LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- The Walt Disney Co. has changed its policy to allow same-sex couples to participate in a popular Fairy Tale Wedding program it runs mainly at its two U.S. resorts and cruise line, a Disney spokesman said Thursday.

Disney previously had allowed gay couples to organize their own weddings or commitment ceremonies at rented meeting rooms at the resorts, but had barred them from purchasing its Fairy Tale Wedding package and holding the event at locations at Disneyland and Walt Disney World that are set aside specifically for weddings.

...

Last month, gay Web site AfterElton.com criticized Disney for not allowing same-sex couples to participate in the Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons program.

Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding packages start at $8,000 and include a wedding planner, the ceremony, food and beverages, flowers and table decorations.

On [recent] episode of The View, [a] well-known wedding planner... appeared... to promote his... Couture Wedding Collection at Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Fla. The collection allows the happy couple to choose between four elaborate wedding styles....

But are those weddings available if there are two brides or two grooms? Short answer: no. According to Walt Disney World spokesperson... Disney's Florida property requires a valid Florida marriage license in order to offer their services.

[...]

The fact is, Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons offers wedding ceremonies, not marriage licenses. The two things are legally completely separate; no license is legally required or necessary for such a ceremony to take place.

When asked why Disney, a private corporation, insisted it needs a valid marriage license to offer wedding services, [they] responded that what "makes the marriage binding and recognized by the state is the license, so that is why we need the license."

Florida state law, however, does not regulate to whom Disney may offer their wedding services; it only regulates which ceremonies the state recognizes as legal — a fact that we pointed out.... [The] response: "What we offer our guests is the opportunity to get married through the state of Florida. A marriage is only recognized in the state with a marriage license."

While Disneyland Resort in California also requires a California marriage license to hold a wedding on their property, they will host same-sex commitment ceremonies for domestic partners.... But there is a catch. Weddings with marriage licenses are handled by Disney's wedding team and, should the couple choose, the ceremony may be held in Disney's Rose Court Garden. Commitment ceremonies, however, are handled by the local corporate office and are held in one of the banquet halls or ballrooms. Only heterosexual couples are allowed access to the Rose Court Garden.

[...]

Ironically, Disney's policy means that the openly gay [wedding planner who appeared on The View]... [who] was married to his life partner... in a civil union ceremony in Vermont in 2003, could not have held his wedding on Disney property using the very Couture Wedding ceremony he designed.

[...]

Nor could any of the hundreds of thousands of gay and lesbian guests that attend Disney's annual Gay Day events hold wedding ceremonies on Disney properties. The same goes for Disney employees and the gay and lesbian citizens of countries that do recognize same-sex marriage.