Is Pop Warner really that bad?

[mykidsrock76]

Okay I have heard not to go near WDW when Pop Warner is there.. Any advice? Would love to hear from someone who has been there during that time!!! Also if the week in the parks isn't awlful.. should we just avoid the Value Resorts. Or is this whole thing blown out of proportion? THANKS!!!!

 

[sue1013]

We've been a couple of times while Pop Warner was there. I didn't notice them in the parks much at all a few groups a couple times throughout the week. We stay in the deluxe resorts so I don't have any experience if they are at your resort.

 

[OlderMan]

....that a group of them was TOLD to leave their hotel after a fight that occured about 1 AM.

The group that was evicted included parents, chaperones coachex, players, et al.

 

[jngwright]

I was glad we were at a Moderate... Noticed them in the parks later in the day. Would never stay at a Value during PW. If you do a search, you will find lots of threads about PW, especially after the events of 2007!
Have a WONDERFUL trip!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Dec 04 and 05 we stayed at CBR and there were a lot of PW kids there with adults too. They were hanging around and just being kids but they did not bother us at all. The only time we noticed them was at the food court very early in the am, the place was just packed. The next day we went later, around 9 am and they were not there at all.

Did not have any issues with them in the park either. Maybe we were just lucky?

 

[goofy4tink]

I have been to WDW in early Dec, same time as the PW kids, for each year since '03. In '03 I was actually at Music with them...didn't realize it when I booked very last minute though. Yes, the kids were in evidence, but they weren't out of control. They congregated in the food court at pretty much the same time each day so I learned to avoid the food court at those times.
In the parks, they weren't too much of an issue. There would be groups of kids together but I never had any problems with them.
Now.....you are always going to get some less than good apples in the bunch. I had much worse issues when I was at Epcot in May one year. Seems that was a popular (and still is) for youth groups and school groups to head to Epcot. I have never seen such abysmal behaviour. And when we traveled over to Tampa, to visit my ds, we went to Busch Gardens....the youth groups there were even worse..they were having spitting contests, even the girls were in the action. I still can't believe anyone would behave the way those kids did when they were wearing shirts that identified the group they were with. I should have made note and sent notes to the offending schools or churches.
But the PW kids paled in comparison. I'm sure there are plenty of times when a group or two has gotten out of hand (as happened last month) but for the most part, they are just kids being kids. It's really up to the chaperones to control the kids...some do, some don't.

 

[Tinkaroo]

We traveled this past December the exact week of PW, and I was a little concerned about crowds in general (the resorts seemed to be packed based on availability). We are DVC, and were staying over at SSR. We've been to Disney the past 3 years in December, but have always traveled either before or after the PW week.

Either we had the best touring plan ever, or there really is no effect on the parks. I think I saw some moms (not kids) one day at Epcot with t-shirts saying something about they were there for Pop Warner, but that was it. I never saw any groups of kids that appeared to be there for Pop Warner, and certainly never observed any bad behavior.

I've seen more deplorable behavior in/around Grad Nights!

I think if you avoid the Value resorts (I'm sure they could potentially be rowdier on their "home turf"), you should be fine!

 

[LindaR]

One time dd19 and I were staying at POR and EVERYmorning we were woken up by the cheerleaders "practicing" at the top of their lungs in the parking lot around 5:30 am each morning. They also (as teenage girls tend to do) travelled in large packs. Loud packs. Going to the food court was annoying because the girls would stand in the middle of the hallway chatting and refuse to move to the side for people to pass. I found them to be very obnoxious at the pools. Unfortunately, this included the so-called chaperones. Actually, THEIR behavior sometimes was worse than the kids they were supposed to be chaperoning!

Very, very annoying. Even my daughter (who was the same age group as these various groups at that time) was amazed by the lack of manners, crude behavior, and lack of supervision!

 

[LuvsTinker]

One time, Dec. '03, many of them were at CBR. I've stayed at CBR 13x and that was the ONLY time I have felt the resort very full, congested, chaotic. No fights, nothing major, it just wasn't the same resort feel to me.

The parks were fine, but I'd avoid a value resort while Pop Warner is there.

 

[contempgal]

My stay at POFQ overlapped Pop Warner for a day or two last December. I personally didn't see or hear any participants at the actual resort, though my mother said that food court was packed with them one morning. However, as I was trying to take the bus from DD to BWI for dinner, I encountered a very large group from NJ. By the time they all got on the bus, there was room for only about 6 or 7 other people. They then proceeded to cheer loudly (with their chaperones) for most of the bus ride, getting off at the Swan. Granted, the cheering was annoying, otherwise, they were nice and they did listen to the guidance of their chaperones. At one point it became clear that an elderly man in the back was livid with their cheers so their chaperones made them stop, which they did without complaint. I did later see this same group walking along the boardwalk at BWI cheering in unison. They were eating dinner at the ESPN Club.

As for the parks, I actually never seen them anywhere inside the parks. However, I think I stayed typically in the Epcot area during that time and I doubt they were much interested in the World Showcase.

 

[scrump]

We were at AS Sports during Pop Warner once. As the only Disney fan in my family, my WDW trips are few and far in between, so Pop Warner alone would not deter me from going back during that time. I did not notice them too much in the parks, aside from the annoying cheers while in line for a couple of rides (very loud, very screechy), but the resorts and the busses were a different matter. I didn't have a problem with the congestion, but I had a huge problem with them cheering EVERYWHERE. I wish they had kept it to outside areas/practice times, but it was inside the busses, in the food courts, etc.

I would avoid the values if I could. If not, then just keep the circumstances in mind, and enjoy as best you can.

 

[Bugsmom73]

We were there in 06. Only one small problem in the parks and the CM yanked those boys chains so quickly that I was impressed. I would avoid staying at the all stars and get either 2 rooms at Pop Century or go to CSR or try a deluxe say CR south Garden Wing.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We were there this past December during Pop Warner (12/1-12/9) and stayed at POR w/ all the cheerleaders.

Did I know they were there?... Yup... lots of kids and families but to be honest I didn't see much of an impact. Either at the resort or in the parks. I did have some lovely conversations w/ some cheer parents.

The only impact I saw was closing some of the parks that week (we only did so 3x). The buses were crowded coming home and we had to wait for a second bus each of those nights. Not a big deal at all.

I would go during Pop Warner week again in a millisecond and stay at POR again as well.

 

[Dodie]

This is a "robust" Pop Warner thread from BEFORE the recent news story:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1617734

 

[Rags]

Anyone have idea whe the dates will be confirmed? TIA!!!

 

[Minnie Lor]

Just experienced Pop Warner this last December. I stayed at Pop and had a quiet room but then I was on the lake side 4th floor. But then walking thru the resort at night I never heard or saw groups of kids running around.

I had no problem with them in the park or crowd levels being high. Ride times were reasonable. Obviously, wait times were higher in the afternoon and evening. My evenings were full of extra activities like MVMCP, etc.

The buses back to the resort in the evenings were long, LONG as in 1- 1 1/2 hour waits for the bus. People have reported that there wasn't a problem the week before Pop Warner or the week after so.... the bus problem must have to do with Pop Warner.

I was previously under the impression that they mostly went to AllStars and Caribbean Beach but they must have been at Pop also.

PM if you have other questions.

 

[Lamandpercy]

Sorry I am from the UK and have no idea what Pop Warner is, can someone enlighten me please? Don't mean to muscle in on someone else's thread, but if we are going when they are I want to be clear on what we are going to be up against.

 

[chickenskin]

We were just there this past Dec. and spent our first two nights at POR, there were many attendees at the resort. We had to call the front desk twice in one night, late at night because of excessive noise. We will never stay at a moderate during the event again. I witnessed a woman and her daughter one a.m. at the front desk very upset and complaining about them, funny thing is, they too were there for the event.

 

[Dodie]

Sorry I am from the UK and have no idea what Pop Warner is, can someone enlighten me please? Don't mean to muscle in on someone else's thread, but if we are going when they are I want to be clear on what we are going to be up against.

What is Pop Warner? thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1637133

 

[Melmac]

I was at CSR just this past December during Pop Warner. As other posters have said, they didn't seem to affect the crowds in the park too much (at least the parks we were in). The park crowds were relatively low the whole time we were there. I think we only saw one group of them one day at Epcot near the end of the week and they seemed relatively well behaved. There were none at our resort so I cannot comment on that issue.