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Reprinted from The Orlando Sentinel,
June 15, 1998.
Some estimates show dip in Gay Days attendance
By Cory Jo Lancaster
of The Sentinel Staff
Organizers of Gay Days had predicted 120,000
people would attend the event this month -- 40,000 more than last year. But by
most counts, attendance was flat or may have dipped slightly this year.
In its eighth year, the annual gay gathering from
June 3 to June 7 has grown from a handful of people in 1991 to tens of thousands
of gays and lesbians. The highlight is attending Walt Disney World's Magic
Kingdom on the first Saturday in June.
In 1996 and 1997, Disney had to close the Magic
Kingdom on that day because it filled to capacity. Disney does not release
attendance figures, so specific attendance figures aren't known.
This year, however, the park didn't reach
capacity. And the Florida
Family Association, a religious group that has sent members into the park
for five years to film the crowd, said this year's attendance appeared to be
down 50 percent and included far fewer families and heterosexual tourists.
"Disney lost substantially," said
Florida Family Association President David Caton. "There's no way the loss
of revenue from all the families that stayed away was made up by the Gay Day
patrons."
Gay Day organizer Doug Swallow acknowledged some
visitors stayed away because of the stifling heat and threats of mass protests
by religious protesters with Operation
Rescue.
Swallow said some Gay Days events did see an
increase in attendance. A party at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon attracted 4,000
people -- 1,000 more than last year.
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