|
PHIL LAPADULA
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Organizers of the 16th annual Gay Days at Disney—the popular name for a string of gay parties thrown by several groups in and around Disney World in Orlando, Fla.—are trying to end the feuding that has plagued the event in past years.
Last year, two similarly named organizations, GayDays.com and GayDay.com, offered competing events at the park and their own host hotels.
This year, the events are held from Tuesday, May 30, through Sunday, June 4, and there’s only one host hotel, the Royal Plaza Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. GayDays.com will handle the events at the Disney parks and at the host hotel.
Doug Swallow, who founded Gay Days in 1991 and owns GayDay.com, has leased his site this year to Johnny Chisholm’s One Mighty Weekend. Chisholm’s company is producing the circuit party and pool party events for Gay Days that aren’t at the Disney theme park or the host hotel.
"I didn’t want to deal with all the drama and headaches this year," Swallow said.
THIS YEAR’S THEME is "Gay Days Orlando Sweet 16" to mark the 16th anniversary of the event.
Gay Days returns to the Royal Plaza Hotel this year. Last year, it was at the Sheraton World Hotel because the Royal Plaza was undergoing repairs from hurricane damage.
"The Royal Plaza is closer to the Disney parks than the Sheraton and they’ve always been a great partner in the past," says Chris Alexander-Manley, vice president of sales and marketing for GayDays.com.
This year’s Gay Days will include two popular performers: lesbian comedian Kate Clinton and 1970s disco icon Gloria Gaynor. Clinton will perform Friday evening, June 2, starting at 8 p.m. at the Royal Plaza Hotel in the Harrington Ballroom.
Gaynor will headline Chisholm’s One Mighty Party-— the cornerstone of the weekend’s dance events,-which will take place from 9:30 p.m. 2:30 a.m. on Sat. June 3, at MGM Studios. At least 8,000 people are expected to attend the party, Chisholm said.
The kickoff party for Gay Days will take place Tuesday, May 30, at the Orlando Science Center, which features a large dinosaur exhibit and an I-Max movie of the history of Greece.
"We have it at a different venue every year just to keep it fresh," Alexander-Manley said. "The center has a beautiful outdoor patio overlooking Orlando."
A NEW EVENT this year will be Jazz Night, which will take place Saturday evening, June 3, from 8 p.m. 1 a.m. at the Harrington Ballroom at the Royal Plaza.
Alexander-Manley said the jazz event is geared to an older crowd. "It’s for people who don’t want to go to the circuit parties," he said.
There will also be events for the sober crowd. Gay Days Round Up-— an offshoot of GayDays.com — which includes recovery groups for alcohol, crystal meth and sex addictions, will be held at the Best Western Hotel, across the street from the Royal Plaza. The Royal Plaza will also host a nonalcoholic dance.
Women’s events, also thrown by GayDays.com, will include pool parties at Best Western Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A Luscious Ladies Luau will be held at Best Western from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sat., June 3. And a "Ladies of the ‘80s Dance" will be held Friday, June 2, from 9:30-2 a.m. at Royal Plaza.
A HOT-AIR BALOON is expected to hover over Orlando during the weekend of June 2-4 announcing "Gay Days at Disney World."
But it’s not a promotional stunt for the event. Instead, it’s a message from the conservative group Christian Action Network to parents who might be taking their kids to the Magic Kingdom that weekend.
CAN has been soliciting donations on its website to pay for the balloon, which the groups says will "warn" people that Gay Days is at Disney World so that parents can "protect" their children by not bringing them to the park during that weekend.
No one from the Christian Action Network was available by press time to answer questions about the group’s hot-air balloon project.
Kim Preunty, spokesperson for Walt Disney World, said Disney is not a sponsor of Gay Days.
"But Walt Disney World is open to everyone every day," she said.
She said she was not aware of any problems caused by Gay Days in recent years. She was working in her current position for Walt Disney World last year.
"It was a normal weekend at Walt Disney World," she recalled.
|
