After weeks and weeks of talking about and preparing for Summit, the time had come. We were heading to Orlando! I was actually really nervous. It seemed like a big trip with lots of logistics and little details that couldn't be forgotten. I was glad to have my mom and dad traveling with us (although I took care of all their travel plans and tickets) and all the other cheer moms along for the ride as well.
Our flight was scheduled for Thursday morning, May 8th. We had to be in Orlando for practice later that afternoon. Go figure, the flight was delayed...by more than 2 hours. So that was a little stressful but not too much since there wasn't anything we could do about it. We did catch our flight and made it to Florida, just a couple hours later than planned. We had to wait forever to get our luggage so one cheer mom rushed the girls to their practice while the rest of us waited to claim everyone's luggage and get an uber to our hotel. They made it! (although a little late) We made it! It was a crazy few hours but luckily the only hitch in the entire trip!
We were staying at Disney's music resort. When the girls got back from practice, we had some dinner in the hotel cafeteria and then the girls made a bee-line to the pool where they stayed for a couple of hours. Good thing too, with their busy schedule the rest of the week, they didn't once make it back to the pool.
Evan Schuler, Aviana Blanco, Claire Winsor, Brynn
The next morning was a practice on the football field. I had only heard about this iconic football field. Her coaches went on and on about how awesome it would to practice there. Hearing about it was one thing...actually being there and seeing it was another. Wow! It was incredible to see and so fun. It wasn't an actual football field, which is what I was picturing, but a smaller scale turf field in between one of the other Disney resorts, a short walk across the parking lot from where we were staying. Everyone goes there to practice and it was literally packed with cheerleaders as far as the eye could see. I could stand at one end and within one minute, watch countless groups go up in the air with all sorts of stunts. I was blown away and just had to laugh at the moment and the sport. I was so happy to experience that and for Brynn to experience it as well. Definitely not something I will ever forget. I have really come to love this sport.
Brynn and Oakley Keys
flyer
flyer
bottom middle
Coach Ashley Baer, Brynn, Coach McKynlee Thacker
Brynn, Coach Jacie Jones
flyer
Oakley, Brynn, Claire, Evan
Avi, Brynn, Savannah West
Makayla, Brynn
We had the day free after that since our bid got us an automatic "through" the prelims and we weren't competing until the next day. So we headed to our first Disney park, Epcot. Me and my mom and dad were happy to be there and happy to follow the cute cheerleaders around to whatever they wanted to do. The other parents were fun to hang out with as well. Mostly we were there to ride the rides and we got on Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Mission: Space, Guardians of the Galaxy, Soarin', and Spaceship Earth. Ratatouille and Frozen were cute rides. Mission: Space was a simulation with two intensity levels. We started with the more mild option but the girls thought it was on the boring side so they went back to do the more intense level. Then they loved it and talked me into going with them and I did and they were right, it was much better than the less intense option. Soarin' is always a great ride but the favorite of the day was definitely Guardians of the Galaxy. It is a dark roller coaster but the cars also rotate on the track. It was awesome and we did it twice, even though it had the longest wait. Spaceship Earth was something we jumped on as we were leaving the park but it was pretty lame and I probably wouldn't bother with it if I ever went back.
Brynn, Shaylee Williams
Ratatouille
lots of "heads up" in line
Epcot was beautiful! There is a big loop at the back of the park with sections representing different countries. I would have loved to take the time to explore these areas a little more and to stop and enjoy the gorgeous flowers throughout. The girls didn't care too much about this so I took in what I could as we followed them around.
Shaylee and Brynn-Moana display all made out of plants
Evan, Claire, Brynn, Shaylee, Avi-in the Japan area
The girls had an early morning and big day ahead of them so we left the park around 8. The globe is pretty iconic so taking pictures there was a little surreal and I had to pinch myself to make sure I was actually there!
Saturday was semi-finals and our girls' first day of competition. We sent them off early with coaches but caught the shuttle shortly after. We were all a little on edge and nervous so sitting around at the hotel room was just not something we wanted to do. The venue was unreal. Way bigger than anything we'd seen before-actually not even close. The competition was held at the ESPN Sports Complex with about 18,500 athletes competing from 1,100 teams from 46+ states. I had been told that it was the "superbowl of cheer competitions" and that was an apt description! This is THE competition of the year, the one that everyone wants to get to. It was a huge opportunity just to be here.
The girls went on around 10 that morning. I always get nervous when Brynn competes but nothing like this, haha. I don't know how they had the nerves and courage to get up there on the biggest stage of their lives. But they did...and they did amazing! No falls and only one teeny-tiny .1 deduction. We were so proud of them! Lots of hugs and pictures after that.
Brynn is third girl from left on bottom
Brynn, Claire, Avi, Oakley, Evan
coaches Ashley, Jacie, McKynlee
We knew our score but we didn't know what any of the other teams had been scored. We waited around to hear the results and which teams were moving on to the finals the next day. Another nerve-wracking moment because, now that we had made it and done so well, we really wanted to make it to the finals. They had all the teams and their coaches/families/supporters gather at the baseball field for the announcement. Drum roll...we made it! To the finals! This trip was full of lots of those pinch-me moments and this was for sure another one of those. What excitement! We were so proud of them. We found out later that night that we were in third place, ahead of the 60+ teams that had competed that day. So awesome.
Everyone kind of went their separate ways that night. The package we had to buy came with three days at the parks. Since everyone had their own travel schedule, everybody just fit in park days when they could. That meant we were heading to Animal Kingdom on our own that night. It was fun to hang out with the team but my parents and I loved having Brynn to ourselves that night. It was a little drizzly but we managed to stay mostly dry. And we had our ponchos. We only had a few hours but we were able to pack in some good stuff. I knew my dad would love the Kilimanjaro Safari ride the most so we went there first. It was amazing! We saw all sorts of animals but my favorites were the giraffes that were so close we could almost reach out and touch them and the hippos which ran by us in a stampede. It was really neat to see.
We also rode Avatar Flight of Passage (amazing), Expedition Everest (awesome roller coaster-Brynn and I managed to do this twice), and DINOSAUR (similar to Indiana Jones in CA) before we left. As with Epcot, it would have been so cool to spend the entire day exploring this park. It was beautiful and we were happy we got some time there.
The next day was the Finals competition. Oh boy! (It was also Mother's Day, coincidentally, and I was happy to be there with Brynn supporting her.) The girls got in another practice that morning, again at the football field but with much more space since only a small percentage of teams were still competing. Brynn's two-man group was struggling so they put in some extra work with that. We didn't compete quite as early so we had a little time to relax before heading to the venue. We walked around the resort, which we hadn't done yet, and took some fun pictures. It was so cute and well done, as Disney is known to do.
flyer on the right
back flyer
Oakley, Avi, Brynn
Alright, competition time. Somehow I was even more nervous than the day before! I should have just been happy to be there but I wanted them to do well. They had that pesky little .1 legality the day before which meant they had not hit zero so I wanted that for them. I also knew this was the last time this specific team would compete and I wanted them to feel good about their final performance. They had worked incredibly hard to get to this point and it was time to prove to themselves and everyone else that they deserved to be there. Well, they did it, they proved themselves, they hit zero, and they upped their score by .1 from the day before. We were ecstatic for them. They were emotional, to say the least, when we saw them after. So much pressure and then to hit it...I think they were feeling overwhelmed by it all. But we were so proud of them. Their mental toughness was unbelievable. (Come to find out, in the warm-ups back stage, Brynn's elite stunt did not hit a single time. She was so nervous going on stage. But when it mattered, they did it. And they did it well, no bobbles at all, completely cool and calm.) More pictures because they just competed on the biggest stage for their sport and they HIT! That has got to be documented.
second from right on bottom
Brynn, Abby Metzger "Metzi"
Brynn, Avi, Evan
Brynn's #1 supporter was Coach Jacie, I can't thank her enough-she was the voice of positivity for Brynn when she needed it most
Coach Ashley, Brynn, Coach Kynlee
MaKayla, Brynn, Coach Kynlee...this is a recreation from Brynn's very first nationals comp
Awards were later that afternoon. They brought all the teams that had competed that day out on the mat (for that division anyway). Then one-by-one, they announced the placement and which team earned that place. Then that team was invited to leave the stage. They started at the bottom. We were feeling pretty good after the performance but it was awesome to still be on stage when there were 10 teams left and then when there were only 5 teams left. We ended up staying where we were the night before...3rd place...and we were so happy and excited to be there. Considering the effort it took to get the bid, the free pass through prelims, then semi-finals, and finals...this 3rd place is considered 3rd in the nation. So that is a huge honor for our little gym in Heber City, Utah! These girls, this team, their routine...all of it came together this year for one unforgettable moment. We were thrilled for all of them. And for Brynn, what a way to end her all-star career! She couldn't have asked for a better end to the season and her time with Tumble Central.
third from right on bottom
Coach Jacie
bottom left
That was the end of the cheer stuff and the rest of our time in Florida we were free to do whatever we wanted. Hollywood Studios opened that night from 9pm-1am for just cheerleaders and their family members and supporters (whoever bought the Summit package, pretty much). I think this was my favorite park of the 4 we went to. It was also a downpour the entire night but that just added to the adventure of it, haha. It was really busy with all those cheer people so we did what we could. We rode Tower of Terror, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, and Alien Swirling Saucers. Those last two we hopped on as we were leaving the park because no one else was on them. Runaway Railroad and Slinky Dog Dash were adorable. I have to give my mom and dad a lot of credit this night (and the whole trip, really). Most of the parents found a covered pavilion and stayed there while their girls went out and did the rides. Not my parents. They faithfully followed Brynn and the girls and me to wherever they/we went. My mom did all the rides the entire trip and my dad only sat out for a couple. They were amazing. For myself, I don't know when or if I'll ever make it back to Disney World so I was not about to miss any of it and I know they were feeling the same way.
Oakley, Claire, Evan, Brynn
Brynn, Katelyn Kuch
closing the park at 1 AM!...Brynn and Shaylee
It was a late night so we didn't get up too early the next day. We made it to Magic Kingdom around 10:30 that morning. We were hanging with Evan and Claire and their moms so we kind of followed what they did. This was the wet day. It poured for a good while that morning...enough that our feet were soaked by the time we made it to the first ride. We went to Tron first, which was a roller coaster but you were riding a motorcyle instead of sitting in a regular car. It was really fun. We did a couple shows, Carousel of Progress and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. We also rode Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Those last several are the same rides as the Disneyland version except for Space Mountain, where you ride in a bobsled instead of cars. I like the California version better.
The rest of Magic Kingdom was the little kid rides and I wasn't too interested in doing those. Claire and Evan still had one more day but our time in Florida was ending that night so we opted to park hop back to Hollywood Studios and end our day there. We were able to ride Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, which I rode and loved the last time I went to Disneyland. I was hoping we could jump on Rock 'n Roller Coaster but the line was long and Brynn was tired. She wanted to do some souvenir shopping and then do Tower of Terror one last time. So we did.
That was our last ride. We had some dinner and said good-bye to Disney. That's always a little bit of a sad moment. But we had had a great time and everyone was ready to go home. We had a really early flight the next morning but everything went smooth getting home. We were exhausted. Brynn got very little rest, however, since she had to be at the high school that night to ride the bus down to Utah County for a high school cheer stunt safety clinic. Good thing she loves this sport! This whole week was a core memory weekend-for Brynn, for me, for my parents-and I'm so grateful for the experience!
Our coaches ended up purchasing the photo package for our team so we were able to get some really great, professional pictures of the girls during their performances. There were literally hundreds for me to sort through. They are so fun to see and you get a teeny tiny peek into the energy and intensity of the sport. These girls pack so much into 2.5 minutes, it's really quite impressive. I watched this routine countless times but I never tired of it! Have fun playing "where's Brynn?" in the following photos...
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