Brazilian Tour Groups?

[georgina]

Maybe there are fewer groups recently. We were at WDW the end of July, and saw several Brasilian groups, but did not have any problems with noise, or line cutting.

 

[FlavioRJ]

As Gutto said, the major problem of BIG is that they're mostly teenagers-only groups on the loose (many of them away from their parents for the very first time) with one or at best two tour guides to "handle" all of them. So this "freedoom" they get for one or two weeks leads them to behave like that.

About the cutting lines, sadly this is a terrible "policy" supported by the travel agent guide. Due to the slow mobility of a large group and the guidelines those guides have to cover almost every major attraction in a day they rush from an attraction to another with part of the group while other members of the group still in the bathroom/shops. This happens because they guides usually says for those who get behind that they will be able to "join the group when they get to the attraction", so you see the horde of teenagers cutting the lines... I think thei is awful, unexcusable and really bothers me...

Is there a more specific time of year when they travel?

crzy4dsny, July is the peak for BTGs, we can't precise you when in July because although July is winter break here in schools, every school give them a 2 week break, but those weeks can de diferent from a school to other. mostly you can expect more BTG on the second, third and fourth weeks of July, as in the first week almost every school still in class. This years (from what I read on the local paper ads) the peak was the third and fourth weeks for groups from Rio de Janeiro.
You'll also find them between January/February (fewer groups than in July)

About resorts, due to Disney rates, the majority of BTG stays out of the world (usually somewhere around International Drive or US 192) because they also do US, IOA and/or SW. For those groups that do stay in the world almost all groups go to the Value resorts. You'll rarely see them in other resorts. And when staing in All-Star they don't loose time visiting other resorts.

EJ Gracie, I don't know about those policies towards BTGs, but when I visited Disney for the last time (Feb 2002), and stayed with my wife in BC resort (not with a BTG ) we had a most pleasent visit and were treated like a regular guest regardless of where we were from. But I do beleive that they take those policies towards BTGs, because I've seen many weird stuff going on those groups.

And to finish this long post (sorry ), I'd like to say that BTGs bother me a lot too, and what I do when I cross with them in a park, is try to avoid them making their presence less noticed. That is the same thing that I do when I cross with those cheerleader competition groups.
This behavior as told before is unexcusable, but you can't take this as the regular behavior of all brazilian visitors, becuase there are many other brazilian visitors (families and couples) to prove otherwise

 

[Disneyolic]

We sadly ran into them too on our honeymoon in July. What bothered us most was the cutting in line. I put an end to that. Any time I saw them pushing their way forward, my husband and I stretched across the way and would not let them ahead of us no matter what. A couple of times they even tried to push me out of the way and and I said very firmly, "Wait your turn," and refused to budge. A nice part (if I can say "nice") is that they all wore the same colored tee-shirts and whenever we saw them head one way, we would head another way.

I believe they stay at either value or moderate resorts. I know they were at the CBR when we were there. We were lucky that we didn't encounter them on the busses but they were all at the food court all at once every morning so we just gave up there.

 

[FlavioRJ]

A nice part (if I can say "nice") is that they all wore the same colored tee-shirts

Travel agents send their groups with those colored T-shirts, so the guides can easily identify the teens, so to avoid kids getting lost. The bad thing is that they also use this to lead teenagers to beleive that this way it'll be easier to cut lines, because identified as a group people will "let" them regroup in the middle of the line without problems... sadly... Good thins, as you sadi, that like a cheerleaders group, we can spot them in advance and avoid them!!!

 

[JustHolly]

There was a group there the third week of August, our first weekend here in Fla. We took Ted's niece on the Rock N Roller Coaster and here is a classic example:

Three of the people in the group ran and pushed ahead of us in line, and then proceeded to try and "pull" the other 22 of them to their space in line, hence cutting us and several other groups of people. I finally put my arms out, blocking them and said "ENOUGH!" The oldest woman- a chaperone? Came over to me and started yelling at me in her language and in English "They're with US!" I told her that they should have waited for their party and not cut in front of a dozen people.
They proceeded to make faces and talk about us in another language.

I hate to generalize to ALL Brazilians, but this is a common occurance with the Brazilian teens and I think that's the behavior some of you are referring to!

 

[NHLFAN]

DECEMBER !


Both in 2000 and 2001 it was hard not to notice them...they traveled in packs and looked to be having a great time...the parents in the group looked very overwelmed and tired.

It was a little annoying listening to them chant/sing while waiting in line.
But, in the theatre attractions....Tough to be a Bug...Honey,I Shrunk and T2 they would stop in the middle of the rows and refuse to move to the end....causing everyone else to scramble for seats.

Like others have said...They are just teenagers looking to have a good time.

 

[joats]

And here I was thinking it was "just me". Thank you all for validating one horrible experience at Epcot with the Brazil Teen Crew a few years back.

Argh!!! I was so annoyed at the cutting in on the lines and overall incredible rudeness!

 

[treesinger]

Ah, the dreaded BTG...
My wife and I encountered them in October some years ago. The only real complaint I had was the line cutting, on rides AND when getting food. And believe me, you don't want to be in my way when it is time for food. Anyway, I learned to be quick and stern at the hint of any line cutting and they tend to back down pretty easily. No, no one should have to put up with it at all, but it can't be avoided if they are there.
The singing I really didn't mind at all. I enjoyed watching them have a good time and really just feeling the pixie dust. Had it been my first visit to WDW, I might have been more put off by it because I would miss things because of the singing, but being a veteran, it just added a unique dimension to our trip.
Having them wear the same color shirts, and also carrying a pennant to rally around, made choosing rides a little easier. A couple times we saw them coming, looked at the entrance to the ride, and decided whether or not we could beat them to it.

To be honest, I would think that American teens in the same situation would not act much better. It doesn't excuse the behavior, but it does highlight that this is not so much a Brazilian problem as it is an unsupervised teen problem.

Jason

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hmm ... I'm wondering if we'll run into them this December It doesn't look like a group I'd want to run into At least it sounds like they're easy to recognize...

 

[capegirl]

One does not have to be at Disney to have a close encounter with Brazilians. Hundreds of them now call Cape Cod, MA their home. They are EVERYWHERE!!! My son is now outnumbered by Brazilians in most of his high school classes.
If you think their behavior is only ugly in the parks when they are on vacation, think again.
They are rude and disruptive at school, rude at the mall, and make THE worst neighbors. The way they choose to behave is part of their culture which is fine in Brazil, but not in the USA.

 

[phamton]

This thread makes me very uncomfortable. Bashing a whole group of people because of the actions of a few just sounds a little harsh to me.

I suspect that if American teenagers were in a large group in a foreign country without adequate sponsors we would see the same type of behavior. I have taught in the public schools and have seen some outrageous behavior especially in the early teen years. (pushing and shoving,butting in line, bad language, yelling screaming, chanting, bullying, burping loudly, making farting noises, inappropriate jokes, making fun of the elderly and those with disabilities, arguing with authority figures, stealing, etc.) Just check out the malls on any weekend.

I am especially bothered by this statement:

They are rude and disruptive at school, rude at the mall, and make THE worst neighbors. The way they choose to behave is part of their culture which is fine in Brazil, but not in the USA.

I had many students from other countries in my classrooms: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Laos, Viet Nam, etc. as I taught in a South Texas. No culture is better than another. People are people, some are rude and some are polite. Blaming an entire country or culture on the acts of a few sounds rather bordering on prejudice to me.

Bev

 

[Melora]

This is very much a cultural thing. As someone mentioned earlier, you will never find a group of Japanese teens acting like this. They are taught to be polite. And yes I am sure that American teens can be very obnoxious, I know from first hand experience about the BTG. It may sound prejudice, but if you listen to all of the people who post, you will find that everyone pretty much has the same complaint. (call a spade a spade)

I have traveled all over the place and find that cultural differences play a big part in getting or not getting along. Many places in Europe it is considered normal to tell your child to move the front of the line, not to let others in front of you, get yours first etc.... so when they come here what we consider rude behavior is just what they are used to. I sincerely doubt that any of them think they are being rude or obnoxious. Not that ignorance is an excuse.

Once, in Japan while at a shrine, several Americans were walking around, talking loudly, touching everything and by no means giving the area the respect that the Japanese tourists were showing. There was a guard there who was trying to direct the tourists to better behavior, but was unable to communicate. My husband who speaks limited Japanese went over and talked to the Americans and tried to explain to them that their behavior was the height of rudeness to this area and they basically looked at him like he was nuts and continued to be loud. I am sure that we seem pretty obnoxious to them. Again though, its not an excuse. Everyone should know the customs of each country they visit and try to follow along.

 

[phamton]

I appreciate your comments, Melora. Your post was well thought out and worded in a non-offensive way. I too have seen these tour groups and agree their behavior is rude. Just as I have seen the same behavior from American teens in the mall. I was just upset about the post before mine about their being "the worst neighbors."

It just hit a nerve because I hear the same comments about Mexicans in Texas today. I would just feel more comfortable not pointing a finger at a country but the fact that the groups are unsupervised.

Bev

 

[capegirl]

I am not against immigration, nor am I prejudice against ANYONE who is seeking a better life by coming to the US. We have become a nation that is obsessed about whether or not we are offending some individual or their culture. I am UNCOMFORTABLE with those who made excuses for the rude behavior of groups in the parks. Just because a group of people are on vacation does not give them a license to buldoze their way through Disney. Futhermore, NO ONE has the right to destroy the quality of life for their neighbors, and where I live this seems to be the case. I am also UNCOMFORTABLE with the "politically correct" crowd who are always there to pounce on anyone whose opinion differs from their own.

 

[bigtinkfun]

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to tell me about BTGs. I've never encountered one (and I hope I never do), and I'd seen so many references to them, I became curious. Esp. because I have never seen any other tour groups referred to so specifically by nationality.

I grew up as a military brat and lived for long stretches of time in a number of Asian countries. Wherever I lived, no matter my age, my parents always impressed upon me the necessity of proper behavior. From a very early age, I was repeatedly told that I was an ambassador (of sorts) for the United States, and that the citizens of whatever country I was in would tend to judge Americans as a whole by my behavior. That when I behaved badly, I disgraced myself, my family, and my country and reinforced the stereotype of the Ugly American. That as a guest in other peoples' countries, I had an obligation to adapt to the local culture, not the other way around. These standards were expected of me no matter what my age.

I know that teenagers away from home for the first time can get up to some high-spirited antics, but the BTGs seem a bit beyond the pale. I'm amazed that Disney hasn't taken the matter up with the tour group operators.

Anyhow, thanks for filling me in on the BTGs. I hope I never encounter one. I'm leaving on Friday for a week at WDW, and I think a hurricane is about enough excitement for me! That, and Mission: Space!