Schmucks at Disney?

[sungela]

My darling wife and I just got married at WDW (first lesbians, woohoo!), and everything was just about as magical as you might expect from Disney. There was only one sour note: some crazy jerk decided to ruin our rehearsal dinner with a homophobic tirade. Our wedding party took up four tables near the buffet at 1900 Park Faire, and we were all enjoying ourselves when the announcer said something about people celebrating special events. DW and I danced, surrounded by our friends and family, and then shared a quick smooch. Crazy man swooped in and began yelling about how gay people were mentally ill, and it perverted his children to see us together. Most of the other diners seemed appalled at his interruption, and Disney escorted him out after about 1 minute, but it was still a pretty unpleasant experience on the day before our Big Day.

It got me wondering, though: how many of you have had unpleasant experiences while at Disney? This was a first for us. We don't exactly wantonly make out when we're in the parks, but I've never thought twice about holding Angela's hand in Disney World.

 

[kingLouiethe1]

Grrr, so not cool! It really sucks that you were subjected to that pre-wedding! I hope you have other great memories to cloud that unpleasant incident!

I've never had anything negative at Disneyland except for maybe an occasional dirty look I try to ignore. I try not to let it bother me, but here's a little secret, it always does. Thick skin only gets so thick.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

First, I would like to tell you Congratulations!

Second, I read somewhere else on the DIS about this incident. The DIS'er who witnessed the incident felt so bad for you guys and for the jerk's daughter, who appeared to have been mortified by her father's behavior. I will have to see if I can find that post again, so that you can see it. Afterall, everyone deserves their 15 seconds of DISfame!

 

[DVCajun]

Geez, how horrible! What a total jerk. I'm sorry he interrupted your beautiful moment, but you know what --? He's psycho. and everyone watching knew it. I'm very happy for you and your bride. Please share pics when you can!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, however brief it was. He's a poor excuse for a human being. I'm glad that the rest of your trip was magical.

 

[wallyb]

I'm always so derailed when I hear this stuff - When are people going to evolve? Sorry this happened on your special day.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Congratulations on your marriage! {{{hugs}}} It would be wonderful to see photos! I'll bet you were all having the time of your life!

Would that the slug hadn't crawled out from under the rock, but let's believe that his behavior was so reprehensible, it moved people to support your love even more!

I'm just glad he was escorted out. I've not ever seen that at WDW before.

 

[OrlandoMike]

and Disney escorted him out after about 1 minute.

Glad Disney is doing the right thing!

Congrats on your Magical Day!

 

[tomboy_m]

Congratulations on your marriage. Sorry about the idiot. I was glad to hear that Disney escorted him out. The guy obviously is a total freak.

 

[RickinNYC]

It's ignorant, idiotic, complete half-wits like that that give the heterosexual community such a bad rap and give the gay/lesbian community pause for concern when planning events like yours. So glad Disney did the right thing by removing him, and so glad others in the area were appalled by his behaviour.

Nevertheless, CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[sungela]

Grrr, so not cool! It really sucks that you were subjected to that pre-wedding! I hope you have other great memories to cloud that unpleasant incident!

I've never had anything negative at Disneyland except for maybe an occasional dirty look I try to ignore. I try not to let it bother me, but here's a little secret, it always does. Thick skin only gets so thick.

No kidding. My family kept saying, "Don't let it bother you." Right.

But we definitely had an incredible time, and I'm so glad we had a Disney Wedding, even with that one incident.

First, I would like to tell you Congratulations!

Second, I read somewhere else on the DIS about this incident. The DIS'er who witnessed the incident felt so bad for you guys and for the jerk's daughter, who appeared to have been mortified by her father's behavior. I will have to see if I can find that post again, so that you can see it. Afterall, everyone deserves their 15 seconds of DISfame!

Wow--let me know if you can find it! At one point, he asked everyone in the restaurant if they agreed with him, and only one woman stood up. What a sign of changing times.

Geez, how horrible! What a total jerk. I'm sorry he interrupted your beautiful moment, but you know what --? He's psycho. and everyone watching knew it. I'm very happy for you and your bride. Please share pics when you can!

There are a few pics in my TR, but we still haven't gotten the photographer's pictures yet (anxiously waiting...). This is us walking over the bridge as married women, though, in classic DFTW fashion:

(I'm the shorter one on the left)

I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, however brief it was. He's a poor excuse for a human being. I'm glad that the rest of your trip was magical.

It definitely was magical! This isn't the first homophobic incident we've experienced, but it was kind of surreal that it happened during our rehearsal dinner.

I'm always so derailed when I hear this stuff - When are people going to evolve? Sorry this happened on your special day.

At least he didn't ruin the wedding! I think then my usual non-violent approach would have taken a backseat to Bridezilla's wrath.

Congratulations on your marriage! {{{hugs}}} It would be wonderful to see photos! I'll bet you were all having the time of your life!

Would that the slug hadn't crawled out from under the rock, but let's believe that his behavior was so reprehensible, it moved people to support your love even more!

I'm just glad he was escorted out. I've not ever seen that at WDW before.

We had the best wedding ever (with ping pong, lots of sugar, and a turkey baster in the best man's speech--how it could it not have been awesome?). I am happy to hear that other people haven't experienced this kind of behavior before, though; I was really starting to feel nervous about subsequent Disney trips.

Glad Disney is doing the right thing!

Congrats on your Magical Day!

Thanks!

Congratulations on your marriage. Sorry about the idiot. I was glad to hear that Disney escorted him out. The guy obviously is a total freak.

I was surprised at how few people supported his comments. I felt a lot safer knowing that WDW didn't think twice about getting rid of him, and apologizing profusely to us.

It's ignorant, idiotic, complete half-wits like that that give the heterosexual community such a bad rap and give the gay/lesbian community pause for concern when planning events like yours. So glad Disney did the right thing by removing him, and so glad others in the area were appalled by his behaviour.

Nevertheless, CONGRATULATIONS!

Thank you! I really didn't mean to make this thread about our wedding (although I'm always happy to talk about it for hours ). I was just curious if other people had experienced anything similar. It's great to hear that this was a pretty isolated occurrence (even if it was at the worst possible time). I feel much more confident about future Disney trips; we were definitely more cautious in the few days we stayed at WDW after the wedding.

 

[Disney_Villain]

Something not as terrible as your incident came up on our May 2006 honeymoon in WDW (we married at home in Canada, came down to WDW after). DH and I both wore the wedding buttons the resorts gave us - and the responses to them from CM's and guests were wonderful. That is, until . . .

The incident. We were at the Amercian Adventure in Epcot's WSP. A group of teenage girls ahead of us in line made a big show of pointing to us and giggling to the BF's (which went on for 5 minutes). They were deliberately trying to get our attention on the matter, trying to upset us for their amusement. We stuck our noses in the air on them and went in to enjoy the show. Later, the CM running the show made a big production post-show as we exited - congratulating us and making a lovely "certificate" to commemorate our WDW honeymoon. I think he saw the incident and felt really bad for us.

I find it quite ironic that the AA show highlights changes America has made in terms of social progress (racism, AIDS fanaticism, etc.) . . . and that these teens would choose to make such a******s of themselves right before seeing it.

 

[StormTigger]

Thank you! I really didn't mean to make this thread about our wedding (although I'm always happy to talk about it for hours ). I was just curious if other people had experienced anything similar. It's great to hear that this was a pretty isolated occurrence (even if it was at the worst possible time). I feel much more confident about future Disney trips; we were definitely more cautious in the few days we stayed at WDW after the wedding.

Feel free to turn this into a post about your wedding! I'm sure we'd all love to hear details (or at least I would!) Did you post on the wedding board? (I need an excuse to venture over there...) Oh and before I ramble on and forgtet...

CONGRATS!!!
And lots of pixidust for your future together!

We've never had any negative experiences at Disney, one odd one when some guy made a comment telling us not to make out on the WTP ride, but I really couldn't judge his attitude when he said it. It wasn't mean, but I couldn't tell if he was kidding, saying something slyly, passing on a warning, or what. I have to admit I'm really good at putting my blinders up at Disney, so unless it's obvious I make it a point to miss almost everything else.

... Later, the CM running the show made a big production post-show as we exited - congratulating us and making a lovely "certificate" to commemorate our WDW honeymoon. I think he saw the incident and felt really bad for us.

I can tell w/o even hearing a physical discription of the CM that this was Lonnie! I worked w/ him at a Disney Store here in StL for several years and can tell you he is the CM that all other CM's should strive to immitate . Knowing Lonnie he would have given you the certificate anyway if he saw your buttons. He's a great guy and glad to hear he was able to help counter some of the negatives by the other guest.

 

[turkygurl]

I love your dress. It's gorgeous. I'm sorry you had a bad pre-wedding experience, but as I've shared with Rob in his thread, somehow, when you look back at the craziness in years to come, it won't seem so bad. Every wedding has it's hitches. See Rob's thread for a list of some of mine. I'm glad you had a good wedding day experience though. Congrats.

 

[PghLybrt]

I must say Congrats! and.....when can we see more pictures!!?????

 

[rpmdfw]

Hey there!

Congratulations!

I've been following your Planning Journal and Trip report on the Weddings forum. It looks like you had a beautful day! How wonderful for you!

I'm glad you didn't let one obnoxious jerk ruin your whole trip, and that everyone else was so supportive of you while he was proving what an idiot he is.

Rob

 

[sungela]

Something not as terrible as your incident came up on our May 2006 honeymoon in WDW (we married at home in Canada, came down to WDW after). DH and I both wore the wedding buttons the resorts gave us - and the responses to them from CM's and guests were wonderful. That is, until . . .

The incident. We were at the Amercian Adventure in Epcot's WSP. A group of teenage girls ahead of us in line made a big show of pointing to us and giggling to the BF's (which went on for 5 minutes). They were deliberately trying to get our attention on the matter, trying to upset us for their amusement. We stuck our noses in the air on them and went in to enjoy the show. Later, the CM running the show made a big production post-show as we exited - congratulating us and making a lovely "certificate" to commemorate our WDW honeymoon. I think he saw the incident and felt really bad for us.

I find it quite ironic that the AA show highlights changes America has made in terms of social progress (racism, AIDS fanaticism, etc.) . . . and that these teens would choose to make such a******s of themselves right before seeing it.

I'm so glad that the Disney people tried to make it up to you! I keep kicking myself that we didn't milk the incident better to get a room upgrade at the GF I wonder sometimes what goes through people's heads when they act like jerks in public--and I hope that those girls look back on it later with regret.

Feel free to turn this into a post about your wedding! I'm sure we'd all love to hear details (or at least I would!) Did you post on the wedding board? (I need an excuse to venture over there...) Oh and before I ramble on and forgtet...

CONGRATS!!!
And lots of pixidust for your future together!

We've never had any negative experiences at Disney, one odd one when some guy made a comment telling us not to make out on the WTP ride, but I really couldn't judge his attitude when he said it. It wasn't mean, but I couldn't tell if he was kidding, saying something slyly, passing on a warning, or what. I have to admit I'm really good at putting my blinders up at Disney, so unless it's obvious I make it a point to miss almost everything else.

I can tell w/o even hearing a physical discription of the CM that this was Lonnie! I worked w/ him at a Disney Store here in StL for several years and can tell you he is the CM that all other CM's should strive to immitate . Knowing Lonnie he would have given you the certificate anyway if he saw your buttons. He's a great guy and glad to hear he was able to help counter some of the negatives by the other guest.

Thank you! Yup, I have one of those slowly-becoming-massive PJ/TRs on the wedding boards. (Link in my siggie). Of course, that board is nowhere near as fun as this one (sorry, wedding people, it's true).

I love your dress. It's gorgeous. I'm sorry you had a bad pre-wedding experience, but as I've shared with Rob in his thread, somehow, when you look back at the craziness in years to come, it won't seem so bad. Every wedding has it's hitches. See Rob's thread for a list of some of mine. I'm glad you had a good wedding day experience though. Congrats.

Reading all the other PJ/TRs is a great reminder that no matter who gets married, there's always drama! And having one idiot make an a$$ of himself at our RD pales in comparison to some of the other crap that brides put up with (unsupportive family, money issues, you name it).

I must say Congrats! and.....when can we see more pictures!!?????

As soon as I get them from the photographer! I seriously can't wait.

Hey there!

Congratulations!

I've been following your Planning Journal and Trip report on the Weddings forum. It looks like you had a beautful day! How wonderful for you!

I'm glad you didn't let one obnoxious jerk ruin your whole trip, and that everyone else was so supportive of you while he was proving what an idiot he is.

Rob

I've been following your PJ too--and I vote NO on the chicken dance (although everyone at our wedding loved Shout, YMCA, Electric Slide, and all the other horrible stand-bys). And for the RD, I definitely do not recommend 1900 Park Faire. Better to have no incidents if you can avoid it.

 

[Disney_Villain]

StormTigger & Sungela: Thanks. Situations like these are rare in Disney parks - and if you can recognize them for they are and get over your "hurt" feelings as fast as possible, great. We did not let it ruin our honeymoon.

Sungela: Must say, you both looked FAB in your dresses!

 

[kingLouiethe1]

You did both look wonderful! If I were wearing a dress, I would wear your dress

Been cathing up with your PJ too, its so long! but getting there!

Oh, and by all means, make this thread about your wedding! You're allowed to hijack your own threads, and it's such a much more positive thing.

We should ask for a gay and lesbian wedding subforum! Not that the ladies on the wedding board aren't lovely, but we come with our own unique planning issues.

One of the things I'm loving about our wedding is that we don't have the added expense of a dress, accessories, hair and make-up, you got it times two.

 

[zulemara]

First of all, congrats on the WDW wedding! It is my dream and who knows, maybe I'll be able to convince DBF to get married there!


As far as the incident, I'm so sorry it happened to you, but I'm proud of the fact that Disney escorted the guy out of the restaurant. One of the main reasons I am so proud to be a cast member is because of the commitment to diversity that Disney has.

As far as the rest of the trip or any other trip for that matter, I will say the same here as I do at every other thread pertaining to LGBT at Disney. Hold hands, enjoy yourself, and always know the CMs have your back. Do not be afraid to act the same as straight people do because we are no different in our love for our partners.

When I went on a trip in December, it was our 2nd dating anniversary. We wore top hats, got anniversary buttons, and held hands. We got overwhelming support from CMs from the moment I gave him a ring in front of the castle to the VIP meet n greet with Cinderella to the talking trash can acknowledging us. I also put my blinders on. I'm sure some people gave us looks but when I'm there, I don't really care because...once again, I know the CMs will back us if any lunatics started harassing us.

on a lighter note...these people who don't approve of gay people are REALLY the ones with blinders on. If only they knew who Alladin and Prince Charming are REALLY attracted to