Has anyone been to the parks during Pop Warner/cheer championships, 1st weekend of Dec?

[1girln3boys]

I went a couple of years ago for my birthday and didn't even notice they were there. I had a great time. We stayed at AKL so that may have something to do with it. I didn't even see them in the parks.

 

[AngiTN]

Wow, we've been twice during Pop Warner week and if I hadn't known by reading here they where there, or seeing the themed shirts on the kids, I would have not known. We didn't experience any bad behavior from the kids, not once. One trip we were at Pop where others in their groups stayed and even then they didn't cause any issues with us. I wouldn't hesitate to return during their week.

 

[Pmlocke]

Twice. I also stay at the All Star Music which had a lot of the Pop group. Most of the time they are at ESPN so the parks were no problem. Early in the morning the crowd was noticeable but I never had a problem getting a table. I think what I enjoyed the most was the bus trips back to the resort from a park late in the evening. The kids were always open to singing Disney songs, which I would start of course. Riding home singing is a great way to end the day.

 

[Jesskamb]

I just looked into upgrading to a moderate instead of POP and found the prices are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAyyyy outside of our budgets now. I'm hoping beyond hope that it won't be too bad. Hope everyone else in our boat has fun too! If nothing else we can all commiserate together at POP that week, lol

 

[revdon64]

We just looked into upgrading to POFQ for our stay from POP. Nothing available for our dates. We're there 10 days/9nights, so that probably contributes to the unavailability, but it's kind of disheartening that it looks like it's going to be pretty crowded. Likely a lot more crowded than we expected when we booked the beginning of December. We'll obviously make the best of it, but as of right now I'm not real happy.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

I've been there for Pop Warner & won't do that again. The kids for the most part are unsupervised at the hotels. The food court is way worse than normal & forget about any peace & quiet due to the cheer practicing anytime & anywhere they can. That means on a boat, on a bus, or in lines at a park. PW week is something after making the mistake of going during the time that I avoid at all cost now!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We always go the first week in September and avoid most of this. No chanting. No cheerleaders. Lines are low and free dining.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have! And I'm happy to say I ran into none of the nasty behavior people post about. Not one group of chanting kids. No screaming in the food court. No loud yelling on the buses. Oh, and I was staying at the All Star Music at the time, and saw some of the Pop Warner kids. No problems with them whatsoever. I certainly wouldn't cancel or alter a trip based on being at WDW at the same time with them.

 

[wilkeliza]

I've been a few times during Pop Warner and worked one year during it. Most of the kids are awesome. There are a few that will be idiots but that is all kids. Most CMs are pretty good at policing them and things have gotten 1,000 X better over the years since it was added to the Pop Warner rules that teams can be disqualified for getting in trouble in the parks or resorts. They aren't allowed to practice at the resorts any more or in the parks with out facing disqualification.

 

[bc7ate9]

We will be at All Star Music for Pop Warner this year and aren't worried at all. If we wanted a peaceful vacation, we'd go somewhere other than Disney World.

 

[lustergirl]

I have been during POP Warner early December and stayed at AS Sports. Never a problem as the parks weren't crowded. At the resort the kids were fine, in comparison to my last solo trip this past April (again I stayed at Sports) where there was cheerleading competition and class trips going on; those kids were terrible. Security was called on them several times and they were out of control.

 

[bizeemom4]

Twice. I also stay at the All Star Music which had a lot of the Pop group. Most of the time they are at ESPN so the parks were no problem. Early in the morning the crowd was noticeable but I never had a problem getting a table. I think what I enjoyed the most was the bus trips back to the resort from a park late in the evening. The kids were always open to singing Disney songs, which I would start of course. Riding home singing is a great way to end the day.

Riding home sleeping on a quiet bus is a great way to end the day. Not this. This makes me want to have the driver pull over so that I can get on a different bus.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you're staying offsite, then go ahead and go.

The best way to survive that weekend is to stay at a resort where the kids are not staying.

DHS will close early on 12/9 for their party, and no Osborne lights for the public that night.

Otherwise, I don't recall finding them a problem in the parks as long as I am not on a bus or at a resort with them.

 

[SadieDawn90]

We're going the December 6-12. I hope this is a big deterrent to most people! Lol. I've read that they're busy during the day and mostly are only in the parks for the evening, so if this lowers crowds I'll be glad to deal with them ;] we ARE staying in pop, though. As long as my 3-year-old can sleep, I'm good!

 

[Planogirl]

We arrive on December 12 and I hope to arrive at the same time that most of them are leaving. I know that most of them are fine but I don't want to take any chances!

 

[Jesskamb]

We're going the December 6-12. I hope this is a big deterrent to most people! Lol. I've read that they're busy during the day and mostly are only in the parks for the evening, so if this lowers crowds I'll be glad to deal with them ;] we ARE staying in pop, though. As long as my 3-year-old can sleep, I'm good!

HA! Good point, I hope it's a deterrent too. Less lines for us!

 

[westgirl]

Most of the time we've never had any real problems around the park but I did have a run in one year with a coach / parent who very rudely tried to tell a trainee bus driver that they were going the wrong way, the bus was going to blizzard beach on the way to the park. I put on my Best Mary poppins / Alice accent and told her very politely that the driver was dropping memo of and she should not be so rude in front of her young ladies. The drivers trainer got off of the bus to thank us when we got to our stop and we still laugh about it today. Oh and we've moved our trip forward a week every year now I'd rather cope with thanksgiving crowds than that again.

 

[EveClark]

I'dove to hear some updates and/or reports from those of you who are back from your trips this year.
We're considering this week for our 2016 trip but I'm a bit nervous!
We'd be staying at WL so I know we'd miss the resort aspect, but I'm curious about the parks and if any groups were at MVMCP...
Since its Christmas time, we'd be spending a lot of time in the parks at night with our two kids (8,4) and I'm guessing that is when all of the Pop Warner kids will be done with competitions and practices and head to the parks.
Thanks!

 

[subtchr]

We just returned yesterday. Monday we went to DS in the evening; Tuesday we did MK first, DHS later; Wednesday was DHS then MK; Thursday AK; and Friday Epcot.

We stayed at AKL, which was fantastic, and of course no Pop Warner groups.

At DS, we saw a pretty large group heading to dinner somewhere, but other than waiting for them to pass, it certainly did not affect us. In the parks, we saw a few groups, but nothing annoying, just one instance of some chanting as a small group walked along.

DHS did close at 6:00 on Wednesday night for their private party, but that was announced long in advance, so our touring schedule worked around it. In fact, it helped to make it a low crowd day at DHS, because people without hoppers didn't want to visit on a short day.

As for the MVMCP, we did not go to the party, but I can't imagine that any of the groups would go to that. These trips aren't cheap for them, so paying an extra $75 or so per person for a party would be extremely unlikely.

We had a fantastic trip!

 

[Doug M]

We just returned yesterday. Monday we went to DS in the evening; Tuesday we did MK first, DHS later; Wednesday was DHS then MK; Thursday AK; and Friday Epcot.

We stayed at AKL, which was fantastic, and of course no Pop Warner groups.

At DS, we saw a pretty large group heading to dinner somewhere, but other than waiting for them to pass, it certainly did not affect us. In the parks, we saw a few groups, but nothing annoying, just one instance of some chanting as a small group walked along.

DHS did close at 6:00 on Wednesday night for their private party, but that was announced long in advance, so our touring schedule worked around it. In fact, it helped to make it a low crowd day at DHS, because people without hoppers didn't want to visit on a short day.

As for the MVMCP, we did not go to the party, but I can't imagine that any of the groups would go to that. These trips aren't cheap for them, so paying an extra $75 or so per person for a party would be extremely unlikely.

We had a fantastic trip!

Ditto for us. We were there Dec 1 to 7, so only our last days overlapped with their event dates, and other than seeing young kids in uniforms, no more distracting than anyone else. We were at POFQ so they were not there.

Now, the other teenage girls in the park...We saw a young pair take selfies in the GMR queue for the entire 25 minute wait. They either had the camera on the whole time preening, or were taking pictues constantly, so annoying.