Wearing Red
Since Gay Day began we've strongly suggested everyone attending "wear something really red" to Disney. Why? Because it's a simple way everyone there, including Disney management, can gauge just how many people are there because it's Gay Day. And that's been an important number for us to know, even if it's not the most accurate way to count, because it's the only way we can make an estimate without Disney's cooperation on the matter (which while we sometimes do find park attendance out unofficially, isn't something they're willing to share with us officially). Having that estimate helps attracts sponsors and promoters to the event.
We think it's a major testimonial to wearing red because as the years have progressed, Disney has become more proficient at offering special entertainment and arms-length coordination and support to event organizers. Without some sense in their mind of the numbers of people Gay Day is drawing, this would not have happened as early as it did.
| Factoid: In 1994 Disney stationed cast members (Disney's term for an employee) at the Ticket and Transportation Center explicitly to count the numbers of people attending Gay Day that year. We can only assume they sought out gay cast members who might be better equipped to make the judgment as to which guests were there because it was Gay Day and which were just there because it was Disney! |
You can definitely assume that Disney is watching Gay Day very closely. We expect that at some point in the next few years they will feel comfortable enough to begin creating events catering to Gay Day attendees in much the same way they have created events for high school graduates (Grad Night) and church-goers (Night Of Joy). It makes perfect sense to do so and to maximize their profits. The only thing holding them back was a lack of understanding of the gay and lesbian marketplace, and the mis-held beliefs it would negatively impact their business overall. With the current Southern Baptist boycott, Disney has been more outspoken against the platform espoused by the Southern Baptists, and finding, much to their delight, that attendance at the parks is actually going up, not down. Perhaps with their newly found confidence, we'll see something sooner rather than later.
Admittedly, it's hardly a scientific method, but red is a color that stands out in a crowd. And until fashion designers caught on a few years ago, it wasn't a very common color. In past years people who've gone have commented about how many people they see there during Gay Day, and they know it because the red that many people wear stands out to them!
It's certainly not a requirement to wear something red, but it's kind of fun, actually! For many years, there's been a large group of men from South Beach (Miami Beach) who've worn skimpy red tank tops with something cute printed on them, and together they wander through the park. Heads turn (maybe it's not just the red tank tops causing heads to turn, but it helps!). Other groups who've traveled to Gay Day together have often made up a t-shirt of their own with some witty saying printed on it, or even just a nice design. Many have been red, but certainly there have been other colors, too. One rather large group showed up entirely in coordinated rainbow colors and traveled around in such a way that seen from a distance, they were a walking rainbow. So use your imagination, get together with your friends, and do something fun!
At one time, Disney management asked us to make red less of an issue. They felt that a large number of guests who had worn red without knowledge of its significance might have felt more uncomfortable in the parks because of it. We acquiesced to the request and dropped the suggestion from our promotions as well as creating a white t-shirt that year as our official t-shirt. Well, the resounding opinion expressed to us was "we liked the wear red idea." And people wore red in large numbers anyway. All we managed that year was to confuse people. Nowadays, it's not an issue, mostly because we make up the overwhelming majority of park attendance, and for the most part it's a pretty widely known fact: wear red (or don't) on Gay Day!
| Factoid: In the beginning, sales of Gay Day t-shirts was almost the exclusive source of the money necessary to promote Gay Day at Disney. We rarely sought out corporate sponsors in the earlier years because, well, we just didn't really need the money and the hassle that went with getting it from sponsors was not time spent well. As the event has grown in recent years, this has certainly not been the case, but we manage. As it gets bigger, there's a lot more to be done, and a lot more requirements just to help people stay informed. But it's a fun fact simply to know that without the sales of those t-shirts in the early 1990's, Gay Day may not have gone much further than that-- simply because no one really knew about it. |
Since 1992, we've created a fun Gay Day t-shirt (red, of course, except one year). It literally screams out at you "Gay Day!," which many people may not feel comfortable wearing except in large groups, but it's been a rather fun thing to wear to the Disney parks during Gay Day. More than 1,500 were sold for 1997 alone, and even then you could see people wearing previous years' designs, too. If you'd like to get some for yourself and your friends, we currently have a variety of designs available in our online store, including some major discounts on 1997 designs we have left over.
| Factoid: In 1993 Disney was caught unprepared for the onslaught of so many gay men and lesbians wearing red, and had a fair number of complaints from other park guests who had worn red. Disney, in their ever so friendly manner, offered those guests complaining about having worn red when red "meant something" they didn't agree with a free shirt. This free shirt came from the stores adjacent to City Hall at The Magic Kingdom. So for one day Disney actually was giving away shirts they were also selling. All you had to do was ask, and be wearing red. In 1994 and subsequent years, Disney reached into the depths of their warehouses to obtain the most unsalable merchandise they still had in stock, and used that to give away to people who complained. So in 1994, all you had to do was look around to see who was wearing the most awful looking black t-shirt with huge multicolored confetti prints across it to know who the biggest homophobes were at the park! |
We should also point out that we know a lot of non-gay men, women and families who choose to go to Gay Day and wear red as a show of support for us. On Disney-topic UseNet newsgroups on the internet, there's long been discussion about Gay Day, and quite often you'll read about someone's experiences having found themselves in the middle of Gay Day, completely unexpectedly. Take a look at this eyewitness account for an example. It's a lot of fun to read through these kinds of reports, as most of them testify to what we've long said: We're there to have fun just like "they" are. And a surprising number of non-gay Disney-goers admit to having more fun on Gay Day than on other days at Disney parks. So don't assume someone wearing red is gay or lesbian. If you must make an assumption, then assume if someone is wearing red, that they are good friends and supporters of the gay community.
