LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days ftival | AP News

Contents:

• GAY DAYS 2023 AT DISNEYLAND RORT CONFIRMED, DAT REVEALED - INSI THE MAGIC
• DISNEY WORLD WEL THOANDS OF LGBTQ+ PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE GAY DAYS: ‘WE ARE HERE, WE ARE QUEER AND WE AREN’T GOG ANYWHERE’
• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL
• GAY DAYS RETURNS TO WALT DISNEY WORLD AFTER 2-YEAR HIAT
• DISNEY FILM FEATURG GAY MA CHARACTER BOMBS AT BOX OFFICE
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• GAY DAYS AT DISNEY – CELEBRATE PRI & LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH
• GAY DAYS ANAHEIM RETURNS TO THE DISNEYLAND RORT THIS WEEKEND
• MI GAY DAYS RETURNG TO DISNEYLAND ON MARCH 5
• HOW SHOULD DISNEY ACKNOWLEDGE GAY DAYS S PARKS?
• GAY WEEK ?

GAY DAYS 2023 AT DISNEYLAND RORT CONFIRMED, DAT REVEALED - INSI THE MAGIC

Joseph Clark will never fet his first Gay Days."Jt gettg off the (monorail) and seeg the sea of red shirts, to this day  giv me goosebumps," he relled of the annual Pri event at Walt Disney World and other Orlando-area venu, which is neher sponsored by nor exclive to Disney.Back 2008, Clark was a regular attene who ma his own red shirt wh iends.

"There was no 'Oh my God, they're gay.' Like yep, most of were, or we had iends and alli wh that weren't, who were jt welg to the muny.

It was life-changg for me."Here's what to know about the annual LGBTQ+ gatherg Florida.'We have to be on guard a lot':Why safety first for so many LGBTQ travelers'I jt want to see more of ':The importance of seeg people like you while travelgHow did Gay Days get started?Gay Days Orlando started three s ago wh a group of iends who cid to meet up at Disney World red shirts. It has sce ballooned to an annual, multiday event, which draws upwards of 180,000 people to the Orlando area om across the world.Stand Fai:LGBTQ people need of stand- parents at weddgs, holidays fd 'fay' Facebook groupWhen are Gay Days 2023?Gay Days Orlando ns om May 31 through June 4 this year. What day is red shirt day?Arguably the most proment part of Gay Days, red shirt daysare when participants wear red shirts to specific parks to celebrate their inty or support others.

DISNEY WORLD WEL THOANDS OF LGBTQ+ PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE GAY DAYS: ‘WE ARE HERE, WE ARE QUEER AND WE AREN’T GOG ANYWHERE’

For stance, June 1 is a red shirt day at Disney's Animal Kgdom and SeaWorld Orlando and June 2 is a red shirt day at Disney's Hollywood Studs and Universal Islands of Adventure.Who attends Gay Days?Gay Days are open to everyone unr the LGBTQ+ umbrella as well as alli.

Addnal events and tails n be found on Gay Days Orlando's lendar.What is there to do at Gay Days?Many Gay Days atten vis theme parks, but there are a host of other activi cludg popular pool parti, Drag Bgo, expos and more at the event's host hotel Orlando. "There's plenty to do for everybody."Are Gay Days fay-iendly?Some events are adults-only, but most are open to all ag, cludg the Miss GayDays pageant, which this year will be hosted by CoCo Montre, who peted on "RuPl's Drag Race," and Miss GayDays 2019 Twila Holiday.Clark actually par the event to a fay rnn, specifilly "the fay that gets along rnn." Are there any ncerns about havg Gay Days  Florida this year?Given the polil climate the state and last year's enactment of what crics ll Florida'sDon't Say Gay law rtrictg discsns of sexual orientatn and genr inty primary schools, Clark said some people have asked him if this year's event would still happen."My msage back to them is 'Y, of urse we're still gog on.' One thg we n't do is go back the closet and hi om everythg," he said.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

In the 1990s, the gural Gay Days h Disneyland and Walt Disney World Rort – thoands of members of the LGBTQIA+ muny held an unofficial meetup at Magic Kgdom and Disneyland Park. Gay Days might be an unofficial event, but Disney has long taken a progrsive stance toward gay marriage and LGBTQIA+ issu. In the 1990s, before the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage natnwi, The Walt Disney Company offered gay and lbian employe surance for their partners.

In Febary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis troduced the Parental Rights Edutn Act, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Disney released a statement on March 3 but didn’t directly mentn the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was later passed to law. Other nservative Republin policians like Senator Josh Hawley and Senator Mar Rub publicly attacked Disney for s stance on the law and refal to censor a gay kiss Pixar’s Lightyear (2022).

GAY DAYS RETURNS TO WALT DISNEY WORLD AFTER 2-YEAR HIAT

Tens of thoands of LGBTQ+ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long tradn. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have champned a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ laws — spurrg the most proment gay rights group the U. And other civil rights anizatns to issue warngs that the Sunshe State may no longer be safe — Gay Days anizers are still enuragg visors om around the world to e to one of Florida’s largt gay and lbian celebratns.

If the hoped-for 150, 000 or more visors e to the half-week of pool parti, drag bgo and thrill ris at Orlando’s theme parks and hotels, then “that’s the pot, ” said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc. It’s not lost on the anizers that the highlight of the weekend will be a Saturday meetup of LGBTQ+ visors at the Magic Kgdom at Walt Disney World, where the first Gay Days started as a sgle-day celebratn 1991.

DISNEY FILM FEATURG GAY MA CHARACTER BOMBS AT BOX OFFICE

Currently Disney is embroiled a legal fight wh DeSantis over the ernor and Republin lawmakers’ takeover of Disney World’s erng district — after Disney officials publicly opposed legislatn that crics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay. But the anizers of Gay Days and their supporters say that Orlando is as gay-iendly a cy as they e, earng a perfect sre on the Human Rights Campaign x, which measur how clive ci are of LGBTQ+ rints and visors.

“We live a bubble here Orlando, where even wh the chaos Florida, we feel safe here, ” said Jeremy Williams, edor--chief of Watermark Publishg Group Inc., a Florida-based media pany that is one of the sponsors of Gay Days.

Gay Days has survived past challeng, cludg the early years when Disney posted signs at the Magic Kgdom’s entrance warng visors there was a large gatherg of gays and lbians and offerg pass to other parks for guts who might be offend. Over the last three s, though, the theme parks and rorts have thrown down the wele mats as Gay Days has bee a profable bounce between the sprg break and out-of-school summer crowds. Durg Gay Days the 1990s, hundreds of anti-abortn activists wh Operatn Rcue protted outsi Walt Disney World, and the Southern Baptist Conventn ced the gatherg llg for a boytt of all thgs Disney.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Some Christian groups tried to buy air time durg Gay Days the late 1990s to prsure people to renounce their sexual orientatn, but mastream TV statns Orlando rejected the ads. If Clark, the CEO of the Gay Days bs, had his wish, DeSantis would accept an open vatn to see one of the drag shows durg this year’s ftivi.

(AP) — Tens of thoands of LGBTQ+ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long though Gov.

And other civil rights anizatns to issue warngs the Sunshe State may no longer be safe — Gay Days anizers are still enuragg visors om around the world to e to one of Florida’s largt gay and lbian say a large turnout will send a msage that LGBTQ+ people are not gog away Florida, which is ntually one of the most popular stat for tourists to vis.

GAY DAYS AT DISNEY – CELEBRATE PRI & LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH

Currently, Disney is embroiled a legal fight wh DeSantis over the ernor and Republin lawmakers’ takeover of Disney World’s erng district — after Disney officials publicly opposed legislatn that crics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.

GAY DAYS ANAHEIM RETURNS TO THE DISNEYLAND RORT THIS WEEKEND

Some participants the Pri Cup athletic petns at Gay Days cid not to e, forcg the ncellatn of dodgeball and flag football tournaments. But the multi-sport petn that is held annually at Gay Days will still have beach volleyball, golf, pickleball and before the travel advisori were issued, some regular Florida visors were rensirg their plans.

“It’s ls a csa and more like, ‘I’m not gog to spend my money where bad thgs are gog on, ’” Hayn the anizers of Gay Days and their supporters say that Orlando is as gay-iendly a cy as they e, earng a perfect sre on the Human Rights Campaign x, which measur how clive ci are of LGBTQ+ rints and visors.

MI GAY DAYS RETURNG TO DISNEYLAND ON MARCH 5

Some Christian groups tried to buy air time durg Gay Days the late 1990s to prsure people to renounce their sexual orientatn, but mastream TV statns Orlando rejected the Clark, the CEO of the Gay Days bs, had his wish, DeSantis would accept an open vatn to see one of the drag shows durg this year’s ftivi.

HOW SHOULD DISNEY ACKNOWLEDGE GAY DAYS S PARKS?

Acrdg to the event webse, the LGBTQ+ celebratn is prised of multiple events staged at world-famo attractns, gay & lbian nightclubs, and unique venu secured for the purpose of creatg an clive LGBTQ atmosphere. “Gay Days began 1991 as a sgle signated day (always the first Saturday June) when the LGBTQ muny and iends were enuraged to ‘Wear Red and Be Seen’ (aka #RedShirtDay) while visg the world’s most popular theme parks, ” lears scribed on the event’s return to Walt Disney World amid ntroversy surroundg the recent signg of Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law, known to s crics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

“Recently the CEO of the Walt Disney Company ially rpond to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill which he thought bt to oppose the legislatn ‘behd the scen’ and has sce faced tremendo cricism and backlash for how the pany has rpond to such an impactful bill, ” the anizatn said a statement. “We hope that the recent events will enurage our atten more than ever to attend Gay Days Orlando 2022 this g June as now is the time to e together and show the world the immortal words of Queer Natn ‘We’re here. However, those figur were rapidly, and signifintly, revised downwards when was unrstood how poorly the movie was performg wh wh other recent Disney animated movi cludg Lightyear (another disappotg box office flop), Strange World sought to crowbar progrsive to the film, cludg for the first time Disney’s history an openly gay ma character.

GAY WEEK ?

“Disney is 100% gog to blame STRANGE WORLD’s evable bad box office on the fact that there’s an openly gay character the movie when realy, ’s gog to flop bee they didn’t market at all. Disneyland’s announcement as the Burbank entertament pany ntu to face backlash Florida for opposg the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

“Better late then never, ” wrote Twter er posted homophobic and transphobic ments, wh some statg that they would not attend Disneyland on those Ne will clu a dance party wh characters “special attire” and photo opportuni wh “pri-themed backdrops, ” Disneyland officials Ne more than 25 years after the unofficial but immensely popular “Gay Days, ” which began as an after-hours event when the park uld be rented out for private Days is now held durg park hours and attracts thoands of LGBTQ atten each year. “In the wake of everythg that’s happeng to the untry, that Disney is g out support of the muny and vg the muny , this way, I thk is a great thg, ” said Eddie Shapiro, anizer of Gay Days Anaheim.