Global Courant 2023-04-14 08:57:27
“Pride Nite” is officially coming to the Happiest Place on Earth in June.
Disneyland announced Thursday that it will hold its first official LGBTQ Pride Nite on June 13 and 15, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. .
According to Disneyland officials, the Anaheim park took inspiration for Pride Nite from its Parisian sibling. In 2019, Disneyland Paris was the first to hold an official pride event. After a three-year hiatus, the event returns this summer.
Disneyland’s announcement comes as the Burbank entertainment company continues to face backlash in Florida for its opposition to the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Florida and its governor, Ron DeSantis, have been in a dispute with Disney since the company last year opposed a state law banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade. Under pressure from Disney employees, then-Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek said he called DeSantis to “express our disappointment and concern” over the bill, which was signed into law last spring.
In response, DeSantis and the state dissolved the special tax district where Disney operates Walt Disney World, Epcot and other resorts, with almost complete autonomy.
Of Announcement from Disneyland that Pride Nite would be coming to the West Coast, social media reactions were mixed. Many expressed their excitement and suggested which Disney characters, such as the Country Bears and Ursula, should appear.
“Better late than never,” he wrote Twitter user @nate_lawlor.
Others posted homophobic and transphobic comments, with some claiming they would not visit Disneyland on those days.
Pride Nite will include a dance party with characters in “special attire” and photo opportunities with “pride-themed backdrops,” Disneyland officials said.
Pride Nite comes more than 25 years after the unofficial but hugely popular “Gay Days,” which began as an after-hours event when the park could be rented out for private parties.
Gay Days is now held during park hours and attracts thousands of LGBTQ visitors each year.
Gay Days Anaheim organizers responded positively to the announcement of Pride Nite.
“In the wake of all that is happening to the country, I think Disney is coming out in this way to support and invite the community, great,” said Gay Days Anaheim organizer Eddie Shapiro.
“Disney is clearly saying out loud, ‘We as a company are not intimidated by (Florida events)’, and they shouldn’t be,” Shapiro said. “I’m glad they say that.”
But Shapiro also noted the irony of Pride Nite being held the same way as the first iteration of Gay Days.
“I think it’s kind of funny that 25 years later, Disney is ready to do not something unofficial, but something official, and we have another after-hours, late-night event,” he said.
While Shapiro expressed some ambivalence about Disney entering a space that Gay Days has successfully filled for more than two decades, he also said the events can and will co-exist.
Disney can put on lavish and theatrical LGBTQ-themed productions, Shapiro said, while Gay Days can host its own events and parties outside the parks.
“I think we’ll both be able to continue to do things the other can’t,” Shapiro said.
