Orlando – being the home of Disney and Universal Studios, is already pretty magical to start, but every June the magic is taken to a whole new level. Why? Well, it’s because it’s the annual One Magical Weekend! 4 days of gay pool parties, great music and the kick off of Pride Month at Walt Disney World Resorts. It is also the annual Red Shirt Pride Days, a LGBT+ celebration of love and acceptance.
This year will be our first time attending so I already started to look up the details and events!
Why wear RED?
I had definitely heard of the concept of wearing a red shirt at Disney for Pride, but did you know it all started with a handful of people who decided to meet on the first Saturday of June in front of the castle celebrate love, acceptance, and kindness? Being that they had only “met” through a bulletin board, they decided to wear RED t-shirts so it would be easy to find one another.
Fast forward decades later, and the event brings together thousands of people each year, and every year, a portion of the proceeds is donated to KindRED Pride Foundation, which supports charities that promote diversity, inclusion, equality, and kindness. This year marks 30 years of this event!
The cool thing is that they are looking to expand this with a mission to get 1,000,000 people around the world to wear red on the same day. You can join the RED shirt challenge at www.TaketheREDshirtChallenge.com (#rspd). You will find us sporting our all red gear prancing around Disney looking for all the princes for our Instagram!
As always, the RED Shirt Pride Days are scheduled during the first week of June, This year, one Magical weekend runs June 4th – June 8th, 2020 in Orlando, Florida.
The RED Shirt Pride Days are scheduled for:
Thursday, June 4, 2020 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Friday, June 5, 2020 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios®
Saturday, June 6, 2020 – Magic Kingdom®
Sunday, June 7, 2020 – Epcot®
Where’s the Magic at?
Teraj and I are not huge party goers but I am especially looking forward to One Magical Weekend because some of the parties take place right in Disney! Each year, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon waterpark gets converted into a big gay dance party called Riptide. The park stays open until 2am along with some of the rides, including Tidal Wave, Castaway Creek, Keelhaul Falls, Mayday Falls, Crush “n” Gusher, and Miss Adventure Falls. If you get tired of dancing, you can just hop on a ride to cool down. This is the party not to miss – music, cocktails, water rides, and hot men in swimwear… what’s not to like?
During the day, in the sea of RED shirts, you can discover all that Disney has to offer before that evening’s parties. Make sure you also check out the newest attractions, including Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Harmonious at Epcot, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios.
Love is Universal
Disney has plenty to offer, but you can’t go to Orlando and not go to Universal Studios! This year was my first time ever going to Universal and although they do not have a designated pride event, they are very much LGBTQ friendly all year round with their slogan – Love is Universal! I spoke with the Universal Public Relations Representative and she mentioned that they have a permanent dedication in their parks for team members who were lost during the Pulse shooting. Universal Orlando is also featured in the Orlando pride parade each year with characters from their parks along with proud out and ally team members.
My favourite part of Universal is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride. It really is everything you imagine it to be, so get ready to be amazed!
Where to find Sleeping Beauty?
You will find me J at the official host resort, Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort, where some of the One Magical Weekend parties are held. Your room stay includes two Therapy Pool Party tickets for each day. You can also attend the onsite after-hour dance parties (CADABRA) each night and easily stumble home to your hotel room after.
I personally love that there is something to do for all ages and interests. Teraj likes to dance and there are plenty of dance parties, I like to eat and there will be plenty of food options, and we both love rides so that’s the place to be! Like magic, we all get what we want.
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