The organizers of Disney Gay Days — the unofficial annual fan event where LGBTQ+ people visit the Disney World theme park in Orlando, Florida — cancelled this year’s event, scheduled for the first weekend in June (which was to be the event’s 35th anniversary), according to a public Facebook post published Sunday.

“Changes to our host hotel agreement, the loss of key sponsorship support, and broader challenges currently impacting LGBTQIA+ events nationwide made it impossible to deliver the experience our community deserves,” organizers wrote. However, the post added, “This is a pause — not an ending.”

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Organizers said they would “reimagine” the event and share updates in the coming months about their plans to make the annual gathering “stronger” and “more sustainable.”

The recent passage of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Florida may have contributed to the organizers’ decision. Under Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the Republican-led legislature passed a law banning transgender, intersex, and non-binary people from using restrooms in government buildings, prisons, and schools that match their gender identity. Florida also allows medical professionals to deny care to people based on religious beliefs and allows state officials to take temporary custody of children who may be receiving gender-affirming care now or in the future.

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In 2023, the Human Rights Campaign issued a travel warning for Florida. The warning was not “a blanket recommendation against travel nor a call for boycott” but rather meant to make people aware of “the devastating impacts of laws that are hostile to the LGBTQ community … in order that prospective travelers or residents can make the best decisions for themselves and their families.”

Gay Days, which began in 1991, encouraged queer Disney fans to visit the Orlando theme park while wearing red shirts, so they could identify one another. While the event began among gay men as a way to reclaim the childhood joy often denied to gay youth due to homophobia, its popularity has expanded to include LGBTQ+ families on summer holiday and queer couples looking to honeymoon in the Magic Kingdom.

Anti-LGBTQ+ activists have ineffectively tried to protest the event. However, the annual gathering attracts tens of thousands of queer people and generates an estimated $100 million for local businesses.

In 2019, Disney launched its first-ever official Pride event, Disneyland Paris Pride, and in 2023, Disney announced its first US-based Pride event at its Disneyland California park called Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite. Both events featured Pride-themed events, parades, and merchandise.

In 2022, Disney reported that a portion of the proceeds of its sales of Pride gear would go towards numerous LGBTQ+ organizations including GLSEN, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, Zebra Coalition, Los Angeles LGBT Center, LGBT Center Orange County, San Francisco LGBT Center and Ali Forney Center. Its Pride gear sold in other parts of the world had their proceeds benefit local LGBTQ+ organizations.

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