Pop Warner Week - NEVER AGAIN. Anyone Feel The Same???

[disneygirl04]

My wife and I had the pleasure of sharing our December 12 flight back to Boston with a group of cheerleaders and their moms. The cheerleaders were your typical bores (lots of yelling and bouncing around, but thankfully only one brief cheer), but the Mom's were completely over the top. Mom "A" screaming the entire time, and while simultaneously trying to place her carry on in the overhead and balance her drink, well the bag came down a bit, and the drink came down on an entire row of seats. Her reaction ? Hoot, yuk, "I need a smoke," etc.

Mom "B" takes the cake. She berates the flight attendant, because she "has" to sit by her daughter. This goes back and forth, the FA trying to be patient, the Mom getting nastier and nastier. As we listen to this, we discover the facts:

1. The person sitting next to daughter is a member of the same traveling party.
2. The person sitting next to daughter is another cheerleader.
3. The person sitting next to daughter refuses to move.
4. The person sitting next to daughter has in her possession a ticket and boarding pass for the seat next to daughter.

Amazingly it took the FA a few tries to point out to Mom that everyone on the plane was going to arrive at the same destination at the same time. Unless, of course, Mom fails to sit down, in which case either none of us take off for Boston, or Orlando Police come on board and escort mom to Orlando jail. My wife and I were pulling hard for the jail alternative.

A big thank you to the cheerleaders and cheer moms from Medford, Mass. Remember every time a group travels in public they are representatives of their town, school, whatever. This group made everyone in Medford look like morons. Congratulations.

I was on that same flight with my DH ans DS,and I completeley agree with you on the Medford cheerleaders, the dad in back of me kept hitting his screen so hard to change the channels that it would move my whole seat! My 2 year old was more well behaved than that! I remember thinking to myself" is this how other people see us from the Boston area?"

 

[Rafikifan]

Last but not least, NEVER anyone said that ALL cheerleaders are bad. We have established that point from the get go. That's also a fact of this thread. Face it.

While I agree that most of the posts have been fine the following is an excerpt from Rustyscupper's post on page 5.

>>>
Footballers usually aren't too bad, it is the cheerleaders.
2) I held off posting an answer regarding cheerleaders.
3) Everything I wanted to write seemed to much like an insult.
4) But I guess the name cheerleader is enough of an insult.

5) Yes, the cheerleader mentality leads to loud and boisterous behavior.
6) However, I blame the chaperons.
7) Chaperons (many of them, anyway)
... seem to have lower IQ's than the cheerleaders
... don't seem to bother about the kids
... want their own vacation and don't want to mind the kids
... don't want to be bothered watching the kids
... get offensive if you mention badly behaving kids
>>>>

Do you think that post is appropriate? I am NOT arguing or discounting the fact that there were people's vacations disrupted and that's not fair. I AGREE with you all on that. I also agree it is worthy to let others know when these groups will be at WDW so they can decide if that is the time they want to go. It's just statements like above that get under my skin because there are some good kids who are cheerleaders, danceline, football players etc. and there are some parents/champerones who take their responsibility seriously. I suppose I took comments like above personally because believe it or not I am VERY particular about kids' behavior in public (at home too, but you know what I mean). We have friends who we would go out to eat with after our sons' baseball games and I would be a nervous wreck because they let their kids get up and walk to the other side of the table, just lack of manners in general, that once or twice I had to nicely address them myself since the parents wouldn't. We don't go to eat with them anymore. So I do not condone bad behavior. I just think it could/probably would happen with many different kinds of groups in general.

 

[mariolatry]

Just wanted to add my two cents, although it's nothing that hasn't been said before

We stayed at Pop Century 12/2-12/9. There was a little overflow of Pop Warner but they seemed to be concentrated in the far buildings. The only place we really noticed the cheerleaders was on Disney transportation. On every single trip, I saw Pop Warner cheerleaders not giving up seats to extremely pregnant women (7+months), senior citizens, a guy on crutches, and mothers holding one or even two small children; the chaperones said nothing! When we went to board the bus our first day, one of the cheerleaders pushed my 64-year-old mother out of the way so hard she fell down. Her chaperones, standing right there, said NOTHING! I thought maybe they didn't see so I tapped the chaperone and said "This young lady knocked my mother down." The woman looked at my mother (getting up off the ground) and said "My daughter is a very responsible, straight-A student. She would never do that." and got on the bus. I complained to the bus driver but he said there wasn't anything he could do because he didn't witness the incident.

Interestingly enough, we never saw cheerleaders with chaperones anywhere. But we saw chaperones every single night in the bar. Of course, if I was travelling with that many screaming girls, I'd need a drink too.

 

[FatCow]

"My daughter is a very responsible, straight-A student. She would never do that." and got on the bus. I complained to the bus driver but he said there wasn't anything he could do because he didn't witness the incident.
QUOTE]

Another case of "not my daughter" or "not my cheerleading group".

 

[FatCow]

I just think it could/probably would happen with many different kinds of groups in general.

Very true, but in my cases, every single bad behaviour 100% involve cheerleading groups (one of them involving "accidentally" stepping on my toe. So severe that even 2 weeks after my so-called vacation my toe is still swollen and currently waiting to be x-rayed).

Even after PW was over, the bad behaviours I've experienced were from the remaining cheerleading groups. Try to explain THAT.

 

[Rafikifan]

Very true, but in my cases, every single bad behaviour 100% involve cheerleading groups (one of them involving "accidentally" stepping on my toe. So severe that even 2 weeks after my so-called vacation my toe is still swollen and currently waiting to be x-rayed).

Even after PW was over, the bad behaviours I've experienced were from the remaining cheerleading groups. Try to explain THAT.

First of all I am sorry about your toe. As I said, I don't condone bad behavior by anyone.

"every single bad behaviour 100% involve cheerleading groups" ????
I seem to have read posts from people who also had their vacations "ruined" by children screaming in the next room too. Some hate grad night time. Many comment on the times when foreign tour groups come there. Many of those threads have been squelched and if I remember correctly we shouldn't address any group with namecalling.
As I said, feel free to address the situation if warranted when you are there no matter WHO it is that is out of line but it isn't just cheerleaders I'm sure. BTW, a good friend left today with her (she's the sponsor) cheerleading squad who will perform at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. They will be staying at WDW so if any of you are there and you see any Louisiana girls misbehave let me know and it will be taken care of.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

First off, WOW! I haven't been in 12 years so I'm not a witness to anything. This is coming from someone who is planning a trip at the time there could be a PW even next year. I was taken back when someone commented not to sterotype a group. Nobody is saying that they're ALL bad. There are just too many who are. If you had a group of 100 people, 95 of them were wearing all white, and 5 were wearing bright pink, who would you notice. I could almost guarantee the ones you would notice (and talk about afterwards) would be the ones wearing pink. You're not even going to remember what any of the others looked like. It's the same thing. There may be a small percentage, mayb 5% of the entire PW group, that are acting up, but they're SO bad that that's all you see and all you remember. In addition, it seems that the major majority of these complaints are from hotels. So if you weren't at a hotel with them you wouldn't have as much of a problem. I think it's clear that the chaperons of the misbehaving kids (notice ONLY the misbehaving kids) were not doing their job. It is not acceptable to be at a bar drinking when you should be watching the kids. That is drinking on the job. Especially not good when you job is the wellfare of children. I have been to a conference and there was NEVER a problem. And there were thousands of us. All grades of high school, boys and girls. It was for journalism. It is true that certain groups will act up more than others. If there was a chess convention you probably wouldn't have the same problems, or at least not as many. I think Disney needs to enforce it's rules better. Also, people do need to complain when the even occurs, and try to find out what specific group it is. It would make it easier for Disney to try to do anything (if they so desired). I guess I'll look at making sure I'm not there when they are. Unfortunately I can't afford to just move to Deluxe to avoid them Hopefully things will get better....

 

[FatCow]

"every single bad behaviour 100% involve cheerleading groups" ????

Yes, that's exactly what I experienced during my trip. From screaming cheers at 11pm, screaming cheers at 7am, literally stomped my toe to the point I couldn't (and STILL can not) walk, cutting lines, pushed my daughter, throwing food, bumping to the point a spilt my HOT chocolate all over my sweater without apologizing, screaming on the bus when they clearly saw me carrying my daughter who's asleep,... need I list more?

And how do I know they are cheerleaders? Because they, ALL of them who made my trip miserable, were proudly wearing their 2004 Cheerleading Competition t-shirts.

I DID experience those stupidity. I haven't been able to get back to work BECAUSE of their stupidity.

YES... THEY ARE STUPID! YES... I AM ANGRY! Especially to the ones who blindly nitpicking and saying "not all cheerleaders are like that".

Well, DUH! Of course not all of them are like that, but the ones who are like that have caused me not only not enjoying trip, but also making me not be able to get back to work!!!!!!

PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES! How do you feel wasting US$4000 plus now losing more than US$2000 in income because of the, to borrow your phrase, "small minority" of cheerleaders?

Inconvenience? more like dragging me to the poor house!

PS: when I said "you" I don't mean Rafikifan specifically but the people who take these matter lightly.

 

[Rafikifan]

I don't take bad behavior lightly. But when you got to a place with throngs of people like at WDW you may run into 2, 10, 20, or 100 inconsiderate people. That's the chance we all take. When we book a vacation at WDW which costs us all thousands, we don't get a guarantee the vacation will be perfection. Ask the person who posted not long ago about his stay at the Poly with screaming babies next to him. Take a deep breath and address the problem accordingly. Be flexible and make the most of your vacation even if you have to move it a week to avoid PW if it bothers you. Research when large groups are there and plan accordingly whether they're those nasty cheerleaders or the Girl Scouts. Bad deal but WDW isn't going to stop inviting the large kid's groups any more than they are the families with screaming babies.

 

[MyGoofy26]

While I don't argue that no matter what, you run the risk of someone putting a damper on your vacation. I think though the issue that people have (I know that I have) is that Pop Warner isn't just a group of kids on vacation. These are representatives of an organization that is partnered with Disney. There is a certain amount of responsibility that comes with representing both of those companies/organizations, which makes it a little less "tolerable" for those of us visiting.

To me, I think of it like this. I have bad experiences with two random people in the parks, maybe they cut in line . . . but I find out that one of them is an off duty cast member. I'm going to be a little angrier with that person simply because there are certain expectations that go along with people who have certain ties and relationships with the company.

 

[WaltD4Me]

So while there are well mannered cheerleaders, attentative chaperones, and well behaved football players - there are enough of the ones that AREN'T to make someone really think about whether or not to spend their time and money on a trip during these competitions.

Your posts are very well spoken MyGoofy, I agree with everything you said and find the people who are so vehemently defending the stereotyping of the cheerleaders a tad silly.

Of course there are good cheerleaders...I didn't see any while I was there, but that's probably the point, I didn't notice THEM (the good ones)

Bottom line is there are going to be even MORE PW groups at Disney next year and the bad behaviour of a few or many of them is even being discussed on PW's own discussion boards, so I think anyone planning to go during PW week should be forewarned so they can plan accordingly and make an informed decisions.

PW didn't ruin my vacation as it sadly did for some, but they did make a difference and not in a good way. I won't risk going during PW again.

Yes, there will always be rude and obnoxious people at Disney World, a couple or a few might put a damper on a few minutes or even an hour of your day, but large and many groups of rude, obnoxious and unbelievably inconsiderate people (cheerleaders, football players or flute players) are much harder to avoid and or get away from. Hopefully the word will get out farther than just here at the Dis and the only people unlucky enough to be at WDW during PW week is in fact Pop Warnerers themselves.

Lisa

 

[Epcotgal8]

Your posts are very well spoken MyGoofy, I agree with everything you said and find the people who are so vehemently defending the stereotyping of the cheerleaders a tad silly.

Of course there are good cheerleaders...I didn't see any while I was there, but that's probably the point, I didn't notice THEM (the good ones)

Beating a dead horse like this subject has been is what is silly.

 

[FatCow]

Beating a dead horse like this subject has been is what is silly.

So does defending cheerleaders.

 

[Epcotgal8]

So does defending cheerleaders.

Look, be angry at the cheerleaders that you encountered at WDW all you want. It sounds like they deserve it. But where I live it is an honor to make the cheerleading squad. The girls work very hard, they do volunteer work, they are required to maintain a certain grade point average and there is a high code of ethics. In other words even if they are not in uniform they are not allowed to go to "parties", be seen wearing inappropriate clothes, or even heard swearing will get them dismissed from the squad. Some get college scholarships and are able to attend college when they might not be able to afford to otherwise. That's why people are not happy with the kind of generalization like you made in the quote above.

 

[yecats]

I too have been to WDW many times in December and have run into many unruly PW groups. What I don't understand is why thousands of children are taken out of school for the first or second week of December (when midterms/exams are only another week away) and allowed to have a huge group thing at WDW. There are other times of the year that this could be done (say mid August or howabout January after the holiday and exams are done). Maybe its the schedule (and I don't care to know how PW works) but for the years that I've gone during PW week, there has always been more commotion during that time than any other (yes, I've witnessed trashed hotel, screaming and cheering kids, bad behavior in general and I wasn't advised prior to one stay that the PW kids would be there - this was in late 90's). It's ashame that families have to wait for a great trip thinking there getting a bit extra (xmas decorations and music,etc.) but get there to see several unruly kids with chaperones/parents deciding not to bother with them. I would like to see Disney do something about this (January looks better all the time) especially as it seems this group is growing larger (with more people complaining every year).

 

[The4OfUs]

Look, be angry at the cheerleaders that you encountered at WDW all you want. It sounds like they deserve it. But where I live it is an honor to make the cheerleading squad. The girls work very hard, they do volunteer work, they are required to maintain a certain grade point average and there is a high code of ethics. In other words even if they are not in uniform they are not allowed to go to "parties", be seen wearing inappropriate clothes, or even heard swearing will get them dismissed from the squad. Some get college scholarships and are able to attend college when they might not be able to afford to otherwise. That's why people are not happy with the kind of generalization like you made in the quote above.

*standing ovation*

Very well said. My daughter is a Pop Warner cheerleader... and her squad came in 4th in regionals so we did not get to go (one of the teams we were beat out by was Malden, as a matter of fact *sigh*) - however another squad from my town did go and came in third overall, which is an amazing feat. The amount of hard physical work and total dedication these girls put in is inspiring, and to keep their grades up at the same time AND participate in fund raisers, community service, etc, is quite a life lesson. I'm saddened that the natural excitement of youngsters in Disney with dozens of their friends (come ON, who would not be excited) combined with what seems to be horribly poor chaperoning has given so many a terrible impression of this organization, and the kids (and families) that are part of it, as I have learned through first hand experience what a rewarding program this can be.

 

[SnackyStacky]

This thread has really run its course.