Bear hotel
The glow has barely faded from Gay Days Weekend 2010, but already there’s speculation about next year. Rumors are running rampant, but at least one factoid can apparently be moved into the concrete category. The organizers of Tidal Wave, the big bear party at Wet ‘n Wild, have inked a deal with the Hotel Royal Plaza to provide an “exclusive bear hotel” for the weekend. And they plan an entire “Tidal Wave Party Weekend” of events for the well over 1,000 bears they expect to draw to Orlando the first weekend of June 2011. And of course, there’s a little drama. The TidalWaveParty.com website notes that, “it has come to our attention that another group is forming a weekend-long bear event to coincide with our planned weekend.” The Hotel Royal Plaza is the 300-plus room hotel located on Disney property in Lake Buena Vista that was for many years the host hotel for GayDays.com.
Ballroom beef
Is anything more unlikely than the prospect of Michael Wanzie teaching ballroom dancing? It turns out the corpulent comedian was a dance instructor at Arthur Murray Studios for many years. What’s next? Miss Sammy as a Sumo wrestler? Wanzie’s hour-long ballroom dance classes began July 10 and will continue Thursday nights through the middle of August. Singles and same-sex couples are welcome. For more information, visit Wanzie.com. And a happy birthday to Miss Sammy on July 20.
Queer quidditch
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has boosted local tourism, but none were as excited about the trip to Orlando as members of a Harry Potter fan club that recently visited the venue—part of Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park. According to sources, club members entering the new attraction burst into tears when they turned the corner and saw Hogwarts castle. And back at the hotel it was Quidditch, of course! There’s no flying when muggles play. Contestants wear capes and run with brooms between their legs. Seekers play tag while keepers try to prevent the Quaffle—a volleyball—from being thrown through a hoop. The bludgers are used like dodgeballs, and the elusive snitch is a sock stuffed with a tennis ball. It’s just a matter of time before someone forms a Queer Quidditch league. The capes will be fabulous.
