Brazil Tour Groups!!

[DisneyFive]

She told me that bc of what happened at Fantasmic, they've banned chanting. and when she went to work one day the manager had a huge meeting with everybody about ten minutes before work and said that all the tour groups have now been warned, and if a cast member(it can be any cast member from somebody in merchandise, to a janitor) see's any chanting going on they are to escort them out of the park... pretty interesting. Lets see if this new rule actually goes into play though.

I hope this goes for all parks and holds true!!! Lets hope this is the beginning of a new rule, and the chanting stops!

Dan

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

You got lucky. We saw Fantasmic last Christmas (Jan 2nd or 3rd i think) and the line waiting to get into the show was so densely packed there was not a single inch to be had. And because of that a gentleman was so determined to push past he actually tried to climb over me. He changed his mind when i grabbed him by the throat and pushed him off my back. And when the gates opened they ran, not sprinted but ran full bore for the show room knocking slow moving people out of the way. I felt like i was playing football again. When we see them coming we either go the other way or just leave the park. The up side, since they operate as a hoard you can actually stay ahead of them.

It almost sounds like you are describing a zombie movie like Day of The Dead (which was just on cable this weekend).

 

[SallySkelington]

I honestly don't understand why people get so bent out of shape about the big tour groups in the parks. I just came back from an 8 day trip yesterday and there were TONS of big tour groups. Yes they were loud, chanted alot, and walked together. So what? You are in disney world and the parks are playgrounds. It's going to be loud. I actually enjoy the chants because it's fun to see others having such a great time. That is what disney is all about. I would rather hear chanting Brazilians than screaming children lol (not that I let either bother me because both are simply part of the reality of disney world). I can't understand why so many people would let others affect the quality of your vacation. If you don't let it bother you it won't. If you want a nice quiet vacation go to the beach.

On the other hand the tour groups being loud in the hotels during sleeping hours is a different story.

Totally agree. I felt kinda bad for reading some of the comments on the thread. I mean WDW is a theme park, Disney made it meant for every one to enjoy! It's going to be loud, crazy and insane. Otherwise it would be just plain dull.

Sadly yes, you are going to get rude people, from all cultures from all different tour groups, which is unacceptable and somethings they do are absolutely unacceptable but it shouldn't ruin your vacation.

From what I understand is the main issue with the Brazilian tour groups is the size (which leads to all the loudness etc.) and I have a suspicion is so big because of the discount rate per person. Its just because they are excited too. Still, it would be nice if they would split into groups but that's their decision. I personally think staying a a group over 10 people would be a hassle, trying to figure out where to go next, How do they do it with 400 kids plus?!

 

[juliebug1997]

I belive the arm locking is a method the group uses to avoid getting separated, since the group is so big. However, it's clear that this not only annoys other guests, but is dangerous as well. This really should be addressed.

I didn't see any of the groups locking arms but I witnessed a very dangerous situation on July 3rd after seeing the fireworks at MK. Massive gridlock, CMs telling us different things on how to get out, etc. However, there was one woman in an ECV who started yelling out fire in the middle of a mob that wasn't able to move! Hello, felony??? What concerned me just a little more was the fact that CMs were laughing at her and made getting her out of the mob a priority. There were other people in wheelchairs, someone on crutches, children asleep in strollers. That could have been disastrous!

 

[PeterPan09]

The Brazilian tour groups are legendary. Disney has many groups that visit over the course of the year, but nothing is quite like "Latin Season". They are "exuberant" young people who are making their first, and likely only trip to the World. The average counselor has 25 kids that he/she is responsible for, and a good number of the counselors are not that much older than the kids they are supervising. Most of the kids are around 15 and the minimum age for counselors is 18. Kids in a large group-no matter where they come from-behave very differently than they would with their families or in a smaller group.

Latin season is not going away-there's just WAY too much money being made not only by Disney, the other theme parks and the local businesses. They take bus trips to the outlets, and the families rent cars to drive to Walmart, Target and Best Buy. Not to mention all the Amazon.com orders that fly into the resorts.

Disney does what they can for the guests that are negatively affected by the behavior of these groups, but they can't be everywhere and solve every problem. The best advice is to take note of the dates provided earlier and do your best to avoid being at Disney at that time. If you can only travel during Latin Season, report every problem you encounter the minute you encounter it. Don't wait until you get back to your resort, and please don't wait until you get home. The only way Disney can even attempt to help is if they know immediately.

 

[torinsmom]

I'm sorry, I think I missed the dates most of the tour groups are there. I know I have seen July mentioned a lot, but how is August? We are going August 12-19 this year. Last year we went in mid-June and I don't recall having many problems.

 

[Wadecool]

I didn't see any of the groups locking arms but I witnessed a very dangerous situation on July 3rd after seeing the fireworks at MK. Massive gridlock, CMs telling us different things on how to get out, etc. However, there was one woman in an ECV who started yelling out fire in the middle of a mob that wasn't able to move! Hello, felony??? What concerned me just a little more was the fact that CMs were laughing at her and made getting her out of the mob a priority. There were other people in wheelchairs, someone on crutches, children asleep in strollers. That could have been disastrous!

That is insane! Someone could have been seriously hurt or killed. She should have been dealt with by security for sure.

 

[Birdman1511]

Also, to add to this thread. IMO, these large and obnoxious Brazilian tour groups ruin it for several different groups of people who vacation at WDW. This includes other Brazilians, who are on vacation with their families trying to enjoy themselves, and other tour groups as well, who arent loud, obnoxious and are generally respectful to other guests. Bc of these tour groups theres a common misconception for almost anybody wearing the same colored t shirts that say "Disney Family Vacation". Heres an example of what I'm getting at:

Last December I was in DTD with my parents and two of my friends. We were standing in line at one of the registeres in World of Disney. When we first entered world of disney, i noticed a small group of about 6, wearing the same colored shirts. It was a family too, atleast I think so. A mom, dad and their kids. But they were respectful to other guests, werent loud or obnoxious and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Anyway, while we werei n line getting ready to pay. one of the girls of this group, I'd say about 15-16 yrs. old, was confused about an item she had and tried to ask the man in front of us for some help, which was obviously difficult bc she couldnt speak English. The man's response was very abrupt and malevolent. He very rudely responded with ,"I DONT KNOW! i DONT SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE SO LEAVE ME ALONE!!" The girl froze looked like she was about ready to burst into tears. So my mom, who is a very compassionate person, quickly stepped in and took her to the closest cast member she could find who spoke her language. As she was doing so, a lady close by looked at the man and said, "you know that was really rude, that young girl is here on vacation and you just might have ruined it for her." His response was,"why should i care if i ruined her vacation? those stupid brazilian tour groups ruin my vacation everytime im here. its time somebody returned the favor!" Anyway, when we left we went over to Ghiradeli's for some ice cream and we saw that family and her parents came up to my mom and said Thank you..

But the point is, when that man yelled at that girl I saw the look in her eyes she was really frightened and upset. Its not fair to these famlies and groups of travelers that they have to suffer due to the acts of these large Brazilian tour groups.

 

[jcemom]

We visit almost every January, and we have seen many BTGs. We've only had one problem with them, a few years ago, at Fantasmic. We had the dining package, and were sitting in our section waiting for the show to start. Everyone knows that since they reduced the number of shows per week it can be crazy crowded. They were telling people that the stadium was almost full, and everyone already inside needed to find a seat. There was a large group just on the other side of the dining package section ropes, sitting on the ground, right up front. CMs kept telling them they had to move, they couldn't sit in the aisles, etc. Every time the CM "guarding" the rope turned his back, a few of them would duck under the rope and run into our section. Then, one or two of them would try to talk to the CM (either they didn't speak English, or pretended not to, I don't know which) and while they occupied him, others would duck under the ropes behind his back and run into our section. (It wasn't just teens either, but adults too.) This went on for probably 10 or 15 minutes, and then the CMs just went ahead and took down the ropes (earlier than they normally would have, it's been a while and I don't remember exactly, but I think it was still 40-45 minutes prior to show time).

So, they got their way in the end. When they did get into the section where we were, they were squeezing onto already full benches, just pushing their way in. One man knocked a small child right off the end of the bench, and I thought the boy's dad was going to start a fight. It was ugly. I can't believe we opted to stay. We really should have just left.

We haven't been back to see Fantasmic since. It was too stressful, not only because of the tour group, that was just one part of it. Having to get there insanely early, even with the package, sitting smashed up against strangers, feeling like herded cattle trying to exit, etc, just isn't worth it to us.

Other than that, we've had no problems with the groups, whether they be Brazilians or cheerleaders.

 

[oobidoo]

We went to WDW in January for the first time a couple of years ago, and I vowed that we would never return during that time, even if the trip was free, due to the brazillian teens. There were 40,000+ there during the last week of Jan. (we were told this by CS at All Star Movies), and I believe it. There were 3 ARMED security officers in the lobby of ASM, which I knew was a bad sign right off the bat. It was a miserable trip because of them, and my husband now refuses to stay at an All Star resort just in case they might be there. They were roudy, loud, rude, and any other negative adjective you might be able to think of. The icing on the cake was on the bus late one night leaving one of the parks (cant remember which one). First of all, there were 40-50 of them in line for the bus with ONE CHAPERONE. They were, of course, chanting, singing, and whatever else it is that they do, then when we got on the bus, barely, they started it back up and began swaying as hard as they could back and forth. It was just my daughter and myself , as the rest of our group had already left on a previous bus. If it hadn't been for her, I probably would have banned from the parks for life for what I wanted to do!! The man behind us screamed at them with zero results. Finally, after we had gone down the road a bit, the driver pulled the bus over, got out of his seat, SCREAMED at them, and that was it. I think the most frustrating part of it all is that Disney seems so reluctant to deal with them. I would like to see more action on their part when it comes to controlling these people. I'm sure there are plenty of nice, decent people in Brazil, but you couldn't convince me of it based on what I saw there. I'm guessing these kids are from well-to-do families and are not held to any standards of behavior at home, let alone in another country. One more thing, they tried the ol' "Groupo, groupo!!" when they would come up behind us in line, pointing at part of their group up ahead. We let them through a couple of times, and then everyone (not just us) started clamping down white-knuckled on the handrailes in line and saying "No Groupo!!" back to them and did not allow them to go through. If you go during a time that they are there, be prepared!

 

[P13]

This is so depressing to me to read, kinda wish I wouldn't have found the thread!! We will be there in less than 7 days, I'm not going to be happy if we will have to deal with all of this. My patience are near to none the last few months, for a VERY good reason. We are going on vacation/anniversary trip after about 3-4 months of VERY stressful events in my family. Oh my, now to have to worry about this!! I'm praying that everything will work out!!

 

[pooh2001]

Dang, I was afraid of that--I'm there starting tomorrow.

Quick, anybody know how to say 'Y'all settle down now, y'hear?' in Portuguese?

Here you go from a free Portuguese translator:
'Determina abaixo agora,

 

[disney junky]

What if they are adhering to social norms? What if the way they are acting is perfectly acceptable in Brazil? How is this any different that complaining about "fat" or "lazy" people who look "perfectly fine" using ECV's and not knowing how to drive them? I am not sure why, but threads about these tour groups seem to be some of the most blatantly racist threads on these boards.

Here are some simple truths:
(1) any large group of people traveling together can cause issues within a theme park (lines, waits, etc.
(2) take ANY group of teenagers and put them together away from home and they are going to act obnoxious to some degree
(3) chanting in a line is far less annoying that people talking through rides or taking flash pictures during dark rides.
(4) anyone that has issues with large numbers of people may find that WDW is not the most magical place to vacation.

A good plan and some flexibilty is all that is needed to avoid drama associated with any tour group.

Now I'm going to state a simple truth. This is WDW in the United States of America. Teenagers need to be held to the same standards as anyone else, and giving them a pass because they are teenagers is part of the reason they behave the way they do. Your argument is tiring and throwing in the racist statement is just your attempt to distract posters. Oh, if I get upset with the tour groups I must be a racist.
"A good plan and some flexibility is all that is needed to avoid drama associated with any tour group." Seriously?

 

[disneyofcourse]

I just got back and they have been horrible. I was hit twice with signs that resulted in actual deep cuts in my legs from them spinning those stupid things around. I saw a group of 4 males RUN full force into a worker and then laugh and run away. My mom was run into and actually pushed out of the way by a small group of guys/girls running to catch the group.

While at a MK parade they actually overpowered the noise from the parade with Chanting! Why do they have to chant during events?

The poor behavior is just saddening. How ever I did encounter several friendly groups several times while in lines for food. Limited English but we could still speak to one another.

 

[ciera321]

Everywhere.
Every single park.
Multiple groups every day.

This is exactly why we won't go back in July...

 

[asta]

I do not know if its been mentioned here, but the tour groups have figured out the SINGLE RIDER LINES too. On Test track last week, a group of 100+ got in the single rider line and caused that line to SKYROCKET to 65 minutes while the standby was only 60.

I have mentioned this in other threads. We were caught in the middle of a miserable, rude South American tour group in the single rider line at RNR. Their group leader instructed (keep in mind she was giving these instructions in English) them on locking arms and refusing to be separated. When the poor CM tried to separate them to send them into the ride the girls cried and of course didn't understand what he was saying. Oh sure, they don't understand English when it helps them scam. This practically shut down the single rider line. At one point the CM had to send for someone to come help him. We were in the middle of all of this because the group was huge and they did not all enter the line together. Some young lovers appeared to be more interested in making out than keeping up. The tour group leader kept trying to pull kids from the back up to a group in front so that they could be together. It was my opinion that you are riding as single riders so there should be no need to jump ahead of others. They actually linked hands through my family and tried to pull people ahead of us.

What gets me is that everytime my family entered a single rider line we were stopped and questioned if we were aware that we would be separated. I had older teens and believe me we really didn't need to ride together and don't expect to when we enter the single rider line. I didn't see anyone stopping the tour groups before they got in line. This is just another way that Disney lets these groups scam and bully their way through the parks.

 

[cocofifi]

Also, to add to this thread. IMO, these large and obnoxious Brazilian tour groups ruin it for several different groups of people who vacation at WDW. This includes other Brazilians, who are on vacation with their families trying to enjoy themselves, and other tour groups as well, who arent loud, obnoxious and are generally respectful to other guests. Bc of these tour groups theres a common misconception for almost anybody wearing the same colored t shirts that say "Disney Family Vacation". Heres an example of what I'm getting at:

Last December I was in DTD with my parents and two of my friends. We were standing in line at one of the registeres in World of Disney. When we first entered world of disney, i noticed a small group of about 6, wearing the same colored shirts. It was a family too, atleast I think so. A mom, dad and their kids. But they were respectful to other guests, werent loud or obnoxious and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Anyway, while we werei n line getting ready to pay. one of the girls of this group, I'd say about 15-16 yrs. old, was confused about an item she had and tried to ask the man in front of us for some help, which was obviously difficult bc she couldnt speak English. The man's response was very abrupt and malevolent. He very rudely responded with ,"I DONT KNOW! i DONT SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE SO LEAVE ME ALONE!!" The girl froze looked like she was about ready to burst into tears. So my mom, who is a very compassionate person, quickly stepped in and took her to the closest cast member she could find who spoke her language. As she was doing so, a lady close by looked at the man and said, "you know that was really rude, that young girl is here on vacation and you just might have ruined it for her." His response was,"why should i care if i ruined her vacation? those stupid brazilian tour groups ruin my vacation everytime im here. its time somebody returned the favor!" Anyway, when we left we went over to Ghiradeli's for some ice cream and we saw that family and her parents came up to my mom and said Thank you..

But the point is, when that man yelled at that girl I saw the look in her eyes she was really frightened and upset. Its not fair to these famlies and groups of travelers that they have to suffer due to the acts of these large Brazilian tour groups.

What despicable behavior. Thank goodness your mom was there to spread some goodwill!

 

[varfam]

My family and I just spent 6 days at WDW. I have not been there since 1980, and this was the first trip for my wife and seven year old daughter. We stayed at All Star Movies. Little did I know we were the only non-Brazilian guests at the hotel. There were about 7 different Brazilian groups I could identify and 1 from Paraguay. The entire time we were there I may have seen 5 chaperones total. At night, there were no chaperones. We had the experience with the line cutting and the chanting. The one episode that stands out was at Its tough to be a Bug in Animal Kingdom. While we were standing in the group under the tree waiting to get in, one of the girls in one of the tour groups was pushed into my family by some of the other kids in the group. The zipper of the girls backpack got caught in my daughter's hair. The girl tried to run away with her backpack still attached to my daughter's hair. We had to physically restrain the girl so we could get my daughter's hair out of the backpack.

Now what I witnessed of the brazillian groups was mostly rudeness and not typical teenage behavior. I will say though that the group from paraguay was completely the opposite. A couple of occassions that they did bump into you by accident, the kids would say sorry, and genuinely mean it.

We will not be returning in July.

 

[The Princess]

So end of this week into next is going to be bad too?

 

[4forMe]

So end of this week into next is going to be bad too?

Based on my 2008 trip (July 24-August 1st), the answer would be YES.