markc said:
Maybe, but not to the extent you seem to make it out to be. It's one week of the year; the normal average summer crowds for Orlando aren't that weak that they depend on this one week for a major source of their income.
I never said they depend on the income, however the loss of several millions of dollars that has been there annually for the last 16 years will be felt. Further the week of Gay Day is typically the slowest of the season, right after Memorial Day and before schools let out. That's why this week was chosen.
markc said:
If it's promoted as such by the gay community, then yes, it is Gay Day at Pizza hut..lol. However, even without promotion, why is it whenever anybody asks why there is a need for gay days, the biggest response from supporters of it on here or other Disney boards is..because every other day is "Straight day"..therefore defying your logic right there.
Your logic is faulty. Because a group says something doesn't make it true. If the "gay community" says that Walt Disney World is a gay resort all year round, is it? The gay community doesn't declare Thursdays at PI gay night, and even if they did, it's not. I haven't seen anything declaring Thursday night gay night. I have seen things saying that there are more gay people at PI on Thursday, but that's about it.
Despite what people on the forum say the point of Gay Days is, it's a bunch of us coming together as a community to spend time at Disney. Nothing political, it's a party. Just like Night of Joy or Grad Night (just on a bigger scale and not recognized by Disney).
markc said:
I agree, unless of course it's advertised by a community as such a night, which it clearly is. I don't think anybody here is going to deny that it just so happens that gay people "randomly" show up that night. If a bunch of republicans just happen to be at Epcot one day, then it's not "Republican Day"..however if it's posted on Republican forums and papers that "Saturday is the day all republicans need to be at Epcot" and it's promoted as such, then yes, you can say it's "republican day" for all intensive purposes since there is an intent by that subsection of the population to inhabit that place at once.
Again, faulty logic. Because one group calls an event, a day, or anything else something does not make it that. Yes you can say anything, but that does not make it true. Gay Day at Disney is not sanctioned or recognized by Disney, meaning if you ask Disney when Gay Day is they will say "we don't have a gay day." Further, if you ask Disney when gay night is at PI, they will say "we don't have a gay night, we welcome everyone all the time." Trust me, I know. I worked for Disney and was trained to say just that.
markc said:
No, disney made a conscious decision to validate that night as such. I wouldn't call it smart, because clearly Pleasure Island isn't doing well enough to validate calling any decision they've made "smart".
Disney validates nothing but their bottom line. Disney is in business to make money, not magic, not warm and fuzzies. Disney catering to the gay crowd that has been attending regularly for years was a smart business decision. They are hanging onto the business that is reliable.
markc said:
Clearly you haven't read what I've said...I don't blame this night for all of their problems..I said it's one of many issues that have made it hard for the general public to be over excited about spending money to be there. And yes, locals do know the difference between Thursday night and every other night...however, the biggest club days in general are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday...if one of those days is "claimed", then it doesn't bode well for the rest of the week. And some people tend to have a one track mind..if they see that it's gay night one day..they tend to shy away from ever going because in their mind, it's always going to be "the gay club"..i don't agree with that logic but you can't deny the fact that many people do have that mentality (especially drunk college kids or twenty somethings who are the majority of the bar/club consumers).
I respect your opinion, but my opinion is that the impact of gay people going to PI on one night every week to PI's bottom line is negligible. When PI was doing extremely well, the gay people were still there on Thursday night. Thursdays are nothing new, and the numbers at PI dropped not gradually, but all of the sudden. They happen to coincide with the cutbacks around 2001, though number started to go south around the time West Side opened and parking became an issue.
While I agree there are people too thick headed to understand that while gay people may go to a club one night a week, that the club isnt' gay all the time. However, I work in a club that is gay one night per week. Guess what? We do killer business on the non-gay nights, and our gay night is official! The number of people in Orlando that don't get that has got to be so small that the negative impact on PI is tiny.
markc said:
Please tell me where I EVER said that *I* had a problem..cause I don't think you'll find it in this discussion. Such assumptions only weaken your case.
I'm inferring that based on the fact that you so passionately argue that gay people at PI are an issue. I don't know you, I have nothing against you. I'm not saying you hate gay people, I'm saying you seem to have an issue with gay people at PI based on your arguments.
markc said:
Disney doesn't care anymore...PI is a sinking ship..
Disney cares very much about their bottom line. Catering to the gay patrons that attend PI on Thursdays almost religiously proves that. If Disney didn't care they would have shut the place down and developed it as something else.