Pop Warner thoughts... should you cancel?

[bwilcox]

Not trying to be mean, but with this attitude I think you should just avoid Disney 365 days a year then There are always large/obnoxious groups there along with plenty of well behaved ones. The biggest issue with Pop Warner is the impact they have on some of the resorts. As far as behaviour in parks, except for their party night in HS they are no different than the hundreds of other groups there the rest of the year!

I have read too many accounts of people who had negative PW experiences in the park to disregard them. OP didn't experience it-great for you! Maybe the OP went to the right parks on the right days to avoid most of them, or maybe was just lucky, or maybe they are better behaved this year than ALL previous ones. However, too many people have had too many experiences with PW groups cutting in line en masse, blocking sidewalks without moving to let people by (read about that a few days ago), and obnoxiously screaming cheers in lines and even during rides. Yes, there are going to be rude people any time of year, but you are much more likely statistically to encounter them during certain events, like Pop Warner. If that bothers you, I think it is wise to spend your hard earned vacation dollars during another week.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

We were there 12/5 to 12/8 The few groups we saw in the parks were smaller than in the past, so no real issues. I will continue to splurge for a deluxe that week though, to avoid being in the same resort as them.

 

[JenLynn]

We were in WDW 12/8 - 12/13. Crowds were bad 12/10 - 12/13. We didn't see any football players, but did bump into small groups of cheerleaders. Crowded, yes ... but not 100% sure I can attribute that to Pop Warner.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

NO.


Good grief Charlie Brown. Another thing that I lost sleep over before my trip (like all the threads about how horrible Jersey Week wasm which was no big deal either). Basically in 8 days I saw 1 football team and they were very well behaved. No cheerleaders.

Non issue folks. Now of course it may be different from people who "stayed next door" to the teams. But from a park crowd standpoint, non issue.

LOL the first year I went and knew about PW (thanks Dis!) I was all worked up too, funny thing was 2 years before I was there during PW week and didn't even notice it. We even stayed value both times so should have really been 'bothered' by them, but it was a none issue. We do see alot of horror stories on here but I would never consider it as a factor in not booking for that time.

 

[disrev]

I have seen many more complaints about pop warner than non-complaints. We were there the week before. We started to notice their presence in the parks on Thursday.

I have seen many complaints from people who don't stay at their resorts but witness their obnoxious behavior in the parks.

I'm not going to spend my hard earned money with the chance I may or may not run into them or the groups I run into are the sparse well-behaved ones.

Thx for your observations, but IMOP if you visit during PW week you are taking your chances.

I have read too many accounts of people who had negative PW experiences in the park to disregard them. OP didn't experience it-great for you! Maybe the OP went to the right parks on the right days to avoid most of them, or maybe was just lucky, or maybe they are better behaved this year than ALL previous ones. However, too many people have had too many experiences with PW groups cutting in line en masse, blocking sidewalks without moving to let people by (read about that a few days ago), and obnoxiously screaming cheers in lines and even during rides. Yes, there are going to be rude people any time of year, but you are much more likely statistically to encounter them during certain events, like Pop Warner. If that bothers you, I think it is wise to spend your hard earned vacation dollars during another week.

Totally understand this line of thinking. There have been a decent amount of complaints and horror stories posted on these boards. I work in a profession that deals a lot with trying to get a feel on how the public is responding. One of the biggest points that is communicated to us over and over is that people will be much quicker to express a complaint or negative experience than they will a positive one. I think these boards are evidence of that.

In the same vane as the OP, I found myself completely freaked out heading into our December 2008 trip to CSR over PW week. We saw groups, heard girls doing cheers, had some loud ones around us, & even had a preteen PW kid nearly fall directly on our DD in our stroller (the boy was rough housing with his friends, but immediately apologized when it happened). All throughout, we decided we weren't going to let it ruin our vacation, and it didn't.

I feel like I'm some sort of PW apologist. I'm not. Some of the actions I've read about on here are inexcusable (especially when it's the actions of chaperones/ parents). However, I do want to make sure that those who are booked or considering booking over this week to know that it is possible to have a magical vacation.

I'd stay away from the resorts PW is at,but I'd go again on PW week in a heartbeat.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Not trying to be mean, but with this attitude I think you should just avoid Disney 365 days a year then There are always large/obnoxious groups there along with plenty of well behaved ones. The biggest issue with Pop Warner is the impact they have on some of the resorts. As far as behaviour in parks, except for their party night in HS they are no different than the hundreds of other groups there the rest of the year!

When someone starts out a sentence with not trying to be mean, they usually are, along with the like that makes it better.

Thanks for your concern but we have many many visits to WDW under our belt since we visit at least once a year and have been doing so since the 80's.

The times we usually visit I have never seen the wild obnoxious groups that many people have described of the pop warner kids. When we visited the week after Thanksgiving this year there was some kind of chorus , band group that was there. And though they ran in groups and got a little boisterous sometimes, they were nothing compared to what some have experienced with pop warner and the btg.

What you may have experienced with pop warner is far different than what alot of people have described on here. Just pull up one of the many threads floating around on the theme parks boards and you will see. IN YOUR OPINION, pop warner only effects the resorts, but as I said before there are many people on other threads written the past week who think otherwise. And I never plan to jepordize my hard earned money by taking that chance.

Although the Christmas decorations were beautiful, to us the parks were too crowded and far worse the weather was chilly and too unpredictable. We are going back to our weeks we usually visit. If you think PW isn't a problem then by all means continue to visit that week. I have never experienced them myself, but all the complaints of this board have convinced me to stay away.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We stayed at All Star Sports with them Friday and Saturday and had no problems. There was extra security and the staff did a great job keeping things quiet. A group of boys got kicked out of the main pool Saturday after being told several times to stop roughhousing and cussing. The lifeguards did an incredible job keeping things under control.
They were not on the busses with us and we did not see them at the parks--maybe we were just lucky. I did worry about it before going and tried to switch resorts, and would avoid them next year if I could because of all I have read here. If their resort or week was all we could get, I would still go.

 

[dolphindan1]

(The parents are as bad or worse than the kids.)

yep

worse

 

[dolphindan1]

I have read too many accounts of people who had negative PW experiences in the park to disregard them. OP didn't experience it-great for you! Maybe the OP went to the right parks on the right days to avoid most of them, or maybe was just lucky, or maybe they are better behaved this year than ALL previous ones. However, too many people have had too many experiences with PW groups cutting in line en masse, blocking sidewalks without moving to let people by (read about that a few days ago), and obnoxiously screaming cheers in lines and even during rides. Yes, there are going to be rude people any time of year, but you are much more likely statistically to encounter them during certain events, like Pop Warner. If that bothers you, I think it is wise to spend your hard earned vacation dollars during another week.

Alot more positive than negative in this thread...I have stayed at an all star resort 3 or 4 different times during PW week and never had an issue...the food courst were busy but they never kept me up or bothered us at the resorts or at the parks

 

[dolphindan1]

When someone starts out a sentence with not trying to be mean, they usually are, along with the like that makes it better.

Thanks for your concern but we have many many visits to WDW under our belt since we visit at least once a year and have been doing so since the 80's.

The times we usually visit I have never seen the wild obnoxious groups that many people have described of the pop warner kids. When we visited the week after Thanksgiving this year there was some kind of chorus , band group that was there. And though they ran in groups and got a little boisterous sometimes, they were nothing compared to what some have experienced with pop warner and the btg.

What you may have experienced with pop warner is far different than what alot of people have described on here. Just pull up one of the many threads floating around on the theme parks boards and you will see. IN YOUR OPINION, pop warner only effects the resorts, but as I said before there are many people on other threads written the past week who think otherwise. And I never plan to jepordize my hard earned money by taking that chance.

Although the Christmas decorations were beautiful, to us the parks were too crowded and far worse the weather was chilly and too unpredictable. We are going back to our weeks we usually visit. If you think PW isn't a problem then by all means continue to visit that week. I have never experienced them myself, but all the complaints of this board have convinced me to stay away.

PW has no affect on crowd levels ion the parks...fact is up to about 4 years ago Dec even during POP week was a great time to go...we went 2204 and 2003 and 2002 durin PW and it was as nice our week this year before Thanksgiving...We went last Dec and it was very busy...fact is Dec is busy now due to heavy promotions by Disney and the Travel Channel shows etc....PW has been there for years but only recently has early Dec gotten busy...

We were there in Nov week before Thanksgiving week and we walked from TT to Imagination and only saw a CM sweeping this was about noon on a Monday...

dont blame PW for park crowds

 

[erikawolf2004]

What are the PW resorts? We stayed at POR last time(not during PW) and would like to again, but I think it is one of the PW resorts, so where would you stay that is a Moderate?

Thanks, Erika

 

[Pecobill]

What are the PW resorts? We stayed at POR last time(not during PW) and would like to again, but I think it is one of the PW resorts, so where would you stay that is a Moderate?

Thanks, Erika

They mostly stay at the value resorts.The only moderate they stay at is POR.It's all they can afford.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

They mostly stay at the value resorts.The only moderate they stay at is POR.It's all they can afford.

Generalizing and stereotyping is not neccessary. FWIW all the mods are similarly priced so there is no reason they wouldn't be able to stay at a differnet mod even if that ridiculous statement were true.

 

[sunburnin]

They mostly stay at the value resorts.The only moderate they stay at is POR.It's all they can afford.

To correct your ignorant comment...

This is where Disney has arranged for them to stay based on their contract. They hold a large block of rooms very close to the visit time because the teams have to complete in playoffs to earn the right to be there. Some games don't finish until the week before they head to Florida, hence the last minute planning.

Many of these teams and leagues have fundraisers year round to let the kids play (along with many other sports), have uniforms, practice fields, etc. On top of that they then have to pay to get to Disney if they make the finals.

I have no affiliation with PW, but my son plays little league baseball and I know it takes a lot of work and money to keep the league running.

 

[jerseygirl81]

We just came back from Disney, we arrived the day Pop Warner was leaving because I heard the horror stories and did'nt want to take the chance. It worked out great the weather was great and the crowd level was very good and that was with free dining and discounts going on. So if you don't want to go during Pop Warner week go a different week. Linda

 

[Pecobill]

To correct your ignorant comment...

This is where Disney has arranged for them to stay based on their contract. They hold a large block of rooms very close to the visit time because the teams have to complete in playoffs to earn the right to be there. Some games don't finish until the week before they head to Florida, hence the last minute planning.

Many of these teams and leagues have fundraisers year round to let the kids play (along with many other sports), have uniforms, practice fields, etc. On top of that they then have to pay to get to Disney if they make the finals.

I have no affiliation with PW, but my son plays little league baseball and I know it takes a lot of work and money to keep the league running.

Still it's all they can afford.And that is what my sister said who does Pop Warner.

 

[Stumpy]

I don't know if it's an affordability issue as much as it is a convenience issue. I understand booking several room blocks at value resorts and a moderate resort or two for groups wanting to upgrade, but seriously, if your kid is going on a trip to Disney for a few days would you really want to spring all the extra $$$ right before Christmas so they can stay at the Contemporary or GF? Honestly, most of the kids are concerned about going swimming, going to Disney and overall having a good time. Besides, Disney probably encourages these groups not to stay at more expensive resorts for a reason.

We were there the whole week of PW and honestly, there were practically a non-factor with regard to park attendance. I did see crowds of them at Epcot one night, but they had a party in a private area at a tent between the Britain & Canadian pavilions. The resorts were a bit different - at Port Orleans there were a ton of them wandering the food court after hours and they did hang some tacky-looking banners on the facade of their rooms, but otherwise we didn't see any real bad behavior.

The parks were definitely more crowded than I have seen over the past several years, but it had nothing to do with Pop Warner and a whole lot more to do with an overabundance of ECVs and strollers.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Won't it be nice if Disney had an all adults resort!

 

[Pecobill]

To correct your ignorant comment...

This is where Disney has arranged for them to stay based on their contract. They hold a large block of rooms very close to the visit time because the teams have to complete in playoffs to earn the right to be there. Some games don't finish until the week before they head to Florida, hence the last minute planning.

Many of these teams and leagues have fundraisers year round to let the kids play (along with many other sports), have uniforms, practice fields, etc. On top of that they then have to pay to get to Disney if they make the finals.

I have no affiliation with PW, but my son plays little league baseball and I know it takes a lot of work and money to keep the league running.

Oh yea in Pop Warner everyone makes it to Nationals or mostly everyone that is.

 

[SarRoc1020]

We've gone in early December for several years now and NEVER had an issue with PW. Can't say the same for this year! We were at AKL, 12/2 - 12/13. Never really ran into a football team, but definitely into groups of cheerleaders at the parks. Most of them were without adult supervision and behaving quite obnoxiously. We grinned and bore it for the most part, but it is very irritating, especially since this was our "take it easy" honeymoon.

We also ran into the Argentina group. The DAK bus driver dropped the entire group off at the Downtown Disney bus stop at AKL one evening. We'd been waiting for the DD bus for about 25-30 minutes already and a DD bus was pulling in right after the DAK bus. Not knowing who/what this group was, we didnt think to push through or around them. Turns out, you guessed it, they were turning right back around and getting on the DD bus. With such a large group and some passengers already on board, those of us who had patiently waited for the bus were now left with no room to get on. My husband tried to speak with the driver about the situation, but the driver was quite rude and basically called my husband a liar for saying we'd been waiting 25-30 minutes. I didn't catch his name, but it was dispatch #4734 at around 7pm on 12/11.

Our friend who is a monorail driver later informed us that these groups are called "killer bees" because the leader usually carries a yellow flag.

Unfortunately, dealing with these groups is part of traveling to WDW. That said, we usually come down in early Dec to avoid these groups and issues, but this year (free dining?) seemed abnormally busy.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the "adults-only" resort!