How are British visitors viewed?

[Mouse House Mama]

Honestly I don't view you as any different than anyone else except that I love to hear you talk! I love your accent and find it so melodic. On one of our trips my ds who was just 4 at the time started talking like he was British. He told us he was a British Soldier. He picked up the accent because there were so many people at WDW when we went (August) that he heard it constantly. I do like to meet people from other countries. I like to hear about what it is like. I also like for my kids to meet people from all over. We learn so much.

 

[doombuggy]

I have to say that I have met many British visitors at WDW and have found 99% of them to be very nice & polite. Much more so than any other nationality, including Americans. As one British guy mentioned to me in line at the POTC Adventures on the 7 Seas Lagoon Event, it doesn't take much effort to say "please" and "thank you."

 

[ziggybaby]

I'd say if anything, the Brits are perceived as not being ones to make a fuss. You accepted the response and moved on, whereas the CM probably saw that the other couple were about to kick off and decided it would be less hassle to find a table for them. Generally Brits "reserve" is taken advantage of

Hits the nail on the head

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[druidia]

DH and I spot them in 2 ways:

The Man United jerseys, and

the people who are pale in their shorts and tank tops and look as though they never step outside. We feel awful for them being baked by the Florida sunshine!

Oh, and by the Speedos if you're in a water park.

Seriously, we find them so pleasant and polite; we love to speak with them. I could totally see your kindness and non-confrontational behavior being taken advantage of by some people, though.

 

[pavil]

Most Europeans and for that matter non Americans are considered poor tippers by most in the U.S. restaurant industry. It's not that you tip poorly, it's that many don't tip at all, since most places in their country include the tip in the bill.

Don't take it personally, it just that Servers have experienced it so often that it's like "Why even try". Religious gatherings at restaurants and business women at restaurants are the same for the most part. Don't believe me, go ask a server who they'd rather wait on and why.

Before you all flame me, I have had multiple years of experience in the Restaurant industry, working at every level. It's not like I am exaggerating, those groups and nationalities tend not to tip as well as the average person in the U.S. does.

 

[Morgstar]

Thanks for all your responses. Really appricate all the nice things you've said about the brits.

Perhaps i didnt phrase my words very well. The point i wanted to get across is that we felt we were not given the table becuse we were british and that the amercian party were gven the table on the assumption that they would leave a higher tip.

This lead me to question how us British are 'seen'.

Again many thanks for all your reponse.

 

[fizz13]

DH and I spot them in 2 ways:

The Man United jerseys, and

the people who are pale in their shorts and tank tops and look as though they never step outside. We feel awful for them being baked by the Florida sunshine!

Oh, and by the Speedos if you're in a water park.

Seriously, we find them so pleasant and polite; we love to speak with them. I could totally see your kindness and non-confrontational behavior being taken advantage of by some people, though.

Ok most of that is scarily accurate, except for the Speedos most guys consider them terribly uncool on this side of the pond. now our more continental euro friends might disagree Yes I went a tinge pink in the sun this weekend, and that was the uk not even Florida

Seriously though, its really nice to hear so many of you saying such wonderful things about us Brits, and if you ever pop over to the uk boards you will see how much we love coming over to WDW, I love your accents just as much as you love ours, although i occasionally struggle if I hear a really strong southern accent, sorry! I cherish every second i get at WDW and I'm sure others do too, which is why we probably seem so chatty and friendly.
It is true that it is the British way not to make a scene or cause a fuss, I am terrible for not complaining even when i should so i can see how the situation might have come about, I just would have said to the host, "ok, no problem but thank you for trying", see totally a doormat , I believe in all my children using their please thankyou, excuse me etc. or they know they will not get what they want, and i always emphasise how their actions affect others around them. I don't know if this is a uk thing though as i see very few rude badly behaved kids when i am at the world, and many wonderful US parents doing their job correctly, so thankyou from the uk, its lovely when we all get along.

One more thing: uk men, please stop representing our country with Man United shirts, Arsenal are much more worthy of your time

 

[David R]

The point i wanted to get across is that we felt we were not given the table becuse we were british and that the amercian party were gven the table on the assumption that they would leave a higher tip.

Correct. That is most likely what happened. I'm sorry you had to experience that.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Our experiences with British visitors have always been positive. They strike me as open, friendly, easy-going, knowledgable about Disney and the Orlando area. Some of our best conversations with other guests have been with families on holiday from England. I think some of our fellow Americans could learn from your example.

 

[Claymax]

I posted this same story as reply to another thread but wanted to get more people's view so have started a new thread for it.

I would like to know how everyone (including other Brits) view British tourists at WDW. Do other nationalities find us rude? Indeed are you British and find other british people rude? Do you think there is a minority of British people who act in ways they shouldnt that spoil it for the rest of us? I understand everyone has the right to enjoy themselves as much as possible. After all they have spent thousands of pounds on getting there and should enjoy themselves but they should also respect others trying to enjoy themselves equally as much.

I ask this question because of a situation that arose while we were last in the MK......
My GF and I tried to get a table in one of the restuarants at the end of main street, it was quite late and the CM politely told us they were not sitting anyone else that evening. We fully understood and stepped to one side to decide what to do as regards eating. As we did so an American couple approached the same CM who had been joined by one of the servers. We could over hear the American couple asking for a table for two. Again the CM said they weren't seating anyone else that evening but after some umming and arring they got sat.

My GF was furious and informed me that it was probably because they knew we were British. My GF was a server in the Rose and Crown for a year and she said that everyone knew British people were generally poor tippers and therefore we shouldnt expect CM's to go over the top to help because they believe we wouldnt appriciate it in the form of s tip. (this is not to say that CM members werent very nice to us just that they would go too far out of their way to help.)

This has got me to think what peoples opinions are of the British. I have been all over the world and you can always spot british families and generally i find some of them embarrassing. I dont wish to sound like a snob because im certainly not but i do worry because many of us British tip extremely well and try to conduct ourselves in a way that allows everyone to enjoy themselves.

Does anyone have any opinions of us British? I would be interested to know your views on this subject.

We as a whole love the Brits. Honestly, if you try vacationing somewhere else in the country you'll find a warm welcome. (Not saying you don't in Orlando, but there are so many more tourists there, they see people from all over all the time.)

Here's my take on British tourists. In general our society here is a bit more open and we as a people are more 'easy going' than most other countries. To those not used to it, it can seem boorish but usually it's just people enjoying themselves and not caring so much about how they appear to others. Another part of Americana is wanting to help everyone out. Sure not everyone wants to be 'helped' but darn it we're going to try anyway!

When I see someone lost or confused I always try and stop and help them out. When you stop first time Brits their initial facial reaction is usually, Do you mind!? But once they realize you're trying to help or be friendly they almost always relax. Last trip we ate at the Biergarden in Germany where they seat you with others, family style. There was a Scottish couple with two adorable kids probably around 4 and 6. When I turned to say hello and introduce ourselves they almost jumped out of their chairs. After a while though they relaxed. When they had gone to get food I asked the kids about favorite rides and they talked to me like long lost friends. (Scottish accents on little children is exceedingly cute!)

So I think it's just getting used to each other more than anything else.

Of course I'm biased, we moved to England when I was 9 and back when I was 17 so I've seen both sides of the pond. You can also pick out Americans when they visit overseas. In London they might as well have huge signs floating above them. Apparently it is law that in winter, any American tourists visiting London buy a Burburry's overcoat. 90% of the time if you see one in London, it's on a tourist. Once when I was waiting for the tube wearing my new ski jacket, a white number with flashy blue and red stripes purchased from C&A (English clothing retailer, nothing fancy) an English guy approached me. "Yank are ya?" he asked. I responded, "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Well it's the jacket isn't it!" he tells me pretty pleased with himself. I told him that I had recently bought it at C&A an English store. He just smiled and said, "Yeah, but only an American would buy it!" We had a good laugh at that comeback. I still laugh when I think of that.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

We love to meet people from all over the States and foreign land also. We normally found the Europeans dress differently than us the "Americans" I wonder what the foreigners think of us people wearing those infamous CROC

 

[MomofKatie]

One more thing: uk men, please stop representing our country with Man United shirts, Arsenal are much more worthy of your time

Speaking for my Yank DH, who is a big Man United fan, "Them's fightin' words!!!"

 

[PrincessTeresa]

Our experiences with British visitors have always been positive. They strike me as open, friendly, easy-going, knowledgable about Disney and the Orlando area. Some of our best conversations with other guests have been with families on holiday from England. I think some of our fellow Americans could learn from your example.

While I've been reading these posts, I finally decided to post something about it. When we were in the world in April, everyone was super nice and polite...except people from the United States. It floored me that the American's were more rude than people who aren't from here. But all in all, everyone we encountered were full of so much magic and were all really nice!! It was just a couple of people that stand out in my mind that should of stayed in bed a little longer.

 

[drogerstn]

...Perhaps i didnt phrase my words very well. The point i wanted to get across is that we felt we were not given the table becuse we were british and that the amercian party were gven the table on the assumption that they would leave a higher tip.

....

How do you know they were American?

 

[Ex Cast Member]

As an ex cast member, I always enjoyed the British guests! It was especially fun to choose them to be voluneers for the Water Tank portion of the Backlot Tour.

 

[rrkman]

This doesn't really answer your specific question about the British but when DW, DS, and I were there last May (2006), we ran into a lot of rude people with European accents....usually pushing their way in front of others (sometimes children) during the parades. Not sure if they just thought that they deserved to be in front since they travelled so far or what, but it happened a few times that week. On the other side of things, we ran into many other rude americans as well as polite Europeans. One older lady (assumed to be american) just barrelled her way through after-parade traffic on here scooter, honking and yelling....I had to nicely point out to her that every single person in front of her was also trying to leave the park and that she might want to slow down and wait her turn (not sure if I worded it quite that nicely).

 

[Claymax]

Thanks for all your responses. Really appricate all the nice things you've said about the brits.

Perhaps i didnt phrase my words very well. The point i wanted to get across is that we felt we were not given the table becuse we were british and that the amercian party were gven the table on the assumption that they would leave a higher tip.

This lead me to question how us British are 'seen'.

Again many thanks for all your reponse.

I seriously doubt this was the reason. And not pressing the issue with the server means we'll never know. There really could be many reasons why they were seated but some saying it was perceived that they would tip better, I can't see. Please, next time go ask to speak with this person's manager and politely inquire the reason they were seated and you were not. I imagine the manager will seat you as well.

Other posters have written generalizations about international visitors from a server's point of view. I disagree. I waited tables through college at a nice restaurant near an airport. The Euro's almost always asked me if the gratuity was included. The American's who didn't go out much were the ones who left a dollar per person no matter the bill and seriously thought this was a good tip. And of course there are exceptions to every rule.

 

[jezebella]

Personally...I love them...but then again...I married one.

Now, in regards to tipping...unfortunetly it is a stereotype. Some brits tip well and others don't. Mr. Brit, errr, I mean, my husband has had this issue in the past which I quickly corrected...but that's only because you don't tip in the UK. Our best friend who happens to own a bar on 192 (a British pub) even notices the lack of tips from the British patrons on days football is on and it's flooded with them...and he's British too! Come to think of it...all of our friends are British...

 

[bopper]

Correct. That is most likely what happened. I'm sorry you had to experience that.

I don't think this is the case at all (being thought of as poor tippers).

I think what happened is they said they wouldn't be seating anyone and you took it at face value and thought "They won't be seating anyone else." When the American heard the same thing they thought "They won't be seating anyone else, but we are not anyone, we are SPECIAL" so they kept asking and finally got what they wanted.

In the future the thing to do would be to ask for the manager, explain politely what happened, and ask why they were seated when you were turned away.

You never know if the people had been waiting before and were called but missed hearing it or some extenuating circumstance.

 

[Ride Junkie]

The British people we encounter at WDW are typically charming and friendly.

We also noticed that, at the water parks, many of the European men and boys wore speedos. Not sure what country they were from. Anyway, you don't see a lot of that here, and I thought it was cool that it seemed so normal, when we Americans usually cringe when we see one of our own in one!