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Credit: Amy Humphries via UnsplashAttitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community in Florida have repeatedly made headlines in recent years, with some guests allegedly no longer feeling safe at the state’s theme parks.
As not just Florida but the entire country’s largest single-site employer, Walt Disney World Resort has been pretty vocal about issues impacting the state in the past. In 2022, the theme park resort famously called out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his Florida Parental Rights in Education Act – colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The Walt Disney Company’s then-CEO Bob Chapek stated that the act “could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary and transgender kids and families,” while Bob Iger (the now-CEO, who was at that point temporarily retired from the position) claimed that “to me, it wasn’t about politics. It is about what is right and what is wrong, and that just seemed wrong.”
Going into effect in July 2022, the bill prohibits public schools from having “classroom discussions” around sexual orientation or gender identity all the way through third grade.
It’s just one of many pieces of evidence DeSantis critics have used as proof of the governor’s damaging attitude towards LGBTQ+ rights, as well as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (which prevents transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports competitions from middle-school through to college.
Considering DeSantis’ moves to gain an upper hand in the running of Walt Disney World, many have vocalized their fears that his attitudes could leak into day-to-day life in the park – both from an operational standpoint and via a strengthening of general public opinion towards the LGBTQ+ community.
A recent letter published by the Orlando Sentinel has doubled down on these fears, with its author, Jenna Ware, warning that “LGBTQ+ friends in Central Florida should watch for ‘stealth prejudice’ in theme parks, that may be about us, though framed as something else.”
While we recommend checking out the full letter, some of the main points raised include the fact that “open hatred of us may have crested in 2022 with ‘Don’t Say Gay’ and ‘Stop WOKE’ acts passed” and that “millions agree, hate has become socially acceptable, and staff in theme parks may still hurt us with their words. Any park may have an accepting policy, but prejudice is in the culture, parks hire locally, and hate can be expressed deniably.”
This isn’t the first time Florida theme park guests have voiced these concerns. At the beginning of Pride Month, Florida was named the least LGBTQ-friendly state in America by Axios.
In September 2023, multiple LGBTQ+ guests revealed on Reddit that they were “concerned” about visiting Disney World due to the political climate – and because they didn’t want to put money in the pocket of DeSantis.
“We are huge Disney fans and we were [excited] to experience our little [one’s] first trip but we’re feeling nervous now especially since Canada issued a travel advisory this past week for LGBTQ+ travelers to certain states,” wrote one Reddit user.
But on a slightly more positive note, of the 22 laws that Equality Florida said would adversely impact Florida’s LGBTQ+ community this year, only one has passed. The group recently also claimed that “the tide is turning.” Its co-founder and executive director Nadine Smith says:
Florida has shamefully been named the No 1 book-banning state in the country, educators have left the profession, and LGBTQ teachers were told to take down photos of their families in classrooms. But the tide is turning. We’ve seen thousands of parents mobilizing to school board meetings to speak out against these attacks on their rights. Families are standing up for their kids – and they’re not letting [Governor DeSantis] and the legislature push their kids around anymore.
In March 2024, Equality Florida successfully reached a settlement with the Florida State Board of Education, Florida Department of Education, and various school districts that also took the edge off the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, restoring the right of both students and teachers to “speak and write freely about sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on personal Disney Parks Guest experiences. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.