Picture yourself walking through Disneyland when you begin to notice people wearing quaint hats called fezzes and men and women sporting British Police Boxes on their sleeves. It would seem as though you’ve wandered into an entirely different universe at Disneyland. The only logical explanation to such whimsicalness would be none other than “Doctor Who Day” at Disneyland, otherwise known as Galliday.
The popular British sci-fi television show “Doctor Who” has been around since the 1960’s. The show tells the adventures about a time lord called the doctor, who loses his home planet and becomes the last of his kind that travels through time and space with his companions in his stolen tardis (a time machine disguised as a blue police box).
On January 19 about 500 hundred people invaded Disneyland or as they prefer to call themselves “Whovians”, as the very first day the doctor came to Disney. Many people came dressed up as their favorite characters. The significance of “Galliday” is a play on reference to the Doctor’s home planet Gallifrey.
The founder of Galliday, Amy McCain originally from San Diego, is also a very big fan of Alice in Wonderland and has been a huge Doctor Who fan for years. It took her about a year to plan everything, which was an easy mission because she had many supportive friends along the way.
“I was on my way to Dapper Day and thought how fun would it be where you pick a day and everybody comes dressed up. And I thought wait a minute, Doctor Who day, why isn’t there a Doctor Who day? I’m going to do a Doctor Who day,” said McCain.
She explained her happiness for the first Galliday and how amazing and grateful it was to see a massive turn out the first day. Eventually the second and third Galliday doubled in size, something she had never imagined.
“I love the doctor for being the doctor no matter what face he has no matter what personality he has,” McCain said.
Harry Potter Day, Dapper Day, Gay Pride Days and recently added Galliday are some of the many “unofficial” Disney days that have brought together many people that have the same interest and can share a laugh amongst one another in the “happiest place on Earth”. These Disney days have become more of a trend now with many different subcultures joining in to create fun and exciting memories.
“It was a unique experience and still is because I have never been a part of something big. And it felt nice to talk to everyone who had the same interest in the show and taking over parts of Disney was more exciting than I thought it would be,” said Fernando Molina, Fullerton College student.
There has so far been three of these gatherings at Disneyland. The first was held Jan. 19, 2014 and named “The Oncoming Storm,” the most recent named, “Jelly Belly Jamboree,” was held on March 8, and the next one is still to be announced.
Galliday consists of fun activities and prizes throughout the day such as pictures in front of the castle, photo scavenger hunts around the park, massive group ride takeovers, different meet ups around the park and even an after party So next time you go to Disneyland and see the large array of alien looking costumes you know it’s the day of the Doctor.