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[Crispy1979]

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[Ben]

I have never heard of this before....

[flightoffear1996]

They do it every year.

[dxrunner]

Its actually a lot of fun to work, they are the nicest group of guests we deal with throughout the entire year, or at least that was my experiance last year

[Scooby_Doo]

Yeah I hear they are very nice and friendly unlike most groups of people and have been told by a friend that works at pki that its a blast to work on pride night.

[SixFlagsMasta]

yea reagardless of their sexual preference they really are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. they have the bset manners, usually dress well..lol, and will obey the rules like they made them. it's awesome.

[familyman]

To each there own I say.

[Ben]

I can understand why they're the nicest group.

Is there actually a huge group at PKI this day? I can see that PKI is closed to the public on this day. So I'm guessing...

[Gordon Bombay]

While I am all for gay rights and I think this a great thing PKI does, this question comes to mind. PKI obviously lets groups who are willing to pay rent out the park for some time and have special days. Certain special interest groups like the gay and lesbian community of Cincinnati are allowed and that is fine. But what if they held a "Black family reunion" at PKI or an event celebrating the African American community at PKI. Im sure they park would let a group do this. But what if a group wanted to have a day celebrating "European decendants day" at PKI or a day celebrating the white community. Would this be considered racist jsut because they are the majority. I think that would be stupid.

[TheKlockster]

Alot of venues parks do this. At least I know that Busch Gardens Tampa Bay does, and I think that Disney World does to - but I am not sure.

As far as a white pride day - I don't think it would be racist - as long as the park also had an african-american day, or hispanic day. Now would it be considered racist by the general public - of course.

I think I read something in TIME about SFGAdv having an Islamic pride day. So I mean its a great idea and all. Allows the communities to come together.

[Grunts Rock]

As far as a white pride day - I don't think it would be racist - as long as the park also had an african-american day, or hispanic day. Now would it be considered racist by the general public - of course.

I think a big reason they stay away from doing a race oriented day at theme parks is because there are so many different races around that it would be hard to recognize them all, and then one group would get offended. And like the Klockster said, the general public would of course see it as being racist as it always is.

[TheKlockster]

I'm coming, and ya you guess it im @$#

A good friend of mine would say:

"And your an idiot..."

[DeliriumDreamer]

I must say, that Pride Night was probably one of the coolest nights I've ever worked. A lot of the people there are REALLY kind and respectful, follow the rules, and even go out of their way to make you laugh... talk about the tables turning. Pki change their q-tv for one night, they change the area music, and they have live shows all over the place. It is a really awesome night!

[Kenban]

Alot of venues parks do this.  At least I know that Busch Gardens Tampa Bay does, and I think that Disney World does to - but I am not sure.

As far as a white pride day - I don't think it would be racist - as long as the park also had an african-american day, or hispanic day.  Now would it be considered racist by the general public - of course.

I think I read something in TIME about SFGAdv having an Islamic pride day.  So I mean its a great idea and all.  Allows the communities to come together.

Disney does have a "Pride Night" as well I have to pull some info up about how it happens at Disney though. As I remember what actually happens is an organization purchases a HUGE block of tickets and resells them to others at a discount and Disney does not and will not sell the discounted tickets directly. In the end Disney would do the same thing for ANY organization that wishes to do an event like this and can get enough people to go because they do not actually support the group in any way they are just giving them the tickets at the regular discounted price for that many people. So if you can get (TOTAL guess here) 20,000 people together you can get the same rate for the original tickets and it can be whatever day you want because of the number of people from the same group there. BUT Disney does not and will not advertise the event.

I wonder if this event is being done in a similar way and what they do is just rent out the entire park then make money off the ticket sales. Its Pride Night just because they rented the park for the night and PKI I bet did not give them any discouts off of the regular rental rate for the park.

Oh someone was talking about the islamic day at some six flags park. This was what happened at that park they rented the entire park for the day and did not receive any discounts. Its just the park making money it has nothing to do with support for any organization.

EDIT: Here are some quotes from mouseplanet.

We may be doing a story later this year on the Gay Days events at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and we'll probably ask the organizers a similar question. However, it should be clear that they have not been “singled out†by anyone except themselves. The event is not sponsored by the parks, nor is it promoted by them. However, the parks have become very friendly to the groups, as they bring in a large amount of money for them.

[PKIWorker19]

During my 3 seasons at the park I have worked every Pride Night. This is a great event and everyone is so nice. I do get the occasional,"Isn't it weird?", to which I respond,"Absolutly NOT!!" There is no reason for it to be wierd. I am there serving guests just like any other day. Yes, these guests may be differ from the norm, but they are still guests and are still enjoying the park. I am glad that this association is coming to Kings Island again and I hope that it continues for a long time.

P.S.: Just a reminder, if anyone were to ask you if you knew when Pride Night was, you would have to deny knowing anything because of lawsuits and discrimination. As much as I would like to tell people when it is, I know that some are not as welcoming as others and that could cause a problem plus I could get fired for giving that information out. If the guest still wants to know after you have said you don't know anything, send them to Guest Relations and let them handle it. Not trying to tell you what to do, but that is legal issues and you could lose your job over it....

[Scooter4Ever]

A lot of parks do a "gay day" (PKI, SFGaM, Busch Gardens) etc. Disney World does an entire Gay Weekend with two hotels on Disney property being "all gay". The Magic Kingdom has a Gay Day on Saturday but Friday through Sunday, there are parties at night. The past years, party promotors have rented out IOA, Typhoon Lagoon, MGM, and Universal Studios. The city of Orlando says the gay weekend at Disney is one of the top three revenue generating weekends for their city.

[PKIWorker19]

It's called Pride Night... not "gay day"

[PKI Foodguy]

The name could differ from park to park, but at KI it's Pride night.

[BoddaH1994]

P.S.: Just a reminder, if anyone were to ask you if you knew when Pride Night was, you would have to deny knowing anything because of lawsuits and discrimination. As much as I would like to tell people when it is, I know that some are not as welcoming as others and that could cause a problem plus I could get fired for giving that information out. If the guest still wants to know after you have said you don't know anything, send them to Guest Relations and let them handle it. Not trying to tell you what to do, but that is legal issues and you could lose your job over it....

I always thought that was funny. I mean, you guys could tell by my past posts that I very much in support of conservative values, but I still never got the whole concept of being afraid or hating someone because of their race or sexual orientation.

[Kenban]

It's called Pride Night... not "gay day"

Gay Day is the name used in orlando. Which this year is 5 days in June.

Here is a great quote from the gayday website.

No. Disney is an "innocent victim" of circumstance. They managed to create an excellent vacation resort that appeals to almost everybody in the world, and gay and lesbian folks are no different. Because they get so much attention from all factions over Gay Day, Disney actually goes out of their way not to do things that are perceived as catering towards Gay Day. This is unlike any other time of the year when Disney will actively market towards specific, targeted groups to increase their attendance at Disney properties. If Disney really didn't do anything different during Gay Day than they do any other time of the year, they would advertise to the Gay and Lesbian market and they would actively seek to book entertainment appealing to the gay and lesbian crowds. Gay Day is now the busiest time of year at Disney, and the highest revenue producing time of year as well for Disney's parks and attractions.

[Crispy1979]

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[geekzapoppin]

As I said in another post, I'm not Gay myself, but my wife and I have a lot of Gay friends and are very supportive of GLBT rights. We go to Pride Night whenever we can. Honestly, it's the most fun I ever have in the park. People who are normally shunned by society for just being who they are can be themselves without having to constantly worry about whether or not they'll be beaten or even killed for it. I'm not exaggerating. It happens more often than you think. Anyway, Pride Night is always tons of fun and the guests and staff seem to enjoy it equally.

As for a "White Pride" night, since when are whites a minority? Hell, most days at PKI are already White Days for the most part.

[Outdoor Man]

at the risk of being ostricized i offer my opinion, and mine alone. Be it "G&L", Black Family Reunion, Latin Pride, White Pride, etc.... I get irritated when any group tries to set itself off from others to celebrate a pride-thing.

People come to the US because I guess at one point we were considered a melting pot, where it doesn't matter your background...... you're an American... honestly I dislike terms like Latin-American, African-American, European-American. You're an American. Period. Minority groups in my opinion get shunned from mainstream society when they try to set themselves apart from everyone else and shine the spotlight on the differences.

I like 4th of July celebrations where there may be a person of Japanese decent on your left, a north african national on your right, a person from Europe across the way, a lesbian person to another direction, a muslim and a catholic talking in another, etc... all celebrating the american diversity together.... not polarizing to each their own.

[jzarley]

I think it's more a matter of people enjoying the opportunity to be with others like themselves. Sort of the same idea of a Star Trek convention...people with common interests, backgrounds, and culture getting together. I don't think that's an intentional "shun" of American society as a whole.

Part of the whole idea of the "melting pot" is that all these different cultures and ideas get mixed in to the whole of American society. (For example, look at how big Cinco de Mayo has become in the US over the last few decades.) The ideal isn't for every group to loose aspects of their culture. Usually, there's a crossover of cultures for Americans...and most people identify with more than one group.

Pride Night is somewhat different because the park is rented out just like for any other private event. (I've never felt as though P&G was shunning regular society by having their own day at the park...)

I do think the ideals you mention of us all being one are definitely virtuous, and hopefully something that can someday be achieved. But, until society is at a point where two guys (or girls) can hold hands in the park (like countless straight people do) without fear of being killed, "Pride Night" (and similar events) will continue to exist...

[Crispy1979]

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[Kat_RPW_employee]

well, I still don't plan on working that day. besides, that'll be after i start school and i'm only going to be working saturdays and sundays once school starts and use friday to do my homework.

[jzarley]

Yeah...OK...

You've made it pretty clear how you feel about the subject, and that's your business. I guess I don't understand why you feel compelled to keep reading about and responding to this topic.

You don't want to work that night...based on your comments here, I doubt if the participants (or the park for that matter) would want you to work that night either. So, it sounds like a win/win for everyone involved. I just don't see why it's an issue of concern...