NEVER again in early Dec!

[UP Disney]

----------------------------

It all depends on what time you arrive - and what time you leave.. Some folks arrive at opening - stay till early afternoon - and then head back to their hotels.. Others arrive at noon - stay till closing - and then head back to their hotels..

Makes a big difference..

It also makes a difference on which park you go to on which day. We use Tour Guide Mike's best days advice. We don't really follow the touring plans but we pay close attention to his best days.

 

[tlynk]

Wow- I was so bummed we had to cancel our trip to WDW during the same week, but now I don't feel so bad. In fact, all last week I moped around the house. I'm sorry to hear about your trip. It is a bummer to pay that kind of money only to be disappointed. I went to WDW in early Dec. of 1998 and thought the crowds were wonderful. Times have changed. Thanks for posting your trip report!

 

[buffalogirl]

It also makes a difference on which park you go to on which day. We use Tour Guide Mike's best days advice. We don't really follow the touring plans but we pay close attention to his best days.

Another vote for TGM . We were there 11/29-12/6 and walked on most rides. We were there for the park openings each day and took a break in the afternoon.

I also think staying at CSR minimized the impact of Pop Warner. We had great bus service. Waited 15 minutes at most for buses and had very pleasant bus rides.

I would love to go the same week next year.

 

[always quiet]

I have used TGMike since his first year. I know he is "dead on" and did follow his advice. Somehow, we seemed to just keep running into them. Heck, I even was in the ladies room when a pack came in....ever try to do to cheers???? That I could deal with but those.....&*^% football punks.....NO!

We weren't staying at a value, or even a moderate. We were at Fort Wilderness cabin. We didn't see any of them there. It was in the parks (or at mini golf)

If Disney offers the free dining again, I think I'll check in on Sept. 30 (or on the final day of the offer) and give the Halloween party a whirl!

 

[keishashadow]

Sorry to hear of your experience.

We ran into the groups too last Dec.; not @ WLV though. Glad they weren't, we experienced cheer & twirling groups @ the AS in early Feb couldn't get a seat @ the food court, it was being used as a lounge area by hoards of giggly girls.

That said, we used EMH, UG suggestions, etc. & still thought it was crowded.

Not "summer" crowded but, still very busy IMO.

 

[always quiet]

I just had a thought (I know...dangerous thing! ). I figured I would email Pop Warner, tell them that they really need to step up and take responsiblity for the kids that are competing. It doesn't reflect positively on their organization to have the hoodlums run around like inner city punks.

I found their website, clicked the "contact us" icon. It lists the company's email, phone # and address. The company is located not more than 5 min. from me! Gee...maybe a personal visit is a must!

 

[buffalogirl]

I have used TGMike since his first year. I know he is "dead on" and did follow his advice. Somehow, we seemed to just keep running into them. Heck, I even was in the ladies room when a pack came in....ever try to do to cheers???? That I could deal with but those.....&*^% football punks.....NO!

We weren't staying at a value, or even a moderate. We were at Fort Wilderness cabin. We didn't see any of them there. It was in the parks (or at mini golf)

If Disney offers the free dining again, I think I'll check in on Sept. 30 (or on the final day of the offer) and give the Halloween party a whirl!

I'm sorry your trip was such a disappointment . I'm not sure how I dodged them, I thought TGM had saved me , but maybe not. That experience in the ladies room is just too much . I hope your next trip is much more enjoyable.

 

[ChefBilly]

We were there on Dec. 1-9. We saw a lot of the cheerleaders, but had no bad experiences.

I will say, however, the crowd levels were MUCH higher than I expected, and you are dead-on correct about the transportation.

I am certainly no complainer, but the bus situation was nothing short of horrendous. We were spending at least two to three hours a day on buses - and we were just going from SSR to a single park! It was insane.

 

[kenban]

I was in the parks most of last week the 4th to the 8th and I did not have any problems. I saw a few cheerleaders but not that many and the ones that I saw did not seem to be acting up. I think I only noticed one person with a pop warner shirt on. Having said that I did not stay on site. I made sure the parks I went to did not have extra magic hours on the day I visited and went to the Magic Kingdom on a day when the Christmas party was not happening.

For me it was a great trip and would be happy to visit in early december again. There was next to no lines for anything and what few lines there were could be gotten around by using fast passes.

 

[Madi100]

How funny to read different people's experiences. We were there from 12/1-12/8. I did notice the cheerleaders and in the past when we shared resort time with cheerleaders the only time it was a problem was at the resorts. They weren't allowed in the parks. Not this time. They were all over the place. For the most part, just a few loud people. Silly teenagers, what you would expect. But, what I can't stand are the people who have no respect for those around them. I encountered one group of girls who were entering MK. Another group of cheerleaders were doing a cheer for a CM. Cute. The one group commented on how they S@CK. The chaperone was with them and said not a thing. We also encountered a group of them that were playing Red Rover in DTD. A large group of us had to stop to avoid being trampled. The mom that responded to my look said, it's Disney. It's supposed to be fun. Oh, the comments I could have made to that It saddens me that the chaperones allow such behavior. I'm sorry, but small groups (5 or 6) kids should not be allowed to wander the parks by themselves. The only reason is that teenagers tend to act silly and giggly and it gets worse the bigger the group gets. They need an adult to tell them when their behavior is inappropriate.

But, otherwise, we didn't have too many problems with them. Just noticed that they were annoyingly there. And, we thought bus services was wonderful. We had no problems what so ever with SSR transportation. We were quite thrilled with it in fact.

 

[claytonj20]

From what I have been told, the week before Christmas week is best time to go in the month of December. The worst time to go is the first week and the last week of December.

The best time of year where it is least crowded is anytime in September.

We have been to WDW twice and DL once all in September (AFTER Labor day) We generally try to get the middle 2 weeks with both weekends on either end. 03/04 was way empty and everything was a walk on for the most part. Longest wait we saw was like 10 mins.

06 was a little bit busier, there were some 40 minute waits on peter pan/pooh ETC but that was only at the height of the day, other than that there were many walk on's even on TOT, MS, RnR, and BTMR ETC. I think it had ALOT to do with the non-existent hurricane season this year but I could be wrong. But even with Hurricanes you can plan around them if you are flexible.

 

[disneyjunkie]

It doesn't reflect positively on their organization to have the hoodlums run around like inner city punks.

What the heck is an inner city punk?? Are they the same as bratty, spoiled, hoodlum, suburban punks?

The behavior you encountered isn't an inner city/suburban issue. It's the result of a lack of respect and adult supervision.

 

[robinb]

It lists the company's email, phone # and address. The company is located not more than 5 min. from me! Gee...maybe a personal visit is a must!

Oh to be a fly on that wall!!!

 

[bytheblood]

Most times cheerleaders have had experience only riding on THEIR OWN school buses... and they can do what they like.
However, the Disney RESORT/PARK buses are a different story.

The only unpleasant interaction we personally encountered was going back to All Stars on a late bus from MGM one night after viewing the OLights.

There was a group (6-8) of cheerleaders who decided we all needed to hear them do a routine. They were all in the very back seats.

They did a cheer (full-volume) inside that tightly-enclosed steel shell of a bus, that lasted about 20 seconds (OK, not TOO bad).

Then, less than a minute later, they started ANOTHER one!

Well, understand that the bus is FULL (standing room fully filled) at around 10pm after a full day at the parks. (The bus was a combo of all 3 All Stars by that time of night.)

I was standing about 3 rows away and at that point (in my "big boy" announcer's voice) I yelled, "KNOCK IT OFF!!!"
And the girls DID stop, mid-yodel.
(My DW chimed in with, "Not everybody wants to hear you cheer.")

We got lots of "thank you's" from the other weary guests nearby,
followed by much (very quiet) discussion amongst ourselves about the parents not teaching the kids any respect of others.

When we got to Sports (we were staying at Music) the girls and their "chaperones" got off the bus. The dad (I assume) of one of the girls was "steamed-up" over the fact that we silenced his little charges.

His wife actually physically held him back as he came running back to answer another man who told him that he needed to explain "outside voice/inside voice" to the girls.
The situation came close to being "nasty" and that would have been a shame.
The dad of the cheerleaders actually told the rest of us on the bus (as his wife pulled him away) that we needed to learn to "respect the kids!"

Respect the kids... if they want to cheer on a public bus... let 'em!

Wow!

Good for you, Robo!!!!

 

[NancyIL]

After reading these reports, I'm REALLY glad I was there the week after Thanksgiving rather than last week for MouseFest! My daughter and I arrived at WDW on Saturday, Nov. 25th. Epcot was crowded, but was the best park to handle the holiday crowds. Sunday through Thursday was great....minimal crowds. However, TGMike said that the Tuesday, Nov. 28th MVMCP would be the least crowded that week - and I thought it was quite crowded. I think I'll pass on the Christmas party in future years.

Next year I'm planning on going on the MouseFest Disney cruise Dec. 2-6. I think I'll continue to visit WDW the week after Thanksgiving and then go on the cruise, rather than go to WDW after the cruise for the MouseFest activities. Besides - my annual pass will expire on Nov. 29th.

P.S. The weather was MUCH warmer the week before Pop Warner, too!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yikes, Colleen, and others. I know you talked about this when you called me from Epcot some nights back, hard to imagine. I have been there this time (actually more immediately after Thanksgiving) for the past seven years (had to cancel this year) and never saw anything like that. Holy moly.

 

[Lizziejane]

Many thanks to all of you who have posted on this thread. You have just cured me of my recent brain-storming whereby I decided it might be really nice to visit WDW in December!!

 

[MikeRa]

I was down at SSR the same week as the cheerleaders (saw all the cheerleaders at Orlando Airport waiting for Disney's Magical Express), and there were none of them staying at SSR.

The only problems I had that week were at the end of the week, waiting for a DME bus for 4;30 that never showned up, neither did the 5PM bus. When the 5;30 bus showned up, a group of 10 passengers-in-waiting, including my 24yr old sister, made sure this bus wouldn't leave without taking the 4:30, 5, and 5:30 PM passengers.

 

[antkim]

Colleen,

I think the real problem for you was that I WAS NOT THERE this year to frighten everyone away while I danced and sang my way down the streets of MGM!!!! Oh I would KILL to see the looks on some cheerleaders or RUDE football player's faces!!! Although I am sure all 4'11" of you took care of their sorry little back sides!!

 

[dimoe]

I was at Disney last week , Dec 3-10, and it was insane. First off we were amazed to see the cheerleaders and the football players at our resort Coronado. they took over the pool and the hottub. You seen them at the parks all the time cheering really loud and in huge crowds. It was obvious they were there because we ran into them everywhere. It definetely was packed all last week!!!!!!!!!!! I wasnt too happy either. You should have heard the foul language they used . Also the black boys were saying looking at those stupid white people. I heard it more than a few times.
But we still managed to have a great time. Oh and a huge group of mexicans stayed at Coronado too which may have made it busier too.
I dont know but insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!