Just Back - ***TOUR GROUP RANT!!**

[emmabemmainc]

I agree w/ the PPs who said that January is just as bad. We went last year in Jan. and they were horrible. A few things:

Crystal Palace for BF: We had finished eating and we waiting to see the last character. A huge tour group was there and as Pooh tried to go past them, they literally mobbed him. They were screaming and would not let him go for atleast 15 minutes (I wish I was exaggerating!). Finally a CM that was working at CP had to go up and get Pooh out of there. The head of the group, an older woman, had a fit. She was screaming at the CM. It was horrible.

They, for some reason, enjoy gathering their group together in the middle of a walk way. People think it's bad when a few people stop in front of you and you have to move around them? Imagine what it's like when 50 screaming people stop. Where are you supposed to go?

We were waiting for RnRR and it had broken down. We were in line for almost 2 hours. I was miserable--but it was our last full day and my daughter's favorite ride. Anyways, we spent that entire 2 hours listening to them scream and chant. I was ready to go home at that point and how depressing to think that about WDW on your last day!

 

[Dizzyworld]

Me think-ith I am going to pack my mini boat horn.... you know, just to get their attention to break it up before they try to plow me over...

We have one too. Now there is an idea. I was only thinking of the whistle I often carry with me.

 

[pdxJolene]

Wow this sounds horrible! I WOULD say something if it happened to me, to a cm and rhe "adults". Anyone experience them in Feb? I sure hope not!

 

[Planogirl]

Tiger, obviously it is a problem for us and to trivialize and patronize us "Americans" isn't helpful. It really doesn't matter how many July's you've spent there. I and many others have experienced it and it is a PROBLEM and we are discussing it, is all... If a single person pushes me (by mistake) that's one thing. Hoards of teens all being rude - pushing or chantinig or both at once is quite another thing. There are no "American" counterparts at Disney for that scenario, now, is there?

I agree. If 50 or more Americans start chanting and pushing people then I can see the comparison. Otherwise not so much.

I'm just glad that we're going in August. Hopefully the number will have dwindled by then.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Does anyone else remember an old post on this topic where someone said "There's a brazilian of them!" (brazillion/brazilian) I keep thinking of this now! lol

Don't stress too much. I think it is good that they mostly travel in such large groups. It makes them easier to avoid. Some groups are okay, but anywhere where teens travel in such big groups, there will be some type of trouble. (I teach high school!) Honestly, it won't ruin your vacation if you know in advance just to go in another direction as often as you can

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

And above all, do not get on a bus with a loud tour group. 40 minutes on a crowded bus back to your resort is a looong time to hear those chants.

 

[LovesHerTaurus]

This is actually a super interesting thread to me. I'll share the other side.

I live in a tiny town that BOOMS in the summer due to all the hunting and fishing tourism and our gorgeous lake.

[please no flaming]

When we start seeing the out of town plates we cringe. We get the 'Tobans (from Manitoba) who think they own the town since they own a tiny little piece of the "lake" [lake front property] who let their kids drink the nights away, have trouble following traffic signs and are R.U.D.E. [it is so bad that when *I* moved here from Manitoba I was told to change my plates right away to Ontario plates!] and we get the Americans.

I've seen American mothers in their 40s screaming at cashiers in Walmart because they don't carry sweet tea [I don't even know what that is], "entitled" teenagers pushing in front of people at our little movie theatre, hunters ignoring all safety and hunting off the HIGHWAY!!... complaining about everything from our beer, to our cigarettes, to our traffic... a LOT of complaining all the time. We have a beautiful little patio restaurant and I've seen a people from out of town grab at a waitresses arm hard enough to leave redness to get her attention because they weren't getting their drinks fast enough after a full day of fishing.

Its entitlement tourism, simple as all that I think. Not all Americans are rude (duh!), not all Manitobans are rude stupid drivers [I'm ex-Manitoba!]... but the people who seem to make it here mostly seem to be. Those who "have" get bored of flaunting it and either get entertainment value out of annoying those around them and expect people to fall at their feet simply because they choose to be there. We are being graced with their presence.

I expect it is the same anywhere. A group of rich/entitled teenagers feed off each other and play the "pay attention to us" game is pretty expected

SO glad I'm going in August!! - also gets me away from MY entitled tourist problems at home !

 

[Rhonna]

A little of both.

As we Americans have stereotyped the French as being rude, Brazilians steroetyped Americans as being overweight and lazy! After all, their citizens are here doing the jobs Americans dont want to do!! With that mentality, they come here thinking they are doing us a favor,

I don't want to get involved in the debate on this thread but I'm curious what jobs the Brazilians are doing in the US that Americans don't want? I've never heard of this before.

I'm on the west coast and the majority of those who come to the western states to take the "unwanted" jobs are Mexican. Are there areas of the US where a lot of Brazilian's move to get work? What kind of jobs do they take?

Is it an east coast, mid-west, southern or big city phenomenon?

Thanks for the info.

 

[heatherandnick]

Are they only there in July or do you think we will run into them the first and second weeks of August?

 

[fla4fun]

I just returned from five days at WDW, and while I saw the South American groups (I saw Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina represented) I didn't have any bad experiences. In fact, I was waiting for MSEP in front of the Emporium, with a tour group to the left, one to the right, one along the Town Square "hub" and one across Main Street. A tour leader/chaperone tried to stir up their group next to me and get them chanting, but the teens just weren't interested. They all sat and talked among themselves for a couple hours waiting for the parade. After some of the recent posts I'd read, I really expected the worst when I saw all the different groups staking out their parade real estate, but nothing happened. I also didn't experience any issues while in the park as far as dining and attractions. Maybe it makes a difference that I'm a local who can go any time, so I don't get so stressed if I see a group go one way and I go another. Or maybe it's because I travel solo and can be very flexible about what I do and don't do in the parks. But I don't seem to have the issues with the tour groups, or Pop Warner, or any of the competition groups that seem to cause such havoc according to everyone else.

 

[heatherandnick]

This is actually a super interesting thread to me. I'll share the other side.

I live in a tiny town that BOOMS in the summer due to all the hunting and fishing tourism and our gorgeous lake.

[please no flaming]

When we start seeing the out of town plates we cringe. We get the 'Tobans (from Manitoba) who think they own the town since they own a tiny little piece of the "lake" [lake front property] who let their kids drink the nights away, have trouble following traffic signs and are R.U.D.E. [it is so bad that when *I* moved here from Manitoba I was told to change my plates right away to Ontario plates!] and we get the Americans.

I've seen American mothers in their 40s screaming at cashiers in Walmart because they don't carry sweet tea [I don't even know what that is], "entitled" teenagers pushing in front of people at our little movie theatre, hunters ignoring all safety and hunting off the HIGHWAY!!... complaining about everything from our beer, to our cigarettes, to our traffic... a LOT of complaining all the time. We have a beautiful little patio restaurant and I've seen a people from out of town grab at a waitresses arm hard enough to leave redness to get her attention because they weren't getting their drinks fast enough after a full day of fishing.

Its entitlement tourism, simple as all that I think. Not all Americans are rude (duh!), not all Manitobans are rude stupid drivers [I'm ex-Manitoba!]... but the people who seem to make it here mostly seem to be. Those who "have" get bored of flaunting it and either get entertainment value out of annoying those around them and expect people to fall at their feet simply because they choose to be there. We are being graced with their presence.

I expect it is the same anywhere. A group of rich/entitled teenagers feed off each other and play the "pay attention to us" game is pretty expected

SO glad I'm going in August!! - also gets me away from MY entitled tourist problems at home !

I'm with you. We live in a resort town at the Delaware beaches. Once Memorial Day hits, we have to plan our lives around the entitled tourists. Now, I know we CHOSE to live here. We do not have a problem with tourists...only those who trash our beaches, those who don't follow the rules of the road, those who decide to have family reunions in the middle of the grocery store, and those who just downright disrespect our small town and our way of life. Tourists are everywhere and if people travel to a tourists' destination, they must be prepared.

 

[MAGGIED]

I have traveled to WDW before with a large group of over 100 students...on two separate occasions. Each time we ran into no problems with our group.... as a matter of fact the students were instructed of what we adults expected of them as far as behavior goes... we did have 4 boys who showed up late to a check in once and they were given "Disney Detention" - they had to sit with chaperones for two hours and were not allowed to go play in the park... they need to know that there are consequences to go along with their actions....

 

[wtccheermom]

It's not that I have no use for them, my use is to assure people that not all Brazilan tour groups are rude, inconsiderate and obnoxious, as almost every thread on the DIS would suggest.

As someone who has logged thousand of WDW July park hours, I am very well-versed in the July tour groups, so my purpose is to remind people that if indeed they have seen this behaviour (I have never seen any of it in the severity as these threads always imply), that it is not exclusive to the teen groups.

As I stated, we see much more rude behaviour from American parents who are selfish, impatient and entitled (because they paid xxx amount of dollars to be there), then from Brazilian teens.

Can they be rude? Of course, they can. I'm a highschool teacher, so I also know about teens as I hang with them all day long. But honestly, these threads crack me up because it's like most of the participants think that these are the rudest guests, and they also seem to think that Americans, or any other cultural group can't act this way, when in fact, they can. I firmly believe the whole tour group hype is because people are expecting it - if you believe they will inconvenience your vacation, they will. Why is it that my family of 4 has been in July for 10 years in a row, for 2 weeks at a time, and never been inconvenienced? Yet, all of you, who have been maybe 1x or 2x at most, for a few days, has been? Is it a difference of perspective, expectations, and tolerance? Probably a little bit of all of those factors.

If indeed people feel there is a big problem, contact Disney, and express your concern over safety and park etiquette - I'm sure they'd be happy to hear from you, as all guests are treated fairly in regards to voicing their concerns to Disney.

Tiger

Oh your completely right there are many instances of entitled rude Americans at WDW but I guess since they are not in groups of 50-100 it is a lot easier for that to go unnoticed o to be brushed aside.

 

[Disney_Stitch626]

This thread reminds me of when we visited the World last July.

We were in line for Splash Mountain and had just reached the loading station. In front of us were one of these tour groups, the Cast Member asked the last section of them how many were in their party and they said 10. The Cast Member then explained to them that the logs only hold 8 people- so they would have to split up, to which they received the response of 'but we have 10 people and want to ride together'. The Cast Member had to then explain several times that the logs can hold only 8 people and so 2 people would have ride in the next one- they FINALLY accepted what the Cast Member was saying- but not before holding up the line for everyone else. And may I also point out that they spoke perfectly good English, so it wasn't as if they didn't understand what the Cast Member was saying. They were just determined to ride together, regardless of whether they fitted in the logs or not

Also on a trip in July 2007, I counted 7 different tour groups in one day at Islands of Adventure- and that was before we even hopped on over to Universal Studios!

 

[momsavealot]

Love it! If I'm ever in this situation I may steal your idea and maybe add a few things. I think it might be a good idea to get "everyone else" in line to do our own chant...how does 99 bottles of beer sound?

LOVE IT! Count me in! Maybe then they'll get the hint that there are more of us than them!!!

 

[CanadianPaco]

I don't know if I'll get flamed for this but here goes...
what if Disney gave them "special Passes" that gives them the times to go to FP rides without taxing the FP system. 150 go into T of T at 11am. The FP system accounts for those passes being given out with out someone draining the FP machine. The park goer doesn't have the stroke when group leaders get 100+ FPs and the tour groupo gets in to the ride as if they had FPs. Jst a random little thought, early on a Sunday am.

PS - we did WDW in jUly once...only once...lesson learned.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I don't want to get involved in the debate on this thread but I'm curious what jobs the Brazilians are doing in the US that Americans don't want? I've never heard of this before.

I'm on the west coast and the majority of those who come to the western states to take the "unwanted" jobs are Mexican. Are there areas of the US where a lot of Brazilian's move to get work? What kind of jobs do they take?

Is it an east coast, mid-west, southern or big city phenomenon?

Thanks for the info.

Yes..no debate here, please.

I live in MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. There are large Brazilian comminuties in just about every city (not to be confused with towns) in MA, RI, CT, NY. The jobs I see the majority of Brazilians working are landscaping, office/residential cleaning, assembly lines, fast food chains (especially Dunkin Donuts, which are on every street corner) etc.. With their large communities, they also own and work at many stores selling Brazilian products, hair salons, restaurants etc.. Are these jobs Americans dont want/wont work..well, thats up for debate! I was just using a "line" I hear all the time when immigration reform is being discussed. This "line" is so famous, the Brazilians in Brazil take pride in it. They dont know we Americans laugh at it. They also thought it was a major accomplishemnt for the country that Gisele married Tom Brady!

 

[Tiger926]

Excuse me how do you know they're American's? They could very well be from CANADA! And if we are so "rude" maybe you should just stay in your own country...Just sayin..,

Tiger, obviously it is a problem for us and to trivialize and patronize us "Americans" isn't helpful. It really doesn't matter how many July's you've spent there. I and many others have experienced it and it is a PROBLEM and we are discussing it, is all... If a single person pushes me (by mistake) that's one thing. Hoards of teens all being rude - pushing or chantinig or both at once is quite another thing. There are no "American" counterparts at Disney for that scenario, now, is there?

Ahhh...now you are getting my point. I can take it a step further, and say all Americans are xxx, and all American teens are xxx. This what I do with my students, and it's very effective. You would surely take issue if I said 'all', just as is happening on this thread. Which brings us to the point - I wonder how the Brazilan tour groups describe Americans (Disney is American, so as the host country, I have used it) after they've been to the parks? Hmmm...?

By the way, it's relatively easy to know where people are from by how they speak (accent), or, if they are wearing a shirt that says where they are from (Texas Cheerleading mom), or if they are getting into their parked car in the parking lot with their state plates on it, then it's pretty easy to know where they are from. It's actually not important where the offending guests are from, as far as I'm concerned, which is my point. Nor, is it fair to lump all people from that particular area into the same classiciation. Rude is rude...

That would be just like me saying all Americans from a certain state are rude. That is nonsense. If a group of 100 Georgian teens came by, exhibiting the same behaviour that is being discussed in this thread, I would not transfer that to 'all' groups from Georgia as only 'that' group was exhibiting those behaviours...

Now at question on this thread, is does the Brazilan tour group rude actually happen as frequently as this thread suggests, does it happen the way the posters on here perceived it to happen, and if it has, what can or should be done about it?

Like I said, I will disagree with the fact that 'all' Brazilian tour groups are xxxx, as the intention of this thread implies. Are some? Sure they are. They are rude because that is how they are choosing to act. Why is this? The mob or pack mentality surely helps in these scenarios, as it gives a false sense of bravado - I deal with this daily at my highschool. Immaturity as they are teens? No parents? Allowed to act this way by the host park (Disney)? Is it cultural? I won't even go there, as we all know where that leads, as evidenced by this thread. 'All' is a big word...

FYI - Last year when a DVC CM supervisor and I were discussing park patterns, he told me a staggering number of how many Brazilan tour groups enter the parks each year in Disney. Suffice it to say, that this number is near 1 million, and during better economic times, is over 1 million. So, that's a lot of rude and obnoxious tour groups running around. Surely, if it were 'all' groups acting this way, then Disney would have put something in place by now.

I know how many July park hours I've logged, so I have BTDT so many times. For the amount of times I've been in parks, I have hardly been bothered by these groups at all. Have 'some' members of 'some' of those groups exhibited rude behaviours? Sure. Have some Americans, Canadians or European WDW guests exhibited those behaviours? Sure. But, as I stated, we encountered more rude behaviour on this 2 week trip from non-Brazilian families. And by rude behaviour I mean, line cutting, stepping on my child's feet, pushing my stroller, yelling at CMs and just plain old disrupting the people around them. If they broke out in song, who cares? If they started chanting? Who cares? Unless it's during a live performance, then it's no problem. I guess I should have reported the cute family who was singing 'The Wheels on the Bus' in front of us in line to keep their 3 kids occupied, right? Silly!

I firmly believe that if it's such a huge problem, then every single one of you should write a letter to Disney and express your concerns, as you have the right to do so. This is not patronizing at all - I have contacted Disney many times for both praise and concerns, and they take guest communication very seriously.

Lastly, I would also imagine that all of you on this thread would never exhibit any of the behaviours discussed about on here, as you all have expressed how frustrating and horrible these offending behaviours have been to you.

Tiger

 

[klj27]

We are also frequent July travellers. It is the only month my husband has off work so that is when we go or we don't get to go at all. We have always been able to make the best of the tour group situation and ignored the chanting, crowds, rudeness.

This July was unlike anything I have ever seen before. We spent three days with some castmember friends and they confirmed that the tour crowds were greater than any other year and that many complaints were being logged by castmembers themselves.

Some thoughts:

1) Why do they travel together? They are creating their own wait anywhere they go. My husband and kids got in line for star tours and the wait said 10 minutes. As soon as they entered the building part of the line they were told by a castmember that due to tour groups the actual wait would be 45 minutes. They left the line.

2) I got in the habit of counting tour groups throughout the day. Once I got to 17 in the MK one day I gave up. Some of these were very large groups were their shirts numbered up to 200.

3) There needs to be some sort of group dining option for these large goups. I don't know why Disney doesn't offer/provide this. Take out the Diamond Horseshoe makeshift counterservice (and the one near Aloha Isle) and turn them into a group counterservice. Make it a part of the package they are purchasing. This alleviates the dread on the cm's faces when a tour group is herding to Pizza Planet and tour groups taking up huge amounts of seating at one time while making the lines grow huge.

4) Shoplifting - this is a common complaint I heard among cm's. They said they were being wiped out when a tour group would come in. I had a hard time thinking that the rude groups would take part in theft until I witnessed them being watched like hawks in the store. The cm's would not take time to follow and watch these groups unless they know of a reason why they should. I witnessed this offsite also.

5) Hollywood Studios - This park can not handle tour groups. I was there with 11 groups (that I noticed) one day and it was insane!

6) I also agree with the stopping in the middle of anywhere, sitting on the ground and not letting others pass.

7) The video crews they bring with them. I have never noticed tour groups with their own video crews and photographers running around with press like badges trying to get footage of everything, like I did this July. I noticed at times they would meet just to get footage. There was a group of grey shirts that was subdivided by color sleeves. I noticed there were at least 6 color sleeves of the grey group and around thirty kids in each color that was doing this and creating large bottlenecks. I have a hard time believing if I brought my own video crew with large equipment to the park to film my family Disney would allow it.

8) Thank God for castmembers who would send empty vehicles (jungle cruise, great movie ride) through on attractions so the general public was separated from large tour groups when they were rowdy. How unfortunate that poor behavior creates even longer waits for others because of this though.

 

[klj27]

FYI - Last year when a DVC CM supervisor and I were discussing park patterns, he told me a staggering number of how many Brazilan tour groups enter the parks each year in Disney. Suffice it to say, that this number is near 1 million, and during better economic times, is over 1 million. So, that's a lot of rude and obnoxious tour groups running around. Surely, if it were 'all' groups acting this way, then Disney would have put something in place by now.

Disney did do something about this about 7 years ago when they closed their Brazillian tour offices. They knew about the complaints and the behavior and that was the solution. Unfortunately this is about money and they recently reopened the offices when it became obvious how much money they generate.