Enjoy Your Special Day
GayDays® Orlando's Celebration is more than just a one-day event; it is the leading LGBTQ vacation experience that spans five days over a weekend in June. This renowned event features a variety of activities held at iconic attractions, LGBTQ-friendly nightclubs, and specially chosen venues to foster an inclusive environment for the LGBTQ community. Emphasizing diversity and inclusivity, GayDays® welcomes individuals of all ages, backgrounds, orientations, and affiliations, including parents, allies, and various segments of society. Originating in 1991 as a single-day initiative where participants were encouraged to wear red and stand out at theme parks, GayDays® has evolved into a week-long extravaganza thanks to the efforts of the LGBTQ community, local advocates, businesses, and online supporters. The event now offers round-the-clock entertainment, including theme park visits, social gatherings, concerts, special events, and renowned parties, attracting over 180,000 attendees from across the nation and the world. As the driving force behind the success and expansion of GayDays®, the team at Gay Days, Inc. is dedicated to providing guests with a seamless planning experience through their official website, which offers online ticketing, hotel reservations, and detailed itineraries. This website is the only platform endorsed by the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Community Center of Orlando, the event's birthplace.
WHEN GAY DAY BECAME "GAYDAYS®"
The event's refusal to fade away is evident in its continuous growth. What initially started as a one-day trip to the Magic Kingdom has evolved into a weeklong celebration, drawing over 150,000 GayDayS® participants to over 40 events throughout the city. Visitors from all over the country and the world are expected to inject over $100 million into the local economy. As the event persists year after year, both traditional and new activities are incorporated into the festivities. Local businesses and clubs contribute to the excitement by hosting special nights and expanding entertainment options for GayDayS® attendees. However, the expansion of this remarkable event was disorderly and lacking a central point of organization, with no designated GayDayS® information center or a central agency to assist visitors in obtaining tickets for the numerous events. While GayDayS® was gaining popularity, it became increasingly challenging to plan for due to its scattered nature
WEB-BASED COMPANY NETS GAYDAYS® UNITY & ACCEPTANCE
When GayDayS.com launched in April of 1998, not only did GayDayS® Orlando gain an impressive state-of-the-art marketing tool, it acquired the first ever year-round staff of professionals dedicated to establishing GayDayS® as a fully recognized and respected addition to the Central Florida tourism and cultural calendar. In 1999, GayDayS.com/Gay Days, Inc., was added to the membership roster of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau (albeit with some hesitation by the OCCVB.) Now GayDayS.com is a member of VISIT FLORIDA, the state tourism agency. They are actively working to bring more GLBTQ tourism to Florida throughout the year. GayDayS.com is also a member of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), the Metropolitan Business Association and is a registered seller of travel in the state of Florida.
GAYDAYS® WINS - - DETRACTORS RETREAT!
In the end, persistence, tolerance, and economics won out. The espionage efforts have proven expensive and ineffectual. The Southern Baptist boycott has pretty much been a failure, and Pat Robertson's dire warnings of hell and brimstone have failed to set the city on fire. Now, hotels are rushing to become a GayDayS® Co-Host Hotel property, national businesses like Bud Light & Esurance are sponsors, national media attend and highlight the major economic benefits, and the Mayor of Orlando and the Mayor of the Board of County Commissioners have offered GayDayS® visitors a hearty welcome and have even attended GayDays® events. Every year continues to only get better!
Many people have contributed to the incredible success and unprecedented growth of this wonderful vacation opportunity. Without every one of them, this phenomenon we call GayDayS® just wouldn't be the same.
But the real success of GayDayS® is attributable to you, the GayDayS® attendee. Whether you attend every party listed in the Official GayDayS® Magazine or just lounge around the Official Host Hotel pools enjoying the atmosphere; count yourself among those who contribute to the success and growth of an event that's all about being you. Put on your trendy red t-shirt, head out into the Florida sunshine and have a gay old time!