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Public attacks, corporate indifference, and… possibly a meteor?

Gay Days at Disneyland

Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

As may have been expected, there was immediate and fierce pushback against the decidedly innocuous event. Disney didn’t want to risk another lawsuit by preventing same-sex couples from interacting at the parks, but they posted signs warning heterosexual visitors of the event and reportedly told cast members not to discuss the event with parkgoers. Outside the company, multiple conservative and religious organizations boycotted Disney for failing to prevent the gathering from taking place, with the American Family Association and One Million Moms among the most vocal opponents. (In one of the more absurd protests against the event, televangelist Pat Robertson predicted that the mere presence of rainbow flags would bring about “terrorist bombs, […] earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor” as some kind of divine retribution.) On one hand, Disney had deliberately chosen not to partner with the LGBTQ+ community and make Gay Days an official event; on the other hand, they were doing nothing to stop guests from celebrating, which was seen as a kind of unofficial endorsement. Neither group was entirely satisfied with the ambivalent response they received from the company.

While Disney seemed entirely comfortable straddling the fence, attendance figures at each Gay Days event continued to multiply by leaps and bounds. It didn’t matter if Pat Robertson envisioned meteors falling on Cinderella Castle or the Florida Family Association shelled out over $16,000 to broadcast alarmed messages over Fantasyland (“Warning: Gay Day at Disney 6/1,” the airborne banner read in 2013). By 2017, an estimated 1.5 million people had showed up for the red-shirted celebration. Not only had Gay Days established a safe, fun, and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ community members, but it helped create a more pronounced presence for them in mainstream culture, too. The event itself grew from a simple get-together in 1991 to a weeklong affair that now includes pageants, pool parties, and concerts spread throughout the city. It’s even stretched back toward the West Coast, where Disneyland and Disney California Adventure stage their own Gay Days celebration every fall. Despite all the ups and downs, legal troubles and public blowback, Gay Days is here to stay.

How do you like to celebrate Gay Days at the Disney Parks?

 
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