The Do's and Don'ts of Dapper Day

         So you're going to Dapper Day! Before you set out and hit the parks will all motors roaring, take a read and take some advice from a seasoned Dapper. This is your handy-dandy go to survival guide to make sure you make the most of your trip. Here I will give some tips and hints for you and your group of Dappers, what you wear, how to go about the many gatherings through out the day and some other smaller details

         Who are you going with?

         First off, lets take a look on who you are planning on going with. When it comes to Disneyland guests, they normally fall into 1 of 3 categories. There are the first-timers to the resort. They often have specific things they want to do that they have been looking forward to doing their entire life. They don't always bode well with skipping around from land to land and want to get on as many attractions as possible and catch the major shows at the end of the evening. From experiences, First-timers do best in smaller groups. 

         The second group is the Annual Pass Holders/Cast Members. This group can also be divided into sub-sections. There are the extreme pass holders, they have all the show times memorized, and they are there once a week. When they walk in the park they know exactly what they want to do and will do nothing else until they get to do just that. First-timers will have a hard time keeping up with this group. The second sub-section of the AP/CM group is those who go simply to enjoy the park they are in no rush to do anything in particular. This group and first-timers often work really well together in the park for the AP's help with planning the trip around the park and don't mind the speed in which things are taken. 

         Finally you have the Casuals. These people go to Disneyland maybe 3 to 5 times a year. They are the happy medium of the first-timers and the AP's. They like to make sure they get on their favorite rides but won't feel as if the world will end if not every single ride is hit for the day. Casuals are the neutral parties and mix well with all the categories. 

Your Costume

         So it's time to put together your costume. To be a true Dapper you are going to be looking at the fashion of the 1920's and 1930's. For men there are the suits, ties, bow ties, fedoras and other hats. , The true and classic gentlemen. For women, dresses and high waist skirts at or below your knee, stylish up-dos and hats. These are hard to explain via words so here are some examples of what you should aim for. 

         Possibly THE biggest mistake one can make when putting together a costume for Dapper Day, is their choice of footwear. This is a mistake made more often by women, but I have seen it happen to men as well. Though you want to look cute and be true to the time, you ARE going to be spending HOURS walking around a large theme park with stairs, ramps, cobble stone, brick of different sizes, narrow queue lines and small children and trash EVERYWHERE! Girls! If you feel the need to wear heels I HIGHLY suggest you bring flats cause unless you walk around in heels 24/7 outside of Dapper Day as well, it is extremely difficult to walk around Disneyland in heels for an extended period of time and the possibility of tripping due to small children and cracks in the floor is ridiculously high. And even when picking out your flats  (and men if you are going to wear dress shoes), make sure you know they will not give you some killer blisters by the end of the day. Even better is finding a pair of converse that match your costume color scheme, cause your feet will get tired. 

        

         Also, you want to think about the functionality of your costume as a whole. Make sure you wear your costume around your house for a few hours while you do house work or wear it to the store. Make sure that things fit you well enough that you won't be pulling up your pants, or pulling down your shirt, adjusting your socks. Make sure that you can be active in your costume without too much (if any effort) at all. 

         Finally something that started at the most recent Dapper Day was the addition of the DisneyBound Dapper group that has sprouted from the popular Tumblr blog. For those who don't know, DisneyBound is a blog that finds clothing from the vast internet world, and puts together modern day outfits that are inspired by the color scheme and iconic pieces of Disney Characters and their costumes. It's a fun addition to the bi-annual event and I am super excited to see how things take off from here. The art of 'DisneyBound'ing (Amazing how a Tumblr blog name becomes a verb) is something that takes some work to perfect, however, my first attempt at went fairly well (except for the fact that apparently Carl Fredrickson and Indiana Jones wear similar clothing). Thanks to the amazingness that is Salvation Army, I was able to throw together my costume for right around $15. For a better idea of DisneyBounding here is a link to the blog 

http://disneybound.tumblr.com

Gatherings

         The unique part of Dapper Day aside from going to the happiest place on earth while dressed to the nines is meeting everyone else who is doing the exact same thing. There are some set gatherings through out the day in which the Dapper Brethren can meet up and talk and show off their costumes and take pictures. I will work our way through the day and cover each of the different gatherings. 

         First is the Boat meet up.  For the first 3 Dapper Days everyone met up at the Rivers of America for a ride on the Mark Twain Riverboat. This year's Dapper Day the Mark Twain was down and the Columbia was docked for the day due to 'high winds'. Regardless it is a fun event looking at all the dapper costumes and taking advantage of the photo opportunities. It can be awkward for those who aren't familiar with the Dapper Day community. But it is a great way to dive in and realize what a great group of people you are a part of for that one day.

         Added just this last Dapper Day is the DisneyBound meet up. Originally scheduled to meet at the Partners statue on Main Street USA, due to such a high volume of participants moved to the front of the castle. This was by far my favorite gathering. It was amazing to see the creativity that people put in to these ‘character inspired’ Dapper Costumes was amazing! There was a group picture taken of everyone who could squeeze in while the poor PhotoPass Photographer was nearly to the center of the Hub trying to fit us all in. 

         After that comes the Dapper Derby. This is the most popular Dapper Day event. Around 7 o'clock at night where all the Dappers meet up in Fantasyland and ride King Arthur's Carousel. The line quickly wraps around the attraction multiple times, frantic Attractions Hosts and all other free Cast Members in the area try to control the mass amounts of people. As the horses go round and round there is an endless amount of whoops and hollers and 'Happy Dapper Days'. It's crazy and more often or not the cast members are far from prepared and it can be quite entertaining just sitting back and watching the chaos unfold

         Finally there is also a gathering at Trader Sam's Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. Due to the fact that I’m not old enough to drink yet and neither are most of my fellow Dapper friends I don't have much input on this gathering as of now. 

         One common thing that you will see through out all of these gatherings is TAKING PICTURES. SO! Here is some basic picture etiquette: Most Dapper's won't mind you taking their pictures or taking pictures with them. HOWEVER! They are still guests at the park, and not characters hired by the company. Be respectful of them in that way. Also, don't touch them unless they put their arm around you or what have you. They are normal people; they may not want you touching them. Finally, the art of photo bombing! It is easy to tell if it is supposed to be an artsy or formal type picture or if it looks like a casual type picture I vote… DO IT!!! (But that is just a personal opinion) 

Other Tips and Hints

         A few final notes to wrap this up. Make sure everyone in the group has everyone' s phone number. Too often people under estimate the size of the resort, the amount of people in the park (even on a slow day) and the ease of getting separated. It will be in everyone's best interest to be able to contact who ever they need to in case of separation or emergency. 

         Along with phones it is also wise to bring you cell phone CHARGER, especially if you plan on pulling a full day at the parks. Batteries will drain abnormally quickly while at the resort due to the high number of guests using cell phones, it takes more power for cell towers to operate when they have apron 20-30 thousands cell phones all trying to use them in such a concentrated area at any given time. You have a few options as far as charging them. There are of course the charging lockers. They are $2 for an hour and they have adapters for those of you who have iPhone (including the iPhone 5) or Androids. If you don't have one of these they have lockers with outlets in them that you can plug your own charger in to. 

         Not up for spending the $2-4 to charge your phone? No problems. Most (at least as far as the women are concerned) restrooms have outlets that are reachable. You might get some funny looks for the extended stay in the throne room but just think of the piece of mind you'll have knowing your phone is going to last you the full day. 

         Another helpful hint (and this may seem funny to some), Remember to eat! It is really easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of the park, but make sure you take a break to eat. There are some WONDERFUL snacks and restaurants to eat at through out the resort. Nothing can ruin a trip more than a hungry grumpy person in the group. 

         And finally, ENJOY YOURSELF!! Don't stress over long lines or loud obnoxious people. They are a part of the experience. Get into conversations with other people in line. Share a smile with a cast member. Tell a little girl 'Happy Birthday'. Disneyland is your land and everyone's land. They all want to have a good time and make the most of their time at the resort just like you. 

         With all of this in mind, I can't wait to see you all at the parks in September. HAPPY DAPPER DAY! 

                 

The walrus and the carpenter. I mean... the elephant and the artist

One cute story and one strange but funny story...

First, the elephant. While dumping trash with a fellow Cast Member at the train station during the fireworks show I see a small girl with her hands clasped firmly over her ears and a very disgruntledlook on her face. During a lull in the show she removed her hands long enough to express her concern as far as to the volume control of the pyrotechnics for the evening. I shared my condolences with her with something to think about. I told her "I know its really loud huh princess? And if we think its loud, can you imagine how loud these things are to Dumbo back in FantasyLand!?" 

With this seed planted in her head I saw gears starting to turn and wires connecting and she quickly agreed that they weren't as bad as they could be. It was towards the end of the night so the parents were tired and were glad to see her being distracted by something while they took a moment to themselves while I was having the conversation with the child. That was short lived however for shortly after the fireworks ended the little girl came over and informed me she wished she could take a picture with Dumbo. So promptly I told her that Dumbo was in FantasyLand right next to his ride where she could take a picture riding him. 

She was so excited to hear this and quickly turned to her parents with that hopeful look in her eye. The mom (who looked like she was going to fall asleep standing up waiting for the train) said to me jokingly "What's your name? Im gonna go complain about you" So I informed her my name was my partners name with a laugh from everyone I headed off to complete my 12 hour shift for that day. 

It was a fun little experience all around. The parents got a laugh, I helped make the fireworks a little less stressful for the little girl and it lightened up my mood from the crazy day I was having. Nothing ground breaking but I thought it was fun enough to share

Second, the artist. This one, I still can't believe I saw. It was the last thing I had expected and something I shan't soon forget. While cleaning a restroom stall a small boy walked into the stall I had just finished cleaning and his mom took the stall directly across from him. I went about my business cleaning. I heard the flush, signaling the finishing of the boy's endeavors. Without thinking too much of it I don't pay him much mind. 

His mom walks out of her stall and I hear him say "Mommy! Look what I made!" I looked at the mother and she had this look of pure horror on her face at what ever was directly behind me in the stall the child had just been in. At her expression I half jokingly said "Do I want to look?" Still with the look of horror she just shook her head and mouthed the word 'no'. Far too intrigued and worried at this point I slowly turn around to look and to my amazement there sat a happy face made of the boys very own poo taking up about half of the inside of the stall door. 

I sat there gaping at it for a few seconds and then started to laugh. The mom apologized numerous times, but as gross as it was, it was the funniest circumstance I have had to deal with in awhile and strangely enough it made my night that night. 

This was my first Christmas with Disney and my first Christmas away from home. It was a lot harder emotionally than I was expecting. But I am way beyond thankful for my Cast Member family that were there for me when I was falling apart this last week or so. And as we go into this new year, I am trying to put everything back together. The 13th of next month will be my year anniversary with the company and I am planning a video and a blog for that occasion so I won't put too much insight on that subject just yet but know it is coming soon! Thanks for reading and thanks for your support! 

A few small moments

Have had a few small magical moments over the last few weeks. 

First, I went to the park with my mom and grandma recently and it was wonderful having the three generations together enjoying the park and the magic that Disney creates. I introduced my grandma to the wonders of pin trading, showed them both California Adventures and World of Color. Nothing overly special happened but that is one of the best trips to the park I have ever had and I will treasure it forever getting to spend a day with the two women I admire most in this world. 

A few days after my trip with my grandma and mom I was picking up trash along the parade route making jokes about the trash can that comes to the guests instead of them going to it, along with making conversation with a guest or two as I went a long. About 7 minutes before the parade started I was on the route just by Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on Main Street and I stopped to gather trash from a family. While the parents were digging up all of their trash from the strollers I made conversation with what I assume was their daughter (about 7 years old) and a few of her friends. We talked about what they did that day and their favorite princesses, who they saw that day and what have you. When the parade music started I told them I had to take off that Mickey and Santa Clause would want to see me before they could come out. The litter girls were bummed that I couldn't stay to talk more princess talk but they didn't want the parade to not be able to happen. I passed them after the parade during clean up and they said bye to me and hugged me before they left, letting me know that they were going to look for me again next time they were at the parks. 

And finally this afternoon I was emptying trash in Critter Country and a little boy (about 2 years old) was watching me intently. So after I dumped that can I kneeled down and began to talk to him. He didn't know too many words but he understood just what I was saying and was so excited that I was talking just to him. After our short conversation about Winnie the Pooh I had an extra "Honorary Citizen of Disneyland" button and gave it to him for he had been a very good boy and deserved something very special. He was super excited and was jumping around with a smile a mile long. Warmed my heart seeing him so happy and excited over something as simple as a button. 

Little moments like this make me love my job. I have been making it more of a priority for my day to day work to help make little things like this possible. I know it isn't something that can be forced of created out of nothing but I always have my eyes peeled for as many opportunities as I can find. 

On a side note, today is Walt Disney's birthday and without him and his wonderful imagination and genius creation that is Disneyland I would not have been able to do any of these things. He would be 111 years old today. Pretty incredible huh? Have a great night everyone. 

A Short One

A short little moment I experienced last night at work.

While sweeping by the castle on Main Street last night about an hour after fireworks had finished I heard a young mother (mid 20's) tell her son that it was time to go say good night to Mickey Mouse. I then watched them make their way over to the Partners Statue where the little boy waved to Mickey and told him good night and to not let the bed bugs bite. I went over to ask how long that had been doing this and the mother went on to tell me how her and her parents before they passed away used to say good night to Mickey Mouse before the left the park when she was younger and it was a tradition she wanted to keep alive with her son. 

I thought it was so precocious. It was not a magical moment that I made but one I got to experience. The continuing of a tradition, the keeping of a memory of the woman's parents. It was really touching and made me think of how when my dad took my brother and I up to our cabin in the mountains we always say good bye to the trees before we would start on our drive back down to the desert. Little things like that can go along way. They stay in your memory and give you something fun to remember for years to come. 

6 months

Wow! It's been awhile since I've posted. Let's see if I still remember how to do this shall we. 

Disney is still just as magical and Disney-esque as always. 

I have survived a full summer (including the CarsLand and Buena Vista Street opening) and Halloween season with many a magical moment. (Some bigger than others but none more magical than the next) With the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays looming in the near future decorations slowly surface. The Christmas Day Parade has been taped (Backstreet Boys, Mario Lopez and Toby Mac oh my)
Wednesday starts day two that Tom Hanks and the production crew of the new movie "Saving Mr. Banks", (a look behind the history of what went in to making Mary Poppins the spectacle that it is now) I am so excited for it! Should be a great film. Also recently Disney finalized its purchase of LucasFilm (creators of the StarWars saga for those who do not know)

The newest addition to my magical moment vault took place in Toon Town about a week and a half ago. While dumping trash a disgruntled mother approached me telling me of how she had searched and searched all over Toon Town and could not find her stroller anywhere. I directed her towards a lead for another department while I started looking for myself for the stroller she had described. Soon afterwards an older women with a young boy (about six years old) in toe came up to me asking about a lost stroller 

I exclaimed "Have you lost a stroller too!?" 

She replied "Oh you must have already met my daughter." 

The mother and grandmother then stayed together for by this time we had brought security in to help locate the stroller. While the two women were talking to the security officer I noticed the little boy, he looked so tired. He tugged on his grandmother' shirt and mumbled about his tummy hurting 

"Why does your tummy hurt love?" the grandmother asked. 

"Well... I haven't had any ice cream"

It was so cute I had to figure out some way to make this little boy's time better while his mother and grandma sorted out this fiasco. 

I ran back towards Small World where I knew some friends of mine had been hanging out. I gave one of them $5 and had them go buy me an ice cream sandwich from one of the outdoor vending carts then quickly made my way up back to Toon Town. 

Neither the security guard, the attractions lead, the mother, grandma, nor little boy had moved except for the little boy was now curled up in his grandma's lap who was sitting on a bench. I hid the ice cream behind my back until I was kneeled down in front of him. 

I went on to tell him "I heard you said your tummy was hurting 'cause you hadn't had ice cream. It broke my heart knowing your tummy was hurting so I was wondering if you wanted this?" 

The pure shock on the mothers face and the smile that came over the boys face was just wonderful. 

Further more! Saturday night while working on Main Street I saw the mother again walking by Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln with her son in a stroller (which happened to be the one that had been lost) I approached her "Oh my goodness! How wonderful! You found your stroller!" (I had to leave the area before I ever found out if it had been located the other night)

"Yes we did! All that was taken was a pin lanyard but our sweatshirts and car keys were all in tact!"
The family are Annual Pass holders and visit often. It was fun to see the reaction on her face when she realized who I was and that I had remembered even her name and her sons name. From the amazed  expression on her face I think it was the last thing she had ever expected. 

As tough, dirty and nasty as my job can be. It always seems to have its little perks, and moments like these that make it all worth while. 

Lessons Learned

To say that I have been busy for the last few weeks would be a GROSS understatement. Without going into much detail off all that happened, lets just say, I have been stressed and sleep deprived. I have been extremely happy only to come crashing down to the near polar opposite. But if I have gotten anything out of these last few weeks, is that a human can survive a lot more than they realize. We so often underestimate ourselves. Can you imagine how much more we could accomplish, if we didn't let ourselves be limited by what we think we can get through as opposed to what we can actually get through. Now its not to say that everyone should go out and push themselves as hard and far as possible to their near breaking point. That is highly inadvisable. HOWEVER, it may not be a bad idea to push the envelope, just a little farther. I think that was my subconscious thought process when I took this job knowing just how much effort it was going to take to get through it. There are times I would rather just curl up into a corner and just give up, but there is still something in the back of my head, that just wont let me. It gets frustrating at times but I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the long run.

Since the last time I wrote, I have been trained in restroom cleaning which has proved to not be AS bad as I was expecting, but it is hardly a walk in the park. I have started my class through the Disney College Program on Corporate Analysis. At first I was worried about the class, for I thought that no good to come out of a class that had the word analysis in the title, I am really enjoying it. I have met some great people and I am learning more about this company that I love so much. I thought for sure that learning about the nity-gritty money and business part of the company was going to make it 'lose its magic'. But honestly, it hasn't. The secret I have found is that one must have different mind sets depending on what part of the company you are dealing with. I see the parks differently when I am wearing my 'work hat' (so to speak) as opposed to my 'guest hat'. I see the company as a whole differently when I am wearing my 'cast member hat' as opposed to my 'customer hat'. And I think that has made a huge difference in keeping my love for the parks and the company while learning about all the nooks and crannies of it. 

On a random note. I was talking to a friend last night and he told me he was listening to "You Can Fly" from Peter Pan and I can NOT get that darn song out of my head to save my life. My favorite line is "Think of all the joy you'll find, when you leave the world behind and bid your fears goodbye". Some people who didn't know the movie would think that was a morbid line, but it really isn't. Everyone has a place to go or a think to do that lets them 'leave the world behind'. Mine more often than not is music, making videos, reading, and the occasional blog. So as just a bit of food for thought, how do YOU leave the world behind?

With that being said, it looks like Thursday late morning, early afternoons are going to be a good time to do just that and hopefully that is when I will blog from now on. Only time will tell if I stick to that, but hey, it's always good to have a goal.

I love you my little lemon drops <3 

A Brief History 

Now everyone knows that Disneyland came from the brilliant mind of this man 

When he was sitting on this bench

While at the park with his daughters one day.

When he brought up the idea of building an amusement park to his wife she replied "Why would you want to do that? Amusement parks are always so dirty" To this Walt replied simply "Exactly... Mine wouldn't be" He wanted a CLEAN park where people young and old could escape reality into a wonderland of fantastical proportions. On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its doors. 

Now when the park was first opened Walt had contracted with many different companies in order to run the rides, the parking, the food, and the cleaning of the park. Though the other parts of the park operations ran smoothly without many too much hassle,what he quickly began to notice is the janitorial service would come in before the park was open and clean it to its utmost pristine condition. However by about three or four in the afternoon, the park was very dirty and this was exactly the thing Walt did not want in his park. So, he took matters into his own hands. He first laid off the contracted janitors and then hired and trained his own custodial staff. Too this day, the custodial service at Disneyland is the only aspect of the park operation that was originally started by the big man himself. 


I am proud to call myself a Disneyland custodian regardless of any kind of teasing I may get from the outside. It gives me a great sense of pride knowing I am carrying out a big part of Walt Disney's dream fifty plus years later. Yes it is messy and tiring but something about coming back to my dorm room absolutely exhausted and sore feet, knowing that I made someones day just THAT much better makes it all worth while. I work tomorrow and cannot wait to share with you the magic I witness.


Until next time.... I am looking for a sign-off... any ideas? Comment and let me know :)