Disney During Cheer/Dance Championship (December)

[WDW or Bust]

We are planning our first trip to Disney World and had intended on going Dec. 13-19th. However, in looking at the crowd estimator on WDW's website it looks like the crowd volumes will be pretty high. We could go the week before - Dec. 6th-12th, when crowds are estimated to be lower and hotel rates are cheaper. However I see the POP Warner Cheer / Dance Championship at Disney's ESPN complex is scheduled that same week.

So the question is, is it worth the money savings and lower crowds to go when WDW is overrun with cheer/dance kids? or would it be better to brave the higher prices/crowds to avoid them?

If we brave the cheer/dance crowd, would it help to stay in a higher end property at WDW or do the pom poms and giant bows over-run the whole place? By the way, this is in no way is meant to be offensive to those in cheer/dance. One of my kids is in ballet and I have friends who are dance moms too. I just know when you get all that energy and giggles together, it can be a bit overwhelming.

 

[katyjeka]

This is based on our last three trips in December. The only time we encountered a large group of cheerleaders was one evening in Epcot. We had no issue with the group. They were loud but we just ignored them and continued on. I will say in our experience the week following Pop is busier. You may not have the groups but the overall crowd level was higher. I think the kids are so busy that they really do not have a lot of park time. I would call WDW and avoid the resorts that they are staying at. It seems as if most of the complaints about the groups are resort related. I was planning a trip for the same time this year but my dh decided to take his entire vacation in January. I know nothing of going to WDW in January and really wish we were going in December. It's such a special time. Have a great trip.

 

[WDW or Bust]

This is based on our last three trips in December. The only time we encountered a large group of cheerleaders was one evening in Epcot. We had no issue with the group. They were loud but we just ignored them and continued on. I will say in our experience the week following Pop is busier. You may not have the groups but the overall crowd level was higher. I think the kids are so busy that they really do not have a lot of park time. I would call WDW and avoid the resorts that they are staying at. It seems as if most of the complaints about the groups are resort related. I was planning a trip for the same time this year but my dh decided to take his entire vacation in January. I know nothing of going to WDW in January and really wish we were going in December. It's such a special time. Have a great trip.

Thank you for the insight! The other question I have is - I’ve heard WDW doesnt give discounts for that week. Is that true?

 

[katyjeka]

I think discounts are going to be hard to get this year with the Star Wars opening regardless of the week. Of course this is just my opinion. We have been able to get hotel discounts in the previous years although we usually rent DVC points for most of our stays.