A Disney Gay Goes Bi…Coastal

Just in time for its 70th anniversary, a Disney World diehard visits Disneyland for the first time to compare the iconic parks

There I sat, fiddling with my rainbow watch in the hotel lobby, anxiously waiting. Would he like me? Am I overdressed? Will he even show? This was all new to me. Up until this point, I had been in a monogamous relationship…with a Mouse. Yet here I was, putting myself out there, and trying something new.

Disneyland Park. Photo: Matt Kirouac-York

After a long Uber ride across Los Angeles, hours of anticipation, and probably too many questions to hotel staff about his whereabouts, he finally arrived: Bing Bong, the heartbreaking imaginary friend from Inside Out, was finally here. So I did what any Disney Gay would do, and lined up with a bunch of kids to take turns canoodling with the Pepto Bismol elephant. I dressed up for him, clad in a new Disneyland polo I purchased that day at Downtown Disney, and a Kermit the Frog watch that I’ve yet to actually set, because that’s not the point. My hair, in all its pinkness, matched Bing Bong’s cotton candy complexion.

When your imaginary friend becomes real.

This was a first for me. Disneyland’s Pixar Place Hotel is the only place in the world where Bing Bong conducts meet-and-greets, so not only was it my first time encountering this elephantine icon from the Disney vault, but it was my first time to Disneyland at all. Which is really saying something, considering the cumulative months I’ve spent at Walt Disney World in Florida, and my intimate familiarity with “The Most Magical Place on Earth.”

I’m a certified Disney Gay, but that badge of Pride is confined to the park that I grew up with, and have continued to frequent. When I was traveling full-time in an RV, I lived just outside Disney World for a whole season, thus beginning my years-long dedication as an Annual Passholder. After I settled in Oklahoma City, I kept visiting twice a year. Writing about Disney World became a cornerstone of my expanding career, including a stint as a weekend reporter for Disney Food Blog. As cliche as it sounds, it truly became my happy place — an escape from the tensions and pressures of the “real world,” and a temporary balm rooted in the purest nostalgia. It helps that, along with Mickey Mouse & Friends, some of my best friends live in Orlando, helping me to feel like a fleeting local in a community I adore.

Disneyland, though, evaded me. Aside from a brief trip as a little kid, when all I remember was getting rear-ended in our rental car, the original Disney park was but a distant mirage, and my devotion to Disney World kept my curiosities at bay. Since I was already paying an exorbitant fee for an Annual Pass at one park, which I loved dearly, why bother spending extra money elsewhere? Last year, the stars finally aligned.

I had just returned from a week-long cruise, and after docking at the Port of Los Angeles, there was a whole day ahead of me before my flight home that night. So I did what any irrational Disney Gay would do and rode across the metro to spend a few hours at Disneyland. I didn’t even have park passes, because I didn’t know how much time I’d have, so I was confined to Downtown Disney and the hotels, including Pixar Place, where I was bound and determined to meet Bing Bong. After a day spent awkwardly toting my luggage around Downtown Disney, and literally buying a Disney-themed outfit change solely for the mere potential of meeting Bing Bong, it finally happened. As brief as that moment was, I finally sensed the magic of Disneyland. But I wanted more.

Earlier this year, I let my Disney World Annual Pass lapse, just as we were gearing up for a western road trip up the California coast. Especially considering that I had never meaningfully been to the OG park, and that I was feeling homesick for that palpable brand of Disney nostalgia, Disneyland was a top priority. We had one full day to spend, so we decided to do so at the place that started it all, Disneyland Park (California Adventure can wait until next time). As a lifelong Disney World devotee, and loud-and-proud Disney Gay, my expectations were high, but so were my reservations. Here are my honest thoughts about visiting Disneyland for my first time as a Disney Bi, and my comparisons between the two parks. To keep things fair, I am only weighing Disneyland Park against Magic Kingdom, the closest and most obvious analogue.