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I'll be the first to admit that, as soon as my team arrived in Walt Disney World, I headed for the parks. Competition isn't my thing, it doesn't excite me, and I can still say that I owe some part of my life to this program. Are you willing to say to me, as I begin my 5th year (4th outside of high school, no less) in this program, that I'm in it for the wrong reason? ...that I didn't get the message?
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It's great that people enjoy Disney. I always did myself. There's nothing wrong with not enjoying the competition either. A good friend of mine was a very enthusiastic member of his high school team, but didn't care much for the competitions. He chose to go skiing his senior year instead of going to Florida. He still got a lot out of the program. I guess my point is only that if someone is only willing to be part of the team if going to Disney is involved, then yes I believe that person isn't really in it for the right reason. On the other hand, there's people who
initially get involved because of the trip to Disney but later on discover that they really enjoy the program and they're no longer just in it for the trip. If this is the case then that means that all of us aren't doing our job very well - we should be able to get kids interested in this program without the promise of a trip to Florida.
FIRST was started in 1992 with the National Championships being held in a gymnasium. Nationals weren't held at Disney until 1995. From what I've seen student interest, participation, and team growth didn't seem to be a problem back then.
I'll add one final thought. Having nationals at Disney can't be cheap. Just think if all the money spent on 3 or 4 day park hopper passes was instead spent on bringing more students to the competition. It would be a great way to allow even more people to partake in the fun and excitement of Nationals.