Gay days in June?!?

[coachYO & my 3 girls]

I'm going June 3 - 12 and someone said to me that is during Gay days.
Anyone know about this? What info can you share. When is it and what is it?
Thanks,

 

[mikedani+3]

That will be the week of Gay Days..and and sometime in the spring there is a cheerleading gathering..(not sure of the official name) Anyway, I always plan around these weeks because WDW is always hopping at these times.

Here is a website that can explain what it is and give you the schedule for that week...

www.gayday.com/schedule/2004/default.asp

 

[krismomof3boys]

I read somewhere else (and I can't remember exactly where, possibly www.allearsnet.com or www.mousesavers.com) that if you want to steer clear of the festivities, to avoid MK on the Sat. of the days, which would be June 5th.

 

[lizamead]

Family Pride, an organization for families with gay/lesbian parents, is also having a Disney event, from June 17-20 (since we have to wait till the kids are all out of school!). It's a much smaller crowd, I'd think, than the regular Gay Days (it's FP's first Disney week, and I don't know how big it will be - they do two Family Weeks each summer, and the one in P-Town draws abt 300 families; I've only been to the one in Saugatuck, MI, which drew abt 40 families, and from what I've heard, GayDays are huge).

I'm adding this info because I know some people who'd read this thread would be interested in it becuase they're gay or gay-friendly, and so knowing abt the Family Pride week would be a good addition, and other people are probably ...well...not, and possibly vehemently so, and I figure at least for myself I'd rather those people steer clear of the FP times as well as the GayDay times...

- Elizabeth

 

[coachYO & my 3 girls]

lizmead,
Thank you for the info. With 2 younger daughters I'm not sure I want to start the converstatioin that would come up. We still haven't had the birds and bees discussion.
I think I'd add more confusion if I had to discuss the next issue of choice. Thank you for your help and have a great time! YO

 

[mcnuss]

Thank you for the info. With 2 younger daughters I'm not sure I want to start the converstatioin that would come up. We still haven't had the birds and bees discussion.

I doubt your kids would notice. We've been there when it was going on and other than seeing a lot of matching shirts, would not have known if we didn't know, if you know what I mean.

Kids are not so attuned to the things adults are. My DB is gay, my DD is now 9, and she just finally noticed that her uncle is 35 unmarried and doesn't date women! She's been to P-town with him, and never noticed anything except the drag queens (which I doubt you'd see at WDW). I was nervous as to what to expect - she was maybe 5 or 6 - but it was no big deal. She did ask me if "that was a man in that dress" and when I said yes, she said "green is not a good color for him". I have never laughed so hard.

Anyway, long story short, other than avoiding Gay Days because of crowds, I don't think you need to worry about questions you don't yet feel prepared to answer.

 

[lizamead]

I agree with Mcnuss that most younger kids especially wouldn't even notice. But I also think (not that you asked, of course, but since I'm here anyway...) that in explaining the fact that some people are gay, there's really no need for explicit sexuality stuff to come into it. I certainly haven't discussed any major "facts of life" stuff (although I hate that term, because there are plenty of facts of life we've discussed...just not the sexual ones! but I digress...) with my daughter yet, but she knows that some people, like her, have just one mom, and others, like many of her friends, have a mom and a dad, and some, like some other kids she knows, have two moms, etc. When she gets a bit older than the 2 1/2 she is now, and starts asking how those various family conglomerations came to be, I think I'll be talking about things like some women falling in love with men and others in love with women and things like that. We have a lullaby that does that - "Everything's Possible," by Fred Small - it also notes that some people choose never to pair up, and that some people choose to have children and others don't, etc...

Anyway, just like heterosexual relationships can be noted and discussed with no mention of the sexual element, so can homosexual ones, was all I wanted to say.

- Elizabeth

ps - forgot to add before - mcnuss: that was the funniest story!

 

[wahoo776]

Hi,
Just wanted to send a quick Thank you! We are planning on being at WDW 13-20 June and had no idea when we booked about the Family Pride Event. I don't have an issue with this, I just didn't want to have to explain alot to an 11yo, 8yo and 4yo, as I'm sure you can imagine.....
But upon reading the post, I'm breathing MUCH easier.
Thanks again!
Amy

 

[lizamead]

Hi Amy - what you'll probably see, if you're in the same area as the Family Pride events at any given time, is a bunch of kids having fun at Disney World with their two moms, and a smaller number with their two dads (and a few who, like our family, just have one parent). My guess is that to the extent your 11-year-old is going to notice anything other than what he or she is doing, he/she might notice that. But I still dont' see why any mega-explanation would be necessary, other than noting that yeah, it looks like some of those kids have two moms. OTOH, plenty of kids do Disney with two women, like a mom and a grandma, or a mom and her friend, or sister, so I can't imagine it'd stand out that much.

Does your 11-year-old really not know that gay people exist?? I'm sort of shocked by that. I'd be surprised at an 8-year-old not knowing even I think.

You know, it's sort of sad to me that so many people seem to feel they need to "protect" their families from ones like mine and my friends'. I guess I just don't see how knowing there are different kinds of families than one's own can be bad... But anyway, I'm glad you know in advance now, so if you do run into the group it doesn't take you by surprise.

- Elizabeth

 

[mcnuss]

Does your 11-year-old really not know that gay people exist?? I'm sort of shocked by that. I'd be surprised at an 8-year-old not knowing even I think.

It's impossible for them not to know these days, unless you don't allow them any access to the newspaper, TV or movies.

Between Will & Grace, Queer Eye, Madonna & Britney's kiss , gay marriage in Massachusetts, and the fact that there are probably gay couples parenting children at your children's schools, it is extremely unlikely that the 8 and 11 yos do not know that gay people exist. It's more than likely that they are not entirely sure what it means, esp. the 8 yo, but they know ! You may not want to have the conversation, but you might want to think about it with the 11 yo, otherwise s/he is getting information from the other kids in school - and you know how accurate that is!

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

Hi Lizamead and welcome to THE DIS! Thanks for the information on the Family Pride events.



Thank you also to all DIS posters for keeping this topic on track and keeping it from shifting into a conversation about personal views on lifestyles.

 

[sha_lyn]

Wow...It is great see see how positve this theread is.

As for "what you will see" if you avoid Pleasure Island you will most likely see only couples holding hands. Kids (girls in particular) don't see anything wrong with holding hands with someone of the same sex, unless they've been told it is wrong.

That being said, to avoid crowds I would look at the schedule and visit a differnet park than what is planned. Now I just wish we had schedules for any other huge groups that visit.

 

[mikedani+3]

As I said in my earlier post, I like to keep a bead on when the crowds are suppose to be elbow to elbow. Anyway, here's a cool site that gives some other dates that WDW is crowded due to events or gatherings..
www.magictrips.com/parks/celebrations.shtml


Still can't figure out when that cheerleading thing is! I believe it's usually in the spring, sometime around March. I know I have heard the resorts really fill up around that time.

Disney is a lot of fun, but can be a bit stressful when lugging around tired kids..you add in unnusually huge crowds...and... My dh becomes a human time bomb..LOL
Hope this site helps!

Dani

 

[Mainebound]

Originally posted by mikedani+3

Still can't figure out when that cheerleading thing is! I believe it's usually in the spring, sometime around March. I know I have heard the resorts really fill up around that time. Dani

I believe that the National Cheerleading Championships will be held March 24-28 at WDW. Participants are staying at the All Stars.

Also, US Spirit Cheerleading & Dance Team National Championships March 26-28, 2004, Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure

Hope this helps!

 

[coachYO & my 3 girls]

I would like to thank you all for your replies. To mcnuss and lizamead I do have to say that my daughters still do not know, and no I do not lock them in a closet. We do monitor what they watch on tv and make sure it is age appropriate. Just because it is on tv doesn't make it ok for all ages to watch. I have looked at the schedule and have adjusted our schedule accordingly.
Have a great trip to all. YO

 

[NADINENURSE]

I also will avoid the GAY DAY, because I HATE EXCESSIVE CROWDS My DS 10 and DD 12, know about gay people, and we have gay friends. Our friends have told us not go at this time, that sometimes some individuals take this time to be excessively misbehaved I will avoid this time as I trust my friends , just as I would avoid the cheerleaders ( I changed my dates d/t to those groups). The only reason we want to go is b/c of the Star Wars weekend, or I would not be entertaining the thought of going during a busy season at all. However, my son, 10 years old, has made comments on ANY FORM OF AFFECTION, straight, gay , white, black or even gorilla I would not appreciate the comments the entire day and my comments back about his need to be EMBRACE EVERYONE UNIQUENESS He is a typical annoying 10 year old male , god help me, and we are trying to wean him of this He is getting very open mindned, but , I think he would g oover the edge and I would have to deal with him all day long, Not much of a vacation for me,

 

[mcnuss]

To mcnuss and lizamead I do have to say that my daughters still do not know, and no I do not lock them in a closet.

Coach -- the comments I made about not knowing were directed to another poster, not you, and nobody ever accused you of locking your kids in a closet. You really did not need to imply that the rest of us let our children watch inappropriate things on TV, that was just rude, IMHO. If your kids don't know about gay people, and you aren't comfortable yet talking to them about it, cool, whatever. As far as I can see, you never told us how old they are (but an 11 yo old knows even if s/he doesn't tell you, this I can assure you, no matter how much you limit exposure to TV) but , you raise your kids the way you want, I'll raise mine they way I want, but let's not judge, ok?

However, my son, 10 years old, has made comments on ANY FORM OF AFFECTION,

You may think it's an annoying BOY thing but it's also an annoying GIRL thing, LOL. My DD cannot stand to see anyone kiss on TV - "EWWW GROSSSS" is what we get, in that lovely, high pitched sound that only a girl child and a guinea pig can make.

 

[coachYO & my 3 girls]

mcnuss, I apologize if I offended you. I was not judging you or anyone else. That was not my intention. The lock them in the closet was a joke to ease the conversation. I was not trying to say you allow your kids to watch inappropriate things on tv. I just felt with all the shows listed I can honestly say they have never seen any of them. It's not a big deal anyways. I hope you have a great trip. We did create an interesting thread though with over 700 views. I didn't create the question to create a problem, I just wanted more info on the event. Disney didn't list it. Take care