Two weeks ago, my family spent one of the hottest weekends on record (or, at least it felt like one of
the hottest weekends on record) at the Disneyland Resort for Dapper Day. Let me tell you that it was so HOT I really thought we were going to melt. But, since we had booked a hotel ahead of time and had invested so much time and effort into our Dapper Day attire, we made our way into the parks, as planned… sort of.

In my head, I had grand plans for Dapper Day. I imagined Thursday hanging out in the parks in on of our outfits–just a little “dapper warm up,” if you will. Followed by the fashion parade of Dapper Day on Friday and then heading to the Dapper Day Expo on Saturday in a third outfit after a day at the pool. Give the heat, I really bit off/planned way more than I could handle and never even made it to that third outfit on Sunday before packing up and heading home a bit earlier than I had planned.

I will admit, this Dapper Day was a little different than the one I attended in the spring a couple of years ago. It wasn’t as friendly of a crowd and I didn’t feel that same happy vibe. Again, it was a million degrees out, and I am guessing that everyone else felt just as hot and sticky as we did. Anyway, without further ado… here are some photos from our Dapper Day experience.

Even though it technically wasn’t Dapper Day on Thursday, we went into Disney California Adventure all dressed up anyway.

My dad, Aidan, Brandon and I stopped for a photo right outside the Chamber of Commerce

Aidan looked is really into the whole “dapper” movement.

And Brandon couldn’t get enough of his new driving cap.

I went for a Minnie Mouse DisneyBound, complete with yellow flats and vintage bag.

Friday was THE day to be seen for Dapper Day. I chose to wear a tiki-inspired dress from Pinup Girl Boutique. The boys all wore white shirts, bow ties and hats from Target. (The bow ties I ended up getting from a children’s second-hand store. They were still new, in the box for $5 each!)

My beautiful family in one of my favorite photo spots. You never have to fight the crowds if you take pics on the east side of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

My bow tie guys–my dad and my three boys.

In the evening, Dapper Day attendees flocked to King Arthur’s Carousel for the Dapper Day Derby and to “be seen.”

My parents got a kick out of the Dapper Day Derby.

Like I said, by the time Saturday rolled around, we were EXHAUSTED and headed home before I could get to my third outfit and head to the Dapper Day Expo.

If you are a family with little ones thinking about doing the next Dapper Day with your family, I highly recommend it. Getting dressed up is a really fun and unique way to experience Disneyland and the kids really got a kick out of it. And personally, I LOVE getting photos of my boys in their bow ties. If the cost of getting the kids (or yourself) dressed for the occasion is holding you back, there are a lot of really inexpensive options when it comes to going dapper, and I will share some of my Dapper Day on a Budget ideas in an upcoming post. Until then, mark Sunday, March 1 on your calendar. If enough Babes In Disneyland readers are interested, we can even do a meet-up and get a photo of all of the Babes families and kiddos together!

Oh, and one last thing: if you are thinking about getting a hotel room at the Disneyland Resort the weekend of the next Dapper Day, I highly recommend checking out the Dapper Day website. Their discounts on on-property hotel rooms (and tickets) CANNOT BE BEAT!!!