Effect of Pop Warner Super Bowl - December 4-9

[pennyplanner]

Has anyone ever been to WDW during this event? I was thinking of a trip then and now am wondering if it is a good move. I would probably be solo for at least some of the time.

I just don't know how many kids we are talking here!

Thanks,
penny

 

[WaltD4Me]

I was there this past December during Pop Warner and alot depends on where you are staying. If you are at the same resort as Pop, they will be very noticeable.

It is a pretty big event and it is supposed to be bigger in 2005.

We never noticed anything at Epcot or Animal Kingdom, but groups of cheerleaders were all over MK and MGM, mostly after late afternoon. You won't see them as much during the day because of practices and competions. I noticed alot of groups when we were at the MVMCP too.
Also the night we were at MGM it closed early for a Pop Warner reception or event or something.

 

[Terk-1]

After reading this post, I'm calling to change my trip dates. After reading previous posts regarding this, I think it would be better to move it out a week.

 

[bgirldeb]

We had originally planned to go during this week in December before knowing about Pop Warner being there,and decided to move it back a week after reading about it on the Dis boards. We had the flexibility, so figured might as well choose a less crowded week. Here is a link to a closed thread about Pop Warner:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=699252&highlight=POP+WARNER

 

[sarah24]

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and had a horrible experience with the masses of kids, now, let me say, we saw some very nice children with their parents, but there were masses of them running unattended and it didn't matter what time it was. Many times at 11:00 we would see them running around outside. Never once did we see Disney security or anyone else try to control them.


NEVER AGAIN....and, it was our 1st trip in December...

 

[foxtrotter]

I will NEVER again go to Disney when Pop Warner is there. Masses of screaming cheerleaders. I hardly noticed the boys, though I did hear about some disturbances they caused while we were at Pop. My DH was walking back from the food court one night and said about a dozen security guards were dealing with a large group of footballers. But those cheerleaders were enough to keep me far away from WDW when they might be there...

 

[princssdisnygina]

I have to tell you, I have been every year during this and have never had a problem. We have stayed at the WL, the POR, the CSR and so on. I have been every year for the last 5 years and yes, I saw a few groups of cheerleaders but that is it. They are normally busy with competitions and performances during the day so they don't come out that much. Disney does a lot for them in private areas so again, they aren't that noticeable. I think it will depend on how you plan your trip though. We did the parks Mon-Thurs and saved shopping for the weekend. The longest we waited for anything was 20 minutes for Test Track and Mission Space. In my opinion this is the best week to go because it is off peak and the holiday stuff is still up. But again, it will depend on how you plan your trip.

Gina

 

[MinnieM21]

That time during December is perfect to go. I never even noticed the cheerleaders and many other people didn't even notice them either. Crowds were light and it was the perfect time to go. I never once saw them in the parks and no one was screaming or going crazy in the parks. Now if you're staying at a value resort or a mod then I guess I would change the dates since people seem to have had a problem.

We were there during that time and we there for 10 days and I never once had an encounter with people being obnixous. If you aren't staying at a value or mod there is no reason to change your dates. I don't know where the stories come from about cheerleaders being obnixious in the parks. I never even saw them there.

 

[Kasmir]

I was worried about that too, after what we'd read, because our trip falls during the entire Pop Warner conference...

But we're staying at a Deluxe and my dates aren't flexible because we have to schedule our dates around our small business' needs.

We'll just make the best of it!

 

[DrTomorrow]

IMHO, the effect of that week is hit.or.miss. We stayed at Saratoga Springs, so there were no football/cheerleader types staying there. However, there were a lot of them using the SSR bus stops - going to DTD, off-site hotels, ??? - and it was quite unpleasant. The worst was when about 8 or 9 football players - with 3 moms (who each had a younger child or two to watch) were tossing those nerf footballs around. Well, one hit my DW (no damage, but quite annoying) and all we got was a shrug from one of the moms; no apology from anyone, and they didn't even stop or move away. And DTD was quite bad at times with all the screaming girls. We had no problems, though, in any of the parks....

IMHO - YMMV

 

[MinnieM21]

I was worried about that too, after what we'd read, because our trip falls during the entire Pop Warner conference...

But we're staying at a Deluxe and my dates aren't flexible because we have to schedule our dates around our small business' needs.

We'll just make the best of it!

Don't worry at all. If you're staying at a deluxe you'll be fine. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and never saw the cheerleaders. We also never saw them in the parks. There's nothing to worry about really. The crowds are light and it's the perfect time to go. It does not make the parks crowded at all.

 

[Terk-1]

Called as soon as I posted before and was able to push my trip out a week for the same $$. Where I'm staying at a Value this trip, just thought it would be best.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[WaltD4Me]

We were there during that time and we there for 10 days and I never once had an encounter with people being obnixous. If you aren't staying at a value or mod there is no reason to change your dates. I don't know where the stories come from about cheerleaders being obnixious in the parks. I never even saw them there.

_________________

It's so funny, because I seem to hear either "I never even saw a cheerleader." or "There were cheerleaders everywhere!" LOL!

For me, Pop Warner didn't ruin our trip, but they were definitely noticeable and we DID see them at the parks and the night we went to DTD there were large groups of them everywhere.

We stayed at POFQ and shared the buses with Pop because there were alot at Riverside. Not a big thing during the day, but it made it tough to get on a bus at night going back to the hotel.

I think if you are staying at a Value you made the right choice in changing your trip dates, better safe than sorry IMHO.