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

Contents:

• GAY DAYS TAK OVER DISNEY WORLD DPE FLORIDA BATTLE - INSI THE MAGIC
• WHAT DAYS ARE GAY DAYS AT DISNEY WORLD? EVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT THE RED SHIRT TRADN.
• LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN
• FLORIDA TEACHER UNR VTIGATN FOR SHOWG DISNEY MOVIE WH GAY CHARACTER SAYS SHE DIDN’T KNOW LGBTQ RTRICTN APPLIED TO HER CLASS
• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL
• AFTER PROTTS, DISNEY CEO SPEAKS OUT AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
• DISNEY VS. FLORIDA ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ FD ADVANC WH NEW PROPOSED LEGISLATN
• DISNEY EMPLOYE ARE STAGG WALKOUTS OVER PANY’S RPONSE TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• NEW FLORIDA LAWS SPARK CONCERN AMONG ORGANIZERS OF GAY DAYS EVENTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD AND OTHER S
• DISNEY FAC LEGAL THREATS FLORIDA OVER “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL FIGHT

GAY DAYS TAK OVER DISNEY WORLD DPE FLORIDA BATTLE - INSI THE MAGIC

Fally, after a three-year hiat thanks to COVID-19, Gay Days has returned to Orlando. However, this also at a time when natnwi bate is still rampant over Florida’s so-lled “don’t say gay” legislatn. Acrdg to Gay Days Inc.

Print Chris Manley, “Gay Days is not a polil event, but is a statement. Gay Days’ schle has viss planned for Magic Kgdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studs, and Animal Kgdom along wh trips to other theme parks the area such as Universal Studs Orlando and SeaWorld. The Walt Disney Company actually bought an ad Gay Days’ magaze, which featured a person wearg rabow Mickey ears while the Parks.

WHAT DAYS ARE GAY DAYS AT DISNEY WORLD? EVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT THE RED SHIRT TRADN.

The Gay Days event as well as other LGBTQ+ events held at or near Disney property this week are expected to draw huge crowds. Gay Days has a big impact on the enomy of Central Florida and helps make Orlando a welg statn for LGBTQ+ travelers, said Tatiana Quiroga, executive director of Come Out Wh Pri.

LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN

Will you be attendg Gay Days? Joseph Clark will never fet his first Gay Days.

"There was no 'Oh my God, they're gay.

FLORIDA TEACHER UNR VTIGATN FOR SHOWG DISNEY MOVIE WH GAY CHARACTER SAYS SHE DIDN’T KNOW LGBTQ RTRICTN APPLIED TO HER CLASS

'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 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.

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. 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 attends Gay Days? Gay Days are open to everyone unr the LGBTQ+ umbrella as well as alli.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

"How much do Gay Days st? GayDays Drag Bgo sts $15 advance and $25 at the door.

AFTER PROTTS, DISNEY CEO SPEAKS OUT AGAST FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL

The Taste of GayDays food and we event starts sts $40 advance and $50 at the door. Addnal events and tails n be found on Gay Days Orlando's 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.

"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 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?

DISNEY VS. FLORIDA ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ FD ADVANC WH NEW PROPOSED LEGISLATN

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. ”The Walt Disney Company, one of the world’s biggt media and entertament empir, pris self on a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) iendly culture. But today s reputatn for clivy and tolerance is unr scty – as are s ep ti to the polil tablishment and the lack of LGBTQ reprentatn s ’s workers have been stagg walkouts prott at chief executive Bob Chapek’s lackltre rponse to Florida legislatn dubbed “don’t say gay”.

But their prejudic were laid bare by a tweet om Christa Phaw, prs secretary for Florida’s ernor, Ron DeSantis, that said: “The bill that liberals accurately ll ‘don’t say gay’ would be more accurately scribed as an anti-groomg bill. It has been nmned as “hateful” by Joe Bin and other Democrats who argue that monis LGBTQ, prs secretary of the LGBTQ rights anisatn Equaly Florida and a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shootg 2016, says: “The ‘don’t say gay bill’ was dubbed that by the muny bee is a bigoted, very specifilly anti-LGBTQ piece of legislatn signed to censor classroom speech about our muny. Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invisn/APYet the “don’t say gay” bill wrong-footed Chapek, who succeed Bob Iger as chief executive Febary 2020.

DISNEY EMPLOYE ARE STAGG WALKOUTS OVER PANY’S RPONSE TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

They give to a lot of Democrats, bee they want those Democrats to be on their si too, but they have given a disproportnate amount to Republin legislators, many of whom supported and voted for the ‘don’t say gay’ bill. The Human Rights Campaign has said will stop acceptg money om Disney “until we see them build on their public mment and work wh LGBTQ+ advot to ensure that dangero proposals, like Florida’s ‘don’t say gay or trans’ bill, don’t bee dangero laws” Whehall and Ey Blunt Jungle Cise. Eric Marc, creator and host of the Makg Gay History podst, says: “Disney has cultivated an LGBTQ-iendly image, both through their cln of LGBTQ characters recent years and wh their employe, so ’s shockg but not shockg that the CEO would have been so flat-footed.

Photograph: APFor s the stud’s output was steadfastly heterosexual even though s creative talents clud gay people such as Howard Ashman, an Osr wner who wrote the lyrics for The Ltle Mermaid and Bety and the Beast before his ath om Aids has been some progrs sce then wh a growg LGBTQ portrayals films and TV shows and the sellg of LGBTQ pri-themed merchandise at Disney stor.

Last year’s film Jungle Cise featured a proment gay character: McGregor Houghton, played by Jack Whehall.

NEW FLORIDA LAWS SPARK CONCERN AMONG ORGANIZERS OF GAY DAYS EVENTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD AND OTHER S

“Nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn is cut at Disney’s beht, regardls of when there is prott om both the creative teams and executive learship at Pixar. — 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.

DISNEY FAC LEGAL THREATS FLORIDA OVER “DON’T SAY GAY” BILL FIGHT

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 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. 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. 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. “It’s ls a csa and more like, ‘I’m not gog to spend my money where bad thgs are gog on, ’” Hayn 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. 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. After the 2022 passage of Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law among crics, LGBTQ advocy group Equaly Florida issued a travel advisory for the state, warng tourists of “hostile” polici.

Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers expand on the “Don’t Say Gay” law this year, addn to passg and proposg several anti-LGBTQ bills that target issu such as pronoun e schools, transgenr bathroom polici, drag shows and genr-affirmg medil re for transgenr Days, the annual Pri event where the LGBTQ muny and alli gather at Disney World, has received an crease emails and social media msag om guts sayg they aren’t participatg bee of “what’s gog on, ” Gay Days CEO Joseph Clark said. “Not jt wh last year’s ‘Don’t Say Gay, ’ but obvly everythg that’s happened the past few months, the past year, ” Clark said. ”Gay Days began Orlando 1991, where people om the LGBTQ muny and iends were enuraged to “Wear Red and Be Seen” for a vis to Disney World’s Magic Kgdom, acrdg to the Gay Days webse.

”Last month, Christa Phaw, who works as DeSantis’ rapid rponse director, quote tweeted wh a wavg-hand emoji an article om Florida’s Voice about the rults of a UCLA Williams Instute survey on the number of LGBTQ parents nsirg leavg the state bee of the “Don’t Say Gay” travel bloggers Steph and Katie Burlton of Vanuver, Canada, they were surprised by how fortable they felt as a uple at Disney World durg their vis 2018, Katie Burlton said.