Like the Evanescence song, Disneyland's Goth Day is going under. This year's annual gathering of goths at the California mega-park was its last official event. Why? Blame it on the president of the United States.
Known officially as Bats Day, the annual event started 20 years ago as a way for the goth community to connect at The Happiest Place on Earth. Over the past two decades, it's estimated that over 8,000 goths would attend each year. There would be professional Disney photographers shooting group photos by Sleeping Beauty's castle and the Haunted Mansion. Various meetups at hotels around the park were organized, and the park even offered discounted tickets to the participating goths.
Disaster struck earlier this year, though, that caused the organizers to cancel the whole thing with no foreseeable return. "Due to the new 2018 tax plan, the struggling economy and ever-rising costs, we can no longer run Bats Day in the Fun Park on the grand scale that it has," a press release said. "What most people don’t realize is that Bats Day is a labor of love; we don’t make money on it. Bats Day has never had any corporate funding or sponsorship, either: It is an event we do for the community."
This tax plan, signed into law by Donald Trump, reduced the number of deductions Bats Day's organizers could take advantage of. "Mind you, we can still do some deductions, but it’s not nearly as much as what we have been able to do," the day's founder Noah Korda tells Vice. So, they put the kibosh on it. Around 800 goths showed up for the final farewell photo and wake. Rest in punk.
