Gay Days Weekend, what has become of thee?
The celebration started off as an impromptu proclamation of Pride at a local theme park. Nineteen years later, Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom is still the celebration’s cornerstone, but it is now surrounded—supplanted?—by a week’s worth of parties, concerts and gatherings.
At first, protests by Christian conservatives over the annual LGBT gathering at Disney provided the drama. But in recent years, behind-the-scenes maneuvering by various promoters has created far more buzz than any biplane with a banner flying over Cinderella’s Castle.
This year is no exception. After a few years of relative consistency, Gay Days Weekend 2009 appears to offer yet another turning point in what has become the largest and most anticipated annual LGBT gathering in the country.
But to understand the significance of this year’s changes, it’s necessary to first look back at the twisted history of Gay Days Weekend.
Controversial beginnings
Gay Day was born on June 1, 1991, when local computer bulletin board chat group Digital Queers decided to meet at the Magic Kingdom as a Pride month activity. So that they could identify each other, they agreed to wear red t-shirts.
Doug Swallow, one of the group’s organizers, helped get the word out by discussing it with an Orlando Sentinel columnist. Though anti-gay groups saw the same story and blamed Disney for encouraging the gathering, the first Gay Day attracted several hundred participants and turned out to be fun. Plans were made to meet again the following year— again on the first Saturday of June.
In 1992, a nervous Disney issued a memo to employees instructing them to disavow any knowledge of the observance if asked. “Remember,” the memo said, “every day is a gay day at Walt Disney World.”
Not realizing that the park’s daily parade was scheduled at the same time, Swallow encouraged red-shirted attendees to gather near Cinderella’s Castle at 3 p.m.—a tradition that continues today. With The (GCS) Center providing information about the gathering on its phone lines, attendance grew.
In 1994, Disney created some distance from the event. They issued what has become an annual press release: “The Gay and Lesbian gathering at the Magic Kingdom… is not an official Walt Disney World event. Walt Disney World is open to everyone. We do not discriminate on any basis.”
The company also posted signs in front of Magic Kingdom ticket booths notifying visitors that “members of the gay community have chosen to visit the Magic Kingdom today in their recognition of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” and that Disney “does not discriminate against anyone’s right to visit the Magic Kingdom.”
With attendance soaring into the tens of thousands, the Christian Right began an all-out assault on Gay Day in 1995. Calling it “a mission to pervert America’s children,” the American Family Association argued that Gay Day deprived thousands of children of a fun-filled day at the Magic Kingdom—because gays and lesbians took all the best spots to watch the afternoon character parade.
“Homosexuals were kissing, embracing, holding hands and playing weird games in the walkways,” said the AFA newsletter.
But showing some growth, Disney removed the signs at the front of the park. A Disney spokesman said, “People come to the park, they buy tickets, they go in. If the AFA wants to designate a day when all of their members visit Disney World, that’d be fabulous too.”
In 1997, ticketed evening events at Typhoon Lagoon and Disney/MGM Studios were staged for the first time, making Gay Day more than just a single afternoon gathering. Watermark’s Beach Ball and Jeffrey Sanker’s One Mighty Party attracted thousands, and changed the texture of the event. That year, an estimated 60,000 LGBT visitors descended on Orlando for what was growing into a Gay Days Weekend.
The following year, Gay Day got national attention. Southern Baptists said they would boycott Disney if the company didn’t make changes. Demands included ceasing production of adult-themed films, and putting a stop to Gay Day. Like a bull swatting a fly with its tail, Disney politely declined.
“We do not put signs up that say ‘No Blacks Allowed,’ ‘No Jews Allowed,’ ‘No Homosexuals Allowed,’” Disney CEO Michael Eisner told 60 Minutes. “As long as they are discreet and handle themselves properly, they’re welcome in our doors. I think it would be a travesty to exclude anybody.”
Meanwhile, televangelist Pat Robertson warned the people of Orlando that they were tempting God’s wrath by flying Gay Pride flags and allowing Gay Day to continue.
In 1999, Beach Ball sold out 5,000-plus tickets, filling Typhoon Lagoon to overflowing and signifying the growing importance of the parties to Gay Days Weekend. A month afterward, a conservative Christian group released video footage of two male Disney dancers moving suggestively onstage at the Pleasure Island nightclub Mannequins—a 21-and-over venue. The footage was released widely in churches throughout the country.
In 2001, the American Family Association stepped up its attack. President Donald Wildmon said of Gay Day, “Disney rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars through this celebration of homosexuality. That’s as reprehensible… as if Disney had hosted Prostitute Day or Pedophilia Days at the Magic Kingdom.”
But local mainstream media came to our defense. Mike Thomas, a straight Orlando Sentinel writer, corrected Wildman in his column: “First of all, Disney rakes in millions of dollars from Gay Days, not hundreds of thousands. But for the most part, folks, we’re talking a very tame thing. There were a lot of Gay Days T-shirts, the occasional couple holding hands, some hugging and that’s about it.”
Gay Days Weekend events continued to grow in 2002, including a new Sunday party at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure produced by Mark Baker. When the party swelled to over 7,000 guests the park opened several additional rides to accommodate the overflow.
By 2003, the Orlando Sentinel estimated the economic impact of Gay Days Weekend at $100 million, calling it one of Central Florida’s largest annual events, with attendance exceeding even the biggest trade shows and conventions.
A pivotal year
In 2005, several key Gay Days Weekend promoters considered moving the locus of activities from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios. Discussions began shortly after the 2004 event and included promoters Mark Baker and Alison Burgos, event planner Brian Bottorff, GayDayS.com president Tommy Manley, and the man credited with starting Gay Day, Doug Swallow.
With 14 Gay Days Weekends now behind them, many expressed concerns that a younger generation of attendees would be less drawn to Disney, and would instead be more attracted to the thrill rides at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park. The group decided to make that the Saturday venue and shift Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom to Sunday.
There was a not-so-subtle message to Disney contained in the plans: don’t take us for granted.
But GayDayS.com—By now a dominant organizer and promoter with sold out hotels and events throughout the weekend—reconsidered and decided to encourage their thousands of patrons to stick with tradition. Months later, GayDayS.com proved the durability of their product. When the Hotel Royal Plaza informed them that repairs after the previous year’s hurricanes would not be complete in time for Gay Days Weekend, they found and filled an even larger last-minute location. (GayDayS.com just announced they will return to this location, now called the International Resort and Spa, in 2010.)
Just weeks prior to the big weekend, the plan to move Gay Day to Universal took another hit when Bottorff and Baker sold their events to Chisholm. Now the principal Gay Days Weekend party planner, Chisholm cancelled planned events at Universal and focused his One Mighty Weekend on two big parties at Disney venues: Beach Ball and One Mighty Party.
There was confusion, but tens of thousands returned to the Magic Kingdom on the first Saturday of June for Gay Day. Weekend events were effectively split into three primary camps: New Orleans-based Chisholm’s Reunion and One Mighty Weekend; Orlando-based GayDayS.com, owned and operated by respected locals Tommy Manley and Chris Alexander-Manley; and Burgos’ increasingly ambitious and successful Girls in Wonderland slate of events.
More change to come
Since 2005, Gay Days Weekend has largely come and gone with little behind-the-scenes drama…until this year. In yet another shock to the system, Chishom’s three main One Mighty Weekend events have been relocated to new and less spectacular locales not run by Disney.
According to Chisholm, “There were modifications [to the contracts with Disney] that we couldn’t deal with.” But Chisholm claims he will return to Disney venues next year. Meanwhile, an event planner out of Fort Lauderdale has rented Typhoon Lagoon on Friday night for its ‘Let’s Go Party’ event.
Organizers and locals are curious about next year, but they’re also waiting to see whether regulars will come to play or simply stay away from Gay Days Weekend this year. The economy is in recession, but the LGBT market is notoriously buoyant. Cheap gas prices could encourage gays and lesbians in Florida and nearby Southern states to make the drive to Orlando for an undeniably appealing Gay Days Weekend getaway.
Once here, they’ll find hotel bargains—even on Disney and Universal property. Many will also find that their favorite Pleasure Island nightclubs have been shuttered.
Party dollars will also go farther this year. One Mighty Weekend tickets now include a $15 drink coupon, added when the locations were changed. And the price to party at Typhoon Lagoon on Friday night has dropped from $95 to $69 for those undeterred by the prospect of a relatively unknown producer.
Some are concerned: Will past attendees adopt a wait-and-see approach and skip this year’s festivities? Former Pleasure Island DJ Dave Cannalte, who has been approached to spin two separate events for this year’s festivities, is leery of committing.
“The more I hear about Gay Days Weekend and all the bullshit going on, I think I’d really rather sit this year out than do something that is going to be done half-assed,” Cannalte said.
But many others are drawn by memories of joyous red-shirted throngs in front of Cinderella’s Castle, and blissful dancing into the night at some of the most exotic party locales on the planet.
The event is near and the draw is powerful. There is likely plenty more gas in the Gay Days Weekend tank.
