pic: Who remembers this?
 

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Wow! This really brings back the memories! I would love to have a blow-up picture of this. Florida was a ton of fun, I miss the overall environment. As a mentor now, I know I would feel a lot more secure with my students in Flordia, than some of the other venues that we have been in.

Vote for Florida 2014!

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2002.
My first year in FIRST.
To be honest I'm one of the FIRST vets who do not miss Florida.
I like having your own field to participate in instead of having to go to Curie for one match and Galileo for the next and GOD HELP YOU if you had to go outside for a match on Einstein during the peak of the day. You were lucky if you didn't get heat stroke.
Going to Disney was very nice after the competition was over but I was left with very little impression about FIRST from the event and more about Disney itself.
I know it's a weird thing to say but leaving Disney was a good thing for FIRST to do.

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Yeah I have to agree with this, having only 4 fields with the ones other than Einstein having virtually no seating area was a pain in the butt. However it did rain usually once a day at some point. and having the pavilion areas for the teams was nice for a meeting area.

Moving from Epcot was needed, but there are still things I miss from that venue........ :(.

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Minor nitpick, but I think the picture is actually from 2001.

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Amazing Pic. Does anyone have a larger or Higher Quality Pic of this?

Thanks,

-RC

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Talk about a throwback!

There was definitely a magical appeal to having the champs at Disney. However, they feel much more professional now, and I think the venue has a lot to do with it.

Thanks for posting it!

-Brando

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I hope you do not mean to imply that Disney was a Mickey Mouse operation.:rolleyes: The logistics for the Championship were quite challenging and they always did that well.

I agree that the move away from Disney has been a good thing overall. While the Disney organization did a good job and are quite technically competent in what they do, they do not have the image of serious business. I think it was the year before last that ASME had their big convention at Disney. But if you didn't know that the resort was a Disney property you would not have been able to figure it out from the ASME literature. There was a reason for that. Similarly another professional organization I was associated with had their lowest turnout in years when they held their big conference in Reno, NV.

Re: pic: Who remembers this?
 

My wife accompanied my daughter to Disney when her team was invited to the pilot for the FLL World Festival in 2002. The competition conditions were poor. Part of that may have been because it was a pilot and they were learning what to do. I wasn't there so I don't know all the specifics. But I think they told me that presentations were made to judges in walkways with FRC teams taking their robots to/from the pits.

The next year at Houston conditions improved. There were rooms set aside for judging. But the main "stage" was in an area of the Astrodome, and FRC announcements intruded.

We were a part of FLL in Atlanta every year except this year, either competing or as judges/referees. The facilities there were much improved, except for one year when judging booths were set up in the pit area and noise again was a factor.

Since leaving Disney, the Championship has increased from 20 FLL teams to over 80, FVC/FTC was added, and the FRC competition expanded teams. While Disney was a great atmosphere for an event, with lots to do when the competition ended, it simply did not have the capacity to expand with FIRST.

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I think sometimes in the English language we get words right. Growing pains is one phrase that I just love. When a program grows like the FIRST programs have - together and separately - it is a challenge to everyone involved, including the event planners and how they are going to make it work.

I wasn't involved in FIRST during the Disney days, but 2 of our mentors were and when they share memories, their faces light up just like this photo. That is what memories of FIRST should be like and hopefully always will be. As programs develop and mature, they smooth out and find their way/their path/their niche. And they become models for others to pattern themselves after. That's a sign of great success.

This photo is a celebration and a wonderful reflection of FIRST's historical beginnings. It's awesome.

Jane

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I can't help but smile when I see this picture :yikes: It brings back many fond memories of high school, running into teams around the theme parks and exclaiming "heyyyy", and of course the moments pictured above.

Awesome picture!

Nate

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Next years championships clearly need more fireworks.

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I DEFINITELY remember this! Championships at Epcot was definitely one of my favorite childhood memories. While I don't have the perspective of a team member, mentor, or coach (logistics-wise, like Ed's post)... I can say that it was truly a magical experience for me.

I'm not sure if I miss being a little kid, or the Championship itself, but I can say for sure, I do miss Florida.

I say that purely because in that photo, (I'm sure I'm somewhere in the crowd) I would have been about 11. I could run around the FIRST 'complex' by myself, without worries. The Disney park was a different story, but within our own little FIRST bubble, I was safe to run around and hang out with teams, and explore. I certainly hope nobody lets their 11-year-old run free in Atlanta or St. Louis...

The experience in Epcot, for me, was something I looked forward to every year. What kid DOESN'T want to go to Disney every spring?!!?!

I know I feel the same excitement for the Championship, but there was just something about Disney that made it extra special for me.

Thanks for sharing the photo. :)

PS: Again, please understand that I wasn't old enough to be on a team, so I have no idea what that was like. Thanks in advance for not jumping down my throat for not being team-practical or considering how the actual event ran.

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I have to say that I feel the same. I was a freshman during this photo and it was my first time to the Walt Disney World resort. Couple that with the excitement of the FIRST competition and let me say that it truly was a wonderful experience.

All I can say now is that I have been positively influenced by both the experience of being a FIRST member and also taken in by the Disney "magic". I now work for Disney and hope to continue my involvement with both of these organizations for many years to come.

Thanks for the picture!

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Exactly. The "magic" of FIRST and the "magic" of Disney combined formed a pretty memorable experience for those of us who were lucky enough to be students during those times...