Disneyland to host first-ever late night Pride celebration

The event called Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite will take place in the Californian theme park this summer.

Entertainment . Written by Nicole Lee.

disneyland CA-feature
Image: Twitter @Mzjulie21

This June, Disneyland California is launching a new after-hours special Pride event called Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite.

The park’s first-ever official Pride celebration is scheduled for June 13 and 15. The festivities begin with a three-hour “pre-party mix-in” at 6pm, followed by the main event, which is scheduled from 9pm to 1am.

Since the occasion takes place after regular park hours, Pride Nite guests will enjoy shorter attraction wait times and access to special entertainment. Each evening will feature Pride-themed events, menu items and merchandise. 

 

While some features of the park will close at 9pm, most of the famous rides and attractions will remain open until 1am, including the Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. 

Main events include a family-friendly Ohana Dance Party with Disney characters in Tomorrowland, a Pride Night Dance Club along the Rivers of America and country line dancing at the Golden Horseshoe. 

Each night will feature endless photo opportunities with Pride-themed backdrops, as well as Disney characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Goofy walking down Main Street dressed in their best Pride outfits.

The ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ modelled this event off of the Disneyland Paris Pride night, which premiered in 2019. The Paris event was cancelled in 2020, 2021, and 2022, but it will return to the Disneyland Paris park this summer on June 17!

Tickets for the special event in California are $139 and go on sale at 5pm GMT on Thursday, April 20.

 

Over the past few years, Disney has gradually increased its LGBTQ+ representation by including more queer characters in its films and television shows. In November, Disney introduced an openly gay teenager in the animated film, Strange World, and other productions that feature LGBTQ+ characters include Jungle Cruise, Cruella, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Pixar’s Onward and Lightyear.

Disney also aired an episode of the That’s So Raven reboot last year, which featured trans actress Juliana Joel as Nikki in a script that was written by queer writer and comedian Nori Reed.

 

https://twitter.com/francisdominiic/status/1646548469094678528?s=20

The news of this Pride night event also comes as the Disney company continues to face challenges in Florida after opposing the state’s ‘Don’t Say Gay‘ law, a rule which aims to restrict conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms.

 

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