Just back..thoughts on Brazilian tour groups

[Violet Parr]

We are just back from a quick visit. Saw lots of BTGs, but they were almost always going in the opposite direction from us.

I have to say that they were overwhelmingly well-behaved. We never heard chanting until our last day, and that was only one group at Epcot that we heard several times throughout the day. They were very easy to avoid.

The rest of the groups we saw (and we saw many) were just kids having fun. They were MUCH quieter than I expected. No line cutting, no blocking off walkways, etc. They were actually nice to see because they were groups of teens just mostly smiling and following their chaperones.

At one point, we were in line for Pirates and a large group of them came up behind us. They were very quiet. The family in front of us was not. We had to hear mom berating a crying 2-year-old the ENTIRE queue. When we got to where the line split off, we asked to go in the opposite direction. The cast member said he couldn't send us that way. I asked again a minute later and told him that we didn't want to share a boat with the angry, miserable mom in front of us and he said, "OH! I thought you were talking about the BTG behind you." (He actually said "BTG.") He let us go the other way. I was MUCH happier in line with the BTG kids than the mom who had absolutely no consideration for anyone around her as she shouted at her baby that she refused to allow babies in her life.

So if you were worried about BTGs, that was my experience.

VP

 

[LSUfan4444]

We are just back from a quick visit. Saw lots of BTGs, but they were almost always going in the opposite direction from us.

I have to say that they were overwhelmingly well-behaved. We never heard chanting until our last day, and that was only one group at Epcot that we heard several times throughout the day. They were very easy to avoid.

The rest of the groups we saw (and we saw many) were just kids having fun. They were MUCH quieter than I expected. No line cutting, no blocking off walkways, etc. They were actually nice to see because they were groups of teens just mostly smiling and following their chaperones.

At one point, we were in line for Pirates and a large group of them came up behind us. They were very quiet. The family in front of us was not. We had to hear mom berating a crying 2-year-old the ENTIRE queue. When we got to where the line split off, we asked to go in the opposite direction. The cast member said he couldn't send us that way. I asked again a minute later and told him that we didn't want to share a boat with the angry, miserable mom in front of us and he said, "OH! I thought you were talking about the BTG behind you." (He actually said "BTG.") He let us go the other way. I was MUCH happier in line with the BTG kids than the mom who had absolutely no consideration for anyone around her as she shouted at her baby that she refused to allow babies in her life.

So if you were worried about BTGs, that was my experience.

VP

I think one of the keys to avoid them is early arrivals. They are generally a later arriving group, so it even puts more importance on arriving early. The park can be dead, but if you walk into Rock N Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror right behind a group, it can add 10 minutes to your wait or be the difference from your seeing Lion King or having to wait till the next show.

The thing many people fail to understand isn't that they are "rude" as a group, it's just alot of cultural differences.

 

[Vertical]

We are just back from a quick visit. Saw lots of BTGs, but they were almost always going in the opposite direction from us.

I have to say that they were overwhelmingly well-behaved. We never heard chanting until our last day, and that was only one group at Epcot that we heard several times throughout the day. They were very easy to avoid.

The rest of the groups we saw (and we saw many) were just kids having fun. They were MUCH quieter than I expected. No line cutting, no blocking off walkways, etc. They were actually nice to see because they were groups of teens just mostly smiling and following their chaperones.

At one point, we were in line for Pirates and a large group of them came up behind us. They were very quiet. The family in front of us was not. We had to hear mom berating a crying 2-year-old the ENTIRE queue. When we got to where the line split off, we asked to go in the opposite direction. The cast member said he couldn't send us that way. I asked again a minute later and told him that we didn't want to share a boat with the angry, miserable mom in front of us and he said, "OH! I thought you were talking about the BTG behind you." (He actually said "BTG.") He let us go the other way. I was MUCH happier in line with the BTG kids than the mom who had absolutely no consideration for anyone around her as she shouted at her baby that she refused to allow babies in her life.

So if you were worried about BTGs, that was my experience.

VP

Maybe we need a new acronym - BAP - Big angry parent

 

[BuzzBelleMom]

Maybe we need a new acronym - BAP - Big angry parent

 

[traceyg]

At Disney we had absolutely no issues, everyone was extremely well behaved (sans smoking outside at the resort- which is really not MY concern, moreover their parent's) I used the app for wait times and we dodged the long waits. You could pretty well tell where they were by the wait times for rides. I look at wait times regardless of what time of year I travel, it had nothing to do with BTGs in general.
The only trouble we had was at universal. Their tour guides pretty much gave them full reign, and as any young adult or adolescent might, they took advantage. I was pretty disgusted by the time we left. These were the same groups of girls we had seen earlier in the week at WDW that had been behaving so well. I blamed the tour group leaders for not being responsible. (They were cutting in line, chanting etc) and Universal for not having protocol in place for dealing with them or any other large group of people who act like that. The workers and managers knew what was happening and turned a blind eye. I never saw the tour group leaders chanting but they never stopped it but they were cutting in line right along with the girls. Honestly the chanting didn't bother me- yes, it was loud but to me it was just a bunch of excited girls in a que having fun. I'd feel the same about english speaking teens on a band trip or cheerleading competition. It was the 200 or so young ladies that cut in front of me in storm with their leaders in tow that infuriated me.

 

[smhogar]

I was at WDW on July 10 - 18 and I want to say that the tour groups were not easy to avoid. I was at rope drop every morning but one and they were also. Going in the opposite direction didn't always work because you ran into another group. I am glad that some of you did not have any problems but I had a lot of problems. I can deal with the yelling and cheering. The blocking of rides, walkways, stopping rides/shows, knocking me down, throwing trash etc....
They were very rude and the CMs had to stop or delay rides/shows several times because of them.

 

[ArielsLongLostSister]

It was a different story for my family. Wherever we saw them, they were always chanting, yelling, or pushing other people out of the way. I got a water bottle thrown at my back waiting for Mickey's Philhar Magic. None of that bothered me as much as how they acted during "Wishes." As the show was about to start, two girls climbed onto their friend's shoulders and completely blocked our view of the castle. When my mom tried to get them to come down, they acted like they knew no English and didn't know what she was trying to tell them. (This happened multiple times)

I was just frustrated with them & their lack of manners off and on during the day.

 

[andychris14]

How long does this tour group visit Florida for?

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Per the Looking for the Live Report and Just Back Threads? sticky thread, I've moved this thread to the Trip Reports forum.

 

[Texastoyz]

They were ok, just a little bit loud at times with their chanting. I did have a girl tell me, "Hey dude, give me high five" when she was passing with her friend, hand in hand at the magic kingdom. I didn't.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

We were there from July 14-21...the same period that the OP is reporting. We found them to be obnoxious and their chaperones were often leading the deafening chants.

 

[Violet Parr]

OP here. I don't doubt that others have had different experiences. I just thought I'd offer my experience to those who may really be concerned about the impact BTGs can have on their trips. Yes, there can be really unpleasant experiences, but it's also possible to see the tour groups and have no problems at all. We only heard the loud chanting on our last day, from one group, and generally from far away (except the last 10 min of our trip when we were right behind them briefly.)

VP

 

[pasgt21]

exactly why I avoid those travel times

 

[wiigirl]

exactly why I avoid those travel times

Me too.