack was not as memorable as Soundsational at Disneyland. Once the last float passed our viewing area, we sat around while the crowds thinned up a bit. After 10 minutes or so, Michelle was hoping to see if the Dapper Dans on Main Street. Since they were scheduled at the same time as the parade, we were not so sure if they would be performing just yet. As we went down Main Street, there was no sign of them. To recover from all the walking we have done so far, we spent some time on the curb of the alley on Main Street. After a while, Michelle hears something, jumps onto her feet, and skedaddles with me trying to keep up. When I saw her, she was right in front of the Dapper Dans. Fortunately, Disney has ended their celebration of 'Limited Time Magic'. This meant that the Dapper Dans stopped singing boy band music. I'm not exactly sure if Michelle would mind them singing 'N Sync hits.
After snapping a shot with the Dans, we went back to our quiet, little spot in the alley on Main Street. Since we were waiting for our FastPass+ reservation for Big Thunder Mountain for another hour and with no inclination to be on our feet, I passed some time by taking a bokeh panorama shot. The hardest part of taking such a shot in Disneyland is that there are people everywhere. With plenty of time on our hands, we just waited patiently for other guests to be out of the shot.
We then met back with Katie and Ryan in the Frontierland. Right after meeting up with them, we quickly used up our FastPasses at Big Thunder.
As soon as we got off, we met back with Katie and Ryan to jump aboard yet another train, the train at the Frontierland train station. Every time I'm on this, I somewhat expect to see the dinosaur diorama. But alas, that only exists in Disneyland. After leaving the train station, we headed towards Fantasyland. As we passed by, we all got in line for the Mad Tea Party Tea Cups. Michelle and I were too tired to spin our tea cup, so we sat like a pair of cool cats.
Our next FastPass+ was for Space Mountain. With some time to spare, we walked around the hub a bit and had a PhotoPass cast member take a few shots of us.
A week prior, I had made a dinner reservation to the Kona Cafe for 7 PM. Although it was only around 5:30 PM, we heeded Disney's advice to plan on at least an hour to make it to our reservation. We left the park, took the resort monorail, then jumped off when we reached the Polynesian Resort. We didn't have to wait too long to be seated, although we arrived a few minutes early. Shortly after we were seated, there was quite a wait for those who were just walking in. With MyMagic+, it was pretty simple to make a reservation to any sit-down restaurant (excluding Be Our Guest). Just make sure that you don't miss your reservation; otherwise, there is a no-show fee.
Michelle ordered a glass of red wine to kick start her meal. I, on the other hand, went with plain old water. They started us with some bread with butter that had bits of macadamia nuts. I had ordered the Pan Seared Duck Breast and Michelle had the Grilled Lamb Chops. I liked the bread so much, that I asked if I could have one for take out.
After our meal, we had just enough time to make it back onto the monorail, to the Magic Kingdom, down Main Street, and over to Crystal Palace just in time for the fireworks. Shortly after we arrived, Katie and Ryan joined us. I couldn't get any clear shots as a guest decided to park right in front of me. At least there will be plenty of more opportunities in the future. Right after the fireworks ended, Katie and Ryan had to leave because they had a 40 minute drive home. While the park was clearing up after the fireworks, I went on a little stroll down Main Street. At half past the hour, I hear the Main Street Electrical Parade music loop. So I scouted a place further back in the parade route that was virtually empty. I ended up stopping by the bridge between Liberty Square and the hub, facing Cinderella's castle.
Once the parade passed, I went back to the Crystal Palace where Michelle was still hanging around. When I got back to her, we called it a night. We took the resort monorail like we always do, not because the park monorail was crowded, but because it isn't used as much as the other monorail line that goes straight to the Transportation and Ticket Center. When we got back to our hotel room, I packed up a bit for an early morning checkout.
Although we missed much of the planned Dapper Day events, such as going on King Arthurs Carousel or riding the Liberty Belle, much of the fun came from seeing everyone else taking part in the event. I can't recall when this occurred, but a guest who was visiting the U.S. was very interested in knowing why we were dressed the way we were. While Katie wasn't there when this happened, she said that we should have responded that this is how Floridians normally dress up. Maybe next Dapper Day at WDW, I can jokingly use that response.
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