Ellen DeGeneres dances through Boston

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi visit Boston. (Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe)

A mob of dancing and screaming Ellen DeGeneres fans showed up at Faneuil Hall today afternoon to see the beloved daytime talk show host tape promos for her new time slot. DeGeneres, who’ll take over Oprah Winfrey’s 4 p.m. hour on WCVB Channel 5, arrived in Boston on Tuesday night, spent this morning seeing the sights from a Boston Duck Tours boat, and then danced for the thousands of fans who showed up at Quincy Market to welcome her to town. Ellen’s wife Portia de Rossi was along for the trip. The twosome ran into the Faneuil Hall Marketplace Starbucks after greeting the crowd. After doing some interviews at the Liberty Hotel this afternoon, the couple has dinner plans with Channel 5 personalities such as Bianca de La Garza, Karen Holmes Ward, J.C. Monahan, and Ed Harding at Scampo, where Lydia Shire is preparing a vegan menu featuring peasant ravioli Pappa Al Pomodoro and “just picked” vegetable bruschetta. Shire has even made Ellen goodie bags for her staff to take on their jet. During her visit, Ellen -- a Twitter aficionado with more than 7 million followers -- was bombarded with Twitter invitations from Boston personalities and city businesses. Meghan Klingenberg, a mid-fielder for the Boston Breakers, tweeted Ellen an invitation to a game. Madi Daigle beckoned for Ellen to come to Flour Bakery. Black Duck Software tweeted, “Come visit us in Waltham, MA!” Even the Old South Meeting House got in on the action, tweeting, “Boston is best known for its Tea Party -- come visit the place where it all began!” Ellen tweeted a bit herself during the visit. She sent out a nice crowd shot from her perspective in front of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and after meeting Mayor Tom Menino, she tweeted, “Just met the mayor of Boston. He proclaimed it Ellen DeGeneres Day! I wonder if that gets me free beans for a year.”