I just realized

[Sona99]

I've planned our anniversary during Gay Days at DW.

Are the crowds going to be huge? Have I made a terrible mistake???

 

[MakiraMarlena]

nah, they won't be any larger. Just more people in red shirts.

If you're concerned about the crowds, find out which park is their "designated park" for the day and then go to another park.

 

[mom2rtk]

See if you can find out which park they're going to on which days. We were in the MK the day they were last year and I do think it added a lot to the crowds.

 

[Sona99]

Thanks.

I wasn't sure how big of a draw the event is. I can't seem to find which parks are supposed to be the parks marked for the gay day celebration. Anyone know where I can find that info?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

They should have a website. They may not have it up yet, or they may not have a schedule yet - it's not until June. Gay Days is not sponsored by Disney - it's an independent event, so it will be an independent website.

 

[Sona99]

Oh, I found it! My plans don't coincide with their scheduled days so hopefully the crowds will be ok.

 

[shanethesaint88]

I was in the MK for gay days last year and it was very much crowded. I believe they added quite a bit of crowd to the event. No granted this was a night where emh had MK park hours extended to 3 am. So take that into consideration. And yes there are a million red shirts in the park. I thought that was kind of cool, but if your worried about losing your child I would dress them in an opposite color so they can be picked out of a crowd

 

[Sona99]

I actually didn't know about the red shirts. Thanks for that info.

It's just hubby & I this time. I'll be sure he doesn't pack red. I don't own red! lol!

 

[bumbershoot]

It's just hubby & I this time. I'll be sure he doesn't pack red. I don't own red! lol!

At Disneyland, straight people will wear red in support and joy and celebration. FWIW.

 

[larryz]

I actually didn't know about the red shirts. Thanks for that info.

It's just hubby & I this time. I'll be sure he doesn't pack red. I don't own red! lol!

Sorry, when people start talking about red shirts, only one thing comes to mind...

BTW: that chart on the wall plots guest satisfaction (solid lines) against cuts in attractions (yellow dashed line) and price hikes (dark dashed line).

 

[Mark P.]

Yep, lots of red shirts. Our trip coincided by with the event some years back, and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.
Happy Planning

 

[JennyMP03]

I didn't notice heavier crowds during Gay Days in 2014. I think I've read that people notice an increase more in MK than the other parks, but don't quote me on that. We were at AK on one of the event days and it didn't seem extra crowded.

 

[momof2n2]

BTW: that chart on the wall plots guest satisfaction (solid lines) against cuts in attractions (yellow dashed line) and price hikes (dark dashed line).

This gem of a post us buried in a thread that gobs of people will close before they see it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

In the past, some have reported extra LIGHT crowds at the "designated" parks (except MK days). Seems a lot of folks assume the crowd will be huge & there is a LOT of avoidance. The net result was a smaller than normal crowd. But, you never know.

 

[cjparker0110]

I think anytime that there is a large group wearing matching colored shirts there will be a perception of the crowds being larger. I think people become fixated on the shirts and mentally add in an infinite number of people. Even when I went to a park for a youth group event that was HUGE (100s of kids in the same shirt) I was overwhelmed looking at the sea of shirts. Upon getting in lines, the waits were no different than usual. I know there are a lot of people who try to avoid gay days...especially families with small children. Even if they are supportive of the lifestyle, they often are not prepared to talk to their children about it. This probably leads to the reported lower crowds for days other than MK.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think anytime that there is a large group wearing matching colored shirts there will be a perception of the crowds being larger. I think people become fixated on the shirts and mentally add in an infinite number of people. Even when I went to a park for a youth group event that was HUGE (100s of kids in the same shirt) I was overwhelmed looking at the sea of shirts. Upon getting in lines, the waits were no different than usual. I know there are a lot of people who try to avoid gay days...especially families with small children. Even if they are supportive of the lifestyle, they often are not prepared to talk to their children about it. This probably leads to the reported lower crowds for days other than MK.

Definitely not lower than expected at the MK last year.

Can't speak for any of the other parks since I wasn't there.

 

[jon18uk]

The first Saturday in June should be Gay Day in the Magic Kingdom and will be busy. So just do one of the other parks that day.

 

[shanethesaint88]

Definitely not lower than expected at the MK last year.

Can't speak for any of the other parks since I wasn't there.

Yup that's what I witnessed too. Like you said can't speak to the other parks but I distinctively remember MK being 4th of July crowded. And so were the MK hotels

 

[DVCcurious]

Sorry, when people start talking about red shirts, only one thing comes to mind...

BTW: that chart on the wall plots guest satisfaction (solid lines) against cuts in attractions (yellow dashed line) and price hikes (dark dashed line).

The crew on the Enterprise was all gay?

Well that explains why Kirk got all the babes!

 

[Stacymarie1216]

If you're concerned about the crowds, find out which park is their "designated park" for the day and then go to another park.

This.

I inadvertently planned our trip during the same time last year and after reading some blogs I was very very concerned and considered changing our dates. But really I was too excited to push it back 3 months . We just found out which parks they would all be at on each day and avoided that park. We didn't have one single problem - only ran into awesome couples with their kiddos who I assume were probably avoiding the crazier participants as well.