Flashback (2003) photo trip report to Disney World complex

So seeing that Magic Kingdom retro trip report, made me realize that I have a ton of pics from the trip I took with my Ex back in 2003 for the “Gay-days” celebration, that I don’t think I’ve ever posted anywhere.

So even tho they are only ~14 years old, I thought they are worth sharing. (and yes, I reached out to my Ex, and he said he was fine if I posted them, and I’ll send him a link to the photos here ).

Some notes:before the pics:

1) Chip and I were together ~ 2 years (having met at Dragon*con in Atlanta, we lived in different states, but communicated often via AOL (lol), and webcam, as well as a couple of trips each year, and of course Dragon*con). Tho we parted ways in Nov. 2013, both he and I have been with our partners for ~13 years (and I married my hubby a year ½ ago). . so we’re both very happy.

2) I was his first boyfriend, as he really ‘came out’ fairly recently before we met in Atlanta. As I’m older than he is (and have been out since college), I had sowed most of my “gay” oats. . but he had not, and since we are both Disney fans (he and his hubby have annual passes out in CA), it was a bucket list thing for him to go to Disney for Gay Days, so I agreed and we planned the trip.

3) Although it’s noticeable on the Magic Kingdom “official” gay day – where most attendees wear red to be visible – for the most part, in the other pics you cannot really tell that the Disney World Complex was swarming with LGBTQ folks (tho we got quite a few winks and nods, and comments from Disney Cast members). But yeah, if I just posted the pics and didn’t note it was Gay Days? You’d likely not really notice.

4) One place you could tell was Pleasure Island, where every night there were circuit parties. No pics from those, as I didn’t bring my camera along. . but one funny story is:

(and remember, I’m older than Chip, so I had already sowed my oats). . . he REALLY wanted to go to the White Party. I was not really into it, as I was tired, since we had spent the whole days at the park (s).

I even said to him (and I recall clearly). . I’ve been to many circuit parties. . it’s going to be older guys, without shirts, and saggy, pierced nipples, dancing on platforms!

. . . but he really, really wanted to go.

Let’s just say, I was correct, and you’re welcome I have no pictures. . LOL

5) These pics were all taken with disposable KODAK cameras (the quality is actually really good, I am still surprised how well some of these came out). When I had them developed (at Walgreen’s), I asked for them to be put on disc – remember, we didn’t live in same state – so I could email them to Chip.

That’s why I have these still in my pictures and am able to share.

I had them all mixed up, but made an attempt to break out by park (and by Day, if I could tell what clothes we were wearing).

hope you enjoy!

bert

Starting off with the "various" pics. .mainly 1st day, and wandering around Downtown Disney area.

first thing we did after checking in, was head to Downtown Disney to wander around, and eat lunch.

and of course, Chip immediately found Tigger (he's a HUGE fan).

and yes, Chip did love rocking that fanny pack. . . hey, it was 2003

Polynesian from, I think, the ferry boat, that we took over to Magic Kingdom, tho didn't go in the 1st day.

I believe this is in the Orlando airport, after arriving, while we are waiting for the shuttle bus to our hotel.

We stayed at the Hilton in Downtown Disney.

Chip on the left, and me on the right.

Change of clothes, and heading out for a quick look see of Pleasure Island, tho we were excited for the next day at Magic Kingdom.

surprise pic I took at Rainforest Cafe

Chip vs Vader (cut out) in the massive Disney Store

Chip vs Vader (cut-out) 2

Outside the Lego store. . this guy is still there, I think?

the view from our hotel room. Facing the wrong way for Magic Kingdom/Epcot, but we had a good view of Downtown Disney, and as a Cirque du Soliel fan, I was thrilled to have a view of the La Nouba theater

no idea where we saw these Jellyfish. . but they were in my Disney pics, so must be somewhere in Downtown Disney?

(maybe they were in Animal Kingdom??)

Here are the pics from our 1st full day at Magic Kingdom.

there were a bunch of LGBTQ folks in the park already, but this wasn't the actual designated "gay day" for Magic Kingdom. . think that was Sat.

anyways. . here are the pics from that 1st day:

in one of the buildings on Main Street. . of course we had to stop and get a pic.

there were more photo options in here, but we knew we'd come back on Sat for those.

Chip on Main Street USA

And in front of the castle.

In front of my favorite ride in the parks!

(the Haunted Mansion, not Chip )

Jungle Cruise time

Magic Carpet Ride. . . I think this was relatively new, as we were surprised to stumble across it!

the pic NO ONE else takes (but 14 years ago)

I found the Tweedles!

LOVE them

(and felt so thin too)

awwww

it looks surprisingly not that crowded.. tho I know we were there early for a full day.

(we managed to ride everything in the park on this day, with my handy skills as a Planner . . we made great use of the paper fast passes, and I carried the map and checked off things as we did them). The light crowd likely helped too.

and me on Main Street

the "test seat" rocket in Tomorrowland

so I gave "him" a solo pic, hug, afterwards

Swiss Family Robinson treehouse !

but do love me a good carousel

SPINNY!!!!

I'm not worthy

and I apparently even got a pic in the Tiki Room

We found Dopey!

(and remember, how I said we got lots of comments and winks from Cast Members who all seemed VERY happy to be interacting with a couple?. . . . well, Dopey TOTALLY grabbed my ass while we were taking this picture). . .

this is a great picture, even tho I'm blinking.

I have to say, I'm loving reliving these pics. . . . NO ONE is on a damn cell phone

Next up I think we did EPCOT: (but I don't seem to have any pics of IllumiNations -- my guess is they just didn't come out with the disposable cameras, since some of my nighttime pics are just awful)

although I'm not all that embarrassed by the short-shorts. . they were comfortable at the time. Tho seeing them now, I likely shouldn't have been wearing them. . . guess I didn't have a mirror.

LOL

Chip in line for Maelstrom

yep, they had that silly "hand with wand" thing at this time

Italy in the World Showcase

walking thru World Showcase

it sure is pretty at night

I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! Great report! Those pictures bring back memories from my visit in 2005 at Magic Kingdom. It was my first theme park, and who would of known I would be a "theme park junkie" till this day! LOL. Keep up the wonderful reports!

^ thanks!

I still have Hollywood Studios/Animal Kingdom, and the actual Saturday 'gay day' at Magic Kingdom to post. . work just kept me too busy today.

but will try to get up in the next couple of days!

Love the pictures! It's interesting seeing how WDW was like since I visited for the first time in November 2015. Also I'm so glad that "hand with the wand" is gone!

Based on the clothes we're wearing, it looks to me like we did Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios on the same day.

which i guess makes sense, as this was a few years before Expedition Everest, so Animal Kingdom wasn't really considered a ride park. . more of a zoo by many at the time. (was Kali rapids there yet? I think it probably was, but don't recall riding it).

I DO recall we rode Primeval Whirl, and we saw a couple of shows. .. .

the lack of any pictures from the Safari in my files, tells me we either chose to skip it, or it wasn't open that day for some reason.

not sure which it is.

anyways, here are the pics from Animal Kingdom:

Chip heading towards Tree of Life

then we headed over to Festival of the Lion King. . .

not sure why some pics came out better than others. . . all from the same disposable cameras

Me and Tree of Life

carvings on the tree. . back in 2003

closer pic

Note: in this pic, you can see me holding one of the KODAK disposable cameras. . we had brought along, 5 I think. .

Getting close to Tree of Life. . .going to see "it's tough to be a bug"

rather good pic of us, if I do say

us being "bugs"

more of us being "bugs"

and here's Hollywood Studios, where it looks like we did the Studio Tour, stunt show, Beauty and the Beast Show, Muppetvision 3D, Tower of Terror, and closed out the night with Fantasmic. .

(we must have done Rock n Rollercoaster too. . but no pic of that)

from the Studio Tour. . .a prop from Atlantis (which was animated. . so i guess the prop was for drawing reference?).

Batman props from the Studio Tour

in the "Honey I Shrunk the Kid" play area. . .

Tower of Terror. . looking all "postcard" like

The Beauty and the Beast stage show. . . i recall it being very well done.

Fantastmic!

Indy Stunt Show

Muppet fountain. . piggy!

Us on Studio Tour.

as noted, everyone was very friendly, and I recall not having any issue handing the camera to someone and asking them to please take our picture.

Now you got me looking at all my older park photos of Disney. LOL. It's amazing how so much has changed! My last visit to Disney was in 2011 when I visited Disney's Hollywood Studios for the first time. Great photos!

here's my final batch of pictures from this trip. . the big day: "Gay Day" at Magic Kingdom.

a couple of notes:

1) you'll notice a lot of red. The organizers encourage (or at least did when we went on this trip back in 2003, and I assume they still do) members of the LGBTQ community and their allies to wear red to be visible.

I'm pretty visible anyways, LOL, so i chose to wear my "Cub Master" shirt I had bought at Goodwill years before (which I thought was pretty damn funny). I did have my red hat on tho.

2) there were a couple things we really wanted to do:

I really wanted to see the afternoon parade (which included some Gay Day organizers marching), as well as cast members really giving it their all for the adoring crowd.

Chip wanted to do the Country Bear Jamboree, with the Bears (a term for large, hairy, gay men). It was so popular they ended up doing multiple showings, with the line of folks waiting to get in stretching all the way down the block.

Funny story about that 2nd one, and a story I still tell:

so we are in line with all these Men, and near us is a French family, Father, Mother and a little girl.

they don't seem phased at all, that they are the only male/female couple in the line to get in with us, but I/we noticed them as the father just happened to be wearing a red shirt (LOL. . what a day to wear red!).

once we got into the theater and the show started, this wonderful family absolutely lit up with confusion and delight, at a theater full of big, gay, men, singing along to every song!

Seriously, I spent more time watching them react (and it was delight) than I did watching the show.

You should have heard the doors blow off the place when Teddi Berra drops down from the ceiling on her swing.

if YouTube had been a thing at the time? Someone would have filmed it and this would have gone viral. . .LOL.

hope you enjoy the pics!

my spirit animal

URSULA

we had lunch at Cinderella's castle. . but first had to pose in the throne!

so butch. .

over the years, eaten here many times.

Not the greatest steakhouse, but honestly? you can't beat the ambiance here, especially if Cinderella is wandering around interacting with the diners (which she often is)

we stood in line to meet, Pooh. . .

Tigger

Chip doing "chestburster"

one of my all time favorite pics of him.

and, of course, Mickey!

in line with the Bears to see the Country Bears

Here comes Teddi Berra

Steamboat bert!

Splash Mountain

Daytime Parade on gay day. . .

the cast really went all out and interacted a lot with the crowd (always with a huge smile on their faces).

sexy!

take on a whole new look during gay days. . .

LOL. . .those are BROOMS. . right???

Castle at night. . .pretty!

ooooo

Electric Light Parade

and fireworks over the castle.

again, impressed how well some of these came out, using crappy, disposable cameras.

and Eeyore is sad, because I don't have any more pics from this flashback trip report to post.

Wow, this is really cool! When Disney has an event, they really go all out. Glad you had a good time there.

Digging all these retro reports. Very cool to see and remember how parks used to be.

Wow, this is really cool! When Disney has an event, they really go all out. Glad you had a good time there.

 

Digging all these retro reports. Very cool to see and remember how parks used to be.

keep in mind, this is not an official "Disney" event.

(at least it was not at the time, and I do believe it still is not officially a Disney Sponsored thing). -- can't piss off the Religious folks, you know.

but yeah, there are quite a few Cast members who are "family" and they really were thrilled to see us there. We were getting nice comments, winks and nods from Cast Members the whole weekend, even when it was just us walking together. (not to mention a butt grope from Dopey )

. .was great they got to march in the parade, even back in 2003, even if not official event.

Love this blast from the past! It’s always great to stumble upon old photos and relive those experiences. The fact that there isn’t a single cell phone in any photo is really a great reminder how far (downhill) things have changed. It’s a blessing and a curse in many aspects. Some of your photos turned out really well using that disposable camera, especially the ones at Epcot at night with the fountains! Really cool. What hotel did you stay in?

Do they still have the Honey I Shrunk The Kids area? I haven’t been to DW in 9 years and don’t remember seeing it then. I have a picture of me on that ant when I was 4 years old! Will have to find it and send it to you for a good laugh.

The button down shirt on Gay Days is fantastic haha. Your outfit reminds me of last year at Carowinds. When SO and I were in line for I-232 there was a guy who showed up in the row behind us with an outfit that I wish I could have taken a picture of. It was 112 deg. that day and he had slightly past shoulder length curly dark hair, a glowingly white shirt that looked straight out of the dry cleaners and that was unbuttoned way down like in your pics. Over the shirt he had a bright red leather vest that on the back had a massive sparkling dragon embroidered on it. To top it off he was wearing acid washed jeans tucked into his Timberland boots. What a hero!

Have you been to any other Gay Days celebrations at DW?

Love this blast from the past! It’s always great to stumble upon old photos and relive those experiences. The fact that there isn’t a single cell phone in any photo is really a great reminder how far (downhill) things have changed. It’s a blessing and a curse in many aspects. Some of your photos turned out really well using that disposable camera, especially the ones at Epcot at night with the fountains! Really cool. What hotel did you stay in?

the Hilton in Downtown Disney (tho it's called Disney Springs now, right?). They are the only non-Disney hotel in that area, that's considered a Disney property. . . so you get the benefits, and it tends to be cheaper than a Disney branded property.

there's a Disney Store onsite (you can buy stuff in the parks and have shipped to your hotel), you get the Extra magic hours, and it's first stop on the Shuttle bus pickup/drop off from Magic Kingdom.

Nick and I have stayed here several times as well, when we've gone to Disney.

Have you been to any other Gay Days celebrations at DW?

nope.. I only went because Chip wanted to (and it's Disney)

Nice report, Bert...you're disposable cameras got a lot of very good photos!

Great TR Bert! Your Flashback TR is great to see, especially how fashions changed...or not.

Also, seeing so many fewer cameras (at that time) taking parade shots is interesting to see.

Do you remember what your absolute fave attraction was, at that time? Just curious.

Edit: On second look, it looks like it "might" be the Country Bear Jamboree?

2003 was about the last time I was at Gay Days. Good times, good memories. Thanks for bringing them back.

G

Do you remember what your absolute fave attraction was, at that time? Just curious.

 

Edit: On second look, it looks like it "might" be the Country Bear Jamboree?

actually. .that would be Chip's "must do"

my favorite then, and still my favorite, is Haunted Mansion (think I mentioned that in a caption, actually)

2003 was about the last time I was at Gay Days. Good times, good memories. Thanks for bringing them back.

you might be somewhere in that crowd!

...my favorite then, and still my favorite, is Haunted Mansion (think I mentioned that in a caption, actually)

Probably did. It's my age.

And that's the excuse I'm sticking to.

...my favorite then, and still my favorite, is Haunted Mansion (think I mentioned that in a caption, actually)

 

Probably did. It's my age.

And that's the excuse I'm sticking to.

Just to note: For us, I believe it was Space Mountain (both sides) that we definitely were looking forward to,

in the Spring of 1987. We had been to DL and ridden that SM. But this one was The Original, and the ONLY two-tracked

SM in Disney history.....so far. It did not disappoint. Both sides.