Transgender Disney Park fans are reconsidering Walt Disney World Resort vacations as Florida strips statewide protections for the LGBTQIA+ community. Last year, various community and advocacy groups issued travel warnings for the southern state amid a slate of anti-transgender legislation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
One law allows Florida to take custody of trans youth or children questioning their gender identity should their parents seek gender-affirming care. This doesn’t just apply to Floridians but also visitors to the state.
Decades ago, it was terrifying for many gay couples to visit Walt Disney World Resort. Many would only hold hands with their partners during an unofficial Gay Day event–which the Disney park warned guests about in the 1990s. Flash forward and Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs are a haven for families of all kinds, not just during Pride Month but 365 days a year.
Now, transgender Americans face much of the same discriminatory and bigoted hysteria as gay, bisexual, and lesbian people dealt with from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Is Walt Disney World Resort as safe for trans and non-binary guests as it is for the rest of the LGBTQIA+ community?
LGBTQIA+ Travel Warnings and New Laws Make Florida a Danger Zone
In 2022, The Walt Disney Company boldly denounced DeSantis’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. As Disney spent months legally battling DeSantis in the fallout of their statement, the law passed.
Even though Republicans insisted they only wanted to protect children in third grade and under from discussions of sexuality, they later confirmed protestors’ worst fears by expanding the ban through 12th grade. DeSantis later targeted higher education, permitting the state to enact restrictions on public universities that teach courses about gender, race, and sexuality.
Educational bans are only the beginning of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation passed under Governor DeSantis. In addition to the law that allows Florida to take transgender children from their parents, another severely restricts gender-affirming care for children and adults.
When transgender people seek the care they’re still legally able to receive, they’ll face another barrier. In 2023, DeSantis signed a law allowing health insurance companies and medical providers to deny patient care if it violates their religious, moral, or ethical beliefs.
Florida is one of 11 states with “bathroom bills,” which force people to use the bathroom that matches their birth sex rather than their gender identity. DeSantis also joined other conservative governors in targeting drag shows with a law that vaguely bans “children” from any “adult live performances.” That legislation was paused by the Supreme Court last year and remains in limbo.
Unfortunately, LGBTQIA+ people aren’t the only ones at risk. Florida also passed laws restricting educational materials about race that many activists called book bans. Others restricted the employment rights of undocumented immigrants and forced hospitals to store data on patients’ immigration status.
Amid the 2023 political attacks against marginalized groups, numerous non-government organizations and advocacy groups issued Florida travel warnings. They included the Human Rights Campaign, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and the NAACP.
The call is also coming from inside the house. Equality Florida, which fights for the protection and inclusion of minorities in the largely conservative state, urged LGBTQIA+ travelers to “weigh the risks” of visiting the state.
Here’s What Transgender Disney World Guests Say
It’s a scary time for minorities in Florida. Still, given that Orlando is one of the most liberal-leaning cities in the state, many residents say the reality in Central Florida is much more nuanced than the headlines.
Even as the largest employer in Florida, Walt Disney World Resort vehemently opposes DeSantis’s political opinions. At a Town Hall event, Disney CEO Bob Iger reassured a worried Disney cast member that he would push forward with diversity and inclusion efforts.
“This company has been telling stories for 100 years, and those stories have had a meaningful, positive impact on the world, and one of the reasons they have had a meaningful, positive impact is because one of the core values of our storytelling is inclusion and acceptance and tolerance, and we can’t lose that,” he said.
It’s reassuring to see Disney standing up for human rights, but an executive’s words ultimately won’t make a transgender Disney Park guest feel safe. Real Walt Disney World Resort experiences from other members of the LGBTQIA+ community are much more valuable for travelers than any press release.
This week, multiple transgender and non-binary guests spoke about their Disney theme park experiences on Reddit. For their protection, Inside the Magic will not identify individual commenters.
“The Orlando/Disney area is extremely safe and you shouldn’t encounter any issues,” one guest wrote. “If it makes you feel safer, Disney does have companion bathrooms at most restroom locations. If anyone at the parks starts harassing you (very unlikely), go immediately to ANY cast member and they will help you. Disney is a place that welcomes anyone and everyone and is very against harassment. You are safe.”
“I’m a lesbian with a wife and a child,” another replied. “We fly in to MCO, rent a car, and drive straight to WDW. We haven’t had an issue on property.”
Others echoed these experiences but warned about venturing out of urban Central Florida.
“I could name cities here you shouldn’t go to if you’re a queer person,” one user said. “…But Orlando/Disney is not on that list.”
“On Disney property you’d be highly unlikely to face any danger,” another agreed. “If anyone gives you trouble cast members should take care of it. Disney is like a bastion of civilization in the sh*t hole that is Florida. It’s about the only place I’d say a trans person should go in that state.”
Responses were overwhelmingly positive. But even The Most Magical Place on Earth isn’t perfect. One Florida resident shared that their non-binary girlfriend regularly gets “misgendered in ways that feel pretty pointedly intentional considering they wear a pronoun pin.”
“You shouldn’t need to worry about safety especially just visiting Disney,” the user explained. “But they do get snide comments about gender… They’ve gotten people ‘just trying to start a dialogue’ where random people ask their thoughts on trans children or whatever in a very clearly pointed way. These aren’t happening constantly, but they do happen…Sometimes, rarely, even from cast members.”
Though most LGBTQIA+ guests visit Walt Disney World Resort without incident, families should consider all risks when planning a vacation. Guest Services cast members will happily answer questions about accessibility, inclusivity, and other resources at the Disney parks and Resort hotels. They’re available at (407) 939-5277 from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. EST, seven days a week.
Is Walt Disney World Resort safe for transgender people? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.
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.
