I realize this is a potentially controversial topic, but I had no idea about this and I figured this might save people some shock. Take a look. http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-gay-days.htm
yea i heard about that.. and am not at all a sponsor of the event... i mean i have no problem with someone having a differing sexuality but these mass events and gatherings are ridiculous... not to mention offensive to alot of people...
For what it's worth, that particular event is now fairly well established at both WDW and Disneyland. As far as I know, they generally go off without much fuss. *shrugs* KC
i'm by no means agaist the gay community, and love going to gay pride festivals in brighton and from what i have seen there i feel like.. Is disney really the place for it. On the otherhand why don't the travel agents and such do something about it by informing familys that plan to book during this period then that way they can make an informed desision on weather they allow there kids to see the going ons. hope i don't afend anyone as this is not my intention jenine
Hmmm. well it's really only in the Magic Kingdom that you'll notice anything major. You are aware of it elsewhere, yes (mainly because you'll be briefed on what's happening from your managers). The event, however, is actually nothing to do with Disney. It is not a official event (such as food and wine etc.) and that's probably the reason travel agents etc. don't mention it. If they have never been to Walt Disney World on Gay Days, then the chances are they know very little about them. Should it be their business to know, perhaps, but should they also warn folks about the massive school groups in July or the major Christian events in Sept or the hurricanes in ...oh wait... half the year ;D. Travel agents are there to make money. Or perhaps the responsibility should lie with the consumer. :-\ It's really only the Sat that is the main event. If you have kids and don't feel you want them to experience such an event, don't go Magic Kingdom that day. Heck, MK is always busy on a sat anyway. Disney is a comany with a very intense philosophy of diveristy. RAVE (Respect appreciate and value everyone) is a word all CMs are familiar with. While I do not believe in the forcing of one's beliefs on another in any capacity, be it religion, sexual preferance or political affiliations (some random tried to convert me to their religion while I was at work in Edinburgh Castle last week! ) I do believe we all have the right to express ourselves. I do agree however, there is a time and a place for many things. You will find that most folks would agree with this and as a result, Gay Days aren't as you might imagine. There are always exceptions however. And I won't deny you'll probably see things you never thought you would (even in terms of clothing! ;D). Ona x P.S. Don't wear a red shirt.... that is of course, unless you want to! ;D
i rackon it will all just be good fun! i recon disney is as good a place as any.. if people worry over it over much it will ,make those who go that want to "force it on to others" more addimint...in time it will be like any other gathering at disney world....(brazilian school kids anyone?) and besides if christians want to do their thing there why can't the gays. chill out they are their too have fun and as i said the more they feel accepted the less overt they will be...infact i cringe at the use of the word THEY what are they aliens??? no! are they difiscient??? no! who am i to judge how one person loves another. if i feel anyone steps over the line i am the first to condemn!! the amount of times ive seen straight couples "frenching" in various queses at magic kingdom i am surprissed i haven't seen more same sex couples. infact i'm kinda proud of disney!... the mouse is the man!
Well I'm looking forward and going to enjoy every second of it. As I am every other second I spend at Disney. I don't see how Gay Days is going to be any more offencive to me than Christmas will be.
It kinda confuses me why, in an age where we're preaching integration, there's so much emphasis on events that make particular social groups stand out as being noticeably different. I understand that a lot of it is about redressing balances, whereby 50 years ago or so 'minorities' were treated like utter crap and a lot has had to be done to change perceptions. All the same, (poor example probably), if I took a kid to a football match, I'd have to expect they'd see a lot of angry, beery men swearing their heads off. But if I took a kid to the zoo, I'd be pretty shocked if I saw that kind of behaviour. Same way, if I went onto a uni campus or into a capital city, I wouldn't be surprised to see people making a political statement or going on a march to publicise their views. But not so much in a theme park... Anyone and everyone should be free to enjoy WDW in their own way. My point is just that (another poor example coming up!) if a George Bush supporter quietly enjoyed a day in the park, he'd go unnoticed. But if he brought several thousand friends all wearing Dubya t-shirts, people would be wondering why the Republican Party Convention was being held in the Magic Kingdom 8) No one should be offended by it, but it just doesn't seem quite right, that's all.
So what if there is a group of Gays/ republicans/ paraplegics/ little green people from Mars having a meet up in a public place? They are all people (with the possible exection of the martians, though that is probably debatable) they have as much right to have a group trip to a theme park as anyone else. The idea of the meet up is to meet like minded people and have a laugh, not try and force opinions on to people. I think it's sad that this came up this way. OMG! there are going to be a group of GAYS in the park. I thought I'd better warn you all! :-\
I meant to add at the end of the post about never having actually experienced it myself so there's always a chance I'm talking a load of old ****. I'm in no way opposed to groups of like-minded, like-whatever, people coming together for a day out. I only say that difficulties come when an event becomes as apparently huge in scale as this is. More than likely that 99% of people attending are causing no trouble (or at least no more than the average park guest!) But having seen some of the negative press that's around relating to these days, a few people living it up a bit too much can end up giving the event and the 'community' a reputation the vast majority don't deserve. WDW is a great day out for gays/republicans/paraplegics/little green people from Mars and long may it continue. I just don't like the idea of breaking down groups under banners for their own special days at the parks. They are all open 365 days a year - each and every one should be 'straight/gay/republican/democrat/extraterrestrial' days, without the need for different colour t-shirts to mark people out.
The 1% is the same 1% who cause trouble anywhere. Gay Pride is fun, I have never seen any problems caused by the participants in any of the London ones. It's the ones who are OMG! Gays! that cause the trouble there....
""We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun- together." Walt Disney
why isn't anyone so bothered about the christian events??? more wars are caused by religion than gay rights...or what about all the companies that send their employees to disney world? school trips? family reunions? are we against those social groups? peopleoften want to congregate with like minded or similar people (think of the millions of club, sororities,fraternities, uni groups etc) this is just another group that have something in common and want to have a reunion and have fun....heck don't old alumni have reunions? i bet they aren't always well behaved!!
Question, does that include a family with two mums or two dads??? :-\ I totally believe that the hype around gay day has been created and blown out of proportion, not by those attending the event, but rather by those "afraid" of it. To be honest, kids are far less likely to be concerned by anything they may encounter but rather, they will be concentrating on the 5 foot mouse waving at them! ;D I can see where you are coming from Andrew, i.e. if you want equality, why shout about differences? But that's not what it's about. It's about celebrating differences. Something which Disney feels very strongly about, there are diversity events almost every single day in WDW. ;D There often are groups of folks in WDW representing those groups (except of course the little green men from Mars...... well no that we know of ;D). There are conventions held in WDW's parks and resorts everyday. But I've got to say, the thought of several thousand folks wearing Dubya t-shirts... now that's frightening! Lol! ;D ;D ;D Ona x
The difference as I understand it, is that the Christian events are officially sanctioned ones that sell separate tickets, so effectively only people with an interest in attending are present. And with regard to Christmas, it has become so little to do with its religious origins nowadays, that the only people who could be offended are Christians themselves, whose festival has become adopted and altered by the masses. Everyone else should just be grateful for the best holiday of the year! Same 'rules' for them though - if they go to Disney, they should have respect for everyone else in the parks and try and save up the bad behaviour for P.I. later on 8) (Equally, I'd be fairly surprised if any of those other groups brought 100,000 members!)
as long as those christians stay within there designated area then...lol and as i said before...what about all the straight canoodling you see going on all year round?????? or the drunk yobs you see stumbling out of the rose and crown and closing time?????? neither are highly family friendly. but there doesn't seem to be any huge fuhrer around it, i'm sure it isn't as bad as you think..if i find out it is just an orgy on mainstreet i shall be the first to condemn it! ok
a well to each his own... personally i think that going during that week especially with young kids could cause some pretty uncomfortable questions to come from young children
Sorry for the tension this topic might have created. It was not meant to be taken like that. I'm not sure if everyone read the article, but if you haven't, you might take a look and see what it is trying to convey. The author is gay himself and is simply expressing his opinion that Disney World might not be the best place to have this kind of event since there are guaranteed to be lots of children around. Does this mean that he thinks they shouldn't be there? No! He is simply saying that there is a time and place for everything. It is the same thing as when a straight couple is making out in public places, you don't want your children to see that and you don't expect to see that at Disney World. His point is that, in his experience, some homosexual couples take advantage of the event and kind of forget or disregard the fact that they are in a public place and should behave accordingly. The point is that it is not a difference between homo and heterosexual people, but in the similarity. If there was a non Disney sanctioned event called "straight days" and where numerous couples could be seen around the park using "public displays of affection", I would have been just as suprised and would have posted a topic to let others know. He raises a good point as well, in stating that if children do see these "PDA's", they might ask "Why are two men/women kissing daddy?" and they might not be old enough to comprehend. This is just like when the parents want to have the "birds and the bees" talk, they know when it is time to talk about it and they hope it doesn't come up before then. As for religious events, Andrew is right in that they have tickets sold for them and the park is closed to those who do not have tickets, so essentially, those who are there want to be there. I am a Christian myself, but I must admit that if there was an event called "God days" or something, and that there were people ferverishly preaching the gospel to the general public, I would be disgusted. There is a time and place for everything. I hope this clears things up. In essence I think puts it quite nicely. Disney World was designed as an escape from reality, a place where the only agendas are the ones which families use to plan their next adventure! Diversity should not be singled out, but should be celebrated everyday in a manner in which even those who may not be a part of any of these groups, can celebrate together.
there are always going to be unciomfortable questions, the sooner we accept these events the less important they will become and it will be more normal to see these couples throught the year enjoying themselves with there kids....heck anytime anyone says something about catholosism...despite my lacks ways...i want to shout and scream in there face and show i have just as much a right to be there as they do. Think of feminism..i don't need to burn my bra because someone did it before me so that i can excpect to be accepted as an equal. SO CAN WE PLEASE BAN THE STRAIGHT COUPLES FROM FRENCHING IN THE PARKS OR NOT!!!!!
whens straight days? you dont see straight people trying to publicize their sexuality in such an overt manner!
