Disney World Gay Days is a loosely organized event where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, their families, friends and supporters go to Walt Disney World on a week-long event each year. It is held on the first Saturday in June (with numerous other events in the area during the preceding week).
People attending Gay Day dressed in red, in front of the Cinderella Castle
The first documented event, in June 1991, had 3,000 LGBTQ+ people from central Florida going to area theme parks on one day wearing red shirts to make their presence more visible. By 1995, the event had grown to 10,000 gays and lesbians traveling for the gay day at Disney. As of 2010 approximately 150,000 LGBT people, their families, friends and supporters attended the six-day gathering (including various pool parties, conventions, festivals, a business expo, activities for kids, etc.) with 20,000 to 30,000 going to Disney on the final day.[1]
The popularity of the event is seen by some attendees as a way of "reclaiming" normal joys of childhood lost to homophobia in their earlier years. Growth in attendance also reflects the growing number of LGBT families with children as well as increasing number of LGBT marriages, since Disney World is also a top honeymoon destination.[1] A local Doubletree resort has dubbed itself the "official" hotel for the event, with convention space rented to various businesses (bathroom remodelers, gourmet cooking suppliers, sex toys, etc.) and organizations (free health tests, vaccinations, etc.) pitching to attendees.[1]
Equivalent Events at Anaheim DisneylandEdit
In the 1990s, third party organizers and travel agencies rented Disneyland and Walt Disney World to hold events after the park's official hours. One such event was 'Gay Night' held by the Odyssey Tours travel agency, who purportedly donated proceeds to the Aid for AIDS charity.[2] It was later found out that Odyssey Tours' was only making token donations to the charitable organization, and attendance dimmed as a result. In 1998, Odyssey Tours cancelled 'Gay Night'. In response, 'Gay Days' began being celebrated at Disneyland Anaheim the very same year, inspired by the unofficial event held at Disney World with the same name.[3][4] According to Gay Days' organizers, the inaugural Gay Days Anaheim saw around 2,500 visitors, and as of 2023, they estimate that more than 30,000 people participate in Gay Days Anaheim each year.[5] In 2021, organizers moved the annual Gay Days from October to September. Usually, the event is hosted by separate parks on separate days, with Disneyland hosting on Saturday and Disney California Adventure hosting on Sunday.[6]
On April 13, 2023, it was announced that Disneyland would be holding its first official "Pride Nite" on June 13 and 15, 2023, as part of the Disneyland After Dark event series.[7] This event comes 25 years after the first unofficial Gay Days.
CriticismEdit
Gay Days have attracted criticism from religious groups. While Disney does not sanction Gay Days (and officially tells employees to treat it as any other summer day), conservativeChristian groups accuse Disney of not doing anything to stop the event. The Southern Baptist Conventionboycotted Disney for eight years. The Florida Family Association flew banner planes one year warning families of gay events at Disney that weekend, citing emails from people nationwide who unknowingly booked their vacation during Gay Days.[8]Janet Porter, president of the Christian organization "Faith 2 Action", is highly critical of the event. She encouraged families to re-think visiting Walt Disney World. She told families to expect to see "cross-dressing men parading public displays of perversion" during their visit.[9][1]
^ abcdCloud, John (June 21, 2010). . Time. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010.
^Griffin, Sean (2000). Tinker Belles and evil queens: the Walt Disney Company from the inside out. New York London: New York University Press. ISBN978-0-8147-3123-9.
^Martinez, Christian (April 13, 2023). "'Pride Nite' officially coming to Disneyland in June". Los Angeles Times.
^Ball, Steve (October 11, 1998). "'Gay Day' Crowd Meets to Enjoy Disneyland". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023.
^"ABOUT". Gay Days Anaheim. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
^"Everything You Need to Know for Disneyland Gay Days & Pride Nite". www.undercovertourist.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
^"Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite". disneyland.disney.go.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
^Busdeker, Jon (May 31, 2013). "'Warning: Gay Day at Disney 6/1' Banner Flown over Central Florida". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
^Wong, Curtis (June 5, 2014). "Disney World's 'Gay Days' Slammed by Religious Right Activist Janet Porter". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
External linksEdit
AccessHollyWood.com
October 17, 2023
days, walt, disney, world, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gay Days at Walt Disney World news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Disney World Gay Days is a loosely organized event where lesbian gay bisexual and transgender LGBT individuals their families friends and supporters go to Walt Disney World on a week long event each year It is held on the first Saturday in June with numerous other events in the area during the preceding week People attending Gay Day dressed in red in front of the Cinderella Castle Contents 1 History 2 Equivalent Events at Anaheim Disneyland 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe first documented event in June 1991 had 3 000 LGBTQ people from central Florida going to area theme parks on one day wearing red shirts to make their presence more visible By 1995 the event had grown to 10 000 gays and lesbians traveling for the gay day at Disney As of 2010 approximately 150 000 LGBT people their families friends and supporters attended the six day gathering including various pool parties conventions festivals a business expo activities for kids etc with 20 000 to 30 000 going to Disney on the final day 1 The popularity of the event is seen by some attendees as a way of reclaiming normal joys of childhood lost to homophobia in their earlier years Growth in attendance also reflects the growing number of LGBT families with children as well as increasing number of LGBT marriages since Disney World is also a top honeymoon destination 1 A local Doubletree resort has dubbed itself the official hotel for the event with convention space rented to various businesses bathroom remodelers gourmet cooking suppliers sex toys etc and organizations free health tests vaccinations etc pitching to attendees 1 Equivalent Events at Anaheim Disneyland EditIn the 1990s third party organizers and travel agencies rented Disneyland and Walt Disney World to hold events after the park s official hours One such event was Gay Night held by the Odyssey Tours travel agency who purportedly donated proceeds to the Aid for AIDS charity 2 It was later found out that Odyssey Tours was only making token donations to the charitable organization and attendance dimmed as a result In 1998 Odyssey Tours cancelled Gay Night In response Gay Days began being celebrated at Disneyland Anaheim the very same year inspired by the unofficial event held at Disney World with the same name 3 4 According to Gay Days organizers the inaugural Gay Days Anaheim saw around 2 500 visitors and as of 2023 they estimate that more than 30 000 people participate in Gay Days Anaheim each year 5 In 2021 organizers moved the annual Gay Days from October to September Usually the event is hosted by separate parks on separate days with Disneyland hosting on Saturday and Disney California Adventure hosting on Sunday 6 On April 13 2023 it was announced that Disneyland would be holding its first official Pride Nite on June 13 and 15 2023 as part of the Disneyland After Dark event series 7 This event comes 25 years after the first unofficial Gay Days Criticism EditGay Days have attracted criticism from religious groups While Disney does not sanction Gay Days and officially tells employees to treat it as any other summer day conservative Christian groups accuse Disney of not doing anything to stop the event The Southern Baptist Convention boycotted Disney for eight years The Florida Family Association flew banner planes one year warning families of gay events at Disney that weekend citing emails from people nationwide who unknowingly booked their vacation during Gay Days 8 Janet Porter president of the Christian organization Faith 2 Action is highly critical of the event She encouraged families to re think visiting Walt Disney World She told families to expect to see cross dressing men parading public displays of perversion during their visit 9 1 See also EditMagical Pride PartyReferences Edit a b c d Cloud John June 21 2010 How Gay Days Made a Home at Disney World Time Archived from the original on June 16 2010 Griffin Sean 2000 Tinker Belles and evil queens the Walt Disney Company from the inside out New York London New York University Press ISBN 978 0 8147 3123 9 Martinez Christian April 13 2023 Pride Nite officially coming to Disneyland in June Los Angeles Times Ball Steve October 11 1998 Gay Day Crowd Meets to Enjoy Disneyland Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on May 2 2023 ABOUT Gay Days Anaheim Retrieved May 22 2023 Everything You Need to Know for Disneyland Gay Days amp Pride Nite www undercovertourist com Retrieved May 24 2023 Disneyland After Dark Pride Nite disneyland disney go com Retrieved May 24 2023 Busdeker Jon May 31 2013 Warning Gay Day at Disney 6 1 Banner Flown over Central Florida Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 19 2013 Wong Curtis June 5 2014 Disney World s Gay Days Slammed by Religious Right Activist Janet Porter The Huffington Post Retrieved March 8 2015 External links EditAccessHollyWood com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gay Days at Walt Disney World amp oldid 1174410732, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
