Celebrate Gay Days in Red!

By ALEX VAUGHN & ERIC CHRISTIAN

Gay Days at Walt Disney World is a gay pride event held in Orlando annually during the ?rst week of June. Various circuit parties and dance events comprise the majority of the schedule, culminating in a park-sanctioned (but not park-organized) “Gay Day” at the end of the week, in which gay travellers wear red to let others know why they patronized the park that day.Gay Days was created in 1991 and was, originally, a single designated day, the ?rst Saturday of June. It began as a suggestion by a man named Doug Swallow and his companions. They brought up the idea of meeting at Disney in a group of 15-20. Doug put some more of his effort into it by promoting the idea in gay night clubs. Since the proposed date to gather at the theme park was a few months away, the newspapers and some radio talk stations decided to broadcast the plans. On this day, the gay community was encouraged by outside organizers to come to the park and “wear red and be seen” At its beginning, there were over 1,000 people who identi?ed as part of the LGBT community who showed up at Disney looking to enjoy the day. Over time, as people went home and told their friends and their friends told their friends, Gay Day turned into Gay Days and is now a week-long celebration. This event now attracts over 135,000 members of the LGBT community to spend the week in the Magic Kingdom. This movement is still identi?ed by the wearing of red as it symbolizes the unity of the LGBT community at this amazing event. So, check out our top red hot picks for this year’s Gay Days!