The Week: “Gay Days, an annual celebration at Walt Disney World in the first weekend of June, went on as planned this year despite — or in defiance of — a raft of anti-LGBTQ legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Organizers urged LGBTQ visitors to come out in force, and despite a slow start to bookings and the cancelation of a few events, they did.
“Rainbow-hued merchandise designed by Disney — including a plush Mickey Mouse waving a Pride flag — flew off the shelves almost as quickly as it could be restocked,” The Washington Post reported Sunday. “Drag queen bingo was held. In the end, all 1,001 rooms at the host hotel were booked.” Gay Days, which began as a one-day event at Disney World in 1991, has faced opposition from conservative groups before and persevered. “The birth of Gay Days was really about being visible at a time when it was dangerous to be visible,” especially in the 1990s, Equality Florida’s Brandon Wolf told the Post. “The same is true now.”
Turnout was affected by recent travel warnings from Equality Florida and the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ rights group in the U.S., among other rights groups, said Gay Days CEO Joseph Clark. “For some it’s the safety aspect, for others, they don’t want to spend money in a state that doesn’t support them,” he told the Post. “My message has been, ‘We need your help here in Florida.'””