When was the first gay days at disney

Could the new team redefine Disney without losing their core audience? Alarmed and fearful when Gay Day began, Disney had tried to keep its head low, saying only that anyone had the right to buy a ticket to its theme parks.

Walt Disney might have been horrified. Since then, Gay Days at Disney World has grown to become one of the biggest LGBTQ events in the world. But being perceived as pro-gay was another thing altogether. Several late-night dance parties at multiple sites, including Disney-MGM Studios, will draw similar numbers at similar prices.

Host hotels — there are three this year — set aside blocks of rooms in package deals pitched to the tens of thousands who flock to the weekend. That first Gay and Lesbian Day at the Magic Kingdom, as it was then promoted, attracted a few hundred people.

Insubscribers to an Orlando computer bulletin-board service picked that day for a group outing to the Magic Kingdom. Gay Day led Disney to stand up to its conservative critics. But more than the economic impact, Gay Day influenced the cultural landscape — and, most dramatically, the culture of The Walt Disney Company itself.

Which is why, in the early s, as some of its gay and lesbian workers urged Disney to extend health-care benefits to their same-sex partners, the company again seemed paralyzed. That year, the first Gay and Lesbian Day was celebrated at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort.

Would they? In short, he diversified Disney with subsidiaries whose output was everything the brand was not: gritty, sexy and controversial. Many fans feel that this celebration is a way of celebrating the years of childhood they lost due to homophobia.

But the Disney name itself was still something to safeguard. And the company responded in a way that finally embraced the gay and lesbian communities with which Disney already had a winking alliance. Even before the benefits debate, Gay Day put Disney on the defensive.

From Being Ashamed To

When Walt died inDisneyland was just 11 years old; Disney World was still five years in the future. By — the year Disney announced it would offer domestic-partner benefits starting the next year — Gay Day was drawing an estimated 32, people. But he was not an enlightened visionary.

People attending Gay Day dressed in red, in front of the Cinderella Castle 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.

The Disney World GayDays. It is held on the first Saturday in June (with numerous other events in the area during the preceding week). Ten years old this weekend, Gay Day — a grass-roots gathering initially launched with fliers in local bars and now promoted worldwide on the Internet and in gay-targeted media — is a phenomenon with undeniable impact on two fronts.

The event was a huge success despite it raising eyebrows from fellow park-goers. The growing backlash brought national media attention. Yet the family-friendly franchise Walt created left the company shackled with restraints. Disney World GayDays typically take place the first weekend in June in honor of Pride Month which is recognized at Walt Disney World with special themed food and merchandise.

Anti-gay opponents had taken note and were demanding the company to put a halt to it. But as the event grew, the company had to confront reality. On that first Saturday of Junethe question turned few heads among the passing swarms also garbed in red — the official uniform of the unofficial Gay Day at Walt Disney World.

They spread the word locally with fliers in bars, advising all who showed up to wear red so they would stand out. This year's Disney World GayDays event takes place June 5-June 8, GayDays has been an event in Orlando since the 90s and has grown from a single-day event to a full weekend celebration.

Eisner gave them no choice. In the first year of the event, Gay Day only saw around 3, participants. On that first Saturday of Junethe question turned few heads among the passing swarms also garbed in red — the official uniform of the unofficial Gay Day at Walt Disney World.