As a native of S. Louisiana and a veteran of more Mardi Gras celebrations than I can count, I'm taken aback by the inference that Gay Days and Mardi Gras would be thought of as synonymous, and in a bad way, yet.
FTR, children attend Mardi Gras celebrations by the thousands, and enjoy it. They also participate in the parades, as I did every year that I was in school. There is a tradition that generally protects kids from exposure to the seedier side of the celebration, which is that children should not attend events in the Vieux Carre. Celebrations held outdoors elsewhere in the city of New Orleans or outside of New Orleans are acceptable for children to attend. For all of my life, I've known Mardi Gras as a multigenerational celebration that families enjoy together. Believe me, no one would need a parade ladder if kids didn't go to Mardi Gras.
http://www.momsminivan.com/extras/ladderseat.html
I'm not gay, but I've been at WDW during Gay Days at least 5 times since 1996, most recently this year, and always with at least one child in tow. Only once have I personally seen a nasty incident that was directly related to the presence of gay couples inside a WDW theme park, and that happened because a middle aged man decided to shout obscenities at a gay couple who walked past him holding hands. They retaliated in kind, and CM's asked all of them to moderate their language, break it up and go elsewhere. This year the MK was half-empty on Saturday night -- there was a private party for attendees at MGM, and I guess most everyone else was scared off. In any event, most of the rides were walk-ons after 7 pm.
Have I seen public displays of affection in the parks? Yes, but no more on those days than on any other, and no more from gay couples than I have from hetero couples. Have I seen men dressed as women at WDW parks? Yes, but they were tasteful about it, and for the most part, they attracted more attention for being very well-dressed in a theme park than for being dressed in women's clothing. Foul language? Yes, but guests curse at WDW at any time; avoiding Gay Day won't shield you from it.
Pete's essay is aimed at a gay audience, and most of the untoward situations described in it happened at the offsite host hotels and/or at hard-ticket events, which you would not be attending. I have found that loud, obnoxious behavior by GD attendees in parks is more common at USIOA than at the WDW parks, probably because the Universal parks attract more young adults, while these days the MK event attracts more gay families with kids. Groups of teens and young twenty-somethings making fools of themselves in public places is just not all that unusual, whatever their orientation.
Of course, if you still don't want to be at the parks then, that's your choice, but I think that you really shouldn't let Pete's essay frighten you into not going then if that would otherwise be the best time for your trip.
