"It's a great big beautiful tomorrow . . . "

Back in Ancient Gay History, Trannysaurous Rex roamed the earth along with fun loving LGBT who werked their fur loincloths and went to clubs instead of carrying them. In those ancient times there was such a thing as 'Gay Nights' at the various amusement & theme parks in California. The most beloved of those were at Disneyland. The organizers of the Disneyland Gay Nights made no bones about the fact that this was not an 'Official Disneyland Event' and that they were a profit making organization. Some of the profits were to be donated to various groups & charities but that was just an added bonus to having the entire Park to our Big Gay Selves! Oh, it was exciting times alright! Christian protestors marching up and down Harbor Boulevard decrying the befouling of the 'Magic Kingdom' by those nasty homosexuals! OMG! There was same sex dancing galore, same sex kissing in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and heaven forbid some of those 'Princes & Princesses' were holding hands with other queens & dykes! It was all in good fun and some of the Cast members were heard to say when interviewed by various news-mongers that the "gays were OK, they were having a good time and everyone was smiling", they further stated "it's a lot worse when we have the lawyers & psychiatrists having a convention then coming into the Park." When the Cast Members were asked why they said in turn "the lawyers all ask about working conditions & sexual harassment, and the psychiatrists keep telling us about the 'sexual subtexts' of the various attractions & characters . . . those people are weird!"

In 1998 the 'Gay Nights' came to an end. It was getting to expensive to rent out Disneyland for a night and still turn a profit for the organizers and still make a donation to the various charities tied into the event. In fact much was made about the fact that the donations were getting smaller and smaller each year while the price of a ticket kept going up and up each year. Bottom line, the more expensive Disney made it the harder it was for the organizers to sell those tickets. In the end it all the Big Gay Fun stopped at the 'Tragic Queendom' and moved on to other theme parks like Universal Studios, Magic Mountain, and Knott's Berry Farm.

But the allure of frolicking amongst the Lands of Uncle Walt's Kingdom was too strong to ignore. Why buy out the Park for a night when all the Gays can mix in with the Civilians for just the cost of a 1 day ticket and get 12 hours of fun instead of just 4, and no protestors! 
Well my little gay children, this was how Gay Days Anaheim was born!

The first Gay Days Anaheim in 1998 attracted about 2,500 people. These days the event attracts over 30,000 guests to the Disneyland Resort each year over a 3 day weekend! That's Pretty amazing. What was once a small one-day gathering has become a full weekend event with parties, gatherings, group photos, scavenger hunts, private meals, and much more! Corporate (including Disney) sponsorship helps defray some of the cost of the weekend's bigger events while groups like the Family Equality Council & the Trevor Project organizer some of the smaller events. Yes, there are still protestors . . . but luckily they just don't get the press they used to and mostly they're just ignored.

So kiddies, wear your red shirts, put on your biggest happy face, and make your way down to Anaheim, California this weekend to have fun, see friends, be proud, be a queen or a princess, to laugh, to dream, to be a kid again, to make some memories, and most of all  . . . to believe in magic.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true."