Pride Nite June 16

[Pluto468]

Pride Nite was awesome. Everything was walk-on and crowds were great.

I went to DCA around 6 for dinner and did Monsters & Emotional Roller Coaster. I left for Disneyland at 8:30 and there were people streaming into DCA, I'm assuming it was busy over there.

Went to Disneyland and checked in for Pride Nite. They gave us cute lanyards and a bag of skittles gummies. After looking for Pride Merchandise I wandered over to Small World for the first cavalcade. It was hard to see because I'm short! But I did manage to catch the later showing at 11:00 and saw most of it.

One especially fun thing that happened was when I was heading for small world I saw a CM from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique walking through the crowd and she was carrying a wand. I asked if she had Pixie Dust and she said yes! She had me make a wish and sprinkled me with pixie dust. It was a magical little moment.

After that I focused on rides and had the rainbow funnel cake from Stagedoor cafe.

I saw most of the characters but didn't bother standing in line to get photos with them.

Lots of music and rainbows and people dancing everywhere

I left around midnight. All in all a really fun evening!

 

[maleficent55]

Amazing! I had a friend there on Monday too
She had a blast

 

[Tinkaboo]

I loved the fireworks, they were great! I wish Star Wars nite had them. I had a good time but probably won't do another.

ADDED: Just something I noticed that really warmed my heart...there were a lot of OLDER couples, and I'm talking my age (and if you want to know how old I am, go over to my BEST.TRIP.EVER report to see the pics)
These lovely couples (male and female) were openly walking arm in arm, hand in hand, stopping to admire something, then sharing a kiss, cuddling during fireworks...this would NOT have happened 50 years ago. Today, young people have the freedom to dress as they choose, be who they are, but it was not always this way. We must NEVER lose that freedom in this wonderful country of ours!

 

[longboard55]

I think Disney is starting to lose interest in the special night parties, they have clearly overdone it. But I think the pride night will be around a long time.

 

[Tinkaboo]

I think Disney is starting to lose interest in the special night parties, they have clearly overdone it. But I think the pride night will be around a long time.

Respectfully, i disagree...these After Dark events, particularly the ones in the early part of the year, bring in extra people at a time when they need more $$$.
Star Wars isn't going anywhere, nor will Pride Night.

Sweethearts Night is popular, as is Throwback Night depending upon which decade happens to be featured.

I don't see them going away...just wish they would bring Avengers Night back to DCA.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Pride night looks great! I'll need to carve out some time to attend next year. Problem is, I need to book my room at 11months out and basically guess what nights it'll be.

 

[irlandaise]

Pride night looks great! I'll need to carve out some time to attend next year. Problem is, I need to book my room at 11months out and basically guess what nights it'll be.

Would past history be a good predictor? E.g. they tend to have them on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights? (Made-up example)

 

[maleficent55]

Pride night looks great! I'll need to carve out some time to attend next year. Problem is, I need to book my room at 11months out and basically guess what nights it'll be.

Why do you have to book your room 11 months out?

 

[Pluto468]

Would past history be a good predictor? E.g. they tend to have them on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights? (Made-up example)

I think the after dark event days of the week vary from year to year.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Respectfully, i disagree...these After Dark events, particularly the ones in the early part of the year, bring in extra people at a time when they need more $$$.
Star Wars isn't going anywhere, nor will Pride Night.

Sweethearts Night is popular, as is Throwback Night depending upon which decade happens to be featured.

I don't see them going away...just wish they would bring Avengers Night back to DCA.

The problem is that the earliest DL can host pride night is mid-June, as DCA closes early for Grad Nites most nights earlier in the month (and if they had an early closure at either park for an entire week, they would lose attendance from non-MK).

Mid-June is the start of peak summer yet reports are that crowds were very light this week (until today) at DL. Neither Pride night sold out, so it’s not the draw it once was (the cost probably has a lot to do with it). It’s quite possible that Pride Night limited DLR’s revenues this year.

IMO, it would make a lot more sense to move the event to DCA. That park is already equipped as it hosts Grad Nites (they were moving equipment into storage over the weekend, why not just keep it out). DCA isn’t as popular as DL obviously but I assume most people aren’t there for the rides anyway.

 

[LKing]

These are the Pride Nite dates for the past four years:
June 16, 18 2025 (Grad Nites were June 1, 4, 6, 8, 11 & 13)
June 18, 20 2024 (Grad Nites were June 2, 5, 7, 9, 12 & 14)
June 13, 15 2023 (Grad Nites were June 2, 4, 7, 9, 14 & 16)
June 16, 18 2022 (Grad Nites were June 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11 & 17)

In 2026, Grad Nites are June 3, 5, 7, 10 and 12.

 

[irlandaise]

Why do you have to book your room 11 months out?

That's when DVC members can book rooms at their home resorts.

 

[irlandaise]

In 2026, Grad Nites are June 3, 5, 7, 10 and 12.

Wow, that's great that they've already announced the dates. Looks like they're actually trying to help DVC members! @cruisehopeful I hope you spotted this information.

 

[LKing]

Wow, that's great that they've already announced the dates. Looks like they're actually trying to help DVC members! @cruisehopeful I hope you spotted this information.

You can find the dates here: https://www.disneycampus.com/blog/grad-nite-returns-to-disneyland-resort-in-2026-/

 

[irlandaise]

You can find the dates here: https://www.disneycampus.com/blog/grad-nite-returns-to-disneyland-resort-in-2026-/

Whoops, I read too fast and thought you were talking about Pride Nights. Drat. Sorry, @cruisehopeful. Still, they've been on Thursdays except this year, which may have been skipped because it's Juneteenth?? So maybe June 18th would be a good guess for next year?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Pride Nite was awesome. Everything was walk-on and crowds were great.

I went to DCA around 6 for dinner and did Monsters & Emotional Roller Coaster. I left for Disneyland at 8:30 and there were people streaming into DCA, I'm assuming it was busy over there.

Went to Disneyland and checked in for Pride Nite. They gave us cute lanyards and a bag of skittles gummies. After looking for Pride Merchandise I wandered over to Small World for the first cavalcade. It was hard to see because I'm short! But I did manage to catch the later showing at 11:00 and saw most of it.

One especially fun thing that happened was when I was heading for small world I saw a CM from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique walking through the crowd and she was carrying a wand. I asked if she had Pixie Dust and she said yes! She had me make a wish and sprinkled me with pixie dust. It was a magical little moment.

After that I focused on rides and had the rainbow funnel cake from Stagedoor cafe.

I saw most of the characters but didn't bother standing in line to get photos with them.

Lots of music and rainbows and people dancing everywhere

I left around midnight. All in all a really fun evening!

Glad you had so much fun! I'd love to see rainbows projected on Main Street. Did you catch the Be You With Pride singers? I'm a sucker for Disney musical performances

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Whoops, I read too fast and thought you were talking about Pride Nights. Drat. Sorry, @cruisehopeful. Still, they've been on Thursdays except this year, which may have been skipped because it's Juneteenth?? So maybe June 18th would be a good guess for next year?

Like @cruisehopeful, I'm trying to plan for next year and stay at VGC. We'd like to do 4 nights in a studio, coinciding with one of the Pride nites. I was wondering why this year deviated from T/Th, Juneteenth might be it!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Why do you have to book your room 11 months out?

I want to book my DVC room at either VGC or DLH.

Thanks, everyone. I might be able to guess book a couple options and then cancel a reservation when the dates are out. It kind of depends on how many points I need for everything else next year. I appreciate all the help!

 

[LAS2AMS]

I will make an educated guess here:

They won’t hold Pride Night until after Grad Nights have concluded. When the parks close early for special events, DLR takes a hit on attendance from non-MK (which is far more beneficial than MK).

In 2026, Juneteenth will be on a Friday. Yesterday, lots of people were saying that came into town for a four day weekend. I think it’s fair to assert than many people will still arrive on Thursday next year.

So, I’d put the event on Monday, June 14th and Wednesday, June 16th. It’s been held on M/W most years, so this seems to make the most sense.

(Thanks to @LKing for looking up the historical dates, and Grad Nights in 2026.)