Inside Disneyland’s Pride Nite, a Glittery & Magical LGBTQ+ Celebration
Rainbows and glitter filled Main Street U.S.A as Disneyland kicked off its first-ever Pride Nite on June 13 in Anaheim, California. This highly anticipated after-dark party took place right in the middle of Pride Month as a chance for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate love in all forms—a first for Disneyland (and, fingers crossed, one of many to come.) Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is still making due with its unofficial “Gay Days” among the harsh political climate in Florida and attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, so they’ll hopefully follow Disneyland’s approach soon.
As a queer individual, Disney has always been that one place where I’ve felt free to be my full authentic self—wearing vibrant clothing, loud makeup, all of it. I’ve grown into a self-proclaimed Disney adult and I have no shame in the title because the parks are a safe space. When I first heard of Pride Nite, I knew I had to go, and let me just say: I wish I’d bought tickets for both nights because it was that great.
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Dates and Tickets
For starters, Disneyland’s Pride Nite had two dates scheduled, June 13 and June 15. It was a ticketed event ($139 per person) which took place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Disneyland. The event was completely sold-out for both days, so you can say it was a success.
Lodging and Accommodations
Since Pride Nite runs well into the night, you’ll want to book a stay at a hotel within walking distance from Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure. For my week-long trip, I stayed at three different properties because I wanted to see what the nearby hotel district had to offer, all of which were less than 10-minute walks from Disneyland: The Howard Johnson by Wyndham, The Hilton Anaheim, and The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Anaheim Resort Area, an IHG hotel. I’ve never stayed at these properties prior to this trip, but I have nothing but rave reviews about all of them. The Howard Johnson has a great pool area and waterpark section for kids, the Hilton Anaheim has exceptional customer service, and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites has a great free breakfast buffet.
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While most of my time was spent at the parks, all three hotels were super comfortable. I walked back and forth from all of the hotels aside from The Hilton Anaheim, where I utilized their bus transportation, which was $6 per day. The buses were scheduled every 20 minutes and it made more sense to take it than walk when I was tired early in the morning and late at night.
Characters Appearances
One of the major reasons I attended this event was for the rare character experiences. It was advertised that the Fab 5 (Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Pluto) would be in their Pride Nite apparel along with characters like Clarabelle Cow and Chip and Dale.
In each of the lands, I came across beloved characters from different movies who were either snapping photos with guests or interacting with them. There were well over 30 characters at the event, but I knew I had to prioritize a few who I wanted to see in particular.
Since the characters were rare, I spent most of the event hunting them down throughout the park aside from Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Clarabelle Cow, who had formal meet-and-greets with PhotoPass photographers. This was a nice touch because the photos were included with the $139 ticket price so there was no additional charge, unlike during normal daily park operations. I was able to download them after the event so I could post them on Instagram, obviously.
Not every character stopped for photos as they “roamed.” These were great immersive experiences, especially for Tinker Bell and Friends (Rosetta, Silvermist, Terrence, Irdessa, and Fawn), Mulan and Mushu, Oaken from Frozen, The Muses from Hercules, and Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.
While I’m a Disney Parks fan through and through, it can get annoying to chase down the characters if you want photos, but unfortunately there’s no getting around that. That said, the characters were spread throughout the park to greet guests all night. I met Mickey and Minnie, Mulan and Mushu, Tinker Bell and Friends, Clarabelle Cow, and The Queen of Hearts.
I wish I could have seen more friends, especially Jane Porter, Terk, Phastos from Eternals, Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians, and Princess Tiana and Louis from The Princess and the Frog.
Entertainment Offerings
Welcome Fireworks
At any Disney event you can typically expect a fireworks spectacular and Pride Nite was no exception. At 9:30 p.m., the Welcome fireworks took place, offering an explosion of colors in the sky with touching music about love and inclusion, including “Reflection” from Mulan and “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman. I was able to find a spot for the fireworks about 15 minutes before they started. The crowds were heavy for the fireworks, but I expected that since they only happened once during the evening.
Welcome Pride Cavalcade
The Pride cavalcade was nowhere near the same caliber as the daily Magic Happens parade at Disneyland, but it was cute. All of the characters were in their festive rainbow outfits as they hit the streets to celebrate love. This lasted all of five minutes and happened twice at 9:55 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
Fond Farewell with Mickey Mouse & Friends
At the end of the night, Mickey and his pals took over the steps of the train station to say goodbye to everyone. I danced to Kylie Minogue’s “Magic” about 10 feet in front of Chip and Dale—definitely a memorable moment.
Ohana Dance Party
To celebrate that power of family, Stitch and Angel threw a dance party in Tomorrowland for everyone to get down to their favorite tunes. From Whitney Houston to Dua Lipa, I busted out my best dance moves alongside other guests while blowing kisses to Stitch and Angel. The energy at the dance party was infectious, with people living their best lives and busting out their best dance moves.
Special Food Offerings
During Pride Nite, I got my hands on special offerings available to event guests only. There was plenty to choose from so I had to be selective. Due to timing, I was only able to get my hands on the Rainbow Gray Stuff (a shortbread dessert with white chocolate mousse, lemon cake, and raspberry), which was delicious and ultra-colorful. Honestly, it should have been called “The Gay Stuff,” but I digress.
I really wanted to try the rainbow trifle from Jolly Holiday Cafe, but it was sold out by the time I had time to hop on the line. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try any of the actual food since I ate dinner beforehand, but from what I heard, everything was really good, especially the Hawaiian BBQ Tender Dog and PB&J Monte Cristo.
Photo Spots
In addition to character moments, there were photo spots to take advantage of around the parks. All of the locations of the photo spots could easily be found on the map provided at the front entrance. The lines were a bit lengthy, so I didn’t stop by any, but I did see a few that caught my eye, like the Out photo frame and the Rainbow Crosswalk.
Overall Thoughts
There’s no denying that $139 per ticket was expensive, but there were a lot of characters, entertainment offerings, and magic to account for it. Plus, the ticket got you into the park three hours prior to the start of the event so you could take advantage of daily park operations too.
At the end of the day, Pride Nite was supposed to be a day filled with love and positivity, and that’s exactly what it was. I hope they do it again at Disneyland next year and eventually bring it to Walt Disney World. More magic, please!
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