I am very thankful to be in a gym that doesn't see UCA, Summit, or Worlds as the be all and end all of cheer. I admit that three years ago I thought competing at Disney was the ultimate experience. Then we actually went and I realized a) it was ridiculously expensive, b) there really wasn't much time to visit the parks unless I kept my child out of school extra time and that was NOT going to happen, and c) at the end of the day it was just another 2:30 on the mat for my child. Yes, it was fun as a spectator to see teams we normally don't see and yes, my child was excited to have beaten a couple of "big" names, but after talking to her it wasn't much different than a competition at our convention center.
The money we spent on that one competition could have given us at least 4 extra times on the mat which frankly this jaded cheer mom will take over another trip to Mickey's place. I do admit that I miss catching up with friends that I've met over the years by not going but that's all I'm missing this year. If my child got a paid bid to the Summit of course I'd want to go, but shelling out a ton of money to go as a Wildcard? I don't have time for a Disney vacation right now, thanks. The other thing that makes me SMH is that people will lay down hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to compete at Disney but complain about paying $10- $20 to see their kid compete at a different location. Let's ponder that for a moment.