Gay Days 2002

[vapoohbear]

Our FAMILY TRIP got off on the wrong foot, our first day at WDW was at the MK and it was GAY DAYS 2002, "not that there is anything wrong with that", but I did not need to subject my children to 150,000 gays when we were going to the greatest place on Earth. We went back to the hotel after 1.5 hours.

Why does Disney not inform guest of these days?
Who do I complain to and seek a refund for my park hopper pass for that day?
Thanks

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

I sure hope your are not saying that Disney should discriminate against a group of people and publicize their attendance at their parks. I also hope you are not saying that gay people cannot take family trips to WDW.

Plenty of groups organize trips and conferences at WDW and are under no obligation to tell Disney they are doing so. All they need to do is get rooms invite their group to go and show up so I'm not sure I see how Disney is obligated to say anything to anyone. I personally knew nothing about "Gay Days" until I saw it posted on this board and plenty of people commented how they had been there during that time and didn't think it was different than any other time. Disney does not discriminate against people for any reason (parner preference included) and I highly doubt would refund your park hopper pass.

 

[AZKathy]

Too bad you did not catch any threads about this before your trip. You could have gone to Epcot that day and MK on Sunday and had no problems. Keep an eye on the boards and you can check next years dates out which will be around that same weekend. Sorry that things did not go as expected, but I doubt you will be able to get any refund.

 

[epcotfan]

I also agree that you will be unable to get a refund. If you had a park hopper your options were to simply go to another park.

Disney has many different kinds of groups in the parks (from Gay Day to Magic Music Days to the Cheerleading Squads, International Tours, etc...) They do not have to publicize which groups are going to be in the various parks. Each person in the park has just as much right to be there as the next one does.

 

[scanne]

I agree with the others. I don't think you will get a refund, nor should you. And if you truly think there is nothing wrong with that lifestyle, why should it matter if you're in the park with your family while others are in the park with their significant others? I mean, you could have simply explained, IF your kids asked, that some people have different tastes than others. It's like choosing chocolate over vanilla.

I also agree that if you had a hopper pass, you could have gone to another park. Even your plan had been to do MK that day, you could have taken the monorail to Epcot and done MK the next day.

JMHO.

 

[kimberwing]

Epcotfan....

Would you let me know when Cheerleader day is so I can avoid it like the plague? I'm too grumpy to deal with that much spunkiness in one place.

 

[Chuck S]

Didn't you get a note from your resort that explained that due to an expected large crowd at MK that day that the other parks would open an hour earlier for on-site guests? Or did you stay off-site, then perhaps WHERE you stayed should have informed you that a large crowd was expected at MK - plus MK is ALWAYS busy on Saturdays. As others have stated, if you found the crowd at MK objectionable, you could have hopped to another park. I've enountered some awfully rude guests at the parks all times of year, is that Disney's responsibility? No. Nor is it their responsibility to warn guests of large convention groups in the Orlando area.

Really, what would you expect Disney to say "WARNING - A large herd of (insert group) will be at (insert park) on (insert date) - plan accordingly!" There would be such a warning several times every month, kind of silly IMHO.

 

[crisi]

kimberwing,

The cheerleaders were there the second week of Feb 2002. Thousands of teenage girls.

Now, I'm a pretty tolerant person, but as a feminist, I really can't condone the lifestyle choice cheerleaders make. Here I am trying to set a good example for my daughter, and she's being exposed to thousands of girls wearing makeup, showing midriff, and giggling! My three year old son even noticed and commented on it....fortunately, we've raised him well. He said they were "silly."

 

[epcotfan]

Actually the cheerleaders were there during the first week of February as well. Most of them were polite and well behaved and I did see plenty of chaperones. The only time I was annoyed was on the 8:30 bus back from Epcot. The bus driver asked them to do a cheer on the bus. It was very loud and a family had to ask them to stop because it was scaring their very young baby (who had just gone to sleep) But they did accordingly.

There are many large groups that come to WDW whether they be from conventions, competitions or social groups, etc...They are no more of a bother than any other large group of people touring the parks.

 

[tjmw2727]

This is not a "Disney sponsored" event, just a gathering of people who decide to attend the theme park. They also spend a day at other Disney parks as well as Universal and other Orlando attractions.

TJ

 

[vicb]

I can not comment specifically on Gay Days as I have not been during that time but unless people were engaging in inappropriate public displays (those which would be considered inappropriate displays among heterosexuals as well) then it shouldn't be a problem.

I have been during cheerleader week and did not find it a problem at all. On our airplane home we sat surrounded by a team from Colorado who were very friendly and told us a lot about what they did to get to the competition in Orlando. Lets not bash cheerleaders either.... to each his/her own!

Part of going on vacations is to be exposed to new places and people IMHO!

 

[waltandjulie]

Maybe I'll be black-listed for this, but I absolutely understand vapoohbear's point. A large (did somebody say 150,000) group of people trying to make a social statement would not be what I would hope for in a trip to Disney. When I go to WDW, I don't really care whether other park attendees are "gay" or "straight", but would prefer not to be assailed with this in what is undeniably a "family environment."

On the other hand, I agree with some of the others in that Disney can't really do much to warn people without being branded bigoted, or worse. While I wish that Disney (and others) would have the courage to face this issue head-on, I doubt that the current climate of political correctness will permit it.

One more thought before I lose my steam....

Cheerleaders - welcome.
School bands - welcome.
International tour groups - annoying, but welcome.
KKK, skin heads, gay pride, PETA, anarchists, etc. - no thanks.
KKK

 

[Eeyore1954]

WaltandJulie: That was an interesting post. I am not sure the group was attempting to make a social statement as much as simply wanting to enjoy what Disney offers to anyone willing to pay the price of a ticket.

Disney is in business to make money. If 150,000 people want to come to WDW for a day, Disney would be stupid to say no.

I think you'd be surprised to learn how many people from the groups you want to keep out of Disney are there every day of the year.

Just four words in closing... tolerance - think about it.

 

[Chuck S]

Walt & julie, I think you miss the point of most of the other replies - should Disney give a refund when there were other options available - like hopping to another park? I don't think anyone said that they should have been forced to stay at MK or lose their money if they they were uncomfortable, did they? If Disney started refunding tickets, anyone could find SOMETHING at the parks they would find offensive at anytime.

As to groups you consider "Welcome" or not, political correctness has little to do with it - legally in the US we can NOT discriminate against any individual by denying them access if they hold a ticket as long as the park is open to the general public, and not closed for capacity; unless their behavior on-site endangers other guests, or they break laws governing lewd conduct, nudity, or are disruptive to other guests by verbal assault, etc. Remember Disneyland lost a lawsuit almost 20 years ago when DL asked a same sex couple NOT to dance together in the Tomorrowland area (where there was a stage and area for dancing) during normal operating hours. So a gay couple holding hands can not be treated differently than a male/female couple holding hands. It is not Disney's CHOICE whether to allow people into the park, it is law. As far as "WARNING" guests, they'd have to warn them about EVERY group (even main-stream religious groups) that could visit the park at any time, or leave themselves open for a discimination lawsuit - it is not practical.

 

[waltandjulie]

I don't think I missed the point at all..and I think it has everything to do with poitical correctness. To say that it is not a social statement is silly. It is an semi-organized gathering of people based on a political/social classification of those people.

I don't doubt that Disney would face a lawsuit if they made any attempt to notify their bread-and-butter customers that an event such as Gay Days was occurring. I just think that it is sad that this could/would happen.

Although I personally don't care what anybody does or doesn't do inside or outside the parks, I think its foolish to pretend that the atmosphere of a park geared toward families with small children will not be affected by a 150,000 people who chose to attend the park on a particular day simply because of their sexual orientation. I guess, though, that we'll just have to continue to pretend that this doesn't make anybody feel uncomfortable.

 

[Eeyore1954]

WaltandJulie: Disney DOES notify guests in the resorts of Gay Day. Notices are slipped under the doors in each room, so guests know in advance that MK is going to be quite crowded that day. So everyone has notice of this and it's their own choice if they choose to go to MK that day.

If they go and don't like what they see or are uncomfortable, they are free to visit any of the other parks, water parks, golf courses, minature golf, resorts, DTD, etc. After all, it is a free world and it takes all kinds to make the world go round.

What makes you think that WDW is geared only toward families with small children? My DW and I have no children, so are we now part of the excluded groups? What about people with teenage children?

Disney is for everyone regardless of their race, color, creed, etc. What I think is silly is people getting bent out of shape over 1 day. Good golly, aren't 364 other days enough? And don't you think that there are a good number of gays, PETA supporters, KKK members/supporters, etc. at the parks EVERY DAY of the year?

It seems to me your position redefines the term intolerance.

 

[waltandjulie]

I knew the name-calling would begin eventually....

Again, I don't care what their social politics are....I just don't want to be blasted with it on my vacation.

Furthermore, if it were me, I would stay in the park because that lifestyle choice does not bother me. I, however, can understand that it may bother somebody else, and would prefer that we not crucify those who it does bother.

Tolerance for differing views works two ways.

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

We live in a free country where people are allowed to hold different beliefs and live different lifestyles. If someone doesn't like it and can't stand to be near it, then they should take appropriate steps to avoid it. Disney world was meant to be for all families which come in different shapes and sizes. Every person on this planet is part of someones family whether their parents are different races, genders, etc. and if they want to go on vacation at Disney it is their choice and their vacation as well.

That is where I don't understand the original poster's point. My interpretation of the tone of their message was that they felt it was Disney's responsibility to discriminate against large groups of homosexuals by notifying people they were there. Also to capitalize FAMILY TRIP tells me that they think homosexuals aren't part of families. If he or anyone else does not like a large group of people at the park, they should leave - plain and simple. I also think he was exaggerating his point b/c I don't think (but I don't know for sure) that MK holds 150,000 people and even if it did that all of them were participating in Gay Days. According to the Unofficial Guide the average no. of visitors to the ENTIRE WDW in June per day is only 60,000!

JMHO

 

[Chuck S]

W & J - ypu still haven't expressed an opinion on the refund issue, or the fact that WDW does place a flyer in the rooms of on-site guests. There are always complaints that Disney doesn't do enough to "warn" people. What, realistically, do you want or expect them to do?

 

[waltandjulie]

Opinion time...

I would not expect Disney to give a refund to me or anybody else.

I would hope tha Disney would notify guests of any event that may have an impact on the enjoyment of the guests...this would include a notice of the present event.

Regarding what else Disney could do, I would hope that Disney would hold all attendees to the same standards of decorum, and would not be hesitant to enforce its policies (which I feel add to the atmosphere) simply because an individual or group is part of a politically protected group.

I would hope that all would agree with this approach