June 20, 2021
Gay Days Heading Back to Magic Kingdom
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Gay Days is headed back to Disneyland as the world opens up again. The event is slated for Sept. 17-19, local newspaper the OC Register reports.
The weekend will mark the first time since 2019 that Gay Days has taken place at Disneyland, the newspaper noted, recalling that there had been "a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020," though a "Mini Gay Days" did take place in March of last year.
"Plans to move Gays Days from October to September have been in the works since 2018," the Register added, "with an eye toward steering clear of the increasingly crowded Halloween season.
"Gay Days 2021 was always intended to be the first year on the new weekend in September after more than two decades of taking place in October."
In that time, Gay Days – which is not an official Disney event – has come to be embraced by the theme park, and will offer "special pride-themed merchandise during the weekend," noted Inside the Magic.
"The first event only attracted about 2,500 Guests" in 1998, the blog recalled, "but in 2019, there were approximately 30,000 Guests who attended the weekend event."
Though this year's schedule of events "has not been set yet," the Register said, Gay Days at Disneyland "typically features a scavenger hunt, attraction takeovers on the Mark Twain Riverboat and at the Enchanted Tiki Room with a massive group photo in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Lunch normally takes place at four Disneyland restaurants: Plaza Inn, Alien Pizza Planet, Rancho del Zocalo and Hungry Bear."
In addition, "Cocktail mixers, stage shows, TV show screenings, games, trivia, book signings and Disney celebrity appearances take place outside the park," the article detailed.
A separate edition of the event also takes place at Disney World in Orlando.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
