Would you move your trip dates up a week to avoid tour groups

[JohnDaleswife]

We are thinking about a trip back to Disney with the dates of 2/3-2/7 in mind. Now I do now that the cheerleaders will start invading that week, even though we will not be staying at a resort they will be at.
We will be at Boardwalk. Would you consider it a wise move to bump the dates up by one week to avoid them?

I would also love to move to AoA for the prior week, but still now that theres a good chance that other "January" tour groups might being staying at Pop and venture over there quite a bit making the resort way to crowded and hectic. Am I wrong with this assumption?

 

[fbarker]

We are thinking about a trip back to Disney with the dates of 2/3-2/7 in mind. Now I do now that the cheerleaders will start invading that week, even though we will not be staying at a resort they will be at.
We will be at Boardwalk. Would you consider it a wise move to bump the dates up by one week to avoid them?

I would also love to move to AoA for the prior week, but still now that theres a good chance that other "January" tour groups might being staying at Pop and venture over there quite a bit making the resort way to crowded and hectic. Am I wrong with this assumption?

I would never change my plans because of tour groups. Yes at times, if you run into them they can be a bit frustrating, but they pass quickly and I would never ever let them have a negative impact on my fun.

 

[Disneylover99]

If you're at Boardwalk, I wouldn't worry about it.
If you're at AofA, I wouldn't worry about it.
We've stayed at Pop with Tour Groups. It's never been a problem for us.

 

[smallworldnh]

I absolutely would. Personally, if I'm going to pay out that much money for a trip, I would like it to be as relaxing as possible and I've found being around these large groups can be really stressful. Just my personal opinion.

 

[MrsDuck]

Since you're at Boardwalk, I wouldn't switch. You always are going to run into the possibility of tour groups, especially in January.

 

[btk2333]

Definitely not- February is as low crowds as you're ever going to get at wdw- we've been several times that week and cheerleaders or no it's a great time to be there

 

[Fennella Brewer]

Our trip is scheduled during the high school cheerleading competition, as well. You will be fine at Boardwalk. We are staying at AoA, so I expect Land of Flavors will be crowded and busses will be horrible as they migrate over from Pop. I hope that the teens sleep in long enough for us to catch an early bus. Rescheduling is not an option for us. I suppose we could move to an upgrade if it gets unbearable. With Mardi Gras and President's Day falling during the same period, I do not expect low crowds. Regardless, we will still have a very magical Disney experience!

 

[anniemae]

Nope, I would not switch. You are going at a very low crowd time. There will always be groups. There is always something at Disney to bump up crowds whether its tour groups, free dining, special promotions, competitions, ticketed events etc. You can't avoid it. I would stick with your week, I think you picked a good one.

Also, we were there one year with the cheerleading groups and hardly noticed them at all. They were in the parks at times, but were never loud or obnoxious. Since they will not be at your resort, I would not even give it a second thought. Go. Have fun.

 

[Dis703]

I wouldn't worry about it at the Boardwalk. They are usually at value or mod resorts and it's usually only at the resorts that you really notice them.

 

[Ava]

We've been at All Stars at the same time as cheerleading groups and it wasn't really a big deal, except the food court was crowded with them at times. They usually have events during the day so don't affect park crowds very much. I wouldn't change your plans.

 

[shh]

"There will always be groups. There is always something at Disney to bump up crowds." This is it exactly. You could drive yourself crazy (and I speak from soooo much experience here! ) trying to time a visit to avoid this group, that group, this promo, that dining deal, the holidays, the rainy season, El Nino, the hot weather or the other thousand things that may impact a trip. These boards are packed with stories of guests who researched and debated for months planning just the perfect timing - then got hit with unexpected crowds, weather, last-minute WDW taping schedules or other surprises they didn't foresee.

I really don't think these groups will be a problem for you at all since you're not staying at their resort. But just realize for every tour group you know about, there may be 10 more you don't. Or there may be something else going on that week. Given how busy and unpredictable WDW is lately, I psyche myself up to stay flexible before each trip, in case plans don't work out. Still not easy for my Type A personality...but one day at a time!

 

[bookgirl]

Nope, I've been there with BTG's and with Sports/Cheerleader Teams. Didn't impact me and the only thing I saw was that the pool deck was literally wall to wall with kids so if you're a pool user you might be impacted.

I'd go if the time was right with you.

 

[JessLUVSminnie]

You should be okay staying at a deluxe resort.

Last year my DH and I were staying at CBR for the first part of our trip. On the second day of the trip it seemed like the resort was invaded by cheerleaders. After a long noisy day and a nightmare of ride on the bus back from dinner, I went to the lobby and requested a move. I just couldn't do it. I didn't care where as long as it was deluxe because I had heard that would take care of the issues. And it did. We moved to GF and other than a few times at the parks we didn't really see any of them. The second part of our trip was at AKL and we had no issues there either.

I would go again at time but I would stay at any resort besides one of the deluxes. Hope you have a great time!!!!

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Im not concerned about the groups at the resort, (Boardwalk) its the parks is where my concern.

But I would love to swap over to AoA. But I would only consider doing that by bumping up my dates by one week. I wouldnt be avoiding all tour groups entirely, but would probably be missing one of them. My dates are flexible, so one week isn't a big deal.

 

[jcemom]

Im not concerned about the groups at the resort, (Boardwalk) its the parks is where my concern.

But I would love to swap over to AoA. But I would only consider doing that by bumping up my dates by one week. I wouldnt be avoiding all tour groups entirely, but would probably be missing one of them. My dates are flexible, so one week isn't a big deal.

IMO the groups' presence makes far more of an impact at the resorts than at the parks. We've been at Pop with a relatively small South American group and it was semi-awful. We had a ground floor room on the back side of a building near a pool and we heard them at all hours of the night. They apparently never sleep. We were at CBR with cheerleaders and while they were fairly well behaved they were everywhere. Luckily they stayed across the lake from us but when we walked to the food court in the mornings we could hear them cheering. It would have been awful to be in a nearby building. The pool was jam packed the entire time, but again they weren't misbehaving, there were just a lot of them.

In the parks, we barely noticed the groups. Now, the South American groups are a little hard to miss because they travel in packs of 100+ behind a flag and they all dress the same lol. As long as you don't get in line behind them it isn't too big a deal. Some of them tend to cut lines, which can be annoying, but it isn't like it happens on every ride. The cheerleaders we have only ever seen in groups of 10-25 or so.

We've had a few incredibly annoying experiences with groups in the parks over the years, but only a few, and that's out of many trips.

If you're able to shake off relatively minor annoyances and not let them ruin your trip then you'll be fine. If small things stress you out and have a big impact on your ability to enjoy yourself, then you might want to allow the group schedules a greater impact on your planning.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Although the cheerleaders can be a very excited group, I have never found them to be a problem or reduce my enjoyment, and I am a person who absolutely can't stand noise and confusion. Usually they're too busy with the things they have scheduled to be in the way, and if they are in the same park, just plan to go elsewhere if their exuberance upsets you. Now the chanting groups, that may be another matter particularly if you are in a venue from which you can't escape (like some of the ones I've seen on youtube). I have been there while there were large groups present, and they have really never been an issue.

 

[karly05]

I'm just going to chip in here - I've been in early February (2012, 2013, 2014) during a "cheerleader" weekend and never had an issue with them at the parks. If I saw cheerleaders at the parks, they were in smaller groups (maybe 8 or so?) and were no problem at all. (I only thought "cheerleaders" because they were wearing their matching jackets or shirts or string backpacks.) I saw way more cheerleaders on my flights into Orlando than I ever saw in the parks.

 

[wdw4rfam]

If you were booked at their resort, I'd switch. Otherwise, I'd say not necessary.

 

[HopperFan]

If you are staying at BW, then I would not worry about it at all, they won't be staying there.

Will the Big Tour groups impact the park .... somewhat ... but that is literally all of January and first three weeks of February. Just try to go the other way if you see them. If a problem you can't get away from, click a picture of their name (shirts and backpacks) and send a letter to Disney.

If you are staying at a value - I would and have changed my dates. After two years at POP with the Big Tour Groups in January that were nothing less than miserable weeks, constant requests for security, talking to them myself and their tour guides - I decided no more. Last year I cancelled my January reservation, told them why and moved offsite. Why pay more for amenities I could not use let alone sleep. I then returned for an onsite week the first week of March. Last of them were back in school. And yes, they took over the AoA food court and buses - I tried. AND, if you saw in their rooms you would not want to be a guest coming in after them ......... the cleanest room I saw was the ones where they had the mattresses leaning against the wall, no I'm not kidding.

Never have problems with cheerleaders. The biggest reason is they go to the parks in groups of 4-8 at most while BTG stay together in groups of 25-50. They also have competitions to go to and need sleep. They will at times be practicing at the resort but that is not impacting the pools or food court or buses.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

I'll just keep my dates and hotel if we do decide to go in early February.