Disneyland announced Thursday, April 13 that it will hold its first officially sanctioned Pride Nite as an after-hours ticketed event.
This is a departure for Disneyland Anaheim, which has allowed unofficial events such as the annual “Gay Days” celebration, but has never held an official event on its own.
“I’m happy Disney is finally doing something, especially in the wake of what is going on in Florida,” said Eddie Shapiro, organizer of the annual unofficial Gay Days event in Anaheim.
Shapiro was referring to a dispute in Florida between Disney and the governor, over HB 1557, a new law dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” that bans discussion of gay issues in public K-3 classrooms. After then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek criticized the proposed law, Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to assert control over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which oversees land use and maintenance for Walt Disney World.
The Anaheim Pride events are scheduled for 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on June 13 and 15 as part of a series of “Disneyland After Dark” parties.
Tickets cost $139 and will go on sale Thursday, April 20. The nights will include dance parties, a cavalcade (sort of like a parade but not exactly), photo opportunities, special food and more. Costumes can be worn, with stipulations.
In 2022, Disneyland Anaheim offered special food and décor for the annual June Pride Month, such as special cookies, pretzels and floral displays, but this is the first official event in the park.
Disneyland hasn’t always welcomed the LGBTQ community. Beginning in 1957, Disneyland banned same-sex dancing and security guards warned and ejected gay couples from the dance floor. However, the policy changed after a series of lawsuits in the 1980s.
In France, Disneyland Paris now holds a well-attended annual Pride event in June.
“Disneyland Resort drew on inspiration from events like Disneyland Paris Pride for the first-ever Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite event in honor of Pride Month in June,” Disneyland officials said in a statement. This will be one of the specially ticketed events this year that patrons can purchase in advance and attend.
Based on the immediate response to the Disneyland Anaheim announcement on Twitter, it seems likely to sell out.
However, Shapiro predicted a backlash to the decision.
Not everyone was thrilled about Wednesday’s announcement.
“No Thanks! Would keep my kids away from this,” @kaliwada wrote on Twitter.
“Perverts!” tweeted Random_Woman @Paused_Thoughts.
In 2022, Focus on the Family spokesman Paul Batura wrote in an essay entitled “The Sad Collapse and Corruption of Disney’s (Woke) World” that Disney’s disagreement with the Florida law banning discussion of gays in classrooms show the company “is anything but wonderful today.”
Batura added that he believes Disney has a “desire to embrace an agenda that deliberately and blatantly rejects a Christian worldview of the family, as well as God’s view of human sexuality.”
Disney officials declined to say whether this new Anaheim Pride event is a response to issues in Florida.
Shapiro said the unofficial Gay Days celebration at Disneyland is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Many supporters wear red T-shirts to identify their affiliation.
While it is now a familiar annual event, Shapiro said that in the early days, Disneyland would post signs at the park entrance “warning” guests about Gay Days and also offered white T-shirts on request to people who didn’t want to be identified with the event by wearing red.
Immediately after Thursday’s announcement, one Twitter follower said she was in favor of the event, but expressed cynicism.
“Remember when Disney wanted to make it abundantly clear that they were not associated with ‘Gay Days’ and gave us a script to answer guests asking why everyone was wearing red shirts?” she wrote. “Then they realized they could make money and started selling pins and rainbow cake slices?”
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