Monday, September 12, 2011

Dapper Day at Disneyland Trip Report, Pt. 1



I couldn't believe I was already on the way back to Disneyland after less than a week. The concept of Dapper Day sounded very cool, and the opportunity to photograph a group of guests wearing retro and vintage clothing was just too much for me to pass up a second time. Amtrak got me to Anaheim, and shortly after checking into The Anabella (great location, great property!), I headed into Fantasyland for dinner at The Village Haus.



My Pastrami Hamburger and fries were tasty; even more so, I loved relaxing and noticing all the details about this restaurant nestled into the back of Fantasyland.



Stained glass windows featuring your favorite characters from "Pinocchio."





Decorative murals throughout the interior:



Meeting time at the Carrousel was still a bit away, so I sauntered around Fantasyland, shooting other previously missed details, such as these elephants inside the Dumbo Band Organ:





Looking up, I noticed the Goodyear Blimp crossing the Matterhorn; throw in the moon, and you have a once-in-a-lifetime shot:





My next stop was an empty bench near the Castle; what were the chances of snagging that on a Friday night?!?











And then, the time finally came...the meeting at the Carrousel. I was very impressed by some of the outfits. Here are a few of my favorites:



Check out the vintage bag!





All ages took part!



The event's organizer, Justin Jorgensen:



Creative geniuses Jody Daily & Kevin Kidney (who looked like he'd just stepped out of the Carnation Ice Cream Parlour!):





Dapper Day mother & child portrait:



Alex Williams & Jason Schultz look like they're ready for the next Dillinger movie:



Men in Hats (again, note the vintage bag!):



Before the next event (drinks at Trader Sam's), some of us splintered out and took a spin on small world:









Before heading back to my room early and being an official party popper, I did stop by Trader Sam's to get a few interior shots:









More to come from this little jaunt.

See more Dapper Day at Disneyland photos on my Dapper Day web page.

11 comments:

Connie Moreno said...

Oh boy, I feel like I was there!! Great shots, Dave! Oh! And the shot with the Matterhorn, blimp and moon...priceless! That would make a groovy poster!

TokyoMagic! said...

Wonderful trip report and photos, Dave! Again, it was great seeing you at the event. I had fun, but the night went by too quickly!

Major Pepperidge said...

Wait a minute, the organizer of "Dapper Day" wore SHORTS? Seems an odd choice, since shorts are generally considered sloppy wear (even if they are comfortable)!

Great pix though, and the interiors of Trader Sam's are neat. Are some of the tikis animated? It looks like the one in the last pic can move its eyes.

Unknown said...

Hey there!

I'm the mom of the 6 yr old in the photo you've captioned "All ages took part!"

Thanks for the awesome photo, I was on the ride with her so I couldn't possibly have gotten this shot.

Hope to see you in February?

twitter.com/LoveMeDeux

fuzzhead said...

The changing view in the "window" looks very cool!

I can't wait to get drunk there!

Daveland said...

Major - I will have to check out the Tikis next time I am there; I don't remember seeing them move. Janet - your daughter looked adorable that night! And yes - I hope to be back in February, camera in tow!

Cory Gross said...

What a fantastic looking bunch. I wonder if my next trip to LA will magically coincide with a Dapper Day event. I wonder about how easily I will or will not be able to make it through airport security with a three-piece suit, bowler hat and umbrella. They might think I'm a British secret agent avenging something.

Susie said...

Dave! I love your blog, I wish i was better at stalking you out that night! Thanks for getting a Picture of my friend's little girl (The Mads). what a sweet shot. See you there next time!

JG said...

Hey Dave, we just missed one another. I was in the Park with my family and we saw the group at the Carousel.

I was in the Heraldry Shoppe also that afternoon.

Later, we went over to Trader Sam's for a drink, not knowing that it was the meet-up, so here are all these people in costume.

If you saw a grumpy fat guy with his wife and twenty-something kids at the far end of the bar, that was us.

Hope you had a good time. If I had recognized you I would have said hello.

Best regards.

JG

Unknown said...

Such fun!

JG said...

I read about the tiki columns on Kevin Kidney's site.

The faces in the bar are fixed, non-moving, but are made from castings of the Tiki Room originals, so they have the same lines on the mouths and around the eyes as the animated faces.

These have commercial potential as gift items. I want this in my home bar setup somehow.

JG

Cocktails here are still too sweet.