Star Wars: Galactic Nights

Posted by Sep 7, 2019 Characters, Disney Style, Disney Tips, Rides and Attractions, Star Wars, Uncategorized , , , , , , , 505 Comments
Star Wars: Galactic Nights

It’s no secret that I love Star Wars, especially the sequel trilogy. I had even Disney bounded as Dapper Rey for Dapper Day. So when Disney announced a Star Wars: Galactic Nights event at Hollywood Studios, I had to go.

Before the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land opened at Hollywood Studios, the most Star Wars we could get in the parks was the simple meet-and-greet area in Star Wars Launch Bay. To be honest, as much as I loved meeting Chewbacca and Kylo Ren, this was pretty weak. I was so stoked at the prospect of getting some Star Wars in the parks.

The first thing I had to do was plan out my outfit. My favorite Star Wars character is Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren, but he’s a boy character, and I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. Then again, I successfully Disney bounded as Donald Duck just fine, so I figured I could pass as female Kylo Ren.

I found a Kylo Ren mask at a local flea market for super cheap, so I figured that was a sign. I then found a leather dress at Nordstrom Rack, and the outfit was starting to come together. I had knee-high black boots with heels, but I opted for my Tory Burch thigh-high riding boots because I figured it would be easier to walk around the park in flats, even if the knee-high heels looked better. I got a plastic toy Kylo light saber and inexpensive elbow-length leather gloves from eBay, and I finished the look with some messy hair and red lipstick.

Because I was pregnant, I couldn’t go on any rides, so I spent most of my time going around, taking photos and admiring everyone else’s outfits. My husband and my friend Joy went on the rides with practically no wait though. That’s the nice thing about going to Disney’s After Hours events or parties like this one. We also got to see a panel hosted by Warwick Davis, who is known for his several appearances in multiple Star Wars movies, starting with his role as Wicket in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. We even watched a live interview with Joonas Suotamo, aka the new Chewbacca.

The whole event was so much fun and totally worth the price. It wasn’t any more expensive than a regular After Hours event, and it had so much more to offer, especially for a Star Wars fan — between the panels, interviews, special photo areas, extra character meet-and-greets (like Rey and Darth Vader), and more. I would highly recommend it if they ever offer this again. And it would be even better now that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open. But if they don’t offer it again, then maybe I’ll try out either the holiday or the Halloween parties at Magic Kingdom next time.

Disney Bounding as Dapper Rey at Dapper Day

Posted by Feb 4, 2019 Characters, Disney Style, Disney Tips , , , , , , , 329 Comments
Disney Bounding as Dapper Rey at Dapper Day

As you might already know, I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and when The Last Jedi came out, I was obsessed with the idea of Reylo. Unlike my Donald Duck Dapper Day outfit where I picked the dress first and then the character, this time I knew exactly who I wanted to Disney bound as: Rey from the sequel trilogy of Star Wars.

I already had this Banana Republic dress in my closet for work, and I thought it would work perfectly as the base of my dapper Rey outfit because the shoulders reminded me so much of Rey’s vest while she’s on Ahch-To during The Last Jedi.

My Dapper Day outfit wound up being a bit of a combination of this outfit and her outfit during the throne room scene. When Rey and Kylo Ren / Ben Solo fight the praetorian guards, that is probably my favorite lightsaber battle in the entire Star Wars saga.

Check out that thigh grab for more Reylo proof.

To accessorize, I went with a grey fascinator that I thought went well with the shoulder detail, Rey’s signature fingerless grey gloves, and two criss-crossed grey scarves tied together with a brown belt. I was pregnant at the time, so the scarves helped to hide my growing bump.

I also weilded Kylo Ren’s red cross lightsaber, just like Rey did in the throne room scene when she tried to attack Snoke. And my red high heels and red lips were my finishing touches. Unfortunately, I couldn’t convince my husband to dress up as Kylo Ren / Ben Solo. But I get it. Dressing in all black from head to toe in the hot Florida sun isn’t exactly fun. So he went for a cruise ship Mickey look instead. I think he pulled it off. Technically, Rey and DCL Mickey both captain ships, right?

Now that our little one has arrived, we need to start brainstorming ideas for Disney bounding at the next Dapper Day (April 27 in Magic Kingdom and April 28 in Epcot). Let us know in the comments how you think the three of us should dress!

Disney World Dapper Day: Donald Duck Disney Bound

Posted by Jan 30, 2019 Characters, Disney Style, Disney Tips, Uncategorized , , , , , , , 6 Comments
Disney World Dapper Day: Donald Duck Disney Bound

If you’ve never heard of Dapper Day, it’s really more like two different dapper weekends—two days in the spring and two days in the fall—in which people dress up in retro outfits like in the time of Walt. You see outfits from about the 1920s to about the 1950s, and they’re mostly fancy Disney bounds. Not sure what a Disney bound is? Check out this post.

While a lot of people like to pick out their characters that they want to Disney bound as ahead of time, I did things a little backward. I went to Nordstrom Rack to find a dress I thought could pass off as retro that would also be affordable but good quality. I figured I would find something that looked good on me and then decide which character I could Disney bound as after picking out the dress. After trying on several outfits, I found this beautiful Eliza J blue neoprene dress with bows on the shoulders.

Eliza J blue dress with bows on the shoulders

I immediately thought of Disney bounding as Donald Duck, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it because he’s a boy character. I thought maybe village Belle or Dory or Sadness. But then my friend Suzy told me, “It’s definitely Donald. Stop trying to make it anything other than Donald.” And she was right. This dress definitely screamed Donald Duck.

Because I was going for a retro look, I wanted to get a fascinator or a pillbox hat to go with the dress, but my husband convinced me to go with a beret to make my Dapper Day outfit look more like Donald Duck.

To put the finish touches on my Donald Duck Disney bound for Dapper Day, I added white gloves, a red bow tie, a yellow belt, and red high heels. I would have worn yellow high heels if I owned them, but I didn’t and didn’t want to spend the money on them either. I bought a white feather boa (feathers because he’s a duck of course), but I unfortunately forgot to bring it with me to Disney World. I accessorized with white cat-eye sunglasses and a white parasol.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom

I must have done a good job with my outfit because the official Dapper Day Facebook page actually featured me. I was so excited! I couldn’t convince my hubby to dress as Daisy Duck, so he went for more of a Dapper Dan look with a pale blue pinstripe suit and a boater hat.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle

I wish that I got a photo with classic Donald, but we were at the Magic Kingdom Dapper Day, and classic Donald is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I did get a photo with Donald in his circus attire though, and he loved my outfit.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom the astounding donaldo

Probably the most exciting part of the day was telling Mickey Mouse that we were expecting a baby! This was when Mickey could still talk. It was great to be able to hear him tell us congratulations, and it makes me a little sad that Mickey can’t talk anymore.

Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney Bound Magic Kingdom talking Mickey Mouse

So what do you think of my Donald Duck Dapper Day Disney bound? Who do you think I should Disney bound as at Dapper Day this year? Let me know in the comments! And be sure to follow me on Instagram for more Disney fun.

What to Wear to Walt Disney World

Posted by Jun 12, 2016 Disney Tips , , , , , , , , , , , 1,276 Comments
What to Wear to Walt Disney World

Sure, anyone can tell you to wear comfortable shoes and to dress for the weather (e.g., the hot Florida sun or afternoon showers), but let’s face it. When you’re at Disney World, you’re probably going to take photos that you’ll want to look at for years to come, so you shouldn’t dress like a slob.

Did you know that while kids are allowed to dress up, people age 14 and older are not allowed in the parks if they are in costume? While you may not be able to dress up in a costume, there are still ways you can capture the essence of a character without actually dressing as that character. My best suggestion is to think of that character’s color palette and accessories. For example, Snow White dresses in blue and has a red bow in her hair. Plus, she poses like this:

SnowWhite

Notice that my fingernails are also yellow, like Snow White’s skirt. See? You can dress up at Disney without literally dressing in costume. However, I wouldn’t recommend wearing a blazer all day in the middle of summer at Disney World.

Here’s an example of me channeling my inner Princess Jasmine. Jasmine wears all blue and is (I think) the only princess who wears pants. She also has a blue headband and fabulous gold earrings and necklace. Bonus points if you pose in front of your character’s ride.

Princess Jasmine

Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean that I always want to dress up like a princess. (Although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love dressing like a princess!) Sometimes you just have to go with a classic, and what’s more classic than Mickey Mouse? Of course I have my Mouseketeer hat, my “home” T-shirt with Cinderella Castle on it, black shoes, red Fitbit, Mickey bangle bracelet and yellow Magic Band. I could have gone with my red Magic Band, but I decided on yellow to match Mickey’s iconic yellow shoes because, well, I don’t own a pair of yellow shoes, and I can’t picture myself buying a pair either.

Mickey Mouse Disney Bound

Thanks to Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars franchise, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is loaded with Star Wars experiences. My favorite character from the newest movie is BB-8. And when I saw this T-shirt and Mickey ears on Etsy, I had to have them. These are probably my favorite pair of ears I own, and I own several, haha! Plus, I wore my pearl earrings (because they are little white balls, like BB-8), white scalloped shorts (because of the color and round shape of the scalloping) and carried around my BB-8 thermos, which you can pick up at the popcorn cart outside of Star Wars Launch Bay in Hollywood Studios. I just wish I had an orange Magic Band!

bb8

Dressing up for Disney World doesn’t mean that you have to dress like any particular character either. Sometimes it’s fun to dress in a theme instead of a character. For example, my husband and I wore “safari gear” on a trip to Animal Kingdom. I even made sure to wear my purse that looks like a satchel.

sarai outfits at Animal Kingdom

Have more suggestions or ideas of what to wear on your next Disney trip? Let me know in the comments!