News Disney transforms Magic Kingdom's famous purple wall to celebrate PRIDE Month at Walt Disney World and will donate merch profits to support LGBTQIA+

[Disney Analyst]

Love it! Always wish I could have made Gay Days at DLR growing up, cool to see some cool items in June too.

I barely came out 3 years ago at the late age of 26 so it was fun to buy my first rainbow Mickey hat with my mom not too long after. It’s a very special hat now. What many may roll their eyes at or think they’re too cool for may mean a lot to others.

An important reminder that every day someone else is on a brand new journey that some of us have been on for a long time.

Something like rainbow merch that people may be cynical about these days may be exactly what someone else needs.

 

[uncle jimmy]

Shoot, pick any group. Breast cancer awareness. Autism? Down’s syndrome?

Personally, I don’t like labeling things. I like to think we are all humans when you get down to it. And I can’t help but feeling that when you pick one sub group to celebrate, you leave out all others. Doesn’t seem to inclusive to me.

Interesting that you ask, here is a link for that Impact Disney
But I'm sure you already knew WDW hosts Special Olympic Events and runDisney events that benefit a different charity each time. And there is Animal Kingdom with those buttons that you can purchase that go towards conservation.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I didn’t say they did.
As I said, having hundreds/thousands of LGBT+ people turning up in red shirts for 30 years shows there is a large number of people coming to the Magic Kingdom for that reason.
I think there is a multitude of reasons why Disney have increased their support of Pride, it’s partly following Pulse, partly due to the recent legislation, partly social change, but I also think that 30 years of Gay Days descending on their theme park helped show them there is a market for rainbow cupcakes to be brought out on the first Saturday in June.

Plus having more disposable income doesn't hurt.

 

[Ismael Flores]

That’s why he brought it up. It was a talking point in yesterday’s thread (“Disney is hypocritical and insincere given that they don’t push to celebrate Pride in Shanghai”).

And they also do not own majority share of the park in Shanghai. Disney can’t do anything in Shanghai or Hong Kong without making sure that majority owners are also involved.

You can’t compare operations with those parks to operations in California, Florida or Paris where they own those parks.

We can blame Disney for lots of stupid decisions but we can not ignore the areas where they don’t have ability to make decisions out right on their own

 

[Ismael Flores]

Except make the flag look like a joke. It's all for attention.

I agree, I just happen to read an article and there are something like over 50 pride flags now. The article broke then down and some flags seemed to be created for things that were considered fetishes, another is a pride flag for people that are gay one day and hetero the next and of course now you have the Hetero pride flag.

Seems like the original rainbow was suppose to be for inclusivity of everyone that felt different than what society felt was norm.
Now with all these flags it feels like each group is dependent of everyone else

 

[Ismael Flores]

As the mom of very wise LGBTQ+ teen I'm so proud of her when she told me she doesn't like the commercialism of 'all things rainbow' and the oversharing/overdoing it during Pride Month, because she's queer and she is who she is.

Congratulations to her way of thinking,
I am a gay man and in my mid 50’s and of course know many men older than myself.
One common topic from some of them is that they do not follow the gay pride parades and festivals anymore.
They say that when they were growing up pride festivals, parades were created to let people know that they were out there and that they deserved to be treated as equal.
They feel that the message has been put out there

 

[correcaminos]

Josh D'Amaro was in MK for Gay Days even. Whether it is pandering or not I appreciate gestures. I may not like Park Reservations and such, but I do like it when executives are approachable and appreciate rainbow shirts. For some of us in our group it is our identity. For some it is a way to show support. The number of people handing out rainbow stickers today was beautiful.

 

[LittleBuford]

It’s a very different sort of flag, of course, but the Magic Kingdom hosts a daily Flag Retreat that I imagine is very important to some people and that means less to others. Political and group symbolism has always been present in the parks; all that’s different now is that those outside the traditionally celebrated mainstream are also receiving some recognition.

 

[Lilofan]

Needing medical staff dedicated to substance abuse? That sure sounds wild and fun...

Kudos for the third party for hiring their own medical staff being pro active to take care of some that had a little too much. But then again there will also be the same critics if their private medical staff were not present and on stand by. Also the biggest electronic dance music events in the USA which attracts guests from all over the world is in Orlando and Las Vegas annually. Private medical staff are also their if attendees need their assistance.

 

[Mireille]

I've historically been pretty cynical about pride-vertising. It's pretty easy to throw your logo out with a rainbow behind it with the (assumed) intention of generating sales. However after the last couple years, I'm finding there is some value there, even if the goal is still almost entirely economic. Knowing companies still value the dollars of the queer community is sadly comforting in the light of states trying to legislate us back into the closet or, more chillingly, out of existence altogether. And I think Disney has done more than solely lip service. Granted they had to be pressured but as we've unfortunately seen, sometimes pressure can backfire into even harsher opposition. They've reacted well. Could they do more? Hell yeah, but I've been trying hard to appreciate when people and organizations make an effort. As a Gen-Xer, I think I'm generationally predisposed to cynicism, but that's a bleak way to live. I've been through periods of despair and I've been through times of hope, and I've found I prefer hope; hope and action.

 

[hosekiller]

Only if you were bullied or passed over for a marginalized status. Otherwise that's something others often deal with too in addition to being a marginalized group.

At the end of the day, all of my experiences were because I was different. Because of race, sex, medical conditions, etc. Some people would say I’m not in a minority, others would argue I am in a minority. Like I said earlier, I don’t do labels, I try to treat everyone else the same, regardless of something as simple as the color of your skin, where your parents came from or who you live your life with. That’s how I handle things, and it’s because of my life experiences. Your mileage may vary.

 

[LittleBuford]

At the end of the day, all of my experiences were because I was different. Because of race, sex, medical conditions, etc. Some people would say I’m not in a minority, others would argue I am in a minority. Like I said earlier, I don’t do labels, I try to treat everyone else the same, regardless of something as simple as the color of your skin, where your parents came from or who you live your life with. That’s how I handle things, and it’s because of my life experiences. Your mileage may vary.

Do you feel marginalised or discriminated against because of Pride? It’s not a rhetorical question; I’m trying to understand what your concern is.

 

[hosekiller]

Interesting that you ask, here is a link for that Impact Disney
But I'm sure you already knew WDW hosts Special Olympic Events and runDisney events that benefit a different charity each time. And there is Animal Kingdom with those buttons that you can purchase that go towards conservation.

That’s interesting, and I’ll be looking at that in depth later.

But the point ilI was trying to make was that I simply don’t like labels. When you label things, you leave out others. When you celebrate one group, you tend to leave others out.

That’s why I just try to treat everyone the same. Nobody is better than another.

 

[LittleBuford]

Nobody is better than another.

Pride is making no such claim anyway. Wanting equality is not the same as wanting preferential treatment.

 

[Mireille]

But the point ilI was trying to make was that I simply don’t like labels. When you label things, you leave out others. When you celebrate one group, you tend to leave others out.

That's great but some people are labelled whether they like it or not and have the choice of trying to go it alone or finding others who have experienced the same and finding strength in that solidarity. That sometimes leads to people taking on that label as a source of pride. Yeah, we should all be treated equally under the law, but take a look around... that isn't the way things are working.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Pride is making no such claim anyway. Wanting equality is not the same as wanting preferential treatment.

And it’s not like suddenly one day everyone was celebrating the LGBTQ2+ community… many worked hard, fought, and protested to get where we are today. There was a time corporations wanted nothing to do with us.

We fought to have these protests and celebrations. To have a pride. And we maintain it. Without visibility, our fight for equality slowly dies.

 

[hosekiller]

Pride is making no such claim anyway. Wanting equality is not the same as wanting preferential treatment.

Not saying Pride is or isn’t.

 

[Trauma]

I think this is great what Disney is doing. If anyone has a problem with it, just don’t go to the parks during June.

 

[hosekiller]

Do you feel marginalised or discriminated against because of Pride? It’s not a rhetorical question; I’m trying to understand what your concern is.

So I had this conversation with a friend of mine the other day. I don’t have a problem with any group that’s just trying to live their lives. But I hate seeing anybody celebrating one group, because it’s extremely hard to celebrate every sub group of humanity, there’s just too many and I don’t see how you can treat every sub group the same.

I also feel that celebrating any group for just a certain time period feels cheap/fake/whatever. What about the rest of the year? Do we not care about them then? For example, I used to work for an ambulance service, and the only time management pretended to care about the workers was EMS appreciation week, where we’d get a couple slices a cheap pizza and a pen with the company name one it to show their “appreciation”. And this seems similar to me.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I have felt the same way in the last few months. Universal, sea world and every other major theme park should have stepped up in Florida and backed the free so each opinion of Disney.
Instead they took back seat and advantage of the political situation there and hoping to reap the benefits.
Disney made Florida what it is and therefore allowed uno to Florian as well.

There's part of me that wishes there was a little more courage on the part of a company like Universal. On the other hand, I think it's just a testament to the different levels on which WDW and Universal Orlando are operating and the different places they occupy in the culture. WDW has almost transcended its location and virtually created a city and economy around it for 50 years now, and I kind of think they're pitching to people all over the USA and World in a way Universal really isn't yet. Still, for all my criticism of various decisions by management, I like that they're not buckling to local political pressure and taking what seems to be a sincere stand on this issue and inclusion more broadly. This sort of stuff my alienate some, but I think it also helps to create the kinds of emotional connections people have to Disney that they don't really have with Universal.