2017 Gay Days @ the Walt Disney World Resort

[FarCityGuy]

This is my Husbands and I year at gaydays! staying at Coronado from 29th-June 4th and Port Orleans June 4th to 10th. Monorail Crawl sounds so cool. Worried about how DIS 20th anniversary is going to cut into the gaydays activities. Looking to make new friends and Riptide tickets already purchased.

Woots! You guys have also made a great decision to come to gay days! I will echo dano by saying that I hope you will join the monorail crawl on Wednesday night. The crawl is at the top of our "must do" list. Geez, dano! Your monorail crawl outranks Pandora on my list.

 

[Billnpcola]

Booked reservations for the new ROL show over at AK on Thursday evening (might end up cancelling due to the World of Avatar being open / we would rather have time to explore World of Avatar @ night vs watching ROL show + the fact they expect you to be there at least 2hours prior to showtime for meal) We also made reservations for the Fireworks Dessert Party (Plaza Garden Viewing) on Saturday evening...anyone else planning on attending either?

Fireworks desert party with Plaza viewing booked as well for the 3rd. I took too much time to decide if I wanted a table or not and they sold out. Booked the ROL buffet dining option on the 1st because I'm planning on being in the park for nightime pandora on a different day. Cant Wait!!

 

[Puer Aeternus]

latest news is no news....sorry....but presumably you will be able to get FP.....the question is when.....

*fingers crossed*

Solomon

 

[Puer Aeternus]

I think if you are staying on a Disney property, you can book FP at 60 days out. There's probably information on wdwinfo.com.

We are staying on property. We'll be at the Yacht Club. I was just worried that because it's a new area with new rides they wouldn't allow for FP right away.

Solomon

 

[Puer Aeternus]

You guys have made some great decisions!
#1 Great Decision: Coming to gay days!
#2 Great Decision: Participating in the Wednesday night monorail crawl!
Come ready for a fabulous time! I should caution you, though. Gay Days is so much fun that once you attend for the first time, you may find yourself coming back again year after year.

Truer words have never been spoke. SO addictive. Three years and counting. The first year I came by myself. The second year I met my prince there and this year I'm returning with him.

Solomon

 

[EDCCFO]

You guys have made some great decisions!
#1 Great Decision: Coming to gay days!
#2 Great Decision: Participating in the Wednesday night monorail crawl!
Come ready for a fabulous time! I should caution you, though. Gay Days is so much fun that once you attend for the first time, you may find yourself coming back again year after year.

so true far city guy......our 6th year in a row....not yet a veteran....but def not a newbie either....

 

[EDCCFO]

Woots! You guys have also made a great decision to come to gay days! I will echo dano by saying that I hope you will join the monorail crawl on Wednesday night. The crawl is at the top of our "must do" list. Geez, dano! Your monorail crawl outranks Pandora on my list.

he he he far city guy......while Dano's monorail crawl is certainly a must do........not sure about putting it above Pandora.....maybe on the same level ....

 

[Puer Aeternus]

he he he far city guy......while Dano's monorail crawl is certainly a must do........not sure about putting it above Pandora.....maybe on the same level ....

I'm happy to hear I'm not the only person shamelessly excited about Pandora...I feel like it's a secret shame. I wasn't even that big of an Avatar fan but I'm just thinking about it as a mystical land come to life...and I can NOT wait.

Solomon

 

[Billnpcola]

Is the monorail crawl red shirt as well?

 

[dano4]

Is the monorail crawl red shirt as well?

It's a "wear whatever you want" type of gathering that's quickly approaching.

 

[FarCityGuy]

It's a "wear whatever you want" type of gathering that's quickly approaching.

I think it was Ed who was stylin' and profilin' last year with his big cowboy hat and the bright pink pants.

 

[EDCCFO]

I think it was Ed who was stylin' and profilin' last year with his big cowboy hat and the bright pink pants.

Thanks for the compliment Far City Guy.......keep your eyes open this year at the Crawl.....as i am sure you will not miss me

 

[BostonLawyer978]

I have never been, but am probably going in 2018 with some friends. The only websites I've seen (so far gaydays.com and onemagicalweekend.com) make this seem like just another gay pride week. They don't even REFERENCE Disney, just a bunch of pool parties, clubs and a drag pageant. While I like those things, my lesbian friends who were going to come with aren't going to be too keen, and honestly i'm disappointed. Am I missing something, can someone enlighten me?

 

[rbthntschl]

My dear BostonLawyer978,

I have been to Disney World Gay Days at least a dozen times. This is the first Florida trip where I am doing one of the parties (I have done the parties at Disneyland Gay Days). I and most of my crowd have been content to just go to the parks and hang out together. As for your women friends, I refer you to "Girls at Gay Days". There will be women's events both in and out of the parks. The Bear crowd also has their own events, the most famous being the sing-along at Country Bear Jamboree. You also may want to consider doing a special tour of the parks. These are extra money but some are worth it. I highly recommend "Behinds the Seeds" tour in Epcot as a starter. Its current cost is $25 and it runs about 2 hours. Feel free to private message me if you want more information. I am an Annual Passholder and Disney Vacation Club member and I'm in the parks anywhere from 3-4 times a year.

 

[FarCityGuy]

I have never been, but am probably going in 2018 with some friends. The only websites I've seen (so far gaydays.com and onemagicalweekend.com) make this seem like just another gay pride week. They don't even REFERENCE Disney, just a bunch of pool parties, clubs and a drag pageant. While I like those things, my lesbian friends who were going to come with aren't going to be too keen, and honestly i'm disappointed. Am I missing something, can someone enlighten me?

This will be either my 7th or 8th year-in-a-row, and I have never found it to be, "just another gay pride week." What I have found it to be is an annual gathering of 150,000+ who seem like they are there to have a fun time. Keep in mind that Disney does not officially sanction or sponsor the gay week in their parks, but the vast majority of cast members are very welcoming. I think you will be quite surprised and impressed at the number of red shirts you will see in the parks (Animal Kingdom on Thursday, Hollywood Studios on Friday, Magic Kingdom on Saturday, and Epcot on Sunday). Now, to be honest, other than at the parks, I have not seen a huge crowd of lesbians during the week. If it is still in existence, "Girls In Wonderland" has been using the Sheraton as their host hotel. Gay Days, Inc. used to have a designated wing of their host hotel, The Doubletree at SeaWorld, for the ladies; but, they discontinued that a couple of years ago.
Bottom line: if you stick to the theme parks, you will be a part of a huge gay community and your lesbian friends will probably be content. But, most all of the pool parties and events I have attended elsewhere in Orlando tend to be vast majority gay. Your lesbian friends may not be as happy with those events.

 

[Jonathanju]

I have never been, but am probably going in 2018 with some friends. The only websites I've seen (so far gaydays.com and onemagicalweekend.com) make this seem like just another gay pride week. They don't even REFERENCE Disney, just a bunch of pool parties, clubs and a drag pageant. While I like those things, my lesbian friends who were going to come with aren't going to be too keen, and honestly i'm disappointed. Am I missing something, can someone enlighten me?

You are correct, the websites do promote parties (pool / circuit) and as FarCityGuy noted- Disney does not officially sponsor "Gay Days" however they do definitely "recognize" it as they provide "pride" specific product during this specific time frame (rainbow Mickey Mouse pins, t-shirts with "rainbow" disney logo...etc) In the past, One Magical Weekend used to block out rooms over at the Grand Floridian & Coronado Springs at GREAT RATES in addition to the "off property" host hotels where you will find pool parties etc (you will NOT find them at any of the Disney properties, however you will run into other Gay Days attendees) My husband & I choose to stay "on property" at one of the Disney Hotels as I am truly a Disney "geek", so for me (my husband does his "husbandly duties" and comes along for the ride) Gay Days is about enjoying the parks. I will note- the one "event" I must attend every year is Riptide (private dance party) at Typhoon Lagoon....ALWAYS have a great time there! Nothing better than being amongst fellow gays & lesbians and having the water park to ourselves with plenty of cocktails, enjoying the waterslides and dancing the night away. All said, Gay Days at the parks are a BLAST! and I look forward to attending every year!!!

**Gaydays.com does have calendar with dates for each specific park during the week.....

 

[BostonLawyer978]

This will be either my 7th or 8th year-in-a-row, and I have never found it to be, "just another gay pride week." What I have found it to be is an annual gathering of 150,000+ who seem like they are there to have a fun time. Keep in mind that Disney does not officially sanction or sponsor the gay week in their parks, but the vast majority of cast members are very welcoming. I think you will be quite surprised and impressed at the number of red shirts you will see in the parks (Animal Kingdom on Thursday, Hollywood Studios on Friday, Magic Kingdom on Saturday, and Epcot on Sunday). Now, to be honest, other than at the parks, I have not seen a huge crowd of lesbians during the week. If it is still in existence, "Girls In Wonderland" has been using the Sheraton as their host hotel. Gay Days, Inc. used to have a designated wing of their host hotel, The Doubletree at SeaWorld, for the ladies; but, they discontinued that a couple of years ago.
Bottom line: if you stick to the theme parks, you will be a part of a huge gay community and your lesbian friends will probably be content. But, most all of the pool parties and events I have attended elsewhere in Orlando tend to be vast majority gay. Your lesbian friends may not be as happy with those events.

Thanks FarCityGuy, perhaps I judged too hastily. I guess I will find out next year all the fun.

 

[BostonLawyer978]

You are correct, the websites do promote parties (pool / circuit) and as FarCityGuy noted- Disney does not officially sponsor "Gay Days" however they do definitely "recognize" it as they provide "pride" specific product during this specific time frame (rainbow Mickey Mouse pins, t-shirts with "rainbow" disney logo...etc) In the past, One Magical Weekend used to block out rooms over at the Grand Floridian & Coronado Springs at GREAT RATES in addition to the "off property" host hotels where you will find pool parties etc (you will NOT find them at any of the Disney properties, however you will run into other Gay Days attendees) My husband & I choose to stay "on property" at one of the Disney Hotels as I am truly a Disney "geek", so for me (my husband does his "husbandly duties" and comes along for the ride) Gay Days is about enjoying the parks. I will note- the one "event" I must attend every year is Riptide (private dance party) at Typhoon Lagoon....ALWAYS have a great time there! Nothing better than being amongst fellow gays & lesbians and having the water park to ourselves with plenty of cocktails, enjoying the waterslides and dancing the night away. All said, Gay Days at the parks are a BLAST! and I look forward to attending every year!!!

**Gaydays.com does have calendar with dates for each specific park during the week.....

Thanks JonathanJu. I will admit being sad the host hotel wasn't on property. I just purchased a DVC membership so I'd be staying on property.

 

[Bdawgsc]

Hey everyone! Wanted to jump in and re-introduce myself. I haven't been on the Dis much at all for several years, so I don't recognize many faces/names on the board.

I live in Charleston, SC and my first Gay Days was 2004 -- I've been most years since then. It has turned into one of my favorite vacations with friends that I've met on here and via connections made here.This year's trip is a bit of a planning nightmare, but myself and a friend are leaving a gay campground in Georgia from Memorial Day festivities and heading to Fort Wilderness Wednesday, May 31 - Thursday, June 8. No idea what time we're arriving on the 31st due to the fact that we don't move at posted highway speeds in the RV, so we're leaving plans that day up in the air. We'll definitely be doing the parks on the designated days and spending the last few days with our feet up by the pool and a cold drink in our hands. That's about all we have planned besides a few dinners with friends. Neither one of us likes spreadsheets and 6-month-out ADR's and I don't see this turning into the sort of trip where we decide they're a good idea.

If you see us around, say hello. Or if you end up over at Fort Wilderness, look me up and come by and say hello or see what we have in the slushy machine that evening. If I'm not a ball of stress from driving, we may even try and pop our heads in the monorail crawl for a bit.

 

[FarCityGuy]

Hey everyone! Wanted to jump in and re-introduce myself. I haven't been on the Dis much at all for several years, so I don't recognize many faces/names on the board.

I live in Charleston, SC and my first Gay Days was 2004 -- I've been most years since then. It has turned into one of my favorite vacations with friends that I've met on here and via connections made here.This year's trip is a bit of a planning nightmare, but myself and a friend are leaving a gay campground in Georgia from Memorial Day festivities and heading to Fort Wilderness Wednesday, May 31 - Thursday, June 8. No idea what time we're arriving on the 31st due to the fact that we don't move at posted highway speeds in the RV, so we're leaving plans that day up in the air. We'll definitely be doing the parks on the designated days and spending the last few days with our feet up by the pool and a cold drink in our hands. That's about all we have planned besides a few dinners with friends. Neither one of us likes spreadsheets and 6-month-out ADR's and I don't see this turning into the sort of trip where we decide they're a good idea.

If you see us around, say hello. Or if you end up over at Fort Wilderness, look me up and come by and say hello or see what we have in the slushy machine that evening. If I'm not a ball of stress from driving, we may even try and pop our heads in the monorail crawl for a bit.

Hey, Bdawg! The early gathering for the monorail crawl actually starts at Crockett's Tavern at Ft. Wilderness. So, if you guys get an early enough start, you may arrive in time. If not, maybe you can join in a bit later that evening. In the worse case, maybe you can meet up with our "helluva lot of fun" group on Thursday at AK.