Tour Groups from Brazil Watch....

[Anelise]

So what is with all the chanting? Why do they do it? Is it a popular thing to do back i Brazil? I mean you don't see groups of American kids, Brits, or any other culture at that, just the Brazilians. Don't get me wrong I am not bashing the Brazilians I am just curious as to why they chant, and what exactly do they chant about? Just curious.

I'm sorry but I can't answer that! There was no chanting when i was there. Not from my group or any other Brazilian Tour Group.. If you have a video or something to show me...
Not sure about that, but they may be soccer team's chants.. Each team has lots of songs (known musics but with lyrics about the team). And soccer is a big deal here in brazil, so I imagine these chants could be soccer ones.
Well, I think is just a way to help pass time..teenagers are not very patience, and waiting sometimes over an hour at a line can be really boring. Everybody complain about it so often, it must be something really annoying. I don't think it would bother me that much..

 

[Laxmom]

Ok, leaving in 2 weeks and must have been living under a rock! I have never heard of this before but then our last visit was 7 years ago! I sure hope we don't encounter any of what I have read here! Do you guys think there will be less tour groups by then?

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We saw them everywhere-and I mean everywhere when we were in WDW last week. Lots of chanting which while it is not a big deal to some, it is rather annoying when you hear their chants above the sounds of the theme park ya know? There was no poor behavior that we saw. Just lots of them!

 

[Sandy Fisher]

The first time we ever encountered one of the groups was several years ago when both our sons went with us to Disney. That was definitely a soccer group. Once we identified them (hard to miss) we just tried to be in a different area of the park. We happened to be at Magic Kingdom. It was a large group, very noisy, definitely doing the chanting and running between attractions.
Unfortunately by the time we realized what was going on (my younger son referred to them as the "yellow jackets" because of their black and yellow shirts) we were stuck in line for Pirates.
We've ridden Pirates hundreds of times. Never with a problem. They yelled (the sound echoes terribly in there) and chanted, and from the warnings that came over a sound system, were standing up in the boats. The ride actually stopped more than once and people were warned to remain seated and in the boats.
From that point, we just tried to stay ahead of them. It was not pleasant and even our sons (who were young enough to appreciate being young) were surprised at that kind of behavior.

 

[moonpie85]

I DARE you!!!!! Just make sure to post the video on You Tube. I am laughing so hard that I am crying. I saw a flag while I we were there and my first thought was RUN!!!!!!

On the other hand, the BRITS are so super. We never met a rude British family on vacation.

I know the Brits are awesome! As are the people from Minnesota- odd I know but everytime we've gone to DW we have had such a pleasent experience talking to people from Minnesota. Very friendly.

Anyways, I will keep a look out for the flags next trip. The only real problem we've ever encountered are those darn cheerleaders during Pop Warner week- my goodness, talk about chanting!!

 

[dalt01]

So what is with all the chanting? Why do they do it? Is it a popular thing to do back i Brazil? I mean you don't see groups of American kids, Brits, or any other culture at that, just the Brazilians. Don't get me wrong I am not bashing the Brazilians I am just curious as to why they chant, and what exactly do they chant about? Just curious.

then you have never been around when there are american cheerleaders about. not just WDW but anywhere they gather. and on the obnoxious meter girls are far and away worse than boys. this is not a slight i raised three girls and a wife. just me and the boy dog. he just sets and cocks this head and i just shrug my shoulders at him.

 

[Caio]

Ok, so, I'm brazilian, and i'm gonna try to give you guys the basic info on the Brazilian Tour Group Issue.

First of all, I'd like to say I'm 21 and have been to Disney several times throughout my life, I'd estimate about 10 times, and never in one of these tour groups. I've always been to Disney with my parents on a "private" family trip, and I know exactly what everyone is talking about when you mention these obnoxious tour groups.

The deal is, before 1994 a trip to the United States was flat out unaffordable to 99% of brazilians, the weak currency and huge inflation levels simply didn't allow it. Over the past 15 years brazilian economy has been living exponential growth, and a lot of people have gained a purchasing power they usually didn't have before.

Due to this, a lot of brazilians started traveling abroad with a lot more frequency. These tour group agencies on the other hand, saw in this a perfect opportunity to make a lot of money, and today there are hundreds of companies that offer guided tours to Orlando and other places. So what happens today is, A LOT of young brazilians will make a deal with their parents "exchanging" a huge 15 year old birthday party (which is a BIG tradition in the country) for a vacation abroad (mainly Orlando, FL).

So what you get is a hole bunch of teenagers, at the peak of their energy and hormone levels, with no parents, in a foreign country. Brazilians are usually more talkative and active than most, in these conditions they might become obnoxious. Another issue is, since these kids are mostly from families that have a good amount of money they tend to have the mentality that "i payed for this trip, I can do whatever I want" which certainly explains the lack of control from the tour guides.

Just to point out, I was at Six Flags Magic Mountain in LA last year during some cheerleading event and those girls were as obnoxious if not more than these brazilian tour groups. So i believe this is more of an age thing, and being in a huge group thing, than any other nationality or cultural trait.

I just wanted everyone to know that this is not a characteristic of brazilian people, as most of the time we are polite and friendly, and I truly believe that a whole bunch of teenagers, no matter what nationality, will become chaotic if out of proper control (which rules out the school trips examples because a teacher is a figure with more authority than a tour guide).

Anyways, I''l be going back to Disney in January 2009, and I also hope to meet as little of these tour groups as possible. And you can be sure that if they become chaotic close to me I'll let them know in clear Portuguese.. hahahahahahaha

 

[mickaholic4077]

Good for you,Ciao!!!

 

[gourmetgirl]

I'm truly taking a trip down memory lane reading through these posts.

I was a CM at Uptown Jewelers on Main Street in 1989. The Brazilians were out in full force that summer - and they were NOT teenagers.

It has nothing to do with Nationality - any large, loud, rude tour group would generate the same buzz. Brazilian people are lovely. These groups just don't convey that.

I know that the park tolerates them because of the vast amounts of money they bring to the parks. Most of them are fine people, I'm sure. Sadly, those don't stick out in your mind.

Our store was also where security would bring shoplifters for restitution before they were escorted out of the park. A huge percentage of shoplifters came from these groups. I once rang up several hundred dollars in pencils, stickers, erasers, etc.

We don't go to WDW in the summer and these groups are a big reason why. The last time we went was in November and there were a few - nothing unpleasant. I just think when you have that many groups at one time, it becomes overwhelming.

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

I'm brazilian too and i can't laugh about it! I feel ashamed by this!

I'm laughing not b/c it's funny, but b/c I can relate completely to what everyone here is saying. I was born in Brazil, but raised in the States, and my values and culture are much more American than Brazilian. I am completely shocked when I return to Brazil for vacation...it is a complete culture shock for the first few days. And when we (dh and I are both Brazilian) do go to WDW and see Brazilians there, we are sure to speak ONLY English, so that we are not associated in any way with "those" people.

It is very sad, but at the same time I understand that in the U.S. we are blessed in many ways, and Brazil is a VERY different culture. It's a dog-eat-dog society, and people are taught at a young age to look out for themselves, and disregard others necesities and needs. Everyone there is there to litereally "be first in line". In no way am I excusing them or their behavior, but just shedding a little light on how they are as a nation. And also remember that this is a generalization, and there are LOTS of extremely polite and considerate Brazilians...

 

[patsal]

As a high school teacher with two school aged children of my own we have no choice but to travel during the month of July. As a result we have seen much of the behavior reported here. We find that when we go at or near the early part of the month it seems much worse than at the end. This year, thankfuly we do not arrive until the 19th which should take some of the edge off. For myself, if we go too early in July and I am still in "work mode" I have no trouble reprimanding them--funny when you speak firmly in your best teacher tone it seems to work really well regardless of language. I admit I avoid the direction of the flag waver, more for a more relaxing vacation not for fear--I teach very high risk students I doubt they would have anything to try on me that hasn't been tried before! One thing I think we all need to remember is that any group of unsupervised teens are often very obnoxious. It does not make it right, it is just that they kind of morph into sharing one brain regardless of if it is good for them or not. The group mentality kind of sucks whatever growing common sense they have from them. In fairness we have had some lovely conversations with members from some of the groups when they have some down time from the group--sitting waiting for parades, or just off the beaten path. I still remember trying my best to convey to a few boys that they were filling their refillable mugs with coffee creamer not milk and that is why it was not tasting right at ASMu one week before Christmas. They didn't know, and in fairness if they attended boarding school they are most likely used to the milk being in containers like that for self service in the dining halls. Once they knew about it it was ok, but before that I could only imagine getting a mouthful of that !
Anyway what I guess I am saying is that American Cheerleaders at WDW in December, POP Warner Football players in December, and Brazillian Tour Groups in July have something very common to share--they are improperly supervised teenagers that are acting like spoiled brats because they can and no one is stopping them. A bit more supervision and splitting the groups up into smaller supervised subgroups would yield very different results! WDW should do a better job of training the tour providers, expecting a certain level of behavior and enforcing that behavior--the overall experience would be better for both the tour groups and the other guests.

 

[Secondgradememories]

As are the people from Minnesota- odd I know but everytime we've gone to DW we have had such a pleasent experience talking to people from Minnesota. Very friendly.

Minnesota Nice strikes again! Thanks from all of us up here, then. (If you can read the last line with that Fargo twang, it will give you the true Minnesotan answer.)

 

[Laxmom]

Very good points made on the teen tour groups. I have heard some of the very same comments made about the teens from youth groups attending the Nigh of Joy concerts with very little supervision.

 

[freepixie]

So what is with all the chanting? Why do they do it? Is it a popular thing to do back i Brazil? I mean you don't see groups of American kids, Brits, or any other culture at that, just the Brazilians. Don't get me wrong I am not bashing the Brazilians I am just curious as to why they chant, and what exactly do they chant about? Just curious.

Last week we heard a Brazilian group chanting out a religious song - same as one in our church, but in Portuguese. It was really cool!! I started to chant along in English

Last week we saw a lot of Brazilian groups, but none were out of control, and were actually very polite and nice kids. Also the size of the groups were not as huge - I remember a couple years ago, you'd see 150+ in red shirts marching up Main Street - this year each group looked like under 40 kids, so I think that helped out a lot!

 

[Shir Kahn]

We've had both good and bad experiences with the Brazilians. Lots of annoying chanting and mass flash photography, but we haven't experienced line cutting or being pushed. We were at a counter service in MK one time and they actually made room for our group by moving from one table to a larger one that was only partially occupied by some of the rest of their party. So, there is definitely good with the bad.

 

[irunnoft]

I realize some tour groups can get a little rowdy, but face it I have been at WDW and even a small family of 4 can be equally as obnoxious as a 30 person group from a domestic or international organization. Keep it all in perspective.

tigerlily952

Sorry, but I really have to disagree with you. Yes, some small families can be obnoxious, but I've never seen them rival the tour groups as far as being obnoxious.

 

[irunnoft]

We hear this discussion on a regular basis.
It is the "tour groups that must not be named", "the football groups", etc.

Disney could very easily to put an end to this terrible behavior and up to now has chosen to turn a blind eye. Most teens are good kids that will behave appropriately but to put them, with far too little supervision, into this type of environment, sugar them up and go into sensory overload, and to think there will not be problems is naive at best and frankly, horrible customer service.

I am a high school teacher. I have never had trouble with students on any type of trip and that is mainly because the expectations are known from the beginning. Kids, no matter what group they are associated with, will often rise or fall to the expectations. WDW needs to crack down and hold tour providers / parents responsible.

For what it is worth, here is my take on what WDW should do with all large tour groups, especially those involving kids:

1. Contract - this should be handled through the tour company. Parents and kids need to sign an agreement (in their native tongue) stating that they are responsible for the full cost of the trip and getting their child home, should WDW revoke their right to stay on property.

2. Group Meeting - when the groups arrive, they should be taken to a meeting with several forceful CMs who will explain (in the language of the group - do not count on the "leaders" to translate) the rules. These include - not pushing, that they will be removed from a park if they chant during shows, the entire group will be removed if there is an incident of line cutting.

3. Crowd Control / CM Authority - no fastpasses for groups traveling together, no flag poles, one adult per ten kids and no more than twenty traveling together. To limit the size of the groups together, problems will be limited. There is less need to push to the front of lines to get with the groups, and the leaders cannot say that do not see what the group is doing. Even if they join up for parades, there will be more adults present. As for authority, CMs need to be empowered to toss misbehaving groups. They do not like to deal with it either.

Now, I have no hope of WDW ever doing any of this as these "group problems" have been going on as long as I can remember, but if they were to crack down and toss out (ban) even one group, I guarantee the others would learn quickly. I would also suggest that they can ban certain tour providers if their groups cause problems.
Just my two cents...

I couldn't agree more. I hate to make my first posts on the boards in this thread, but this is so relevant to me right now that I have to. My family just got back from WDW. I'm a teacher and I've been supporting my putting my wife through Nursing school as well as my 10 yr. old son. As many of you well know, teachers' salaries are meager at best. We saved literally since last July for the trip we took this July and it was really tainted by these obnoxious Brazilian tour groups. I say Brazilian because that's where they were from. I didn't see one group from anywhere else.

We were at WDW for 10 days/ 10 nights from July 7 - 17th and I can honestly say I've never seen more Braz. tour groups before than I saw on this past trip. Not only that, but they were mostly obnoxious everywhere we went. They were like hordes of locust from which there was no escape. You'd leave the "orange flag people" in Main Street USA only to encounter the "green flag people" in Frontierland. They were all over Downtown Disney as well as Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Suffice it to say that this past trip to WDW pretty much was the nail in the coffin for me and taking my family to Disney in the summer. Sad, because that was a family vacation we all looked forward to.

I almost witnessed a fight break out around me at the Fastpass kiosk at Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom when some tour group leaders got in control of three of the kiosks. There are only something like seven kiosks for the ride and of the seven, three were being manipulated by these "flag people". When people behind them realized that the people at the front were hitting the kiosks up for like 100 tickets a person and the queue time for the ride started moving, things got edgy. The flag people pretended not to hear the complaints from behind and ignored people as others asked to just "interrupt" their barrage on the machine to simply get the three passes they needed for their family. That was unpleasant! However, imagine how much fun it was later to return to the Fastpass line only to find it clogged like a standby line filled with - you guessed it - the lovely kids from the tour group! Yeah! Woo-hoo!! Let's wait 40 mins. in the Fastpass line because. . . oh!

This was also the first summer that I remember the extra magic hours in the morning being ruined by these groups. Up until this summer, I have never seen the tour groups in the extra morning hour at any park. I assumed that they must stay off property. Given how rowdy they are in the parks, I could never imagine that Disney would allow such "guests" to stay on property. I guess I have been wrong about this because I saw plenty of groups lining up to get into the early parks every day this summer. I'm not sure where they stay on property, but I certainly feel sorry for the other guests and families who have to endure what they must be like in food courts and pools.

These groups have pretty much ruined it for me. On our last night there, we went to see Wishes in the MK and I saw a nice family of four who were wearing "My 1st Trip to Disney!" buttons on their shirts just get pushed out of a viewing spot on Main Street USA by a tour group. I thought to myself how sad that this was what they would take away from WDW as their "first trip" experience. One of the rowdy girls grabbed a lighted baton from a CM and started waving it around while the CM was politely trying to get it back from her. All the brat did was laugh and pass the baton on down the line further and further away from the CM. It made me furious! We located ourselves away from that group and watched the fireworks as best we could from near the bridge to Adventureland.

One thing I will mention is that not every tour group behaved this way, but in general, when you've got fifty plus people moving en masse in a theme park it's going to be irritating to people. The sheer number of groups that are there in July and how those groups affect things like the Fastpass return times is enough to contend with. Add to the mix, several misbehaving people in some of those groups and you've gone from bad to worse. Yes, the CMs are aware of the situation and yes they, for the most part, are not amused with the antics of the misbehaving ones. I also don't think anybody enjoys being treated like a plebe by these people either. However, something most definitely hard-line needs to happen with these groups in the future. WDW needs to pull back on the reigns and get control over these people because most everybody in the parks feels the chaos that surrounds these people goes pretty much unchecked.


So what are the best months to travel to miss these people? December? If so, when in the month?

Sorry for the rant! I do feel better though! I'd been saving that for ten days as I promised myself that I was not going to growl and grumble through the whole vacation over something that I couldn't do anything about!

 

[Southerndisney]

When in Jan. do the tour groups come? We will be there from Jan 3-10. Thanks

 

[asta]

I can't believe that I am about to say something less than critical about these tour groups because I have been very critical in the past. I have had several July trips that have left me wondering how people could possible be that rude and pushy. That being said, we were at WDW from 7/10-7/14 and the tour groups this year were much easier to tolerate. The groups that I noticed this year were touring in much bigger groups (at least 100-150) and it was easier to ignore them and go the opposite way. In the past, when they were touring in groups of around 50 they seemed harder to avoid because they would split up and be on every attraction. Maybe I encountered less groups or more polite groups but it just seemed better. And as I mentioned in the Single Rider post, the CMs were not letting them even get into the single rider lines so we avoided that huge headache we encountered last year.

 

[ntsammy5]

When in Jan. do the tour groups come? We will be there from Jan 3-10. Thanks

That's when they come!

I don't remember seeing them there early this year