There was an eclectic energy at the park on June 13, and it lasted the entire Disneyland After Dark event and well past its 1 a.m. curfew.

The moment the special welcome fireworks show started, that energy filled Main Street.

There were couples holding hands and children dressed in rainbow-themed Disney garb to match their two dads or two moms, marveling together as the pops of color danced to “Reflection” from “Mulan” and “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman.” After it was over, cheers erupted, and guests began to scatter.

There was a brief silence before the first song on the Disneyland Pride Nite playlist, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston. I heard a guest shout, “That’s my song!” before realizing it’s everyone’s song. It seemed that everybody knew the words and was moving to their own rhythm.

Disney made history when it announced its first Pride Nite event. The event promised specialty costumes for Mickey and his friends, a whole cast of characters that guests rarely get to see roaming around the park, exclusive food and drink items, dance parties, and special photo backgrounds to download on PhotoPass post-event. The event would only run for two nights, June 13 and June 15.

I’ve been to three Disneyland nighttime specialty events — Grad Nite right before I graduated high school, the now-defunct Mickey’s Halloween Party (now the Oogie Boogie Bash in Disney California Adventure) and the discontinued Merriest Nites event that came and went for only the 2021 holiday season. These nighttime events are a great way to avoid crowds and painfully long lines, and take in the park in an exciting new way.

I knew I wanted to be there not only to enjoy a stress-free park experience but also to ring in a new era of Disney embracing its LGBTQ fans. I didn’t realize it would be one of the best times I’ve ever had visiting the park.

Some might consider a Pride Nite event a bold choice for Disney, a company that’s currently in a feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after it spoke out (albeit belatedly) against what’s been commonly described as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts discussion of sexuality and gender identity in schools.

Disney is also suing the government, alleging that the governor is illegally wielding state power against the company as retaliation for those remarks.

And while Disney says the reason it pulled the plug on relocating 2,000 jobs to Florida is not because of DeSantis, some speculate that Florida’s biggest employer has no incentive to further move operations there if the two entities are at war. Adding to the political drama, Gov. Gavin Newsom was spotted in the crowd on Pride Nite.

Still, Disney is straddling two worlds. In the 1980s, the company was sued for not allowing two men to dance together at Disneyland. Now, as a much younger, diverse, progressive fan base becomes an increasingly profitable market, the company must find a way to keep hold of the traditional family values it was founded upon while also redefining what that means in present-day America.