WARNING end of april 2008

[Pluto 2]

with the 11 month window just opened up for this time. just got a letter in the mail today when my son senior trip will be apr 25-28 at wdw. it saids that on april 26 the class will attend grad nite at magic kingdom exclusively for seniors from all differnt schools across the COUNTRY. sounds like thousands of seniors will be there at this time

 

[disneynutz]

with the 11 month window just opened up for this time. just got a letter in the mail today when my son senior trip will be apr 25-28 at wdw. it saids that on april 26 the class will attend grad nite at magic kingdom exclusively for seniors from all differnt schools across the COUNTRY. sounds like thousands of seniors will be there at this time

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[wildernessDad]

Must avoid this time...

 

[justjudy]

Must avoid this time...

Indeed! We plan on heading down there at the end of April, to celebrate our 30th anniversary. I was just trying to decide whether to leave on the 28th or 29th. Guess it's the 29th!

 

[cobbler]

Well looks like I will get to expirence this. Our plans are the 4/37 - 5/3.

That is the only time I have off from school. Oh well, we planned on spending a lot of time in Epcot anyway.

 

[Spark]

We have been there during Grad Nights in the past and it's really not that bad...They usually stay at the All Stars or in Wilderness Cabins. The Grad Nights run late into the morning (i.e. 3 am), and so are at the Magic Kingdom while other guests aren't. They do visit the other parks, but we didn't have any problems at all.

 

[DebbieB]

I was there April 21 to 27 this year, April 20 & 21 were grad nights. It wasn't a big deal except that Epcot was very crowded on Saturday night because MK closed early.

 

[wilma-bride]

We are leaving on 24th April so hopefully this won't affect us. Thanks for the heads up though

 

[rbuzzotta]

another heads up is the AllStar Cheerleading Worlds are scheduled for that weekend also. Rooms are already blocked at the allstar resorts!!!! I forget the exact dates but like the weekend of the 26th????

 

[fishermouse]

Thousands of Seniors (not my kind) and thousands of bouncy cheerleaders.

Think I'll skip this one

 

[starbox]

I think grad nights run several weekends in the spring, but the seniors are there after the park closes. I went twenty years ago. Michael Bolton and Tiffany were the featured performers. Oh yeah.

The high school where I currently teach goes down every year , but the seniors do Universal Studios one day and then grad night after park closing.

 

[uicbear]

I think grad nights run several weekends in the spring, but the seniors are there after the park closes. I went twenty years ago. Michael Bolton and Tiffany were the featured performers. Oh yeah.

I also went to Grad night a ways back(Run DMC for us....) and it was a great time. We did go to Epcot the next day, but the park as I remember it was pretty empty.

 

[DebbieB]

Grad Nights 2008 are 4/18, 19, 25, 26.

http://www.grad-nights.com/gradnight.htm

 

[espana94]

another heads up is the AllStar Cheerleading Worlds are scheduled for that weekend also. Rooms are already blocked at the allstar resorts!!!! I forget the exact dates but like the weekend of the 26th????

Cheerleading Worlds are April 25 -- 27.

The cheerleaders spend most of their time over at the WWofS competing. However, Dance worlds are the same weekend. And they usually compete in one of the parks. (This year, the dancers competed at Epcot.) They also have a private party at one of the parks on Sunday night. (This year they had AK to themselves until midnight.)

** rbuzzotta, is your DD cheering this year? We saw her team at a couple competitions this past season (Jamfest Indy, NCA Dallas and Worlds). But, if I recall, she didn't cheer last season, right? **

 

[starbox]

I also went to Grad night a ways back(Run DMC for us....) and it was a great time. We did go to Epcot the next day, but the park as I remember it was pretty empty.

I saw in your signature that we were there the same year! Can you believe it's the class of 08 this year? We went to EPCOT too, back when EPCOT was new and shiny and had cool rides like World of Motion, Horizons, and the original Journey to Imagination. And - Capt. EO

 

[Teyedoubleguhrrrr]

I used to work in the sales department that handled both Grad Nite and the Special Events like the cheer/dance stuff.

Keep in mind that Grad Nite also has some special "pre party" things that happen at some of the other parks in limited areas. When I was there they did a NY street party at MGM, another one at PI, etc. And I will bet that the cheer/dance people will also have a special party/event that may close one of the parks early for their event.

And don't forget the traffic. It gets NUTS with all those buses! At least for the Grad Nite stuff they make the kids get dressed up and enforce a dress code (very nice).

Sounds like a VERY busy time!

 

[rbuzzotta]

Espana.........yes she did go back this year but she was not placed on the team that she had to leave last year. It is understandable because we had to leave so abruptly but I feel bad as she has maintained her skills and her tumbling coach said she is tumbling better than before (she has been hitting her double full!!). She likes all the girls on the team but misses her old teammates!!! It is sad that she won't be able to perform her skills as they will be competing Level 4 in Dallas.

We may be at OKW during Worlds next year as it is our school vacation!

 

[nhdisnut]

We have been to WDW several years in a row now during weeks with Grad Nights. As long as you know ahead of time and don't plan on going to MK on one of those nights then there is no problem at all. We have noticed no difference at crowds at the other parks and had no issues at our resorts (usually not value resorts - that may help) with mobs of teenagers.

In fact, we find the last week in April to be a perfect time to go - the weather is perfect and crowds are reasonably low.

 

[poohmomof5]

Cheerleading Worlds are April 25 -- 27.

The cheerleaders spend most of their time over at the WWofS competing. However, Dance worlds are the same weekend. And they usually compete in one of the parks. (This year, the dancers competed at Epcot.) They also have a private party at one of the parks on Sunday night. (This year they had AK to themselves until midnight.)

** rbuzzotta, is your DD cheering this year? We saw her team at a couple competitions this past season (Jamfest Indy, NCA Dallas and Worlds). But, if I recall, she didn't cheer last season, right? **

So sorry to intrude on this post, but my daughter just made 2 different cheering squads that have gone to WDW in the past few years. So I was trying to figure out what dates they would be down there so I could tag along (any excuse to go to WDW) and I wanted to book my DVC rooms. But I couldn't find any dates anywhere. She will be on a high school team and a competetive team...any ideas?

Thanks!

Poohmom

 

[tjkraz]

We have been to WDW several years in a row now during weeks with Grad Nights. As long as you know ahead of time and don't plan on going to MK on one of those nights then there is no problem at all.

I agree! I certainly wouldn't try to plan my trip around these sorts of events...becuase there are many, many more than most people realize. WWoS is almost always host to SOME sort of event. You've got cheerleading events (many different ages), dance teams, Pop Warner, other sports teams, and so on.

They won't bother you at Deluxe or DVC resorts and most of the time they are avoidable at the theme parks.

The main thing to watch out for is the MK early closing on Grad Nights.