Riot at ASMu

[dtum]

My husband said he heard a group of kids staying at ASMu caused a near riot and Disney threw them out. Has anyone heared this? If it's true, I'm glad they were thrown out. We were at FW one year when a group of people got really loud and rowdy and despite many calls to the front desk nothing was done until the a.m. There was a constant line of people calling all night to complain because everyone around there was getting no sleep, so I'd be glad to see if they really took matters in hand and did something about it this time.

 

[raven69david]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1658406&referrerid=&highlight=fight

 

[minnie61650]

According to a MousePlanet article there were 2 fights that night. The first in the arcade and a 2ed one later that night in Buildings 3 & 6.

Mouseplanet reports:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=wd071217mg

Pop Warner fight redux

We've got a lot more information about the Pop Warner fight at the All-Star Music Resort than we had last week. In the incident, the Westport Patriots of Baltimore got into a fight with the Kahalu'u Hei'eia Broncos of Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii and the Waianae Tigers of Waianae, Oahu, Hawaii.

A Disney cast member familiar with the situation informed MousePlanet that the All-Star Music front desk received a call at around 11:45 p.m. Friday night that there was an altercation at the arcade, and that there were 90-100 teenagers involved in a serious fight. There were reports of adults hitting kids. Three security guards and a security manager responded and broke up the fight after midnight. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office was called and deputies interviewed participants to try to determine how the incident started. Due to conflicting stories, no charges were lodged. All of those involved were sent back to their rooms.

The members of the three teams involved were all disobeying the Pop Warner "quiet hours" curfew that began at 10 p.m., as noted in a Disney information packet sent to all participating teams.

Around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, the fight started again in buildings 3 and 6, with approximately 100-110 people involved. The front desk was called by families not involved with Pop Warner, claiming that it was close to riot conditions and that they wanted to check out immediately to get away from the situation. Sheriff's deputies, along with Disney security staff, stopped the fight again. One boy from the Kahalu'u team had his nose broken and went to the hospital. There were no other reported serious injuries.

Pop Warner football commissioner Sam Mutz and others from the organization were called to the scene. After evaluating the situation, Disney and Pop Warner made a joint decision at around 2:20 a.m. to evict the teams from the resort, rather than ban them from Disney property entirely. With about 140 people in total evicted and 100-110 involved in the fracas, there were perhaps only 30-40 people who had to be woken up when the decision to evict them was made.

The Pop Warner representatives called around to find alternate lodging for the teams, and found space at the Legacy Grand and Holiday Inn. Disney paid for the teams to be transported to their new lodging. They had a fleet of cabs lined up, and the last cab left just before 5 a.m.

The situation was apparently anticipated by the Pop Warner organization, as a packet sent out months ago to participants in the tournament included a memo from Pop Warner Executive Directory Jon C. Butler to all Pop Warner Association, League and Regional officers that warned:
As Pop Warner's events grow and attract more media attention, each of us has a duty to make sure that ALL of the people at those events represent Pop Warner appropriately.
We've had serious behavior problems at past Pop Warner Super Bowls at WALT DISNEY WORLD. This note gives you and your participants, young & old, players & coaches, parents & fans fair warning that such problems have not been tolerated in the past, and certainly will not be tolerated this year. Teams have been disqualified, and, in one case, sent home early at their increased expense.
Every Pop Warner Association is accountable for its players, cheerleaders, coaches, administrators, parents and others from your area at all Regional and National events. Any incidents of unacceptable behavior from any person(s) affiliated in any way with your Association will mean:
A possible immediate ejection from the Pop Warner Super Bowl events and WALT DISNEY WORLD® property. The persons involved risk forfeiting hotel and other deposits. Revised Air reservations/ ticket payments will be your problem, not ours nor Disney's.
Possible lifetime ban from Disney World.
An AUTOMATIC PROHIBITION from all Regional and National events for all teams/squads from that Association for one full season.
Possible suspension and/or probation from coaching or administering within Pop Warner.
Each Association is responsible for those who represent it. So is each League. So is each Region. If repeated problems occur within a particular Association, League or Region, additional measures will be taken.
Pop Warner is a family. Let's all act like it. If our Pop Warner family behaves well, then everyone—whether part of Pop Warner or not—will respect us.

This was echoed in a statement from Walt Disney World spokesman Jacob DiPietre, who said, "This incident was unfortunate but with thousands of Guests at the Resort we have to maintain a safe environment for everyone. We have a no-fighting policy that is shared with Pop Warner. Anyone fighting is subject to disqualification from the competition and eviction from the resort. We were in contact with both law enforcement and Pop Warner throughout the event."

With both sides telling conflicting stories, it's unlikely that the true cause of the fight will come to light. It appears that the altercation started between the Westport and Kahalu'u teams, with the Waianae team coming to the aid of its Hawaiian compatriots. The Westport team had won the Midget Division II Warner Conference title earlier on Friday. The Kahalu'u squad took the Midget Division II Tomlin Conference consolation title on Friday, and the Waianae team was finished on Wednesday, having lost both of its games in the Midget Division I playoffs. The Midget teams were composed of youths approximately 12-15 years of age.

One of the Westport coaches told the Baltimore Sun that he was upset that the fight overshadowed the team's win. "It's unfortunate that it had to happen like this," he said. "It's getting me down. We work hard to keep these kids out of trouble and now this one moment is going to dominate the entire season."

Despite the organization's Web site noting that "Pop Warner is committed to developing America's young people on the field and off," it seems that some coaches still believe off-field behavior takes a back seat to on-field results.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I'm hearing conflicting reports.. I was staying at All Star Sports and it appeared that a large number of the evicted guests were actually staying at Sports and not Music.

And the info I was hearing from parents on-site was that the events took place at All Star Sports -> not Music.

But either way, yes they were ejected at 1am. They did not wait till morning.

Knox

 

[raven69david]

We saw a gaggle of them Sunday (12/9) morning as we left for the parks from ASMo. Sad that others had to endure all that noise at 1am .

 

[ntsammy5]

This year was the first time I have noticed groups of Pop Warner participants in the parks, but I was looking for them where in other years I was not. We also noticed quite a few at POR in the food court. No one was misbehaving, but perhaps this event has grown larger than in pat years. I'm sure that WDW and Pop Warner will be discussing what can be done to prevent these incidents next year. Having said that, I may decide to avoid Pop Warner week all together.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . This year was the first time I have noticed groups of Pop Warner participants in the parks, but I was looking for them where in other years I was not . . .

1) Normally, Pop kids don't spend too much time at the parks.
2) With the games, the schedule is pretty full.
3) There are always some, but they don't add much to the crowds.
4) Or the confusion.

 

[WillCAD]

Up till this year, the worst complaints I had about the PW teams was that they could be loud at the resorts at night, and the cheerleaders tended to blow out my ears with cheering and Xmas carols on the busses.

But this year I did notice far more groups of them in the parks, barging through crowds and streaming into lines in clumps, and a couple of times I noticed groups hanging out at Melody Hall loudly talking trash with lots of foul language.

I am amazed that I heard nothing about the brawl, even though I was staying at ASMO Bldg 3 at the time, which is right next to Melody Hall. I guess if I had been staying at ASMU I would have heard plenty.

 

[eandt]

We have been at POR during POP Warner weeks..........they just stay there as overflow but we will never go again during those weeks or if we ever do we will definately stay at one of the luxury resorts.......Can only imagine how bad it was at All Stars or POP's when those are the main resorts the teams stay.......

 

[CanadianGuy]

Can only imagine how bad it was at All Stars or POP's when those are the main resorts the teams stay.......

I don't have to imagine -- I was there!

I stayed at All Star Sports from December 6th to December 12th in the Touchdown section - right in the thick of it.

It wasn't a big deal for me. There were quiet hours signs posted from 10pm to 9am and overall -- they didn't interfere with my enjoyment of my brief time at the resort or on the buses.

In fact, the kids on the buses that *I* encountered were exceedingly polite. My biggest complaint is that in two cases they made me feel really old by offering me a seat. (I'm only 38!)

The foodcourts and pools were busy and yes there were some lines for certain things at the resorts .. but nothing egregious in my book at all.

Obviously, on the final night, some things happened that should not have. But unless you were RIGHT there at the Arcade/Foodcourt area when this occurred, you really weren't impacted.

Knox

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

And the parents are where???

 

[WillCAD]

And the parents are where???

According to some reports, a few of the parents were right there in the thick of it, trading punches with the teens.

 

[officer tigger]

I hope Disney drops the Pop Warner event. I believe that a fight also broke out in the MK on December 8th.

 

[kapoof]

I hope Disney drops the Pop Warner event. I believe that a fight also broke out in the MK on December 8th.

i totally agree, it is bad to have this happen but around xmas time makes it seem even worse! i have heard such bad things about pop warner and the cheerleading competions. i can only imagine what shape they leave the rooms in ...i wish disney would only let nice, polite, well mannered guests visit.

 

[WillCAD]

I hope Disney drops the Pop Warner event. I believe that a fight also broke out in the MK on December 8th.

i totally agree, it is bad to have this happen but around xmas time makes it seem even worse! i have heard such bad things about pop warner and the cheerleading competions. i can only imagine what shape they leave the rooms in ...i wish disney would only let nice, polite, well mannered guests visit.

I've been to WDW for MouseFest, which overlaps the PW competition, for the last 5 years running, and I have not had any major problems with the PW kids.

I completely agree with the way Disney handled the brawl at ASMU, but I think that dropping the entire PW event is overkill. I do think that Disney needs to meet extensively with the Pop Warner leadership and require them to tighten a few controls over the kids' behavior, require a higher ratio of chaperones to kids, and require mandatory bed checks for all competing kids, but I don't see that kicking out the whole PW organization because of the crimes of 3 teams is necessary just yet.

Another fight, though, and I think they all ought to be out on their ears.