Doctor Who Day 2016 at Disneyland

April 10th 2016 was the fifth unofficial meetup of Doctor Who fans in Disneyland Park. Named Galliday in reference to The Doctor’s home planet of Gallifrey, fans of the British series came from all over to show off their best costumes and meet up with their fellow Whovians.

This was our second Galliday but the first where we dressed up. Right away, we noticed the difference. Before even entering the Park, we were asked if it was a Doctor Who Day. While most guests and Cast Members weren’t familiar with the show, we were surprised by how many people actually knew which Doctor we represented. If you don’t know, The Doctor has been played by 13 different actors over the last 50 years, each with his own sense of “style.”

The Galliday organizers had the first meetup planned for 9:30 around the Partners statue. There, we all compared outfits, discussed our favorite show moments and basically, just bonded. It was great to meet new people who love both Doctor Who and Disneyland. We are not alone! Everyone’s costumes were great with so many fezzes, endless scarves, and red sneakers on display. The most popular dress was the TARDIS itself, the Doctor’s time travel spacecraft. And of course, we all had our own Sonic Screwdrivers as no Who meetup would be complete without them.

After the welcome was complete, it was time to explore Disneyland. Everyone went off to their favorite lands and rides. We went to Rancho del Zocalo for breakfast. This was our first visit since breakfast moved from River Belle Terrace and it was very good. Even though the cinnamon French toast wasn’t on the menu, there were a number of Mexican-flavored options to fit in with the new location.

Later at the cantina, we ran into this bounty hunter scum. After a few insults and a sonic screwdriver threat, we were lucky to escape with our lives.

At Noon was the big meetup for the day in front of the Castle. The organizers have done this before so we knew to get in & out quickly and not block access to the Castle. In the end, hundreds of Who Fans posed for the Castle photo session. Check out #Galliday to see the photos. Organizers also arranged for scavenger hunts and other get-togethers with the last being at Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel. We were too tired to make it to 10:00PM but we had a blast with what we did!
You may be asking “Why dress up as Doctor Who in Disneyland?” The answer is quite simply, “Why not?” It’s fun and doesn’t distract from any other guests enjoyment of the park. The Disney-themed Dapper Day has grown in popularity every year and so has Galliday. It’s a chance to cosbound with like-minded Disney fans and have fun. From the questions we received, Cast Members wanted to join in on the fun too. Maybe Disney can get together with the BBC and build a small area off of Star Wars Land where our favorite Doctor can call home (well, for a little while at least.)

You say you’re late? I’ve got a blue box right over here that will take care of that!