Cheerleading "Summit" in May- If you have attended

[gulliesmom]

Hi,

My DD (11) is doing All Stars this year and their ultimate goal is to qualify for Summit in May 2019. We would not even know if they qualify until sometime in April, so everything will be scheduled very last minute, which is not at all how I function, especially if going to Disney, LOL.

Anyway, I am wondering for those of you who have been, what is the experience like in terms of timing of competition, etc. Is there time to do parks at all, or would I need to assume any park time would be only as a result of scheduling extra days in Orlando?

And finally, is it as crowded and chaotic as I am imagining at the hotels? We were told we would all need to stay together as a team, which bums me out since they would only do a value resort, so we would be far from everything and super crowded in rooms.

 

[glocon]

As for the crowded rooms in a value, I can see that, especially with girls and all the stuff we “need”. But I will say I was Very Pleasantly Surprised at how much we enjoyed our Pop stay this past summer. We had never done a value before and really really liked it.
If you have a choice in value resorts, I say go for pop.
As for if your only time for the parks will be to schedule extra days, idk so someone else will have to answer that part.
Good luck to your team!

 

[mrsbdub]

Hi there, my DD and I have attended Disney Summit 3 times int the past 4 years (once with cheer and twice with dance). There is time to do the parks depending on how long you plan to stay depending on arrival and departure dates. Please feel free to DM me with any questions or details.

I can tell you from experience that the last minute thought of planning a trip stressed me out every year but Varsity does make it easy to pay for your trip via their website. Arrival day is a little hectic but now Varsity has videos and step by step guides as to where to get your park passes, etc.

 

[mrsbdub]

As the PP stated, I enjoy the All Star Resorts and I have never had an issue with space both even when my DD and I shared a room with another parent and her DD.

I forgot to mention that I have done the trip both ways...paying through Varsity and also booking on my own at one of the 3 All Star Resorts that the Summit athletes/parents are housed. Now that Varsity has gotten very strict with buses, and with the overcrowding at venues and parking issues, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the package through time. We had parents last year who either stayed off site or at a different resort who missed their child's performance due to the time it took them to get to the venue and lack of parking.

 

[queenvee]

While I haven't been down for Summit, I have been there the last 2 years for my niece during Nationals. Hoping we also get to do the Summit this year with her All-Star team since she is done with school cheer.

The value resorts are very crowded and loud since most teams opt to stay there.

Competition times are released mid-April for Summit, our Nationals experience was that most competitions ran behind schedule, which led to some long days in the arena as they advanced through the rounds. The arena is new and quite nice, but super crowded and I know they had a lot of issues with that this year. Her team usually only did park time after they were done with competing for the day. Park time was limited so that they wouldn't be tired for the competition. They also had time to do parks/Disney Springs on arrival day and on the extra days. Think of it more as a cheer competition with a sprinkle of Disney thrown in.

The most stressful part for me is the fact that you don't get tickets until you check-in so you can't schedule your FP+ in advance. It makes it much harder to hit headliner rides considering you have limited time. Let me know if you have anymore questions!

 

[JennyDrake]

I've been at resorts during the Summit for 3 years and I found the food court and bus stops loud and chaotic. Very little impact on the parks themselves

 

[Cloe Colton]

Hi! My sister competed in the Summit competition in May 2016. I will say the All Star resorts will be jammed packed with cheerleaders and their families. We chose to stay at Pop Century instead and it was so much quieter but most teams will be at the other resorts so if being near friends is a must you'll just have to roll with it! lol I also believe if you choose to do the Summit "package" they offer, the All Star resorts are the only option. I'm not sure why you would NEED to stay in the hotel with your team as long as you are willing to get your child to any practices they may have. For example, my sisters team had a practice Thursday night at All Star sports and we made sure to get her there and picked her up with no inconvenience to the team.

The park tickets they offer cannot be added to beyond what their max day allowance is. So there's usually a 2 day, 3 day and 4 day option and 4 days will be the max you can get. Whereas if you buy a normal Disney ticket you can add on as many days or even get an AP once you get there.

The competition will be early mornings and I believe most of the competitions were done by mid day. My sister was a wild card bid so she competed on a Friday and with the competition and team pictures (organized by her group) we left ESPN Wide World of Sports by approximately 3PM. Her team did move on to the official day one and we were done by 11am and at the Grand Floridian for a celebratory lunch by 12:30! (Which I booked day of).

FP-wise, since we purchased the special ticket pricing we did not receive our park tickets until we arrived but I was still able to get us most of the headliners for our trip (this was before Pandora and TSL so I imagine those might be near impossible) but we were still happy with everything!

Our trip was Wednesday - EPCOT
Thursday - Magic Kingdom with the team/team practice
Friday - Competition/ Hollywood Studios (just at night)
Saturday - Competition/Relaxed at Resort
Sunday - Typhoon Lagoon (had a previous ticket to use)
Monday - Animal Kingdom
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom
Wednesday - flew home

You will definitely need more than just the competition days to see all of the parks but definitely up to you how long you want to be there! I know for us the first half with the competitions felt like a completely separate trip from the remainder just because it was stressful wanting them to do well, etc. But it was an amazing experience!

 

[jerrycurl4]

As the PP stated, I enjoy the All Star Resorts and I have never had an issue with space both even when my DD and I shared a room with another parent and her DD.

I forgot to mention that I have done the trip both ways...paying through Varsity and also booking on my own at one of the 3 All Star Resorts that the Summit athletes/parents are housed. Now that Varsity has gotten very strict with buses, and with the overcrowding at venues and parking issues, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the package through time. We had parents last year who either stayed off site or at a different resort who missed their child's performance due to the time it took them to get to the venue and lack of parking.

Hi there, just wondering if you would be interested in answering a few questions about Summit?
Our team has just won a bid, and it is the gyms first time going....lots to sort out!!

 

[dbaker375]

My husband's All Star dance program usually attends Summit. Last year Varsity check-in was much smoother and faster than previous years. Just remember that if parents book with the team those parents have to get their Park Passes from the team director.

The All Star resorts are crowded and the Coronado Springs Resort restaurant area was a madhouse especially with all the construction going on there. Hopefully this year will be better considering the construction at CSR will be nearing completion.

Depending on how many performances you are competing with will determine just how much downtime you have. Our teams compete 2 routines each and we have 2 or 3 teams. So our downtime is usually arrival day and Sunday night after finals.

We allow team members to arrive on Thursday or Friday so scheduled rehearsals are likely Friday afternoon. My husband and I found time on Thursday, our arrival day, to visit MK early evening and have dinner at Cali Grill for the fireworks. The next day morning and early afternoon were spent at EPCOT before rehearsal. Then back again to EPCOT for dinner and fireworks. Saturday was competing with "rest" time in between with evening dinner at Disney Springs. Sunday, more of the same especially if your performances make it to finals. Our category went into late evening so there was a little park time available at MK due to EMH. On Monday morning, we got up bright and early and hit MK until 3:30pm when we had to leave to catch our 8pm flight.

Hope this helps!!
Congrats, jerrycurl4, on earning a bid!!

 

[twohokies]

The park tickets they offer cannot be added to beyond what their max day allowance is. So there's usually a 2 day, 3 day and 4 day option and 4 days will be the max you can get. Whereas if you buy a normal Disney ticket you can add on as many days or even get an AP once you get there.

Did you try upgrading your tix? I called and was told we would be able to. We will be there for 7 days and the max ticket is only 5 days so I was trying to figure out how to do the other 2 days.

Also curious if the Varsity tickets are any different from regular hopper tickets? Do I need anything special to get into ESPN other than just a hopper? My husband's employer has discounted tickets so that's the route I think I'm going.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Did you try upgrading your tix? I called and was told we would be able to. We will be there for 7 days and the max ticket is only 5 days so I was trying to figure out how to do the other 2 days.

Also curious if the Varsity tickets are any different from regular hopper tickets? Do I need anything special to get into ESPN other than just a hopper? My husband's employer has discounted tickets so that's the route I think I'm going.

So we didn't receive our tickets until we arrived in Orlando and at that point we were able to add them to our MDE to book fastpasses (this may have changed since, this was a couple of years ago). For the other two days you will more than likely have to buy a separate two day ticket (which sucks and I don't know why they do this!)

They are the same as hoppers. I don't think we needed a ticket to get into ESPN but that could have changed since we went.

 

[gulliesmom]

OP here. Happy to say DD'd team got a bid to Summit in early February! We are thrilled. Our team is staying at a Moderate resort, so waiting to hear if it will be CBR or CSR. Either would be fine with us! DD and I are staying just the two of us in our room to make sure we get good sleep and have dome peace and quiet, LOL. Super excited to be going! Oh, and we are D2 so it is the weekend of May 10-12.

 

[Holly_S]

OP here. Happy to say DD'd team got a bid to Summit in early February! We are thrilled. Our team is staying at a Moderate resort, so waiting to hear if it will be CBR or CSR. Either would be fine with us! DD and I are staying just the two of us in our room to make sure we get good sleep and have dome peace and quiet, LOL. Super excited to be going! Oh, and we are D2 so it is the weekend of May 10-12.

Congrats to your daughter! My 18 year old's (senior in HS who has only been cheering a few years) team just got a bid this month -- our gym decided not to do an onsite package and I'm kind of bummed because we had to book offsite as everything reasonable is full. So excited about this though!

 

[gulliesmom]

Just got an email from Varisty that we will be at Coronado Springs! Woo Hoo!

 

[gulliesmom]

So we didn't receive our tickets until we arrived in Orlando and at that point we were able to add them to our MDE to book fastpasses (this may have changed since, this was a couple of years ago). For the other two days you will more than likely have to buy a separate two day ticket (which sucks and I don't know why they do this!)

They are the same as hoppers. I don't think we needed a ticket to get into ESPN but that could have changed since we went.

I heard the admission fees included in the Varsity package are on the ticket you get (the plastic one they give you). You can add your park tickets to the Magic Bands you are given at check-in, but you need the hard plastic ticket to get into ESPN as those cannot be added to your MBs for some reason. They also strongly suggest taking pictures of your ticket that shows the ticket number in case you lose it.

 

[heatherleigh]

Parkhoppers are cheaper if you purchase thru varsity. I called yesterday and was given prices. 5 day ph from varsity is $440. Wdw 5 day ph is $508. The only downside is you cannot make fp reservations until you get there and pick up your tix.

 

[Ivy Nicole!]

Are you able to use your own magic bands or purchase ones or do you have to use the ones they give you? My husband and daughter are dying to have different ones that they pick out? This is our first summit experience!

 

[gulliesmom]

Are you able to use your own magic bands or purchase ones or do you have to use the ones they give you? My husband and daughter are dying to have different ones that they pick out? This is our first summit experience!

Once you arrive at your hotel and check in, you will get your reservation number and Varisty will give you your tickets. You can link these to any magic Band you have that is linked to your MDE account.

 

[Sheri Dominguez]

Question for Varsity or someone at D2 Summit 2019: What is the Category XSX 5 (extra small / small gym senior 5)?

I have never seen nor heard of this category. I don't think anything was announces or posted? Where are there only two teams that qualified for D2 Summit? Kind of strange that there are only two teams and no one was aware of this new category. So no matter how the teams do, one team will receive a ring and one a runner-up? Why weren't these two teams included in another category or maybe wait another year until ALL gyms are aware of this new category. Again it seems a bit fishy and UNFAIR to other small gyms!