What is the first week of June all about?

[suz2]

We are going the first week of June. I have been reading about Gay Days. What is this? What should we avoid? Is it just the MK on the this Sat. in June? We were planning on going to the AK on that Sat. Would this be a crowded park to go to that particular week?

 

[Ahrizel]

Gaydays is an annual unofficial gathering of gays and lesbians at Disneyworld. The first Saturday in June was always the day for MK and traditionaly had large crowds. The group seems to be split in 2 this year, with one having more emphasis on Universal. http://www.gaydays.com and http://www.gayday.com are the website to check for the schedules. We've hit the end of gaydays twice and never really had any problem. The only thing I would mention is that Pleasure Island will be quite busy. There are a number of parties, but they are all seperate hard ticket events that won't impact you. There will be more gays in the parks then usual and you are more likely to see same-sex pda's then usual. Some people have real problems with this, if you're one of them, change plans accordingly. I would probably avoid the park of the day, why run into larger crowds then you have to. And I would avoid MK on that Saturday altogether, but that's because MK on Saturday is usually a zoo-good general principle there. I like early June if you have to go in summer, the crowds are considerably lower then later in the summer. Aside from the park of the day, gaydays doesn't have much effect on the main parks. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Swimnoid]

We always manage to hit the first week in June and it has never been a problem. Like previous posters have said, MK is pretty crowded on Sat. Just dont wear a red t-shirt!

 

[momsgoofy]

I would ditto what the previous posters said. Our first trip to WDW with DS...7 at the time...was during gayday and it was fine other than crowd size was up as with any large group of tourists in the parks. We are headed back for another trip this year during gayday and I have no concerns other than potential crowds we might encounter. After spending the Sunday before Thanksgiving in the MK, I've learned to just avoid that park completely on a weekend. So, I will this year and every year to come.

If you are interested in the impact that such a large crowd may have, go to the two websites, gayday.com and gaydays.com to check the schedule of events. I did just to see which park might be impacted on the weekend and found the sites to be very interesting and informative.

As for the not to wear red...that color is worn by folks showing support for the gayday gathering. Some folks have gone to the parks wearing red without knowing and have been mortified. Others wear it proudly in support. Point: Make the call for yourself and your family about wearing the color red.

As for public displays of affection...from my experience, minimal. When we took DS I wasn't and am still not a huge fan of groping loved ones in public...doesn't matter from whom. If you have children, maybe be prepared to answer some questions...DS never noticed or if he did he never asked...but I've raised him to be open minded.

Hope you have a great trip! Maybe we'll bump into each other....

 

[suz2]

I did check the schedule for gay days. Our planned days to the parks were already different from theirs. I am worried about the crowds but glad to hear thet you all have good things to say about it. Crowds were our biggest concern. Maybe we will bump into you!!! We will be there the 29-5.

 

[SimonG]

my family and I were there last year at this time.I knew all about gay weekend so we decided to go to seaworld only to avoid crowds(not homophobic).So not giving it a moments thought put on my local soccer team shirt and we set off.While we were having lunch in sharks under water grill(fantastic food) I noticed a few gay couples lunching,then i looked down and realised i had a red shirt on.Ithen told sam and both of us could'nt stop laughing at my mistake.Anyway I didn'nt get any offers!Going to pofq. in december and trying to avoid cheerleaders that sounds more like a dilemma!

 

[mommystieg]

I did check the schedule for gay days. Our planned days to the parks were already different from theirs. I am worried about the crowds but glad to hear thet you all have good things to say about it. Crowds were our biggest concern. Maybe we will bump into you!!! We will be there the 29-5.

This will be our third trip in early June during Gay Days--we have not experienced any significant increase in crowd levels at any of the parks--just plan to avoid MK on the first Saturday in June. In the past we have received a note in our room stating large crowds are expected at MK that day and usually a couple of the other parks will be open an hour or so earlier to encourage you to visit there. We will be in the World June 2-11 -- hope to see ya'll there