# Have you ever experienced anything neg at WDW?



## RickinNYC

A number of my friends have asked me how Joe and I can go to WDW all the time when it's "clearly for traditional families only."  Some have even considered that the both of us have gotten "looks" or any kind of problems. 

Well, I'm happy to say in all the trips we've made to Disney, we've never experienced a single situation that might make us uncomfortable  or unwanted.  Cast members and fellow guests alike have always been great.  Granted, they might not know that Joe and I are in fact a couple, but I imagine most do.  And if anyone did have any ill will, they kept it to themselves.

We've never received so much as a glance or whisper, let alone anything untoward of any kind.  I'm constantly trying to convey how great WDW is for a vacation destination choice for families of all types.  I truly believe it is!

Thoughts?  Gimme some good ammo to convince our friends that they should join us on one of our Mickey jaunts!


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## LukenDC

Last September my BF and I spent nine days at WDW and did not encounter any problems at all.  Every cast member we encountered was friendly and welcoming and we noted that there are many gay/lesbian cast members at WDW.  The guests were perfectly pleasant too.


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## Rence

No problems at all, ever at WDW.

At Disneyland we had an incident where in fact we were made to feel more welcome.  It was a busy day and we were in a very long queue for Gadget's Go Coaster.  We were about halfway through when a male cast member on the ride platform started shouting  "Sir"  "Sir"  and pointing in our area.

We suddenly realized that he was pointing at my partner.  When he got my partner's attention, he pointed at his neck and said "Glad to see the colors on display at Disneyland" and then gave a big thumbs up.  We then realized that my partner was wearing his pride rings necklace and the CM had noticed us out in the crowd and wanted to give us a special howdy.


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## RickinNYC

Actually, Joe had to remind me of one moment two years ago while checking in that a cast member made a little joke about not putting us in a room with a king size bed.  Apparently she thought we were buddies just traveling together.  I tried to make light of the situation and assured her that request was indeed valid.  I laughed but did feel a little burn of embarrassment.  Certainly not enough to make me think poorly of the girl, nor enough to insult us in any way.


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## LJC1861

On our last trip this past Christmas I noticed a rainbow Mickey Icon pin.  Needless to say I bought 4 of them....2 for us and 2 for another WDW loving lesbian couple that we are good friends with.  Lisa and I wore ours around all week and got nothing but positive comments on them from CM's and guests alike.  I complimented a woman on a hat she was wearing and she winked at me and replied..."nice pin!"  The pin started many conversations with CM's and helped identify us as a couple.....which is a nice treat in WDW.

As ofr other times, we have never experienced anything negative.  Granted, we only occasionally hold hands and almost never engage in other public displays of affection, but it is usually clearly evident that we are a couple.  Interestingly enough though, we do occasionally get mistaken for sisters or twins....we do look a bit alike.  At any rate, WDW is one of our favorite places and we do feel comfortable being ourselves.

Linda


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## TheButlerDiditt

We've never had any problems either.  All the cast members are so friendly and the guests are always too much in a world of their own to probably notice us anyway.

A little OT, the only time I ever felt uncomfortable was when we were at Innoventions in Epcot waiting to play some sort of escape-the-housefire game and an unattended 12ish year old boy kept talking to us.  Seriously, even though we didn't pursue any conversation with him, he wouldn't stop telling us everything from how many times he'd been through the game to what he wanted to be when he grew up.  I kept waiting for his parents/guardians to show up and yank him away thinking god-knows-what WE were trying to do to him.  Fortunately for us, unfortunately for him, they never did.  Even though he was incredibly annoying, I felt really bad for the kid.  It seemed as if his parents didn't care about him at all.


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## buckylarue

My partner and I have been going to both DL and WDW regularly since I first dragged him there in 1977, and in all those trips, I can only recall one occasion where we heard a negative comment. We were staying at POR, waiting at the bus stop to head to the MK, when a family walked by and the mother made some comment about "Why do THOSE people have to come here and ruin it for everyone?" Before we could even process it, this very prim and proper looking 70-ish year old woman sitting next to us on the park bench told her, "You'd better get used to it, because we're EVERYWHERE!" It shut the woman up, and we had a nice conversation with the woman, who was a retired schoolteacher there with her partner. We have had many friendly comments from cast members, all of whom seem to be able to tell that we are a couple...


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## StormTigger

I've been to WDW about 8x's w/ my partner, and we also went on the cruise together.  The cruise was the best.  Neither of us are flamboyant or anything but it's still easy to tell we are a couple when we are together (I think it has something to do w/ being together for 9 yrs) and especially in a setting like on the ship but everyone was great and treated us like it was the norm.

In the parks... I never worry about the cast since so many of them are "family" anyway, and can't say any of the guest has done or said anything that made us feel uncomfortable.   Once though, on the WTP ride, when we where getting into the honey pot, one guy did saying something like "No making out in the dark now," but honestly I couldn't tell by the expression on his face or the tone of his voice if he was being silly, just giving a sign that he knew, or if it was some kind of insult.  We decided not to worry about it and enjoy the ride (and snuck a quick kiss along the way.   ).

Of course now I hope I don't jinx anything cuz we are taking another gay couple w/ us on our trip this year!


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## Tony-NJ

yes once unfortunately. Though once out of all the time we've spent there is no big deal. It was Dec 98 and we were excited about trying Citricos before MVMCP - we had a horrible waitress who just couldn't understand why we had the gaul to be seen in public     We're not ugly or anything... Anyway we had the worst service ever in all the years we've gone to WDW. Fortunately it didn't really bother us enough to affect our trip, but we never went back to Citricos.


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## airhead

We've always been treated with respect.


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## iankh

We've never experienced anything negative. A few weeks ago before our last trip I decided to pop for DDE. I was so pleasantly surprised went the CM on the other end of the phone said, "And would you like a card for your wife or partner?" We have have always had great service and readily treated as a couple (which we are).


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## Ronda93

Nope, never.  We've been at least 20 times and have had nothing but positive experiences with CMs and guests.  

This probably has nothing to do with us being a couple, but it gave us pause... My partner saw a kid playing in the jumping fountains in front of JIYI.  The little guy was leaning back and taking the water on the forehead, laughing and squealing.

She couldn't resist and snapped few pictures of the splash.  A few minutes later a man approached and said, "were you taking pictures of my kid?".  Uh-oh.  He pulled out a business card and said if "it turns out, I'd like a copy."  He was in a government position in Montreal.  What a relief.  We sent several pictures.

A charachter wrangler CM at Rafiki's Planet Watch struck up a conversation (we were waiting for Stanley and Dennis).  She asked if we were together.  I asked how it was working for the mouse.  This was late 2004 and she talked about the help Disney gave her and her partner after their home was damaged by two of the hurricanes. 

There's a particular waitress we always hope to get at Kona.  She and her partner both work for Disney.  She has oodles of vacation and spends a lot of time on their boat in Marathon.

I chatted at the pool for quite a while with a lesbian engineering CM at Pop.  We talked about decorating our houses for Christmas.  Normal, boring, ordinary conversations.  Probably because we're normal, boring, ordinary people ; )

ETA:  I can't spell


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## LJC1861

One of my all time favorite WDW moments came as my youngest sister and I were waiting to watch Tapestry several years ago.  We struck up a conversation with 2 men and this adorable 4 year old from China.  Her Daddies couldn't have been prouder of her and after the parade they each took one of her hands and walked away.  It was such a wonderful family moment.....one I will never forget.  Her name was Amelia and when I asked her where she was from, meaning where did she live, she looked at me with this strange expression on her face and said  "China!" like I was the stupidest thing on the planet.   We all had a good laugh over that one.   Their faces just lit up when my sister and I complemented them on their daughter.  

Linda


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## tmli

I have a question along this theme but a little different.  My ds(9) and I were on a Carnival cruise and there were two gentleman, obviously together with a baby.  We have openly discussed homosexuality and truly believe all people to be equal.  

After our cruise we spent the afternoon in WDW waiting for our flight and saw the same couple.  As we are walking by, my ds is saying..."okay I get they are gay and together and that is no problem....but how did they get the baby?"  

I laughed because it was funny, explained to him the ways that it could have come about and on we went.  I just gave them a sheepish smile as I am sure they heard.  While it was all very innocent, I often think about them and if we some how offended.  It certainly wasn't our intention.


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## Tony-NJ

> I laughed because it was funny, explained to him the ways that it could have come about and on we went. I just gave them a sheepish smile as I am sure they heard. While it was all very innocent, I often think about them and if we some how offended. It certainly wasn't our intention.



   I doubt you offended them. They probably or hopefully thought it was cute!


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## vegasnw

This past trip when we checked in on the concierge floor I had booked a king and the concierge looked at us and asked us if we knew we had booked a king bed? I told her yes and she looked right at my partner and said.."But you're 2 guys" and she had a strange look on her face. I spoke up right away and told her that if she was having a problem with my reservation, I'd be more then happy to have the manager check us in so she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. She had a look on her face that I will never forget, like a deer trapped in headlights. After that she did everything she could to help us and we never had another problem that trip but those kind of problems hardly ever happen to us.

Every now and then we all have had someone giving us a look or saying something we can over hear and I let it slide "most" of the time but it is rare for it to happen to us at Disney.


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## TinkerChelle

My partner and I have been to WDW many times over the last 7 years and have never felt that our sexual orientation ever played into how we were treated.  And as our friends always tell us...we don't need to wear t-shirts for people to know we are "out and proud"...we look like a lesbian couple.   
When we stayed at the AKL for our honeymoon in 2001 we were treated like any other newlyweds would have been.  Our trips are always memorable and we do hold hands and act like we are a couple!


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## Cheshire Figment

Several years ago JudySue (my late wife) and I made it a point to travel to WDW to be at MK on Gay DAy.  

As we were coming off the monorail we were greeted by a couple of apparent Disney managers.  One of the two we happened to know was definitely plainclothes security.   We asked him what they were doing and were told that they had heard that there might be religious protesters coming and they were there to make sure that protesters would not make any trouble.

We had an enjoyable day in the park.  JudySue commented to me that the grossest PDAs she had ever seen in the parks were on other days and by heterosexual couples and not gays.

I recall our meeting a nice young (maybe 30's) couple where both had red sequined high-top sneakers and sailor hats.  We both complimented them on these items and found that they had done these themselves, with over 600 sequins on each shoe and hat.  As we were discussing this with them there was a woman, about our age, who had the attitude that "these people" should not be allowed in the parks and so we, an obvious heterosexual couple, asked her what was wrong with people loving one another and she stormed off.

There will always, unfortunately, be some people who think that their way is the only rtight way to do things.


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## micknpluto

I have never had a problem at WDW. I think its one of the few places where I feel comfortable being w/my g/f. 

I love the fact that there are many gay CMs . If they arent gay they should at least be "gay friendly"


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## TeresaNJ

Congrats on your new board!!  Just happened to stumble upon it tonight while browsing the DIS.  Unfortunately, my DH and I did see a horrendous episode at Boma a few years ago.  We were having a great dinner when we heard an obnoxious voice chastising a gay couple having dinner.  Apparently the obnoxious man was having dinner with his six year old son when he noticed the couple.  He immediately started yelling at this couple, saying things like how dare they be openly affectionate (I think one man let the other taste something off of his fork, not sure, my husband thinks that is what set this guy off), and he also was yelling how now he would have to explain to his six year old why two guys are together, etc., etc.  I was so embarrassed that this guy was making a horse's behind of himself, and felt so bad for the couple.  The idiot left rather quickly after that, don't know if he was escorted out because I wasn't looking, didn't want to make the couple any more uncomfortable by having them think people were gawking.  I guess there are ********* everywhere, including Disney.


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## iankh

TeresaNJ said:
			
		

> Congrats on your new board!!  Just happened to stumble upon it tonight while browsing the DIS.  Unfortunately, my DH and I did see a horrendous episode at Boma a few years ago.  We were having a great dinner when we heard an obnoxious voice chastising a gay couple having dinner.  Apparently the obnoxious man was having dinner with his six year old son when he noticed the couple.  He immediately started yelling at this couple, saying things like how dare they be openly affectionate (I think one man let the other taste something off of his fork, not sure, my husband thinks that is what set this guy off), and he also was yelling how now he would have to explain to his six year old why two guys are together, etc., etc.  I was so embarrassed that this guy was making a horse's behind of himself, and felt so bad for the couple.  The idiot left rather quickly after that, don't know if he was escorted out because I wasn't looking, didn't want to make the couple any more uncomfortable by having them think people were gawking.  I guess there are ********* everywhere, including Disney.



Always ironic that two men displaying affection is not ok, whereas it's ok for 2 men to beat the crap out of each other or kill each other. But then again, violence is always so much better a role model ...


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## OrlandoMike

micknpluto said:
			
		

> I love the fact that there are many gay CMs . If they arent gay they should at least be "gay friendly"



I can attest, most of them are very gay friendly!


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## TLPL

Hello TeresaNJ,

Now I am freaking out, what if someone like that yell at us when we go on our honeymoon next month? and I was thinking about requesting a King size bed at check-in. Maybe I shouldn't?


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## Rence

TLPL said:
			
		

> Hello TeresaNJ,
> 
> Now I am freaking out, what if someone like that yell at us when we go on our honeymoon next month? and I was thinking about requesting a King size bed at check-in. Maybe I shouldn't?



I don't see the relation, the jerk in the post was a restaurant patron not a cast member.  Requesting a king size bed would entail dealing with a Cast Member and the posts on here have pretty much uniformly praised the CMs for being open and accepting.


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## OrlandoMike

Request a king size bed, bottle of champagne, and the full honeymoon treatment!  Your at Disney, Dreams really do come true!


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## TeresaNJ

TLPL, I say go for it.  Who cares what people think?  If anyone should be embarrassed, it is the jerk who made the scene at Boma, and I think most people feel that way.  Life is too short to care about what others think.  Although I don't know what it feels like to be discriminated against, I do get comments and looks at times when people find out I am 15 years older than my husband.  Do I care?  No!!  After my father died suddenly at age 64 without ever having the chance to retire and have some fun, my whole outlook on life changed.  I left my ex-husband after 20 years of marriage, should have done it much sooner but was too concerned about how it would affect everyone else's life, and I'm glad I finally had the courage to do it.  I had that "Italian guilt thing" put on me by my mother, and finally said no more!!  She thought I should stay with him and go on living my life while the ex lived his, and continue to put on a happy face to the whole world.  Uh uh, enough was enough.  Please go on your honeymoon, have fun, make happy memories, ask for the king size bed, and most important of all, do what makes you happy.


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## TLPL

oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together. And we are not into PDA at all, even my sister asked me why me and my partner alway walk so far apart whenever we go out. The only time I feel comfortable holding hands are when we are alone or when we are in a gay-function like years ago they have private gay nights at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Don't you think it is easier for gals couples to show PDA than guys?


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## iankh

TLPL said:
			
		

> oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together. And we are not into PDA at all, even my sister asked me why me and my partner alway walk so far apart whenever we go out. The only time I feel comfortable holding hands are when we are alone or when we are in a gay-function like years ago they have private gay nights at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Don't you think it is easier for gals couples to show PDA than guys?



I think that you're right, in our society it is easier for two women to show affection than two men (it's more acceptable to two men to beat each other up than kiss each other). Though it may be slowly changing. Probably largely due to affection being show between same sex couples in movies and on TV.

Go ahead and enjoy your honeymoon. Demand everything that you have coming to you and everything that an opposite-sexed couple would expect without thinking even thinking about it.

Enjoy your honeymoon.


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## LukenDC

TLPL said:
			
		

> oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together.



I have checked into many hotels throughout the USA and Europe with a same sex mate and I have NEVER had a problem.  Keep in mind that the hospitality industry has a large gay employee base and that many large entertainment and travel companies deliver diversity training to their staff.  Many travel companies also actively pursue a gay/lesbian clientele.

Now if I were checking into a hotel in rural Mississippi I might be a bit more cautious.   But I would be astonished if you encountered any problems in a large city or major resort area.


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## RickinNYC

TLPL said:
			
		

> oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together. And we are not into PDA at all, even my sister asked me why me and my partner alway walk so far apart whenever we go out. The only time I feel comfortable holding hands are when we are alone or when we are in a gay-function like years ago they have private gay nights at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Don't you think it is easier for gals couples to show PDA than guys?



Wow, I can relate.  Joe and I were of the same mindset but that was quite a few years ago, in the early 90's.  Now, we don't care what others think.  Granted, neither of us are overly publically affectionate in any case, but as for checking into a hotel together, or walking with each other, heck sharing our meals in restaurants, fuhgeddaboutit.  If anyone has a problem with our being a couple, that's THEIR problem not ours.  NOR IS IT YOURS.  NOR SHOULD IT EVER BE YOUR CONCERN.  Don't let people do this to you kiddo.

Check in together, ask for a king sized bed, and be proud of yourselves.  If I were to happen to be standing next to you guys when you did that, I'd be darned proud of you too!

Edited to add:  The scenario you described and the concern you have is proof positive as to why having this Gay/Lesbian Board is of value.  It's not only a cathartic means to express one's concerns, but it's a great way to find out that you're not the only one out there.


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## rainbowboy74

I have never experienced a bad situation or felt uncomfortable at WDW.  I have always been treated with the same respect as any other visiting guest and/or couple.  I have only checked in once with my BF back in 2003.  We were an obvious couple and we were proud of it and let it show.  I am not a fan of gigantic PDA, but at the same time, that goes towards both gay and straight couples.  Holding hands, winks, and smiles, others always knew we were a couple.  This was also my first Disney experience, so my good will and constance giddiness, gave off that impression as well.  I happen to be wearing my rainbow Canadian flag pin one day, and I was stopped by quite a few CM's and other vacationing guests, with whom we shared a couple of nice dinners with.

On a later trip I was always put on the stage at the Hoop Dee Doo dinner by my best travel mate Penny, where you might have seen the picture of me wearing a tutu in her post "This is so cool!".  I was uncomfortable at first and nervous, but then I'm like whatever, I'm at Disney, noone really knows me and I'm going to give myself a magical moment .. and that I did.  It was alot of fun, and I was received quite well by loud cheers and ovations.  I was also stopped by many people outside, saying what a good job I had done.  I have to admit that thanks to Penny, I had a great time and something that I will always remember.

Next time I plan on going again with Sean, I want the king size bed and a bottle of champagne too ..... After all, I'm at the greatest place on earth!


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## tmli

TLPL,

I just wanted to say congratulations on your upcoming nuptials and have a great honeymoon!!  Do whatever makes you feel comfortable, unfortunately there will be jerks like the guy in the restaurant no matter where you go and with who.  Last year I had my son in a wheelchair in DTD when a little 3 yr old ran right into us...the father started yelling at me to get my "gimp kid the f home where he belonged".  

Enjoy your honeymoon, for every mean judgemental straight person there are a 1000 of us kind ones who understand that we all just want the same thing--love and happiness.


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## Viki

TLPL said:
			
		

> Hello TeresaNJ,
> 
> Now I am freaking out, what if someone like that yell at us when we go on our honeymoon next month? and I was thinking about requesting a King size bed at check-in. Maybe I shouldn't?


 
No worries. At least not in my experience. My partner and I are traveling to AKL for our 20th anniversary in August and the concierge staff has been terrific, asking for my partner's name and making us feel as welcome as they would any guests.


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## mickeem

We have never encountered anything negative.. 
In fact... when you used to ba able to fax in a room request, I mentioned that it was my and my wife's 10th anniversary. (And it was). When we arrived back to our room one day, there was a cake, and flowers, and a card signed by Mickey and Minnie, wishing us a Happy anniversary.
Now, the people at the front desk saw that it was 2 women, we have both have girl names (not like an alex...) so, it was up to the CM's discretion, Iwould believe, to send us a nice treat..

We even did the couples massage, at the Greand Floridan, they were fabulous, and didn't give any hint as to anything was different.
We also do the romantic dinners at different restaurants. No one has ever said, or done anything to make us feel uncomfortable...

So... We go back for more...!!



__________
Traci


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## donald...really

We have been to WDW together so many times we can't even begin to count them. NEVER had a problem checking in, in a restaurant, on a bus, with a CM, Never. Nothing.

We were married here in the great state of Massachusetts last July (on the 10th anniversary of the day we met) and shortly after took a WDW trip. I told one of the cast members "We are on our honeymoon" and showed her our rings, just to see what the reaction would be. She didn't miss a beat, smiled and said "Congratulations!" and gave us pins to wear that made it clear to others that we were celebrating a special occasion at Disney. She was wonderful.

The only other time that our sexuality was EVER commented on was when we went to MNSSHP with my brother, his wife, and their 3 year old daughter who was dressed as Cinderella. We spent some time in Fantasyland with my niece so my brother and his wife could ride some of the adult rides alone. We were walking with her between us, holding her hands, and we overheard a couple of women with a girl also dressed as Cinderella say "See, that Cinderella has two daddies just like you have two mommies". My husband and I looked at each other with an amused glance, and we thought the comment went over my niece's head, but then she said in an offhanded way to no one in particular "I don't have two daddies. I only have one daddy. But I have two uncles". One of may favorite memories at WDW.


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## TLPL

Hey Donald, I am wondering, what does that pin says on it?


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## donald...really

TLPL - I don't remember exactly what the pin said (it was actually one of the big round buttons, and not one of the collector pins people trade). But it was nothing specific about our wedding. It was more general and would be appropriate for anyone celebrating anything (an anniversary, birthday, etc).


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## Tony-NJ

> The only other time that our sexuality was EVER commented on was when we went to MNSSHP with my brother, his wife, and their 3 year old daughter who was dressed as Cinderella. We spent some time in Fantasyland with my niece so my brother and his wife could ride some of the adult rides alone. We were walking with her between us, holding her hands, and we overheard a couple of women with a girl also dressed as Cinderella say "See, that Cinderella has two daddies just like you have two mommies". My husband and I looked at each other with an amused glance, and we thought the comment went over my niece's head, but then she said in an offhanded way to no one in particular "I don't have two daddies. I only have one daddy. But I have two uncles". One of may favorite memories at WDW.



That's awesome!


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## joanjett1976

Great stories everyone!

On a recent trip with a male couple, we had a great dinner at Brown Derby. Our waiter was 'family' and I thought he was going to ask one of the men to marry him right on the spot! He spent half our meal, tableside, attending to our napkin droppings and champagne. I really thought he might try to squeeze in the booth with us and ask to take him home at one point!


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## TLPL

hey guess what! I found the courage to order my future husband a dozen Roses from Disney Florist, to be delivered to our room on the day we'll check in. Does anyone know if they will put the flowers in the room or wait till we get our room number? oh so exciting!! Two weeks till the wedding and 16 days till honeymoon!!


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## IntheKnow

Tony-NJ said:
			
		

> yes once unfortunately. Though once out of all the time we've spent there is no big deal. It was Dec 98 and we were excited about trying Citricos before MVMCP - we had a horrible waitress who just couldn't understand why we had the gaul to be seen in public     We're not ugly or anything... Anyway we had the worst service ever in all the years we've gone to WDW. Fortunately it didn't really bother us enough to affect our trip, but we never went back to Citricos.




How VERY unusual that you should have this kind of experience at Citrico's, as the majority of the serving staff are gay!


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## Tony-NJ

> How VERY unusual that you should have this kind of experience at Citrico's, as the majority of the serving staff are gay!



Ya know - after all the time we spend there. this is the only time something like this ever happened, so it's not a big deal. We'll probably even try Citricos again some day


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## Viki

TLPL said:
			
		

> hey guess what! I found the courage to order my future husband a dozen Roses from Disney Florist, to be delivered to our room on the day we'll check in. Does anyone know if they will put the flowers in the room or wait till we get our room number? oh so exciting!! Two weeks till the wedding and 16 days till honeymoon!!


 
Good for you!!! They will wait until you check-in for delivery; before that they couldn't be sure where you would be.


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## marklynpa

Picture it - Gay Day 2004, my friend and I boarded a MK bus at Port Orleans. We were standing near the back door facing forward and there was a big family taking up most of the back of the bus. We had the 'official' 2004 Gay Day shirts on and when she read the back of mine, one Mom said 'Oh my god! Out of 365 days in the year we picked this one to go to MK.' I tensed up and thought 'I am standing right here, don't you think I can hear you?' and 'what kind of nasty stuff is she going to say next?' She went on to say God sent them here today for a reason, keep an open mind, and maybe they will learn something. Either way they would have fun and enjoy the experience.    Way to go Mom!


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## IntheKnow

Tony-NJ said:
			
		

> yes once unfortunately. Though once out of all the time we've spent there is no big deal. It was Dec 98 and we were excited about trying Citricos before MVMCP - we had a horrible waitress who just couldn't understand why we had the gaul to be seen in public     We're not ugly or anything... Anyway we had the worst service ever in all the years we've gone to WDW. Fortunately it didn't really bother us enough to affect our trip, but we never went back to Citricos.




How unusual, as most of the serving staff ARE gay!!


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## EllenS1958

I have a great story!  Back in 1999 wmy wife and I  got married, (not legally then - but we are now!  )  and spent a few days in Disney World before going on a Disney Cruise honeymoon.  The world was not yet as open as it is today so we didn't really advertise our relationship - nor did we go to great lengths to hide it either.  One day we rented Mouse Boats at the Polynesian. The girl who filled out the forms noticed our matching nails and complemented them as we went out.  Then when we returned she said with a grin "Were you in a wedding?" We kind of looked at each other and said yes.  Then she said "Was it YOUR wedding??"  Again we said Yes!  She tore up the rental agreements and said have a great honeymoon! How cool was that?   Whenever we travel anywhere we always ask for a king bed and have never had any issues. Be your self and have fun!


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## ConcKahuna

Great story!

This thread made me do a double-take, since RickinNYC parted ways with the DIS a long while back


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## Schotz

EllenS1958 said:


> I have a great story!  Back in 1999 wmy wife and I  got married, (not legally then - but we are now!  )  and spent a few days in Disney World before going on a Disney Cruise honeymoon.  The world was not yet as open as it is today so we didn't really advertise our relationship - nor did we go to great lengths to hide it either.  One day we rented Mouse Boats at the Polynesian. The girl who filled out the forms noticed our matching nails and complemented them as we went out.  Then when we returned she said with a grin "Were you in a wedding?" We kind of looked at each other and said yes.  Then she said "Was it YOUR wedding??"  Again we said Yes!  She tore up the rental agreements and said have a great honeymoon! How cool was that?   Whenever we travel anywhere we always ask for a king bed and have never had any issues. Be your self and have fun!



That is so excellent!


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## Saxton

ConcKahuna said:


> Great story!
> 
> This thread made me do a double-take, since RickinNYC parted ways with the DIS a long while back


 

I did a double-take too Conck!  Hey, but even if it's an old thread it's still nice to see.


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## OKW Lover

EllenS1958 said:


> I have a great story!  Back in 1999 wmy wife and I  got married, (not legally then - but we are now!  )  and spent a few days in Disney World before going on a Disney Cruise honeymoon.  The world was not yet as open as it is today so we didn't really advertise our relationship - nor did we go to great lengths to hide it either.  One day we rented Mouse Boats at the Polynesian. The girl who filled out the forms noticed our matching nails and complemented them as we went out.  Then when we returned she said with a grin "Were you in a wedding?" We kind of looked at each other and said yes.  Then she said "Was it YOUR wedding??"  Again we said Yes!  She tore up the rental agreements and said have a great honeymoon! How cool was that?   Whenever we travel anywhere we always ask for a king bed and have never had any issues. Be your self and have fun!



Hi again Ellen!  Looking forward to telling you and your spouse about the experiences we've had with our daughter and her partner at WDW and on DCL when we meet for the Cars 2 NE DIS meet.


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## moniqueelaine

My daughter and her gf go almost every summer and have never had any issues....In fact next summer we are all going for a trip for my son who is going off to the Marines and they will be bringing my grandtwins which my DIL (her gf) is 4 months pregnant with as we speak..I am so happy...They are happy...We are all happy...It's all rainbows and happiness at our house lol


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## OKW Lover

moniqueelaine said:


> My daughter and her gf go almost every summer and have never had any issues....In fact next summer we are all going for a trip for my son who is going off to the Marines and they will be bringing my grandtwins which my DIL (her gf) is 4 months pregnant with as we speak..I am so happy...They are happy...We are all happy...It's all rainbows and happiness at our house lol



Grandchildren are wonderful!!!


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## BriGuy

At WDW I've never had any problems with guests or CMs. However, at Disneyland I have had numerous negative encounters with park guests. It's amazing how conservative California really is!


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## Minnie72200

BriGuy said:


> At WDW I've never had any problems with guests or CMs. However, at Disneyland I have had numerous negative encounters with park guests. It's amazing how conservative California really is!



I grew up in Orange County. It is one of the most conservative parts of California surprisingly. To this day, it surprises me how close minded the people there can be. Were your negative encounters with these park guests recently? I'm glad my gf and I didn't have any negative experiences at DL last summer after hearing what some people have said, but maybe I just was too busy having fun to pay attention to anyone else?


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## NickyKnack

Oh no, I hate to hear this.
Citraco is hands down one of my favorite restaurants on property.
And my wife and I have never had a problem there - and we've celebrated two anniversaries there!  They even made us special menus with bother our names on them... when we pointed out that while the names were correct the gender usage was herteronormative (we were teasing the waitress, and she knew we weren't angry), she took it back and they had it changed on the spot. 

If you don't want to go because you don't want to go - then don't go.
But please don't let one unfortunate human interaction keep you away from a wonderful establishment.



Tony-NJ said:


> yes once unfortunately. Though once out of all the time we've spent there is no big deal. It was Dec 98 and we were excited about trying Citricos before MVMCP - we had a horrible waitress who just couldn't understand why we had the gaul to be seen in public     We're not ugly or anything... Anyway we had the worst service ever in all the years we've gone to WDW. Fortunately it didn't really bother us enough to affect our trip, but we never went back to Citricos.


----------



## NickyKnack

Congrats BTW - may this be the beginning of your greatest adventure ever!



TLPL said:


> hey guess what! I found the courage to order my future husband a dozen Roses from Disney Florist, to be delivered to our room on the day we'll check in. Does anyone know if they will put the flowers in the room or wait till we get our room number? oh so exciting!! Two weeks till the wedding and 16 days till honeymoon!!


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## BriGuy

Minnie72200 said:


> I grew up in Orange County. It is one of the most conservative parts of California surprisingly. To this day, it surprises me how close minded the people there can be. Were your negative encounters with these park guests recently? I'm glad my gf and I didn't have any negative experiences at DL last summer after hearing what some people have said, but maybe I just was too busy having fun to pay attention to anyone else?



You would think with so many diverse cultures found in California, the people would be a little more excepting and open-minded. Yes, this was recently. I've had many times while holding hands with my boyfriend (at the time), parents start glaring and hiding their children's eyes. I've had a father tell his kid that I was a f-a-g-g-o-t that was gonna burn in hell. Today, I wear a rainbow Mickey pin (part of my pin collection) on my lanyard and occasionally get a few glares from people and teenagers yelling f-a-g-g-o-t as they walk pass me. One time I actually turned around and started yelling at this guy, calling him a coward and told him to "say that to my face!" He was in complete shock that I stood up for myself and walked away very fast.


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## Minnie72200

BriGuy said:


> You would think with so many diverse cultures found in California, the people would be a little more excepting and open-minded. Yes, this was recently. I've had many times while holding hands with my boyfriend (at the time), parents start glaring and hiding their children's eyes. I've had a father tell his kid that I was a f-a-g-g-o-t that was gonna burn in hell. Today, I wear a rainbow Mickey pin (part of my pin collection) on my lanyard and occasionally get a few glares from people and teenagers yelling f-a-g-g-o-t as they walk pass me. One time I actually turned around and started yelling at this guy, calling him a coward and told him to "say that to my face!" He was in complete shock that I stood up for myself and walked away very fast.



That is just completely awful and unacceptable. I'm sorry to hear you've had multiple bad experiences there. This makes me really reconsider going back to DL anytime soon. While I tend to deal with behaviors like that better and try not to take people's ignorance and stupidity personally, my gf would crumble if someone did that to her while at DL. It is supposed to be a happy place.


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## MAF

BriGuy said:


> You would think with so many diverse cultures found in California, the people would be a little more excepting and open-minded. Yes, this was recently. I've had many times while holding hands with my boyfriend (at the time), parents start glaring and hiding their children's eyes. I've had a father tell his kid that I was a f-a-g-g-o-t that was gonna burn in hell. Today, I wear a rainbow Mickey pin (part of my pin collection) on my lanyard and occasionally get a few glares from people and teenagers yelling f-a-g-g-o-t as they walk pass me. One time I actually turned around and started yelling at this guy, calling him a coward and told him to "say that to my face!" He was in complete shock that I stood up for myself and walked away very fast.



Wow I could never imagine this happening at WDW.


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## BriGuy

This is one of the many reasons why I plan on moving back to Orlando soon


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## RainbowCloak

I had a few weird experiences with other guests, but I would stress that these were YEARS ago... so I would hope that this is not the norm today.

During GayDays.. I was waiting to get popcorn at one of the stands near the castle in MK, and the woman in front of me in line was grilling the cast member mercilessly with questions like "WHY ARE THEY ALL HERE TODAY???"  wow.. 

Leaving EPCOT in the parking lot, dark, after Illuminations, a car full of who knows what yelled "******S" and sped off.. very brave.

Those are the only two negative experiences I have had, and they both involved guests that were, shall we say, not evolved on their positions regarding LGBTers.

The cast members have been nothing, if not, gracious about it, and I mean that from every age, creed, nationality.  They can think all they want, but when they are serving me, I want to be treated just like any other guest.

I'm bringing my mom down in December I hope, and I plan on wearing my rainbow Mickey proudly.


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## Princesca

tmli said:


> Last year I had my son in a wheelchair in DTD when a little 3 yr old ran right into us...the father started yelling at me to get my "gimp kid the f home where he belonged".



There really aren't words for how this story makes me feel.


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## Princesca

marklynpa said:


> She went on to say God sent them here today for a reason, keep an open mind, and maybe they will learn something. Either way they would have fun and enjoy the experience.    Way to go Mom!



But this one makes me . Really, if you take the time to learn about life's many possibilities, and there are some you continue to disagree with, that's your prerogative. We may never agree on certain points, but I will have SO much more respect for people who agree to 'live and let live'.

I have not had the best experience finding open-minded, tolerant religious folks, so where I find them, I want to hug the snot outta 'em.


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## lustate

Last year in August I went to WDW and arranged a meal for my husbands 29th Birthday at the Royal Table. While we posed for the photo the first princess asked where our princesses were. Quick as a flash I replied He's mine pointing to my husband, and our other gay friend said and he is looking for his prince. 

I have never seen a CM go so red in my life. Classic moment! She was very nice and no way neg but the moment of the holiday we remember most.


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## TayjaDanger

I've never felt unwelcome or anything at Disney (my theory is that Diz knows that gay people have money to spend just like straight people, they know where their bread is buttered!). Though at the more posh resorts I do feel a little awkward, it's not because of my queerness. 

My mum is a single mother and brought me and my best friend to WDW when we were teenagers, along with my sister who was a stroller baby at the time. She said she felt really out of place and a little weird, all these couples and happy nuclear families surrounding us, and here she was with a baby, two teens and no man in sight. 
I think a little diversity might have helped her not feel so odd. I was oblivious at the time, but as a queer adult I can totally understand how she must have felt. 

One of my biggest problems is that I don't feel recognizable as one of the "family." I don't wear rainbows very often, and I'm not terribly butchy. So I fear that I don't get my gay cred, how silly is that?! I have a rainbow mickey I'm going to attach to my bag once I get a locking back for it-- it fell off my backpack almost immediately when I was wearing it here at home. 

For me there's something so great about seeing other gay people (at Disney) and remembering how great it is to be out and about, loud and proud. 

Glad I found this forum, too!


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## TayjaDanger

lustate said:


> Last year in August I went to WDW and arranged a meal for my husbands 29th Birthday at the Royal Table. While we posed for the photo the first princess asked where our princesses were. Quick as a flash I replied He's mine pointing to my husband, and our other gay friend said and he is looking for his prince.
> 
> I have never seen a CM go so red in my life. Classic moment! She was very nice and no way neg but the moment of the holiday we remember most.



That's HILARIOUS! I love it!


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## jharrowell

BBBBRRRRAAAAAIIIIINNNNNSSSSS!!!!! *slobber*

Ok, now I've got the joke about this thread being brought back from the dead out of the way... 

I have to say my partner and I've never had any issues at WDW, the cast members are great and for the most part the guest are too busy drinking in the magic to think of anything else.

That's not to say I think WDW is immune from the general prejudice of the big wide world, you can get idiots anywhere in the world...


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## techandy

Well, last year we went to Cinderella's Royal table for my partners birthday, in amongst 96% of fellow guests in the restaurant being the smallest princesses, and a couple of older groups there was us two all the Disney Princesses wandered round the room and said hello posing for photographs, when Princess Aurora asked my partner where he was from, he said Manchester - and she said "my my that's a long way for your fairies to fly" he chuckled and said yes, she then said "i bet you have a lot of fairies back in manchester don't you" !! totally in character but had us in stitches! - other than that, have always had exemplary service, although I do miss the nights in Mannequins.


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## jeepsrj

TLPL said:


> oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together. And we are not into PDA at all, even my sister asked me why me and my partner alway walk so far apart whenever we go out. The only time I feel comfortable holding hands are when we are alone or when we are in a gay-function like years ago they have private gay nights at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Don't you think it is easier for gals couples to show PDA than guys?



you know me and my partner are the same way, not so much we are chickens, but that's just the way we are....we just aren't PDA people..and no I don't have a problem with other people doing it..its just not for us...I love him to death but we are who we are...lol....and as for requesting beds at disney....I will say loud and proud....we never ask for a king bed and this is because when we go to disney we go to play hard and when we get back to the room late at night tired and hot..we just want to take a shower and climb into our own bed and pass out....lol..and be well rested for the next adventure that awaits the next day...LOL...


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## NewCruiser2011

My bf and I had a most romantic and wonderful dinner at Victoria and Alberts last summer.  The staff were all friendly and professional -- there was not another person dining in the restaurant who looked at us twice.  We were one of the last couples left by the end of the night and I leaned over to give my man a smooch, which brought a huge smile to the face of the harpist.  Before we left the servers presented both of us with roses.  It was fantastic!   

Another time we were waiting for Fantasmic to start and a young boy sitting next to us with his family, turned to me and announced that his flashing buzz light year was superior to my light up sorcerer mickey -- which then began a battle between our weapons of choice.  His parents just giggled and smiled at me and my bf.  I think they were thrilled someone else was able to keep their kid's attention for a bit after a long day at the parks. 

We've never had a problem at WDW or DL in any way shape or form. Here's hoping our first experience with DCL on the Dreams this December will yield the same results!


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## ashley0139

I've never been to Disney with anyone I was dating, only friends and family, so I can't speak to that.

However, I had an interesting experience on my last trip in 2009 while with my friends in Epcot.  We were walking from the World Showcase to Future World on the path that goes right by Mexico, I think?  Anyway, it was pretty empty and we passed a couple teenage boys walking the other direction and one was wearing a shirt that said "He's gay" with an arrow pointing to his right.  I can't say for sure, but I don't think the shirt was meant to be a positive thing.  My friends and I commented on it after we passed them, and the woman in front of us turned around and started talking to us about how appalling it was.  This was also the weekend of the Equality march in October and my friends and I were wearing our Equality Now! pins.  As we walked from WS to FW my friends and I and the woman in front of us had a nice conversation about equality and peoples' awareness of it these days.  It's one of my favorite memories from the trip.


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## Nancy F

Just having to go home at the end of my trip. 
Nancy


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## chrisisbuckwild

My Bf and i went to disney this past july and had an amazing time. We had table dinners and every waitress and waiter was so kind and polite. We had an amazing time a cirque du soleil and he had his arm around me the whole show (which i am not a fan of pda but i let him cause he will get mad that i care) and we held hands through the parks without any disturbances from anyone. It was just an amazing time, we got our caricature done and the artist put cute hearts and things and we got matching engraved bracelets and the girl thought it was the cutest thing and we also got some free fast passes from a castmember who said thank you for being yourselves. it was amazing <3


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## Gypsybear

Well, on our last trip (Gay Days 2010), we had nothing but wonderful experiences.

When we checked in at Coronado, the CM said she noticed we were celebrating an Anniversary...we said yes, so she asked us how many years...we told her 9...and she wrote the number on our pins, and said Congratulations....and said it was so nice to see happy couples....

Fast forward to the next morning...we put on our pins, and went to the bus stop...no one said anything....I think it's the dragging in the morning scenario...lol....(at least for us it is)....anyway, we board the bus to MK, and we notice that there is a woman and her young son sitting across from us...I notice that he's wearing a Birthday Pin for 6 years old...so we wish him a Happy Birthday...the mom notices our pins, leans down, and tells her child that we are celebrating an Anniversary, and that he needs to wish up a Happy Anniversary, which he did.  The mom looked up at us and said Congrats and smiled....

We got off the bus and were happy to see that the pins were not going to be much of an issue.....at CRT, DP and I got into a sword fight at the breakfast table (with those plastic swords they give the kids)....the CMs found it quite humorous....one of the Princesses asked who we were fighting for....we looked at her, and said "Each other"....she got a big grin on her face and said "Carry on"....

Back at Christmas, 2008, we were there for MVMCP, and were taking pics with all the characters we could find....well, we came across Snow White and her Prince....so we rushed and got in line for pics (2nd in line)....so, it was our turn....we move into position and as the photographer was ready to take our pic, Snow White says "Now I have a Prince"...and without thinking about where I was or anything, I looked at her and said "B*tch, find your own".....at which point I realized what had just come out of my mouth....needless to say, Snow White and her Prince both burst out laughing out loud.....while I stood there in horror at what had just come out of my mouth....they hugged us and we went on our way....luckily there were no kids around...in fact, there wasn't anyone else there waiting for a pic...so I lucked out....I kept my mouth in check the remainder of the evening.


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## elwise1966

lol...I would've grabbed Prince Charming and said "Me too!"


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## HeatherLassell

It makes me sad that anyone would EVER talk to another person in such a negative way as some of the posts I've read.

I have 3 children...2 boys and a girl.  They ask me questions about lots of things and everything gets an open and honest answer.  The majority of my friends are gay and the kids have come to realise that they are exactly the same as any couple.  That makes me proud as a mom.  I encourage my kids to be OPEN minded.  There is no other way to live in this amazing world we are in.  I myself am bi-sexual and my mother raised me to accept all people for WHO they are not WHAT they are.  I wish more people did that with their kids!


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## Liberty Belle

TLPL said:


> oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together. And we are not into PDA at all, even my sister asked me why me and my partner alway walk so far apart whenever we go out. The only time I feel comfortable holding hands are when we are alone or when we are in a gay-function like years ago they have private gay nights at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Don't you think it is easier for gals couples to show PDA than guys?



I know this is an old post, but I'm bored and browsing. This just makes me so incredibly sad.  I hope now, five years later, you feel more comfortable being with your love in  public.


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## kmedina

I do not think there is such a thing as a traditional family anymore.  Your family is just as important as mine.  It should not matter what type of people make up a family.  Hopefully, you never encounter any ignorant people who do not know better.  That way, we can all enjoy WDW.


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## Howellsy

lustate said:


> Last year in August I went to WDW and arranged a meal for my husbands 29th Birthday at the Royal Table. While we posed for the photo the first princess asked where our princesses were. Quick as a flash I replied He's mine pointing to my husband, and our other gay friend said and he is looking for his prince.
> 
> I have never seen a CM go so red in my life. Classic moment! She was very nice and no way neg but the moment of the holiday we remember most.



This one made me laugh because this summer Princess Aurora asked me and my girlfriend if we were sisters, or just friends? At which point we both laughed and I said we were together and Aurora kind of went red and said, 'My goodness how wonderful' in a slightly awkward manner.

My mum thought it was hilarious - she was like, why couldn't you have just smiled and nodded!


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## Nemoranger

As a out and proud gay cast member I am always thrilled to read such wonderful stories about a place that I not only work at but I truly love. 

Disney never ceases to amaze me with how far it goes to support the gay community. I love how Disney is a major sponsor of Gay Pride in Orlando and also is a major contributor to many LGBT organizations and events. It also tickles me when I see on my benefits when it says spouse/partner/significant other. I can't wait for the day when gay marriage is finally legal and Spouse will cover everything.

As for anything bad happening. Actually its been the opposite. I have always had such love and support. I remember one gay days a banner was flying over and this straight couple came up to me and friends and said they were disgusted by the banner and were happy we were there and having such a great time. We were in Gay Days Red Tshirts at the time. 

I do recall one year we were in front of the castle waiting for the parade when a couple got engaged. The family sitting next to us had sour puss faces on while everyone around them cheered. They just sat there and said nothing. I felt nothing but pity for them that they could not enjoy a happy momment.

Lastly, I find the world showcase is the best date spot anywhere. Its so nice and in the evening when its cooler and all lite up its just beautiful. A few of the Grey Goose Lemon Slushes really help make the evenings even nicer.


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## DisneyDee27

The entire week we were there together in 2010. We were celebrating our 11th anniversary. We were greeted and congratulated by CMs and guests alike. We even got a bit of extra pixie dust from some characters. 
 In 2008 my family of 17 including parents, in laws, siblings, niece, nephews, and some of our wedding party all went to WDW, we did the grand gatherings and loved every minute of it....one CM at the Coral reef restaurant commented on such a large group of people and asked if we were all neighbors. My father in law proudly said no those are our daughters they're married. The CM without missing a beat said "I wish you guys were my parents" my dad said "hey I've got all girls, I'll take a gay son." We had such a good time. He showed some of our crew the area where they grow pineapples and totally hooked us up throughout dinner. We had 4 rowdy tables of love. The parents were sitting together at a respectable table, the kids were at three other tables having a grand old time. That's one of my favorite memories of 2008. 
 I have never had an issue at WDW well perhaps an odd look as I enter the women's bathroom but that's because I have really short hair. I get that at home sometimes. Lol
Dee


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## CamoMama

When I read the first post in this thread I had to laugh. If only traditional families should be at Disney then I'm out of luck as a divorced mom of two insane teenagers. My kids grew up around gay men, and never considered that being gay wasn't a completely normal circumstance, so I never really had to explain anything to them about it beyond the regular birds and bees talks. 

I was glad to read mostly positive stories, and just had to shake my head at the ignorance described in the negative ones. People can't just mind their own business sometimes, can they? I have to say, I really am not a fan of public displays of affection, especially in places like Disneyland. Of course I don't really consider handholding or quick kisses to really be PDA (and sharing a bite at dinner is definitely not an issue), those types of things are no big deal from any gender combination. It's the makeout sessions in public that I'm not okay with.  And I have never seen a gay couple doing that sort of thing in a theme park, it's _always_ straight people, and it makes me want to throw cold water on them every time I see it. 

My youngest daughter recently came out of the closet (why is it that your gaydar never works on those closest to you?), and I just hope that she never has to encounter the kind of behavior that was described in a couple of these stories, and I hope that none of you ever do so again.


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## puertorican00676

We never had a bad moment at Disney. We even went for a honeymoon dinner at California Grill and stated it was our honeymoon and they bent backwards to make our dinner special! our table was next to the window overlooking the castle and our table had glitter castles and mickeys on the table and even the server offered us champaign to toast and celebrate! It was AWESOME! watching the firework at our table listening to the music of the show was so incredible and the food was amazing. Like everything, we have heard people say nasty thing but its more a thing of social class than sexual orientation. We never have encountered a cast member that has made us feel strange or bad. We just love it!


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## BenKling

The positive response at WDW was one of the reasons why my boyfriend and I decided to go here for our vacation in a few weeks. It's a place where you can get away from the real world and not worry about stuff so much. 

I totally need a rainbow Mickey pin...


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## helencope88

thanks for everyones input on this thread! 
myself and my fiancee are having a civil partnership ceremony here in the UK in october, and flying over to orlando for our honeymoon straight after.
although we have been before and never had a problem ive been a little concerned about how people would react to us as a lesbian couple on our honeymoon, i could be wrong, but as i understand it our legally recognised partnership, meaning we have the same rights as a heterosexual married couple, isnt recognised in florida. (please correct me if im wrong?!)
i guess i was worried that people would diminish the fact we were on our honeymoon.....
however after reading many of the lovely posts and stories on here i am no longer worried! and am now even more excited to spend my honeymoon in WDW.


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## jlowejd5

We were on the Dream last October with a gay couple, and we had adjoining staterooms.  The first night, they turned down the bed and the sofa.  No big deal, we had a nice chuckle.  They just shoved the couch back together.  After that, they only turned down the bed.  No muss, no fuss, and (as always) very professional.


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## krichie

CamoMama said:


> I have to say, I really am not a fan of public displays of affection, especially in places like Disneyland. Of course I don't really consider handholding or quick kisses to really be PDA (and sharing a bite at dinner is definitely not an issue), those types of things are no big deal from any gender combination. It's the makeout sessions in public that I'm not okay with.



I completely agree!  Last time I was in Disneyland, I had just come out of the closet at 18 years old, and I saw a straight couple making out in front of Mickey's House - I just thought to myself, "That is awkward.  And it isn't because they are straight." haha.  Really though, unless it is 12AM Jan. 1st in the park, I think it is awkward to happen upon two people hoovering eachother's faces. 

This will be my partner's and my first time in Disney World, and I can't wait!


----------



## SanFranciscan

RickinNYC said:


> Actually, Joe had to remind me of one moment two years ago while checking in that a cast member made a little joke about not putting us in a room with a king size bed.  Apparently she thought we were buddies just traveling together.  I tried to make light of the situation and assured her that request was indeed valid.  I laughed but did feel a little burn of embarrassment.  Certainly not enough to make me think poorly of the girl, nor enough to insult us in any way.



It is doubtful that she meant to be offensive.  While working as a photographer at the Giants games in San Francisco, I took a picture of two female baseball fans and heard one say to the other "This is our first picture as a couple."  She then glanced my way as I was walking away with a look that said "Ooops!  Did you hear that?"  Yes, and that was fine with me because I knew that I had a sure sale on the Giants' web site.


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## RJPoste

My partner and I have been many times and never had any problems.

We even bought a DVC time share together with no questions asked.


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## SanFranciscan

TLPL said:


> oh I am a big chicken. Every time me and my partner go travel and stay in a hotel, I would have one of us stay in the car while the other one check in, so they don't see us together. And we are not into PDA at all, even my sister asked me why me and my partner alway walk so far apart whenever we go out. The only time I feel comfortable holding hands are when we are alone or when we are in a gay-function like years ago they have private gay nights at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Don't you think it is easier for gals couples to show PDA than guys?



Women are harder to single out on the Gay-dar because women are more affectionate with each other as heterosexuals.  I used to work cleaning motel rooms years ago, and it was not uncommon for female friends having a girls' getaway to share beds while businessmen traveling together were often uncomfortable even sharing a room.  Among tourists from Europe, it was not at all unusual for mothers and daughters to hold hands so I learned not to make any assumptions that they were a couple when I saw them. 

You really don't need to worry about what Disney staff will do if you check in together in a room with one bed.  I worked with someone at the front gate of Universal Studios who once embarassed himself when he realized that he had said something perhaps inappropriate to a male couple.  It was not done with malice though because he used to work at Disney World and loved Gay Days there.  He said that the people who showed up for the event were a fun crowd.  

Even if you do encounter a cast member who does not approve, it is unlikely that this person will make an issue of it and not just because he or she wants the job.  People who choose to work in the hospitality industry are generally social types who want to get along.


----------



## DOPEYLUVER

Little OT, but I am a female who was traveling with a male friend of mine.  We were checking into POFQ.  There was no wait but as we walked to the reception area, the concierge came over and offered to help us.

As she was checking us in, she said, "You have different last names and you're staying in the same room?"  Thought that was pretty odd.


----------



## lsbgvadvcer

In January we had our 8th trip to WDW in 7 years.  Never once have we felt uncomfortable or unwelcome.  We love it so much that this time we decided we might as well go for it and bought into DVC...so it looks like we'll be going for the next 42 years!  We're going back down the first weekend in May for our first stay as DVC owners, then we've planned a long weekend to take my mom with us in December to see the Christmas decorations (she's been with us 3 times already but REALLY wants to see the Christmas stuff).  Next summer we're taking my partners brother and sister to celebrate their graduations from high school & college.  It's a great place to be yourself and enjoy your family and friends and that's a big part of why we bought DVC.  Who could ask for anything more!


----------



## smw

I'm not gay but started reading this thread out of curiosity, hoping not to hear of a bunch of negative experiences. So glad to see its mostly positive. 

Even when the negatives happen, know you've got more supporters than detractors.


----------



## rn448698

I've been six times since January 2008 (seven, if you include a trip to DL). We've never had anything negative occur. Everyone thinks we're brothers...


----------



## utterrandomness

rn448698 said:


> I've been six times since January 2008 (seven, if you include a trip to DL). We've never had anything negative occur. Everyone thinks we're brothers...



My partner and I get asked if we're sisters a lot (we've never been to Disney together, this is just in our everyday lives). It's kind of irritating, but we have to put up with it.


----------



## dalmatian7

DOPEYLUVER said:


> Little OT, but I am a female who was traveling with a male friend of mine.  We were checking into POFQ.  There was no wait but as we walked to the reception area, the concierge came over and offered to help us.
> 
> As she was checking us in, she said, "You have different last names and you're staying in the same room?"  Thought that was pretty odd.




I am married but my DH and I have different last names so a comment like that would have irked me a bit.  some people just don't think when making small talk sometimes.

I know when I made our concierge level arrangements since my name was first they would come back with  "mylast name" family.  on the email contact. I would just email to refer to us as the "dhlast name" family. and that was it.


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## SanFranciscan

Rn448698 and Utterrandomness, maybe you and your partners really do resemble each other.  Husbands and wives often resemble each other too, even if they come from different ethnic backgrounds.  I remember making that observation as a teenager and hearing soon afterward that it was environmental.


----------



## utterrandomness

Oh, we really do look a lot alike, except that I'm pretty short. Mostly, I think we just look like lesbians though.


----------



## wdwgirl4ever

Let me just start off by saying I am bi, and currently in a straight relationship. I'm going over Gay Days this year with my father. I'm hoping he doesn't give anyone any bad looks....he's not completely okay with the idea of gay couples. (a little off-topic, sorry) I just wanted to say I support everyone, and no matter what he thinks,  I'm going to buy a rainbow pin to show it.   I'd meet up with everyone if I could, but seeing as this trip is with him, I can't. Maybe next time!


----------



## finboy

When my boyfriend and I went to Disneyland we had no negative comments. However, we look like brothers so people might have thought we were. But I don't know many brothers that ride The Little Mermaid ride 5 times in a row. haha


----------



## m86

My first post in the forum!

Not really negative, but there was this situation where me and my partner were eating at Backlot Express at DHS, and a family father was listening very carefully to us talking about everything and nothing. Later we went to the restrooms to wash our hands, and when my boyfriend was ready to leave the restroom, he said to me "Let's go sweetie" - the family father was also in the restroom, and he replied loudly "OH COME ON!"

We both found it more hilarious than annoying.


----------



## SanFranciscan

I can't imagine many people at Disney World getting ugly with anyone just for being gay.  While I was warned before arriving here from San Francisco that Florida was verrrry conservative, pretty much everyone whom I have met here in Orlando over the past nearly 14 months seems content to mind their own business regarding other people's orientation.

I am interested in promoting Orlando in general as a gay destination, although I would have to do it as something of a hobby since I am not a travel agent and do work full time, or nearly full time in the off-season, at another job.  I also see Orlando as having strong possibilities with heterosexual women in the market for the popular girlfriends' getaway vacations since there is a strong arts community here for a city of its size.


----------



## MarieLightning

I'll be going to Disney for the very first time in November (soooo excited), along with my wife and my aunt and uncle. I'm very glad to see most everybody who commented in here have experienced nothing but positive encounters 

And after some of the looks we got on our honeymoon (which was nowhere near DW, it was in Dominican Republic) it'll be great to have people not stare at you in surprise when you tell them "No, we're not related, we're married"  We do get the sisters comment a lot. Cousins has happened once in a while, and while we were on our honeymoon, we got asked not once, but twice if we were mother and daughter! I'm only four years older than she is, though she does look like a teen still.

Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to sharing the most magical place on Earth with the person I love most ^^ and I'll definitely be looking to get one of those rainbow Mickey pins - it'll go nicely with my 1st Visit button!


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## kanderson89

Was bored and perusing threads so wandered over to see what my bros/sisters were chatting about. My partner and I have been to WDW several times with absolutely no problems. It's one of the reasons we keep it on the vacation list....not only can we relax, but we can support progressive companies with our dollars. 

I certainly haven't had any issues with cast members. A ton of family works there along with international folks who are either more progressive than the US or just clueless I would bet they have diversity training and probably know that the LGBTQ community can be loyal customers if treated well. 

In terms of other visitors, we usually visit during quieter times, so there aren't tons of people around. And most are into themselves anyway. Who cares. We're on vacation for us, not them.

Go. Have a great time.


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## utterrandomness

kanderson89 said:


> I certainly haven't had any issues with cast members. A ton of family works there along with international folks who are either more progressive than the US or just clueless



Some of those international folks are probably also family.


----------



## kanderson89

utterrandomness said:


> Some of those international folks are probably also family.



Good point!


----------



## kellgirl

I went down with my girlfriend in December, as part of a high school class trip. Granted, because we're only teenagers, I'm not going to deny that there was some PDA But we never encountered any problems with Cast Members or guests, In fact when we were on Kali River Rapids a father asked us if we were friends or sisters; I blushed and stammered something while my girlfriend took my hand and simply stated "She's my girlfriend".  HE smiled and laughed and said his sister was gay, and that he was glad to see us unafraid to be who we are!


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## laurabelle

I love this thread! When my daughter came out at 15, it meant so much to know our happy place was also family friendly. Our first trip after she was officially out, we really noticed more and more family, because we were on the lookout. Now she is 18, and this fall, I'm taking both my daughters and my one daughter's girlfriend (of one year, yay!) to Disney. They will get some alone time one night in Epcot (the most romantic place in WDW) while my other daughter and I go to a concert at the Hard Rock in Universal. They are over the moon excited! It means a lot as the mother of a lesbian to have others treat her with dignity and respect. The rest of the world is catching up...


----------



## CamoMama

laurabelle said:


> I love this thread! When my daughter came out at 15, it meant so much to know our happy place was also family friendly. Our first trip after she was officially out, we really noticed more and more family, because we were on the lookout. Now she is 18, and this fall, I'm taking both my daughters and my one daughter's girlfriend (of one year, yay!) to Disney. They will get some alone time one night in Epcot (the most romantic place in WDW) while my other daughter and I go to a concert at the Hard Rock in Universal. They are over the moon excited! It means a lot as the mother of a lesbian to have others treat her with dignity and respect. The rest of the world is catching up...




Oh definitely this. My daughter just came out in January (she's also 15), and we're going together next Saturday. She's not out to my family yet, which is who we're going with, but we plan to ditch them most of the time anyway. I'm not sure I'm okay with her having "alone time" with anyone just yet, but that's because she's 15, wouldn't matter the gender of her partner. Not sure if I'll be okay with that at 18 either, hell, not sure if I'll ever be okay with it, even after she's married and has kids of her own. She is my baby after all.


----------



## MovedbytheMouse

My husband and I have visited WDW several times over the past few years and, as new residents of southern California, Disneyland has become our home away from home. (We'll be there later today, in fact!) We have only experienced negativity regarding our sexuality once in a Disney park a few years ago when we were confronted in line for the Jungle Cruise. 

I wrote about the encounter in my blog if you are interested in details. I haven't posted ten times yet, so I can't post a link, but if you Google "moved by the mouse it can be a jungle out there", it should be the first search result.

Long story short, these types of things can either ruin your experience or make you appreciative of the wonderful, welcoming, and kind people that are roar more prevalent on Disney property. I chose the latter and am glad I did. Not allowing some ignorant jerk to spoil your trip takes the power away from them. You deserve to be able to be yourself and enjoy every moment of the magic.


----------



## jlowejd5

MovedbytheMouse said:


> I haven't posted ten times yet, so I can't post a link



But I can.  Beautifully written story.  Proud to share it.

http://movedbythemouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/it-can-be-jungle-out-there.html


----------



## weezyree

RickinNYC said:


> Actually, Joe had to remind me of one moment two years ago while checking in that a cast member made a little joke about not putting us in a room with a king size bed.  Apparently she thought we were buddies just traveling together.  I tried to make light of the situation and assured her that request was indeed valid.  I laughed but did feel a little burn of embarrassment.  Certainly not enough to make me think poorly of the girl, nor enough to insult us in any way.



Now that would be awkward!!!  I am a straight, married woman and had a similar incident happen to me.  

I had stayed in a room with an Army buddy in LA and the clerk assumed we were a couple.  We missed our connecting flight to Korea which was the last of the day.  

The USO put us up for the night and we agreed to save THEM money by sharing a room.  The clerk at the hotel (not the USO-DODT was still in force at that time) said she would put us in a single room with a double bed 'If that was okay'??  If not, she would check for a king size bed!! LOL....we were flattered and simply stated we need two double beds.

Maybe it was just an LA thing...Oh, and that was my first and only experience with an earthquake!!!

We see several gay and lesbian couples at Disney and why not share in the happiness of the place with everyone.  There are several different folks of ethinicities, inter-racial couples, young adults in large groups, the Trek-ies, old couples, young couples, singles, and several different religious folks there!!

We just finished a four night on the Dream and there was a minister that insisted upon wearing his collar at dinner, several Islamic women in traditional coverings, Jewish men with their full beards and those that dress with barely anything!!!

Those that do have a problem and keep their comments to themselves deserve a kudos and those that want to make a scene should be sent to the Evil Queen!!!!...off with their heads!!!

Encourage them to go.  Have fun and marvel in the fun and excitement of Disney!!!


----------



## DisneyPrideBaby

I had a friend bring up how it must be weird for me at Disney because it's a family oriented place. I told her I never felt as accepted as I did when at Disney. You feel loved no matter what.. It's so magical. One time a CM even offered to take pictures for my gf and me because we needed a classic kiss in front of the castle picture. Many of the cast members are family anyway.


----------



## utterrandomness

DisneyPrideBaby said:


> I had a friend bring up how it must be weird for me at Disney because it's a family oriented place. I told her I never felt as accepted as I did when at Disney. You feel loved no matter what.. It's so magical. One time a CM even offered to take pictures for my gf and me because we needed a classic kiss in front of the castle picture. Many of the cast members are family anyway.



Well it's a family-oriented place and a _family_-oriented place, all at the same time, and so it should be. Welcoming to everyone, if only more places were like that.


----------



## poorunfortunatesouls

Alas, I am single :/, but ive never seen anything go down in the parks. It surprises me that there have been incidents in DL. I was there in August for the D23 Expo and saw numerous gay couples holding hands at DL and DCA. No one seemed to even notice, except for me who was thrilled beyond belief!


----------



## laurabelle

MovedbytheMouse said:


> My husband and I have visited WDW several times over the past few years and, as new residents of southern California, Disneyland has become our home away from home. (We'll be there later today, in fact!) We have only experienced negativity regarding our sexuality once in a Disney park a few years ago when we were confronted in line for the Jungle Cruise.
> 
> I wrote about the encounter in my blog if you are interested in details. I haven't posted ten times yet, so I can't post a link, but if you Google "moved by the mouse it can be a jungle out there", it should be the first search result.
> 
> Long story short, these types of things can either ruin your experience or make you appreciative of the wonderful, welcoming, and kind people that are roar more prevalent on Disney property. I chose the latter and am glad I did. Not allowing some ignorant jerk to spoil your trip takes the power away from them. You deserve to be able to be yourself and enjoy every moment of the magic.



I just read your blog post. You handled it so well...and you got pixie dust in return! I plan to share it with my daughter. Thanks and congratulations on your marriage!


----------



## laurabelle

CamoMama said:


> Oh definitely this. My daughter just came out in January (she's also 15), and we're going together next Saturday. She's not out to my family yet, which is who we're going with, but we plan to ditch them most of the time anyway. I'm not sure I'm okay with her having "alone time" with anyone just yet, but that's because she's 15, wouldn't matter the gender of her partner. Not sure if I'll be okay with that at 18 either, hell, not sure if I'll ever be okay with it, even after she's married and has kids of her own. She is my baby after all.



Have you looked into PFLAG? They are so helpful. I've learned a lot these past 3 yrs., on my own too. There are plenty of good books and blogs written to help you learn and understand more as a parent of an LGBT teen. Let me know if you would like some recommendations. Best wishes...


----------



## Tygerlilly

To the two parents (and everyone else who may be) with the gay children who have posted: I really just want to say thank you on behalf of every glbt child who is struggling to tell their parent. When I came out to mine, I was thrown out of my house, told I was no longer their (only) child, and was left completely alone. It's good to know that more kids are having the support of their parents so the cycle of hate can be broken. 


Back on topic, I've never had a problem with being out and at Disney.


----------



## Valley Twin

MovedbytheMouse said:


> My husband and I have visited WDW several times over the past few years and, as new residents of southern California, Disneyland has become our home away from home. (We'll be there later today, in fact!) We have only experienced negativity regarding our sexuality once in a Disney park a few years ago when we were confronted in line for the Jungle Cruise.
> 
> I wrote about the encounter in my blog if you are interested in details. I haven't posted ten times yet, so I can't post a link, but if you Google "moved by the mouse it can be a jungle out there", it should be the first search result.
> 
> Long story short, these types of things can either ruin your experience or make you appreciative of the wonderful, welcoming, and kind people that are roar more prevalent on Disney property. I chose the latter and am glad I did. Not allowing some ignorant jerk to spoil your trip takes the power away from them. You deserve to be able to be yourself and enjoy every moment of the magic.



Beautiful blog post.  My husband and I have been to the World three times for day trips over our 14 years together - always while visiting family in Florida.  We're going for a week by ourselves in October of this year for our first on-property stay as a belated honeymoon/early anniversary.  (We were married in March in Provincetown.)  We've never had any problems at all on any of our trips.

My best date was to DisneyLand about 20 years ago.  I was dating a flight attendant and he told me that we were going to a friend's party and would be there pretty late so I should pack an overnight bag.  He picked me up and asked if I would mind if we stopped at the airport to pick up his schedule for the following week.  When we parked in the employee lot and he told me to bring my bag, I started to get suspicious, but didn't say anything.  We were in the employee lounge when he told me we were going "somewhere, but it's a surprise".  

His co-workers had already gotten the other passengers on board and covered the call sign at the gate so I couldn't tell where the plane was going.  As we were taxiing to the runway, the Captain welcomed us to flight XXX to Los Angeles, but he still wouldn't provide any details.  We got to LA (several glasses of champagne later) and gathered our luggage. I followed him thru the airport and out the door to the Magical Express bus.  It wasn't until then that I knew!  We had a great 2 night stay.  

(I tell my now-husband this story all the time to let him know what he has to live up to on this trip, but so far all I'm getting are eye rolls!)

Wishing you lots of pixie dust!


----------



## Sith Lord 13

Valley Twin said:


> Beautiful blog post.  My husband and I have been to the World three times for day trips over our 14 years together - always while visiting family in Florida.  We're going for a week by ourselves in October of this year for our first on-property stay as a belated honeymoon/early anniversary.  (We were married in March in Provincetown.)  We've never had any problems at all on any of our trips.
> 
> My best date was to DisneyLand about 20 years ago.  I was dating a flight attendant and he told me that we were going to a friend's party and would be there pretty late so I should pack an overnight bag.  He picked me up and asked if I would mind if we stopped at the airport to pick up his schedule for the following week.  When we parked in the employee lot and he told me to bring my bag, I started to get suspicious, but didn't say anything.  We were in the employee lounge when he told me we were going "somewhere, but it's a surprise".
> 
> His co-workers had already gotten the other passengers on board and covered the call sign at the gate so I couldn't tell where the plane was going.  As we were taxiing to the runway, the Captain welcomed us to flight XXX to Los Angeles, but he still wouldn't provide any details.  We got to LA (several glasses of champagne later) and gathered our luggage. I followed him thru the airport and out the door to the Magical Express bus.  It wasn't until then that I knew!  We had a great 2 night stay.
> 
> (I tell my now-husband this story all the time to let him know what he has to live up to on this trip, but so far all I'm getting are eye rolls!)
> 
> Wishing you lots of pixie dust!



That is the most adorable story I've ever heard. I love it. I would kill for someone like that.


----------



## SanFranciscan

Valley Twin, Sith Lord is right that that is an adorable story; but you are braver than I am to get on an airplane without knowing where it is going.  I think paranoia would have set in and that I might start thinking "Just how well do I know this person?  Has he ever done anything that I consider sinister?"  People can lie to me, and I will believe them until I see evidence that they are lying.  Let them withhold informaton from me, and I can go into total freakout.


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## Disneytwinsmom

jlowejd5 said:


> But I can.  Beautifully written story.  Proud to share it.
> 
> http://movedbythemouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/it-can-be-jungle-out-there.html



Great story...thank you for sharing!


----------



## Disneytwinsmom

poorunfortunatesouls said:


> Alas, I am single :/, but ive never seen anything go down in the parks. It surprises me that there have been incidents in DL. I was there in August for the D23 Expo and saw numerous gay couples holding hands at DL and DCA. No one seemed to even notice, except for me who was thrilled beyond belief!



It is so great to hear that there was alot of hand holding! I love that!


----------



## puertorican00676

MovedbytheMouse said:
			
		

> My husband and I have visited WDW several times over the past few years and, as new residents of southern California, Disneyland has become our home away from home. (We'll be there later today, in fact!) We have only experienced negativity regarding our sexuality once in a Disney park a few years ago when we were confronted in line for the Jungle Cruise.
> 
> I wrote about the encounter in my blog if you are interested in details. I haven't posted ten times yet, so I can't post a link, but if you Google "moved by the mouse it can be a jungle out there", it should be the first search result.
> 
> Long story short, these types of things can either ruin your experience or make you appreciative of the wonderful, welcoming, and kind people that are roar more prevalent on Disney property. I chose the latter and am glad I did. Not allowing some ignorant jerk to spoil your trip takes the power away from them. You deserve to be able to be yourself and enjoy every moment of the magic.



Beautifull story! Loved it!


----------



## mrunn0080

Negativity doesn't go very far in WDW.  Your always a few steps away from a different land with an instant change in atmosphere.  I get looks if I'm wandering around in a red shirt alone in WDW but I would get that anywhere.  

My only time in WDW I was completely offended is when a person was sitting just outside the doors to Gasparilla, lit up a huge stinking cigar while we were enjoying our lunch.  I mentioned it loudly how awful the smoke was and he responded rudely that smoking was permitted there.  I then looked that area up on the map and it was a smoking area.  I couldn't believe Disney would allow smoking there, inside the GF grounds at an outdoor eating area in perfect view of the Castle.  I felt bad that I offended that person.

I'm usually way too busy enjoying the park to notice any negativity in the parks.


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## Disneytwinsmom

puertorican00676 said:


> Beautifull story! Loved it!



Read the story on your blog...you did a great job expressing your emotions. Thank you for .sharing


----------



## amberg93

My wife and I went to WDW for the first time in November and didn't have any negative experiences. And I do tend to be more for being a tad affectionate. We held hands most days throughout the park and on occasion I'd peck her cheek or something. In fact, I think my wife had a bigger problem with it than anyone because she was worried about parents getting unhappy. 

Which leads back to another story, where at an amusement park where I work in Michigan, we were riding the train together and we'd been first in line so that we could ride in the back (which faces the opposite direction) and sneak a few kisses because we have a long distance relationship and hadn't seen each other in a while. But this bratty 10 year old kid from behind us goes running to the end of the rain, despite the fact that we had been talking like the whole time we were standing there about sitting in the back, and his parents do nothing to stop him. So while we were going through the tunnel (which is dark but not all back) we stole a peck, and the parents of the bratty 10 year old start complaining about how disgusting that is and how they don't want to see that and blah blah blah. Worse, when we got off there was like a girl who jumped on her boyfriend and full out makeout and those same parents didn't make a comment at all.


----------



## allears

I am relatively new at being out, only a little over two years, after being married to a woman for 25 years.  Last year was my first trip to Disney with my partner.  We spent the day at DTD and then dinner with another couple at Boma.  I was a probably on alert for anything negative, but had no such experiences.  We spent the following week on the Disney Magic, which I have cruised as a traditional family man 8 times before.  Had an amazing time, and not the slightest weirdness, and we were seated at a table by ourselves.  On formal night our server had set our places next to each other at the table, facing out.  He told us that would make nicer photos when the photographer came by.

We also had a couples massage in the spa, at the end your eyes are covered with a soothing cloth and they placed our hands in each others before leaving us alone for few minutes.

Just got back last week from a day in the Magic Kingdom in WDW, again, not the slightest issue.  Sailed the Disney Fantasy and the only thing, which was amusing and not at all offensive was that we met our lovely stateroom hostess  right after being able to access our staterooms.  She introduced herself and we introduced ourselves.  She said, "It's just the two of you, yes?" and We said yes, and she asked if we needed the other bed made up at night.  We said no, and that was that.  

I don't think anyone is being offensive when they ask, they just need to make sure they are doing the right thing.  After all customers tend to fly off the handle when you don't do things just right.  

I think Disney is one of the greatest places for all people, and can't wait to get back next year!


----------



## Disneytwinsmom

allears said:


> I am relatively new at being out, only a little over two years, after being married to a woman for 25 years.  Last year was my first trip to Disney with my partner.  We spent the day at DTD and then dinner with another couple at Boma.  I was a probably on alert for anything negative, but had no such experiences.  We spent the following week on the Disney Magic, which I have cruised as a traditional family man 8 times before.  Had an amazing time, and not the slightest weirdness, and we were seated at a table by ourselves.  On formal night our server had set our places next to each other at the table, facing out.  He told us that would make nicer photos when the photographer came by.
> 
> We also had a couples massage in the spa, at the end your eyes are covered with a soothing cloth and they placed our hands in each others before leaving us alone for few minutes.
> 
> Just got back last week from a day in the Magic Kingdom in WDW, again, not the slightest issue.  Sailed the Disney Fantasy and the only thing, which was amusing and not at all offensive was that we met our lovely stateroom hostess  right after being able to access our staterooms.  She introduced herself and we introduced ourselves.  She said, "It's just the two of you, yes?" and We said yes, and she asked if we needed the other bed made up at night.  We said no, and that was that.
> 
> I don't think anyone is being offensive when they ask, they just need to make sure they are doing the right thing.  After all customers tend to fly off the handle when you don't do things just right.
> 
> I think Disney is one of the greatest places for all people, and can't wait to get back next year!



Great story! Thanks for sharing!


----------



## DLFan123

allears said:


> I am relatively new at being out, only a little over two years, after being married to a woman for 25 years.  Last year was my first trip to Disney with my partner.  We spent the day at DTD and then dinner with another couple at Boma.  I was a probably on alert for anything negative, but had no such experiences.  We spent the following week on the Disney Magic, which I have cruised as a traditional family man 8 times before.  Had an amazing time, and not the slightest weirdness, and we were seated at a table by ourselves.  On formal night our server had set our places next to each other at the table, facing out.  He told us that would make nicer photos when the photographer came by.
> 
> We also had a couples massage in the spa, at the end your eyes are covered with a soothing cloth and they placed our hands in each others before leaving us alone for few minutes.
> 
> Just got back last week from a day in the Magic Kingdom in WDW, again, not the slightest issue.  Sailed the Disney Fantasy and the only thing, which was amusing and not at all offensive was that we met our lovely stateroom hostess  right after being able to access our staterooms.  She introduced herself and we introduced ourselves.  She said, "It's just the two of you, yes?" and We said yes, and she asked if we needed the other bed made up at night.  We said no, and that was that.
> 
> I don't think anyone is being offensive when they ask, they just need to make sure they are doing the right thing.  After all customers tend to fly off the handle when you don't do things just right.
> 
> I think Disney is one of the greatest places for all people, and can't wait to get back next year!



I have a question about your cruise experience. Did you have to ask to be seated alone at a table for two? Or is that something they do for couples automatically but might not do if they weren't sure if you were just 2 friends or a couple? Just wondering as we have never taken a cruise but are thinking about it. We aren't keen on the idea of sitting at a table with strangers, in part because of our less traditional relationship and concerns about offending people or even having to explain ourselves.


----------



## allears

DLFan123 said:


> I have a question about your cruise experience. Did you have to ask to be seated alone at a table for two? Or is that something they do for couples automatically but might not do if they weren't sure if you were just 2 friends or a couple? Just wondering as we have never taken a cruise but are thinking about it. We aren't keen on the idea of sitting at a table with strangers, in part because of our less traditional relationship and concerns about offending people or even having to explain ourselves.



Actually on that cruise, we didn't make any request, we just ended up being at a table for two.  Not sure how that happened.  We had met another couple on line and they had early seating and were at a table with I think four other people.  So I think our table for two was just the luck of the draw.  They don't do this just because you are a couple. 

We wouldn't mind being seated with others.  We are confident in who we are and enjoy meeting new people, so it wouldn't matter to us.  We'll see what happens next year on our cruise.

However, if you take a cruise, you can always make the request and will usually get it.


----------



## TNS_Tinkerbell

I just wanted to say thank you for posting this, my wife and I have been planning our dream honeymoon to Walt Disney world, for over a year, yes we have been married for almost a year. 

And we were really nervous about going down to Florida and being there together, with fear of nonacceptance, or just not feeling welcome, in WDW, as Florida doesn't seem to have a great GLTB friendly stance. Don't get mad at me for saying this... I am from the West Coast of Canada and I have had friends who had horror stories from cruises down in Florida...

My point is, we time and read through this entire forum, and I just wanted to say thank you.

A BIG THANK YOU.

This really, calmed me down with the idea that it will be okay to be us, down there.
We are finally going on our honeymoon, over our 1 year anni, and we have saved and planned this for so long, that I feel, and I know she does too, that it is going to be epic-ally awesome.

So thank you again, for sharing your stories and relieving some travel stress and worry.

Hugs to you all!


----------



## KPeveler

TNS_Tinkerbell said:
			
		

> I just wanted to say thank you for posting this, my wife and I have been planning our dream honeymoon to Walt Disney world, for over a year, yes we have been married for almost a year.
> 
> And we were really nervous about going down to Florida and being there together, with fear of nonacceptance, or just not feeling welcome, in WDW, as Florida doesn't seem to have a great GLTB friendly stance. Don't get mad at me for saying this... I am from the West Coast of Canada and I have had friends who had horror stories from cruises down in Florida...
> 
> My point is, we time and read through this entire forum, and I just wanted to say thank you.
> 
> A BIG THANK YOU.
> 
> This really, calmed me down with the idea that it will be okay to be us, down there.
> We are finally going on our honeymoon, over our 1 year anni, and we have saved and planned this for so long, that I feel, and I know she does too, that it is going to be epic-ally awesome.
> 
> So thank you again, for sharing your stories and relieving some travel stress and worry.
> 
> Hugs to you all!



Florida may not be very gay friendly but Disney World really is its own little world. 3 and a half years ago my wife and I not only had our honeymoon a Disney, we got married there. Disney World totally gay friendly and cast members went out of their way to make a little extra magic for our honeymoon. So go and enjoy yourself and have a wonderful time!


----------



## disfam2012

Nothing really negative, CM's just kept calling my partner my son 

For example, "Would your son like a sticker?"
"Do you need a childrens menu for your son?"

She's in her 30's people


----------



## DVCajun

disfam2012 said:


> Nothing really negative, CM's just kept calling my partner my son
> 
> For example, "Would your son like a sticker?"
> "Do you need a childrens menu for your son?"
> 
> She's in her 30's people



Seriously? They asked if your 30 year old partner needed a children's menu?  She's rocking some serious youthful vibes!


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## dansamy

We've been to WDW during Gay Days before. I never once saw any bad behavior towards openly gay couples. 

(We're a hetero family. We were there for SWW. It just worked out that we were in many of the same parks as the designated Gay Days.)


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## Vickilynn42

I'm a straight married woman and to be honest, I think my whole family would rather go during Gay  Days. I think the people would be a whole lot more fun to be around. Not so uptight lol!


----------



## SanFranciscan

disfam2012 said:


> Nothing really negative, CM's just kept calling my partner my son
> 
> For example, "Would your son like a sticker?"
> "Do you need a childrens menu for your son?"
> 
> She's in her 30's people



I did something like that as a table server.  This has nothing to do with Disney World because this was before I was hired there, but I had someone whom I thought was a kid want to order an alcoholic beverage.  I told her that the law required for her to be 21.  She told me that she was 22, which I did not think possible since she looked so young that I had been about to offer her a children's menu.  It is a good thing that I didn't since she was indeed 22 while the kiddos' menu was for people no more than 12 years old.    The woman was a not only youthful but a midget.  Which leads me to ask you, is your partner by any chance small?  I was so embarassed by my assumption about my own small young adult customer, but her companion told me that mine was a pretty typical reaction.


----------



## disfam2012

SanFranciscan said:


> I did something like that as a table server.  This has nothing to do with Disney World because this was before I was hired there, but I had someone whom I thought was a kid want to order an alcoholic beverage.  I told her that the law required for her to be 21.  She told me that she was 22, which I did not think possible since she looked so young that I had been about to offer her a children's menu.  It is a good thing that I didn't since she was indeed 22 while the kiddos' menu was for people no more than 12 years old.    The woman was a not only youthful but a midget.  Which leads me to ask you, is your partner by any chance small?  I was so embarassed by my assumption about my own small young adult customer, but her companion told me that mine was a pretty typical reaction.



LOL! No, she's got me by 3 inches! It just so happens my partner looks like a 14 year old boy.


----------



## Steph2527

KPeveler said:


> Florida may not be very gay friendly but Disney World really is its own little world. 3 and a half years ago my wife and I not only had our honeymoon a Disney, we got married there. Disney World totally gay friendly and cast members went out of their way to make a little extra magic for our honeymoon. So go and enjoy yourself and have a wonderful time!



How were your experiences with having your wedding at WDW? We are planning ours for may 2014. Thanks!


----------



## dansamy

Vickilynn42 said:
			
		

> I'm a straight married woman and to be honest, I think my whole family would rather go during Gay  Days. I think the people would be a whole lot more fun to be around. Not so uptight lol!



Gay Days is actually not bad if you hut the same parks they are. A lot of conservative hetero families avoid them, making those parks quite pleasant.


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## AudreyKThompson

utterrandomness said:


> Well it's a family-oriented place and a _family_-oriented place, all at the same time, and so it should be. *Welcoming to everyone, if only more places were like that*.



ITA- Love the Mouse!


----------



## mcj79

helencope88 said:


> thanks for everyones input on this thread!
> myself and my fiancee are having a civil partnership ceremony here in the UK in october, and flying over to orlando for our honeymoon straight after.
> although we have been before and never had a problem ive been a little concerned about how people would react to us as a lesbian couple on our honeymoon, i could be wrong, but as i understand it our legally recognised partnership, meaning we have the same rights as a heterosexual married couple, isnt recognised in florida. (please correct me if im wrong?!)
> i guess i was worried that people would diminish the fact we were on our honeymoon.....
> however after reading many of the lovely posts and stories on here i am no longer worried! and am now even more excited to spend my honeymoon in WDW.



Same-sex partnership/civil union/marriage is NOT recognized in Florida or the majority of States in the United States.  I think we are up to 9 or so that offer some type of same-sex legal relationship recognition. I would highly recommend traveling with a medical proxy or medical power of attorney documents. On the off chance you had a medical emergency you would need paper work clearing stating you have given each other the right to visit & make treatment choices for the other. You can look at HRC.org to find out more on the subject.   

Thankfully Disney World is much more friendly then the state of Florida. While being at Disney World does not effect the legal issues it does have a different vibe.  If you are open and friendly with the CM/Disney staff you will more often then not be treated really wonderfully no matter if you are gay or straight.   I think if they know it is your honeymoon they will do their best to make it a fun & romantic time for both of you.  Make sure call ahead and let them know you are coming for your honeymoon!  You might get some extra special magic! 

Hope you have a wonderful time!


----------



## FlaNani

My partner and I have annual passes and we live less than 2 hours away, so we are in the World as often as we can get there. We have never had any problems with cast members or other guests. We were asked when checking in if we wanted one bed or two, the CM didn't skip a beat when we said one. We have our Rainbow Mickey pins and wear them when we go, and everyone seems to love them.


----------



## SullySpears

Vickilynn42 said:


> I'm a straight married woman and to be honest, I think my whole family would rather go during Gay  Days. I think the people would be a whole lot more fun to be around. Not so uptight lol!



I wish everyone were like you!


----------



## lego606

SullySpears said:


> I wish everyone were like you!



Agreed


----------



## BuddyThomas

I've never ever had any issue of any kind at WDW, but there was a time when they tried to do some gay days stuff at Universal, and I heard the word "f*gg*t" more than a few times.........not directed at me, but still, it was uncomfortable, and it seems that the various gay days organizers now skip Universal on their schedules.


----------



## Taytortots

It was great to hear all the good stories on here.
I've never been to the World with a partner (and am now currently single) but I do wear my rainbow mickey, and if I hear discrimination, have a little bit of a problem holding myself back from saying something.
I've gotten a few looks due to the pin (and I suppose some people assume that I am a lesbian because of how I look) but nothing bad.
I think, even through the magic, some jerks will come into the park and behave like bigots. Unfortunately, these people are everywhere. Thankfully Disney does a great job of being accepting and not tolerating this behavior, and the cast members being wonderful and open is amazing.
It brightens my day to hear the good stories, thanks everyone for sharing.


----------



## mcj79

We just returned a couple weeks ago from our first Disney World trip together.  And I'm happy to report we didn't have any negative experiences only 'magical' ones!

At check-in the CM didn't miss a beat when I told him it was my wife's B-day and our 1st trip together.  He gave her a 'It's my Birthday' button, me a 'I'm celebrating' button us both 1st visit buttons.  He noticed we paid with a Pen State Alum card and they struck up a conversation about Pen state.  (He was there on a college program with Disney.)
We did a couple tours and both or our CM's were great & welcoming. The other guests were also friendly & welcoming.  We walked arm-in-arm or held hands often during the tours. So, it was pretty clear between that & the introductions we were a couple.  (If anyone had a issue they kept it to them selves.)  
Any cast member's we actually talked with caught on pretty fast again never missing a beat.  They were all so cheerful and welcoming. 

At the AK we were walking along one of the paths near water fall and spotted a Photopass CM. It was not too busy of a spot so we jumped at the chance to get some good pics with out strangers in the background. So, we asked him for some photos, he took a few shots then asked if we were sisters.  We said 'nope we are married'.   He paused of a second and asked 'you two are married to each other?' We both replied 'yes'.  He said "well then, give her a kiss and hold it for a minute."  He had us both give kisses on the check and did some other fun shots with tinker bell.. tell us to give her that 'come on over here sexy look'!  LOL!  He was really nice & a lot of fun.  And neither he or us cared about the other guests walking around and looking. 

We are not big PDA people.  But we did walk arm-in-arm fairly often.  And always referred to each other as 'my wife' and when we talked to each other it was often 'sweety'.  We had meals at a few group tables and talked with other guests in a few of the lines. We never had any issues.  (We also never waited in line more then 40 minutes. Guess we had good timing!)

We realize not all Disney World or other Disney trips will be this perfect and amazing.  But we are hooked and will for ever be chasing that first 'high'. 

We are planning to hit Disney every couple years, at the very least when they ad something new.  Totally checking out other Disney adventures too!


----------



## KPeveler

Steph2527 said:


> How were your experiences with having your wedding at WDW? We are planning ours for may 2014. Thanks!



My wedding was absolutely easy and wonderful!  We had the smallest package (whatever it is called now) which came with a set of things included - flowers for me and my wife, cake and champagne, the site/chairs/table/set-up/clean up,  violinist, photographer, limo, and a wedding planner.  

We added more flowers, more champagne, and a couple other little things.  You can make the wedding as big as you want - photos in the park and even Mickey at your reception.  Basically if you will write a check and it is legal, Disney will do it.  

It can be more complicated, but we just went with Disney photography (our photographer rocked), had a friend "officiate" since this was a ceremony but we got married "for real" in CT because Florida would not recognize our marriage.

Our wedding planner was Tanis (or something like that) and we were her first same-sex wedding.  She was so excited about it.  It was treated like any other wedding.

Sorry, can't type more right now. But I do want to say it was amazing.


----------



## khmz

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought twice about reading. I didn't  want to hear about others being treated  poorly in a place we love. My family (2 moms and 2 daughters) have made numerous trips to WDW and several Disney cruises. We have always been treated very well, as a couple and a family.  We probably get more looks because of the 17 year old's hair color (changes weekly, usually very bright colors). 

 We have done the shared dinner table on the cruise. We were a little nervous. First cruise, the other family was rude but I don't think it was about us. Second cruise was completely different!  The other family had a son that became best buds with our younger daughter.  They are still pen pals.  The straight couple, and the mother in law who came along, were fantastic. We even planned a couple activities together on the cruise. Did a tequila tasting on board. At the end, they do a couple's shots challenge. Our new friends quickly volunteered us and the entire group present cheered us on.  

Disney has been such a great vacation experience that we joined DVC in 2010. When we purchased, the sales rep split the contract so my partner and I were both represented since we were not legally recognized as a couple in the state we lived in. We appreciated his attention to detail. 

Now that we have moved to NorCal, its a matter of time before we make our first trip to DL.  Disney will always have our business.


----------



## Disneytwinsmom

khmz said:


> When I saw the title of this thread, I thought twice about reading. I didn't  want to hear about others being treated  poorly in a place we love. My family (2 moms and 2 daughters) have made numerous trips to WDW and several Disney cruises. We have always been treated very well, as a couple and a family.  We probably get more looks because of the 17 year old's hair color (changes weekly, usually very bright colors).
> 
> We have done the shared dinner table on the cruise. We were a little nervous. First cruise, the other family was rude but I don't think it was about us. Second cruise was completely different!  The other family had a son that became best buds with our younger daughter.  They are still pen pals.  The straight couple, and the mother in law who came along, were fantastic. We even planned a couple activities together on the cruise. Did a tequila tasting on board. At the end, they do a couple's shots challenge. Our new friends quickly volunteered us and the entire group present cheered us on.
> 
> Disney has been such a great vacation experience that we joined DVC in 2010. When we purchased, the sales rep split the contract so my partner and I were both represented since we were not legally recognized as a couple in the state we lived in. We appreciated his attention to detail.
> 
> Now that we have moved to NorCal, its a matter of time before we make our first trip to DL.  Disney will always have our business.



Thanks for sharing your experience.   We are a 2 mom with twins (boy & girl) family and on the cruise we didnt have any "magical moments" like you did, but didnt experience anything negative either.

We are going to WDW in Nov for 8 days and hope we have lots of pixie dust moments. It would be nice to run into families like ours!


----------



## Disneytwinsmom

mcj79 said:


> We just returned a couple weeks ago from our first Disney World trip together.  And I'm happy to report we didn't have any negative experiences only 'magical' ones!
> 
> At check-in the CM didn't miss a beat when I told him it was my wife's B-day and our 1st trip together.  He gave her a 'It's my Birthday' button, me a 'I'm celebrating' button us both 1st visit buttons.  He noticed we paid with a Pen State Alum card and they struck up a conversation about Pen state.  (He was there on a college program with Disney.)
> We did a couple tours and both or our CM's were great & welcoming. The other guests were also friendly & welcoming.  We walked arm-in-arm or held hands often during the tours. So, it was pretty clear between that & the introductions we were a couple.  (If anyone had a issue they kept it to them selves.)
> Any cast member's we actually talked with caught on pretty fast again never missing a beat.  They were all so cheerful and welcoming.
> 
> At the AK we were walking along one of the paths near water fall and spotted a Photopass CM. It was not too busy of a spot so we jumped at the chance to get some good pics with out strangers in the background. So, we asked him for some photos, he took a few shots then asked if we were sisters.  We said 'nope we are married'.   He paused of a second and asked 'you two are married to each other?' We both replied 'yes'.  He said "well then, give her a kiss and hold it for a minute."  He had us both give kisses on the check and did some other fun shots with tinker bell.. tell us to give her that 'come on over here sexy look'!  LOL!  He was really nice & a lot of fun.  And neither he or us cared about the other guests walking around and looking.
> 
> We are not big PDA people.  But we did walk arm-in-arm fairly often.  And always referred to each other as 'my wife' and when we talked to each other it was often 'sweety'.  We had meals at a few group tables and talked with other guests in a few of the lines. We never had any issues.  (We also never waited in line more then 40 minutes. Guess we had good timing!)
> 
> We realize not all Disney World or other Disney trips will be this perfect and amazing.  But we are hooked and will for ever be chasing that first 'high'.
> 
> We are planning to hit Disney every couple years, at the very least when they ad something new.  Totally checking out other Disney adventures too!



Thank you for sharing your story! I love reading stories like that!


----------



## khmz

Disneytwinsmom said:


> Thanks for sharing your experience.   We are a 2 mom with twins (boy & girl) family and on the cruise we didnt have any "magical moments" like you did, but didnt experience anything negative either.
> 
> We are going to WDW in Nov for 8 days and hope we have lots of pixie dust moments. It would be nice to run into families like ours!



Thanks for posting. We too would love to run into more families like ours. Ive thought about posting to see a group from here organize to go on a cruise or something.


----------



## SanFranciscan

khmz said:


> When I saw the title of this thread, I thought twice about reading. I didn't  want to hear about others being treated  poorly in a place we love. My family (2 moms and 2 daughters) have made numerous trips to WDW and several Disney cruises. We have always been treated very well, as a couple and a family.  We probably get more looks because of the 17 year old's hair color (changes weekly, usually very bright colors).
> 
> We have done the shared dinner table on the cruise. We were a little nervous. First cruise, the other family was rude but I don't think it was about us. Second cruise was completely different!  The other family had a son that became best buds with our younger daughter.  They are still pen pals.  The straight couple, and the mother in law who came along, were fantastic. We even planned a couple activities together on the cruise. Did a tequila tasting on board. At the end, they do a couple's shots challenge. Our new friends quickly volunteered us and the entire group present cheered us on.
> 
> Disney has been such a great vacation experience that we joined DVC in 2010. When we purchased, the sales rep split the contract so my partner and I were both represented since we were not legally recognized as a couple in the state we lived in. We appreciated his attention to detail.
> 
> Now that we have moved to NorCal, its a matter of time before we make our first trip to DL.  Disney will always have our business.



Nice post.  I liked hearing that your daughter and her shipboard mate have been able to continue their friendship because I really enjoyed pen pal relationships while growing up.  Some of these people were my best friends, even though most were people whom I never met in person.

I moved from San Francisco two years ago, and I believe that most of the "San Francisco tourism" was actually Wine Country tourism.  I don't even drink alcohol and still loved the area around where you now live, especially the really cute town of Sebastopol, which I have not seen since probably the late 1980's.


----------



## khmz

SanFranciscan said:


> Nice post.  I liked hearing that your daughter and her shipboard mate have been able to continue their friendship because I really enjoyed pen pal relationships while growing up.  Some of these people were my best friends, even though most were people whom I never met in person.
> 
> I moved from San Francisco two years ago, and I believe that most of the "San Francisco tourism" was actually Wine Country tourism.  I don't even drink alcohol and still loved the area around where you now live, especially the really cute town of Sebastopol, which I have not seen since probably the late 1980's.



That's a crazy coincidence, but we live in Sebastopol. So much more besides wine.... Like apples and fresh produce. It's still a quirky town and there's no place else like it on earth. 

Pen pals take extra effort and care when done the old fashioned way. I do think it is a special treat to get something in the mail.


----------



## 1000HappyWishes

While this specific thread is centered around Disney, there isn't one for Universal so I thought I'd share a little story. 

We were at IoA at it was pretty late, about time for my two friends and I to go meet back up with our school group. We were doing a little bit of last-minute shopping at one of the outdoor stands and we were on the topic of cute guys (specifically Robert Downey Jr.) The man working there promptly joined in our conversation, and we all had a really fun time discussing the hottest Avengers with him as we made our purchases. Honestly, talking with that guy was one of the best memories of that day! Glad to see he felt comfortable just blurting it out like that. Also glad to see that the majority of people have been treated kindly at the World!


----------



## OnceUponAMelodye

My fiance and I are annual passholders and have certainly had way more positive experiences than negative ones. The one negative was actually quite silly. My fiance, a friend and I were in lines for Pirates and my friend saw a young teenage boy with his family talking to his family about us. We had our rainbow Mickey pins on and he was pointing at his shirt and pointing at us. We made eye contact as he was doing this and he stopped abruptly. His mother more than made up for his rude behavior, commenting on interesting things in the line and asking questions about the ride. I chalk it up to inexperience on the boy's part.

One of the best experiences we've had was the weekend last winter that we stayed at WL at the concierge level. We were celebrating our 2nd anniversary and the CMs were so kind and helpful, immediately bringing adult beverages to our room for us after our 5 hour drive to the World. One of the last days we were there as we were leaving to go to dinner one of the CMs asked if we would be available in the morning. A family had dropped out of Flag Family for the Day and she asked if we wanted to do it! Of course we did! We got up the next morning and my fiance and I got up bright and early and got to raise the flags at WL and got a wonderful view of the whole property! Such a cool experience!!!

One more!! The night I proposed to my fiance was one that was sprinkled with Disney magic! I had planned to propose during Wishes at a spot that we always watch from. I had two friends coming from home that my fiance didn't know were coming. They were there to take pictures of the whole thing. Weeks before I had sent my friends a detailed email of a map of the park marking where we would be, detailed instructions on how to get there, and a picture of my fiance from that spot. Of course the time came and my friend couldn't figure out where to go. This is right before the fireworks so imagine the crowd. She finally grabbed a CM, showed her the picture of my fiance at the spot and asked if she could help them figure out where we were. The CM took one look at it, noticed the location of the castle and the flowers around it and told my friends to hold on to her. She navigated them through the crowd and they made it JUST in time to see me get on one knee!!! The CM then came back with Happily Ever After buttons to give to us! Such a wonderful experience! So incredibly grateful for that CM!!


----------



## CurtisB

DLFan123 said:


> I have a question about your cruise experience. Did you have to ask to be seated alone at a table for two? Or is that something they do for couples automatically but might not do if they weren't sure if you were just 2 friends or a couple? Just wondering as we have never taken a cruise but are thinking about it. We aren't keen on the idea of sitting at a table with strangers, in part because of our less traditional relationship and concerns about offending people or even having to explain ourselves.



I know this is a little old, but thought I would provide our experience.  We were on the Magic this past December, didn't put any requests in and ended up sitting at a table of 8 couples, us being the only same sex one.  We had so much fun with them! We were all roughly the same age, from all over the country and just had so much fun.  They could not have put together a better table.  We ended up doing stuff together on and off the ship and still keep in touch!  DCL generally does a fantastic job of matching up tablemates so don't be nervous about it!

The rest of the cruise was fantastic as well.  We wore bow ties almost every night and had so many random people come up and compliment us on the ties, or ask why we weren't wearing the ties in the middle of the day! We even had a lady come up to us and mentioned she had seen one of our pictures at Shutters (where they post the pictures they take) and it was adorable and we had to go see it right away.  Not once on the cruise did we ever feel uncomfortable or unwelcome.


----------



## CurtisB

Double post for some reason.


----------



## GadgetTheInventor

This thread will be great to show my fianceé before we go back to WDW. 

We did get stares and overheard comments from some of the Brazilian teens, but it is still a big issue for a dark-skinned Latina to marry a very white European-American.  We were more an interesting observation than something negative in their eyes.  This was several years ago before there were serious thoughts of DOMA being struck down and we had to live in fear of being whisked away to prison at any moment for kissing...even at WDW!

I will be buying the rainbow mickey pin on my next trip though.

I have a natural ability to frame photos at a moment's notice and so I love spreading pixie dust wherever I travel.  I will just go up to a family where I notice one is left out due to having to take a photo and offer my photography skills. When it comes to same-sex couples, one is often more hesitant about PDA in the photo.  Hopefully wearing a rainbow Mickey pin will let them know the PDA is ok since I don't really set off a lesbian vibe.


----------



## cathyb93

I don't have a personal story, but all of your positive experiences are so heartwarming to read about. It makes me so happy that Disney does such a great job making sure everyone is welcome and included!


----------



## LilyKate

My now partner and I went to Be Our Guest to celebrate our engagement and we were both really excited. We had noted it on the reservation that we were celebrating and dressed up just a touch for the occasion (P.S worst decision - we looked a touch of a hot mess after all day in MK!).

Our waitress never said anything about it, the table didn't show any signs of the normal pixie dust, and to make it worse the service was horrible anyways. We were happy with ourselves and tried to ignore the snub because hey, we had each other to celebrate with. But Be Our Guest does have the special Grey Stuff dessert for celebrations and I thought maybe we would even get that at the end. 
Nope. But we did watch a family celebrating what appeared to be an anniversary a couple of tables over get all the laughs and smiles and pixie dust we had been expecting and a big thing of the Grey Stuff. It just stung a little bit because we were so excited and had only experienced mostly good things at Disney. At the end of the mean I kind of started to wonder if there had been a mix up and the celebration not communicated so when my then fiancé and I got up to leave I sent her ahead and stopped our waitress and asked her very awkwardly if there had been anything on our reservation. She replied that there had been an engagement noted but they assumed it was a mistake. I left fuming and hurt. I never told my fiancé and just let her chalk it up to mix up. Worst Disney experience ever and the worst part is I was so disgusted that I never wrote a letter to guest communications and it's probably too late now.


----------



## Liberty Belle

LilyKate said:


> My now partner and I went to Be Our Guest to celebrate our engagement and we were both really excited. We had noted it on the reservation that we were celebrating and dressed up just a touch for the occasion (P.S worst decision - we looked a touch of a hot mess after all day in MK!).
> 
> Our waitress never said anything about it, the table didn't show any signs of the normal pixie dust, and to make it worse the service was horrible anyways. We were happy with ourselves and tried to ignore the snub because hey, we had each other to celebrate with. But Be Our Guest does have the special Grey Stuff dessert for celebrations and I thought maybe we would even get that at the end.
> Nope. But we did watch a family celebrating what appeared to be an anniversary a couple of tables over get all the laughs and smiles and pixie dust we had been expecting and a big thing of the Grey Stuff. It just stung a little bit because we were so excited and had only experienced mostly good things at Disney. At the end of the mean I kind of started to wonder if there had been a mix up and the celebration not communicated so when my then fiancé and I got up to leave I sent her ahead and stopped our waitress and asked her very awkwardly if there had been anything on our reservation. She replied that there had been an engagement noted but they assumed it was a mistake. I left fuming and hurt. I never told my fiancé and just let her chalk it up to mix up. Worst Disney experience ever and the worst part is I was so disgusted that I never wrote a letter to guest communications and it's probably too late now.



I'm sorry.  That's so unfair.


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## puertorican00676

LilyKate said:


> My now partner and I went to Be Our Guest to celebrate our engagement and we were both really excited. We had noted it on the reservation that we were celebrating and dressed up just a touch for the occasion (P.S worst decision - we looked a touch of a hot mess after all day in MK!).
> 
> Our waitress never said anything about it, the table didn't show any signs of the normal pixie dust, and to make it worse the service was horrible anyways. We were happy with ourselves and tried to ignore the snub because hey, we had each other to celebrate with. But Be Our Guest does have the special Grey Stuff dessert for celebrations and I thought maybe we would even get that at the end.
> Nope. But we did watch a family celebrating what appeared to be an anniversary a couple of tables over get all the laughs and smiles and pixie dust we had been expecting and a big thing of the Grey Stuff. It just stung a little bit because we were so excited and had only experienced mostly good things at Disney. At the end of the mean I kind of started to wonder if there had been a mix up and the celebration not communicated so when my then fiancé and I got up to leave I sent her ahead and stopped our waitress and asked her very awkwardly if there had been anything on our reservation. She replied that there had been an engagement noted but they assumed it was a mistake. I left fuming and hurt. I never told my fiancé and just let her chalk it up to mix up. Worst Disney experience ever and the worst part is I was so disgusted that I never wrote a letter to guest communications and it's probably too late now.



I am really sorry, maybe they should have asked when you got to the door and confirm your celebration. Hope is an unfortunate misunderstanding. So sorry to read that.


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## DVCDan36

LilyKate said:


> Worst Disney experience ever and the worst part is I was so disgusted that I never wrote a letter to guest communications and it's probably too late now.



Though it is too late to correct your experience, it is never too late to let any company know that they should rethink and retrain on how they handle experiences.  Your letter could be the difference of continous bad experiences or new programs to make every experience magical.  
I remind my co-workers that every negative letter only makes us better.


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## Epcotmaniac

DVCDan36 said:


> Though it is too late to correct your experience, it is never too late to let any company know that they should rethink and retrain on how they handle experiences.  Your letter could be the difference of continous bad experiences or new programs to make every experience magical.
> I remind my co-workers that every negative letter only makes us better.



I agree, it's always important to get a feedback. How old was the waitress? Maybe she was just to young and had no experiences. I don't think she did it out of wickedness.


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## SullySpears

LilyKate said:


> My now partner and I went to Be Our Guest to celebrate our engagement and we were both really excited. We had noted it on the reservation that we were celebrating and dressed up just a touch for the occasion (P.S worst decision - we looked a touch of a hot mess after all day in MK!).
> 
> Our waitress never said anything about it, the table didn't show any signs of the normal pixie dust, and to make it worse the service was horrible anyways. We were happy with ourselves and tried to ignore the snub because hey, we had each other to celebrate with. But Be Our Guest does have the special Grey Stuff dessert for celebrations and I thought maybe we would even get that at the end.
> Nope. But we did watch a family celebrating what appeared to be an anniversary a couple of tables over get all the laughs and smiles and pixie dust we had been expecting and a big thing of the Grey Stuff. It just stung a little bit because we were so excited and had only experienced mostly good things at Disney. At the end of the mean I kind of started to wonder if there had been a mix up and the celebration not communicated so when my then fiancé and I got up to leave I sent her ahead and stopped our waitress and asked her very awkwardly if there had been anything on our reservation. She replied that there had been an engagement noted but they assumed it was a mistake. I left fuming and hurt. I never told my fiancé and just let her chalk it up to mix up. Worst Disney experience ever and the worst part is I was so disgusted that I never wrote a letter to guest communications and it's probably too late now.



I would write a letter about it. Be specific as to when this happened. It's never too late, Disney is a great company. You pay good money and deserve a quality product. Heck, thats what Disney is known for. Go for it, you have nothing to lose. Also I'm sorry you had to experience that. 

- Mark


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## old lady

You should complain especially if it some form of discrimation or bad service.


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## lawboy2001

LilyKate said:


> She replied that there had been an engagement noted but they assumed it was a mistake.



Wow, that is disgusting.


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## GadgetTheInventor

LilyKate said:


> My now partner and I went to Be Our Guest to celebrate our engagement and we were both really excited. We had noted it on the reservation that we were celebrating and dressed up just a touch for the occasion (P.S worst decision - we looked a touch of a hot mess after all day in MK!).
> 
> Our waitress never said anything about it, the table didn't show any signs of the normal pixie dust, and to make it worse the service was horrible anyways. We were happy with ourselves and tried to ignore the snub because hey, we had each other to celebrate with. But Be Our Guest does have the special Grey Stuff dessert for celebrations and I thought maybe we would even get that at the end.
> Nope. But we did watch a family celebrating what appeared to be an anniversary a couple of tables over get all the laughs and smiles and pixie dust we had been expecting and a big thing of the Grey Stuff. It just stung a little bit because we were so excited and had only experienced mostly good things at Disney. At the end of the mean I kind of started to wonder if there had been a mix up and the celebration not communicated so when my then fiancé and I got up to leave I sent her ahead and stopped our waitress and asked her very awkwardly if there had been anything on our reservation. She replied that there had been an engagement noted but they assumed it was a mistake. I left fuming and hurt. I never told my fiancé and just let her chalk it up to mix up. Worst Disney experience ever and the worst part is I was so disgusted that I never wrote a letter to guest communications and it's probably too late now.



My family experienced a negative anniversary situation there too although ours involved my parents 40th anniversary.  I had noted it on our reservation and had discussed it with the chef to make sure it was safe for my DF to eat with his food intolerances, but no grey stuff had arrived by the end of the meal.   I would have gladly paid for the grey stuff with writing because most cakes cause him digestion problems and he won't take the risk of eating it while in the park.   I wasn't going to let it go so I sent word back to our waiter.  A bit later, he storms out and throws the plate down on our table and then rushed off.  My DF is pretty clueless about everything these days and couldn't comprehend that the grey stuff was to celebrate his anniversary with his wife.  Tears ensued...it was horrible.  I talked to the waiter's manager about the inappropriate attitude and hopefully he got a tongue lashing and a lesson on etiquette.  

While completely inappropriate that your server would assume that your engagement note was a mistake without even asking, you can be proactive in the future.  Let him or her know what you are celebrating at the beginning of the meal.  The CM could easily have come from an area of the country, or world, where gays don't openly celebrate engagements and life celebrations.  I often have to teach CMs about my food allergies and what my mom's needs are because she is in a wheelchair and requires quite a bit more accommodation than a super-buff Iraq war veteran with a lower spinal cord injury.  In my experience, CMs are generally very open to learning about the different needs of their guests if you approach the subject in a positive manner.

Writing a letter might help on some level, but I would suggest also talking to an immediate supervisor if that supervisor would have any way to correct the behavior of the problem CM in the future.  I get the impression that WDW has a fairly high percentage of CMs involved with the GBLTQ community and even more that would be pretty peeved if a newly engaged couple was ignored. Is it worth taking ten minutes to inform a supervisor who has a high probability of being concerned with and able to act upon the discrimination you experienced?


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## wdwgreg

Does anyone know if same sex marriages from other countries (UK especially) are noted/recognised in Florida??


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## wcpamotm

I think you can count on it being the case that they do not.  Florida does not even recognize such marriages from other states.


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## disneykin

In the week after Gay Days, 2013, I was twice (in one day) publicly targeted and ridiculed by CM's for wearing a red shirt.
The incidents happened at the Pirate Tutorial and Monsters' Inc. Laugh Floor.
Being a high introvert, I would have been uncomfortable at any singling-out, but the deliberate targeting of the shirt made me suspicious as well as uncomfortable.


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## UbIwerks

My husband and I had some less than stellar service from a particular cast member on the concierge level at the Yacht Club Resort on our last WDW trip. I'm convinced it was because we are a same sex couple. We are West Coasters and have Disneyland Annual passes. Nothing but smiles there. Disneyland even did our wedding.


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## dramadrew

I am hoping to have a positive experience when I go on my honeymoon with my soon to be husband. On tumblr, I liked a Disney confessions blog and one of them mentioned a lesbian meeting Jasmine, who asked her if she had a prince. When the woman answered she had a princess, Jasmine smirked and said she just needed to meet the right prince to take care of that. I was horrified reading that story. However, I saw a youtube video of a Disneyland gay proposal and they told some of the characters they just got engaged and it was all smiles and congratulations! 

For gay couples who have honeymooned at Disney World, did you happen to buy two bride Mickey ears or two groom Mickey ears? Do you think that would draw more attention from others and/or get a lot of people asking men, "Where's your bride," and vise versa to women?


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## alansfantasyland

I've only had positive things happen at WDW. August of 2011 my sister, her girlfriend and I all went to Earl of Sandwiches. Clearly you can tell we are all "family" because of the rainbow mickey pin we were all wearing. We ordered our sandwiches, picked our dessert, and got drinks. When we were at the register ready to pay for all of our food.....the cashier only charged us for only one sandwich. He apparently got the memo that the key to my heart was food. I was a shy 18 year old so I never gotten myself together enough to ask him for his number. Free food is the best food!!!


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## EK4636

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences at Yacht Club and for getting singled out at Gay Days!  That's horrible   My fiance and I have stayed at the Yacht Club before and we've never gotten any issue - in fact, they went above and beyond and helped us re-calculate our meals as we goofed during our split stay.

We just got back from WDW less than a month ago for our engagement trip and got nothing but superb service:

- We stayed at Poly.  The concierge desk didn't even blink when they saw that I was there to celebrate an engagement.  She even said, "Oh, and is this your husband-to-be?!  You guys are such a great couple!"

- We purchased two groom mickey ears hats.  The CM engraved both of them, then when we put them away, he INSISTED that we put them on and that we should celebrate!

- We went to Narcoossee's for dinner and had asked for a nice table as it was our post-engagement celebration.  The CM arranged for us to have the table at the window - prime seat for the fireworks celebration.

- On our cruise, we had such a great service there, too.  We arranged for a photo session on Castaway Cay - no problem.  We wanted a nice quiet table for Remy's - no problem (they actually put us in the private table in the wine room).  We took a mixology class and the entire class (about 16 people) and the CMs did a toast for our engagement.  

The only brief negative thing we got was when we attended our trail ride at the Wilderness Lodge.  The guide asked if we were brothers, and when we told him that we were actually engaged, he just said, "Oh" and then stopped talking for about 10 seconds.  Then he came back and said, "Sorry about that.  I wasn't ready for that response, and I haven't met a lot of same sex couple."  Then he proceeded to talk to us the entire time during the ride (about 45 minutes) - cracking jokes, telling stories, etc.  So even when it was awkward, it was for only a short period.


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## shellstar

EK4636 said:


> The guide asked if we were brothers, and when we told him that we were actually engaged, he just said, "Oh" and then stopped talking for about 10 seconds.  Then he came back and said, "Sorry about that.  I wasn't ready for that response, and I haven't met a lot of same sex couple."  Then he proceeded to talk to us the entire time during the ride (about 45 minutes) - cracking jokes, telling stories, etc.  So even when it was awkward, it was for only a short period.



At least the guide was compassionate enough to not only apologize, but to get over the surprise and move on with things. Honesty and compassion can go a long way with things. I bet he was mortified.

So happy to hear everything else went well- I'm excited to go with my Dgf, and showing her this thread is making her relax about the entire thing.


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## beDONce

This was actually something I've been a little worried about - I've never come across any problems before, but the fiancé and I are having our wedding there in November 2015, and I'm worried about other guests while we walk around in our "Groom" and "Groom" shirts.


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## EK4636

beDONce said:


> This was actually something I've been a little worried about - I've never come across any problems before, but the fiancé and I are having our wedding there in November 2015, and I'm worried about other guests while we walk around in our "Groom" and "Groom" shirts.



Congrats on your upcoming wedding!!  I'm planning ours right now, and boy, we should have eloped!

Totally understand your concern.  I felt that way when I went for our engagement trip as well and had a photo session in both Epcot and Castaway Cay.  Other guests will probably look at you for a moment, but then they leave you alone (if they don't come up and congratulate you - which happened to us...over and over again at both locations).  We were wearing our matching "I'll be Your Mickey" t-shirts.

We're taking our honeymoon in Aulani in the fall, so I'll let you know how that goes.  So far, so good with all the cast members with whom I've been interacting.


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## ginalmarie

My girlfriend and I have gone to Disney World for the past two years. Both years we went during Gay Days. 

The only negative experience I can think of was when we were in line for Tower of Terror in 2012. I guess I was holding my girlfriend's hand, or we did something that was "gay." There was this mother with two daughters, and one of the daughters asked the mother "why God created gay people." The mother said some nasty remark, and negatively discussed homosexuality and God with her daughters, they were in line RIGHT behind us. How rude!

That's the only thing I can think of- hopefully I won't jinx it. We're going to Gay Days again this year, so I'm hoping it will go smoothly like in the past.


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## Oath

Some time ago, My best friend Dennis and his boyfriend were standing in line at big thunder mountain where the line is outside and this white guy was like "fags" and he just wouldn't stop. "You're sick and you're going to hell. Koksucker." But they deserved it because they were showing PDA which is a big no no around the children.

But usually people need to stop showing PDA gay or str8.


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## Kristina4109

I'm a straight woman who is 100% supportive of gay rights and marriage equality.  (As I like to say, Straight, not Narrow.)  I've been to WDW 7 times (planning #8!) and I've been to Disneyland countless times.  Twice I've been there during Gay Days.  The last time I proudly wore a red shirt to show my support.

I have never, ever seen anything I wouldn't want my 8 year old daughter to see.  And I've seen one or two T-shirts that made me laugh out loud.  (My favorite - "Nope, didn't wear this red shirt by mistake.")

It makes me sad that in this day and age people still make stupid comments, and I hope to live to see a future where it doesn't happen anymore.


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## mcj79

Oath said:


> Some time ago, My best friend Dennis and his boyfriend were standing in line at big thunder mountain where the line is outside and this white guy was like "fags" and he just wouldn't stop. "You're sick and you're going to hell. Koksucker." But they deserved it because they were showing PDA which is a big no no around the children.
> 
> But usually people need to stop showing PDA gay or str8.



I have seen straight couples holding hands & kissing (more then once & more then a quick kiss) at the parks. And I have never heard anyone yelling at the straight people.  LGBT couples holding hands or having a quick kiss shouldn't be a problem any more than for a straight couple.  Also, I don't think yelling "fags" or K*#*&^ is appropriate behavior especially in front of children.  Not words I would want the small children in our family repeating later!  NO one deserves that type of treatment. There are other ways to address issues of too much PDA if that was the case.


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## Disney Analyst

Disney seems to be a very welcome place in my opinion, Never encountered an issue.


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## ArielFan4Life

I was just at DHS this past friday for the start of Star Wars weekend..And it was gay days (( Im a married straight woman with 2 kids)) i support the gay community,I havent been to Disney during gay days..And as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, i was sadden to see a plane in the air with a banner that read "WARNING" its gay days at Disney  ...Come on I hate that in this day and age I had to see a WARNING... But a proud moment for me my daughter is 15 and during the HOT day we was sitting on a bench drinking some water taking a break and across from us was 2 men just relaxing and slightly cuddling..I asked my daughter how does that make her feel...Just was curious ..She looked right at me and said " mom i think its adorable to just see people happy...I dont care if its man/woman...woman/woman.. or man/man.. I was so proud of her for being in her teens and just being open enough to not judge others!!!


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## ChrisNY2

ArielFan4Life said:


> I was just at DHS this past friday for the start of Star Wars weekend..And it was gay days (( Im a married straight woman with 2 kids)) i support the gay community,I havent been to Disney during gay days..And as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, i was sadden to see a plane in the air with a banner that read "WARNING" its gay days at Disney  ...Come on I hate that in this day and age I had to see a WARNING... But a proud moment for me my daughter is 15 and during the HOT day we was sitting on a bench drinking some water taking a break and across from us was 2 men just relaxing and slightly cuddling..I asked my daughter how does that make her feel...Just was curious ..She looked right at me and said " mom i think its adorable to just see people happy...I dont care if its man/woman...woman/woman.. or man/man.. I was so proud of her for being in her teens and just being open enough to not judge others!!!


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## Jefrex

ArielFan4Life said:


> I was so proud of her.



Thanks for being awesome!


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