200,000 Gather for Orlando Gay Days

Tuesday marked the beginning of the 16th annual Orlando Gay Days where more than 200,000 people are expected to gather for fun and play at Disney World and other Orlando attractions.

Gays and lesbians with deep pockets and open wallets are coming inn from all over the world for the seven day event and local businesses will rake inn millions, cfnews13.com reports.

Gay Days is underway all across Central Florida and at the Parliament House hotel on Orange Blossom Trail, the decorations are already in place for this weekend's concerts.

"It's tremendous, 100,000 to 150,000 that come into Orlando, fill hotels. We're already at capacity for the weekend," said hotel owner Don Granatstein.

The owner of the Parliament House Hotel called Gay Days 10 days of insanity. Local business owners agree, saying the visitors in town this week plan on spending insane amounts of money.

"A lot, we already went shopping, we're going again today,” said Derald Gingerich, who’s visiting from Tampa.

"We came here Wednesday. I've already spent $700," said Daryl Barnes, of Michigan.

Gay Days began in 1991 as a single designated day (always the first Saturday in June) when the LesBiGay community and friends were encouraged to "Wear Red and Be Seen" while visiting the world’s most popular theme park.

From it’s beginnings (spearheaded by the GLBT Community Center, local activists, and businesses) with 3,000 attendees, this one-day park visit has evolved into a week long, citywide celebration offering round the clock activities including multiple theme park visits, cocktail soirees, concerts, and a host of internationally renowned parties.