What is Gay Day like?

[sharonk]

Hi, I don't want to start a controversial post, but I would love to hear fact-based accounts of what the Magic Kingdom (and other parks) are like on Gay Day.

I understand it will be crowded, but is it otherwise obvious that it's Gay Day? Are there signs, special activites or other indications that it's Gay Day?

We will be at Disney World from June 4 - 9 and have three children ages 2, 5 and 7. I'm just wondering if my kids will be aware of it and if I should prepare my 5 and 7 year olds in advance. We live in a conservative, Midwestern town and my kids have not yet been exposed to lifestyles other than our own. The Magic Kingdom is not the place I want to teach my boys the lesson about different lifestyles, so I would much rather explain some of this to them in advance if necessary. But, I don't want to mention it if they'll likely have no clue that it's even going on.

Can those of you who were there in the past during this event let me know what it was like and, if you have kids, if they realized it was Gay Day?

Thanks,

Sharon

 

[RalphMouth]

We were at a Six Flags Park in Denver a few summers ago not knowing till we were there that it was their Gay Pride Day.
Everybody kept to themselves BUT several park goers were quite proud of their "choices" and did display their preferences.
I'm sure the same happens on Disney's Gay Day.
I'd imagine there will be certain things that if not seen before by your children, will sure be noticed. If you are "affraid" of what may be seen then I'd not visit that day.
I saw nothing R or X rated but probably PG-13.

 

[yecats]

I personally have not attended WDW during this time but my boss did two years ago and was not happy about it. Boy oh boy he came back so mad that he didn't know it was Gay days there. His children were about 10 and 6 at that time and they did witness some PG-13 stuff including kissing and petting. His 6 year old did ask why two guys were kissing each other like that and he wasn't ready to explain it. He also stated that there was a group that was very proud of their lifestyle choice and were acting a bit much while waiting in a longer que area. He told us (several Disney attics here) that he would be checking with Disney on future trips about Gay Days as he was not told about it when he scheduled the trip onsite at a deluxe resort. He did say that most people were in small groups hugging and holding hands but you would see people kissing and petting each other occasionally.

 

[sadiebug]

We were there during Gay Days for our honeymoon back in 1997. People were not afraid to show their affection for one another and some of the people were rather flamboyant. I would definitely discuss it with your children before you go, especially since this is a lifestyle they are not familiar with.

 

[Billmel]

Our family was there June of 2001 on the last day of gay week in orlando. There were alot of people with Gay Week tshirts on in MK. There was alot of holding hands and such, and we actually saw 2 girls kissing just to the right of mainstreet at some little tables. We had no idea it was gay week in orlando, if we had known, I would have postponed our trip at least 1 day, my MIL went with us and it was something she had no exposure to, so she walked by with her mouth open. I don't want you to think it was really bad, just unexpected. The next day I saw no rainbow shirts. It was just that last evening. I have read in other posts that gay day is not a Disney sponsored event. I don't remember seeing signs, or special events. But I may be wrong about that. I don't remember any problems with open-ness amongst couples, just general PDA such as holding hands (except for that one couple). My daughter was 15 at the time and she noticed, but at 5 & 7 it may just go over your childrens heads. I don't think I would prepare them or talk to them about it unless it comes up in the parks. I don't think I would want to open a can of worms over something they may think nothing about, Just my opinion. My oldest Grandson is 7 and I don't think he would think anything was odd about people holding hands at disney, its to happy of a place. I agree with the PG-13 rating though. I tried to be diplomatic or politically correct when typing this, hope this helps.

 

[Hippychickali]

Well, if you consider kissing PG-13 maybe you don't want to take your kids to Disney World ever because I've seen plenty of that going on but I wasn't there on Gay Days. I'm taking about heterosexuals. They have been far worse in general than any homosexuals I've come across in the park. I don't mean to start something here but we live in the year 2004. I understand the initial concern about preparing children for what they might see. I would suggest having such a talk with them about tolerance and diversity no matter when you go because you know what? Gay people don't just go to Disney World on gay days.

Ali "Straight But Not Narrow"

 

[WDSearcher]

I've been at the parks during Gay Days a couple of times (as a CM). It's been different every year. One year, it was all about really odd clothing choices (nothing overly revealing, but lots of leather and vinyl ... in June ... with heat and humidity ... never understood that ...). One year, if there hadn't been a lot of people in red t-shirts, I wouldn't have known it was Gay Day. So it depends. In recent years, it's become much more of a family thing than a couples thing, so you'll see more families in the red shirts than anything. And really ... seeing two women pushing strollers together or two men with a couple of kids isn't really that odd. You'll see that pretty much any day at WDW!

There are some public displays of affection, but I've honestly seen worse between heterosexual teenagers than I've seen at Gay Days. Of course, the thing is that if your kids see two heterosexual teens making out, they're likely to point and say "Gross!" and move on, whereas if they see two guys kissing, that could cause a lot more curiousity. But it's not as though it's gay make-out day at the Magic Kingdom or anything.

What I would do is to simply avoid MK on that Saturday and choose another park instead. You'll avoid the huge crowds and you won't find yourself stuck in line at Small World with 75 gay men singing "It's a Gay World After All." (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it gets a bit old after the fourteenth chorus! ) I find that being in the MK on Gay Day is like being there when the cheerleaders are there or during an onslaught of Brazilian tourists -- it's crowded and I'm definitely in the minority.

Outside of MK on that Saturday, you probably won't see a lot of Gay Days activities unless you frequent Pleasure Island, and then be ready for anything! Particularly inside Mannequins. But otherwise, it's just a bunch of people enjoying a theme vacation. And most of the big parties are off Disney property, at night.

 

[ALostBoy]

Hi,

We went at this time in 2000. We did
not see any PDA's or anything close. We
wanted to skip the crowds so we were aware
of the gaydays schedule before we went
and just planned to be in a different park.
We had a great trip so just plan to skip the
crowds and have a great time.

 

[Hippychickali]

You could avoid MK or pick up some red or rainbow tee-shirts and sing along. Although I feel your pain after 50 repeats of "It's A Gay World After All".

Ali

 

[HaleyB]

One thing it is good to know is Red is the official Gay Days color, so you will see lots of red shirts. I always try to dress my kids in bright colors at the parks, so if you do too, pick another color!

You can go to the Gaydays.com site and see what is planed and where. Many people avoid MK on Sat because of the crowds.

Also there is at least one trip report from last years Gay Days on the boards. I can not remember who posted it, and I can't find it right now... but I read it when we were picking which week in June to go and nothing in it gave me pause; I have a five and an eight (will be nine) year old going and we are going to WDW from June 1st to the 9th.

 

[LIFERBABE]

As a family. No we are not participants, we just like going the first week school is out.

We did not even notice that it was occurring. No PDA (Public Displays of Affection) or overt activity. You may have seen 2 guys or girls walking together or riding together, but they could be siblings or related so nothing unusual there either.
There were no banners hanging across MainStreet welcoming the gay and lesbian community.

We did avoid MK that saturday, but that is because TourguideMike told us to, not because of GD's. MK is already crowded and when you throw in a big group it's even worse.

I know they have alot of private events also.

 

[HaleyB]

Originally posted by Hippychickali
You could avoid MK or pick up some red or rainbow tee-shirts and sing along. Although I feel your pain after 50 repeats of "It's A Gay World After All".

Ali

You crack me up. Oh and isn't It's a Small World in rehab this year? Darn, darn, darn.

 

[tar heel]

The crowd at the MK on Saturday is big and most people are wearing red t-shirts. A few are wearing flambuoyant outfits bordering on costumes, and there are some men sporting Minnie ears. There are quite a few groups (5-10) people and not an insignificant number of families with children. Most of the PDA we've seen is basic stuff, like handholding. It's highly unlikely that children the ages of your will notice ANYTHING. We've been there three times during Gay Day, and our youngest, who was 5, 6 and 8 still doesn't know he was at Disney World on Gay Day. Our middle child was just starting adolescence one of the trips, and he was VERY interested in all of it -- gave us an opportunity for a discussion. The only thing the little one ever noticed was lots of red shirts and a couple of way-out-there outfits (leather and boots).

I think a lot of your reaction will depend on your perception. We've never seen anything that upset us in the parks, but we are not offended by gay people. None of the things described above bother us in the least. I would not, however, visit Pleasure Island because I'm sure there is over-the-top behavior there and at the private parties.

 

[Hippychickali]

Originally posted by HaleyB


You crack me up. Oh and isn't It's a Small World in rehab this year? Darn, darn, darn.

Oh well, I guess you'll have to go with Yo Ho Yo Ho A Homosexuals Life For Me.

Ali

 

[flclarkkent]

I find it encouraging that there are so many open-minded folks on this site.

I think WDSearcher hit the nail on the head -- bad taste isn't limited to any one group of people. You can find inappropriate behaviour at any theme park on any given day.

The last time I was at Gay Days, back in 2001 I think, there were lots of families, which was nice to see.

Aside from huge crowds -- and long, long lines -- it seemed rather tame.

But if I were going to visit the park, I'd skip Saturday at the Magic Kingdom just to avoid the crowds.

 

[Puffy2]

I've seen public displays of affection on several of my trips over the years from both hetrosexuals and homosexuals and these occured in the off seasons and had nothing to do with Gay Days or any other day.

Explaining to children is easy because they are usually more "matter of fact" about most everything. The conversation would probably go something like this: child:"Mom, that man is kissing another man." parent: "Yes, he is. Some men like to date other men rather than women." Child: "oh."

At age 5 or 6 that will probably be the extent of the conversation, unless the parent makes more out of it. I actually welcome natural opportunities to talk to my children about all sorts of topics - and believe me, it's a LOT easier at age 7 than it is at age 13 (kid: 'STOP! I DON"T WANT TO KNOW!!!!!)

 

[Dznefreek]

First of all people need to realize there are Gay people in the park EVERYDAY! That particular Saturday just happens to be the day they go to MK. If your child asks a question, answer it honestly. They are not as inquisitive as you would think.

Some parents are uneasy talking to their kids about sex. Usually those are the same people who do not want it taught in schools either.

It also bothers me when heteros get into intense PDA. Gay or straight who cares. Some of you would lose your mind if you knew what your neighbors did behind closed doors.

Let us not forget the HUGE economic impact this naow has on the central Florida area. What was once a few hundred people is now well over 120,000 people and since we have a tourist driven economy....Welcome!

 

[sharonk]

Thanks for all the comments.

To be clear, I'm not uncomfortable talking to my kids about sex and have no problem with the fact that we may be sharing Disney World with 100,000 gays and lesbians....I'm just curious about what the atmosphere is like during this time because I have heard conflicting accounts. Some people have said that it's like any other crowded day and they had no idea it was even Gay Day. Others have told me that there was a lot of kissing, flamboyant costumes, etc.....so I was just curious about the experiences of the folks here.

We have several friends who are gay and when my kids see them at parties or other events, I'm sure my kids have no idea what's going on. They just assume that 2 women or 2 men came to the parties "as friends." But, I'm sure if my kids saw them kissing or hugging, they would have a lot of questions.

So, more than anything, I'm just trying to figure out what to expect so I can prepare my kids without over-sensitizing them to something they might not even notice.

Thanks again,

Sharon

 

[Shooby doo]

My family & I were at MK on gay day in '98,to be honest we weren't aware of this before hand,but it took me until about midday to notice that there was a more than normal no. of same sex couples. That year they were all wearing red t-shirts but I don't know if this is the same every year. I can't say that I noticed lots of petting /kissing but I also wasn't looking for it. What I can remember though is that the park was very,very busy! As for the kids,I think they are probably just as likely to see gay couples on normal days anyway.
I can't really advise you but I think that if you're going to be worrying about it all day then give the parks a miss for that day.
SD

 

[Baloo]

Our trip in 2001 fell during Gay Days and I didn't even realize it was going on.We avoid the MK on Sat. anyway.