Brazil Tour Groups

[HouCuseChickie]

Like previous posters noted...the problem with these tour groups is that they're behaving according to what sources say is acceptable behavior in their home country rather than following proper travel etiquette (regardless of your home country) and following the cultural norms of the country they're visiting. Sure, you're visiting the U.S.A. where we mainly get angry at the improper behavior and discuss possible ways of curbing the bad behavior of the ignorant rude tourists in the future, BUT...what happened to telling kids and adults that when traveling abroad- you adhere to the rules and norms of the country you're visiting? What would happen if these kids ever traveled to countries where prison and torture (or worse) were the justice they met for such improper travel behavior????

Whether it's a high school trip to France for French class or a my dream vacation across Europe as an adult...it was always drilled into our heads that what is proper here is not the cultural norm there...and you MUST follow the cultural norms.

OK- so that's my rant about proper behavior...BUT...I find a lot of similarities in this discussion about Brazillian tour groups to the various people who complain about the Pop Warner groups and the growing number of idiot Americans acting poorly withing their own country. I've never encountered any of them (pop warner & Brazilian groups- since I've had lots of experience with idiot Americans)- at least not to my knowledge...so, are there any significant differences making one worse than the other??? If the Brazilian tour groups are that much worse- well, that's one thing...but if the issues are as similar as they sound...it seems tough to point fingers at the Brazilian kids if it's not that far off from a bunch of American cheerleaders doing cheers while in line, cutting, pushing, etc. So...I'd love some clarification on this.

 

[puntagordabob]

"WHEN IN ROME....."

Is what popped into my head when reading all of these messages.....

When I visit a foreign country I try to respect and honor their customs and tradtitions..... as a person visiting THEIR country it is MY OBLIGATION to learn what needs to be learned... Not knowing the parent tongue of the country is excusable, but acting totally contrary to the "acceptabe" norms of the society I am visiting is contrary to being an educated person. I direct this at every person from every country visiting any other country. No excuses.

I have seen the good and bad with the south american tour groups.... most of which is as is being indicated are indeed from Brazil.... so I think the "racism" card being trumped earlier is outlandish.

They can be rude...push you out of the way....skip lines...etc... I have seen this in many different parts of WDW...but make no mistake it has NOT happened to me "successfully" as I stand my ground. I make it clear that the language barrier is not relevant.

BUT there is GOOD too.... I have actually taken the time to talk with many members of the different groups.... if you are friendly and outgoing you can have a good conversation with many of the members...sometimes I would have a few different ones talking at the same time and between them translating whatever they knew to each other we all had a fun conversation, etc.... I have on many occassions made it clear that I am glad they are here and hope that they are having fun....I also add that I hope my countrymen/women are making them feel welcome and that I certainly do.

WDW is a model of HOW good humanity COULD be...I hope it INFECTS every one of you and travels the world!

 

[cheezedoodle20]

As I stated before they need to have some control of this situation. They make a vacation which is quite expensive miserable. If enough people complain to higher up as we did, something may get done. I know for a fact will never go in July again and stay at ASM. They seem to be staying at the value resorts. I stated it just wasn't the parks it was the hotel. Stealing things in the gift shop, knocking people over in the the food court, skinny dipping ion the pool at night, throughing eggs at night, playing soccer in the coutyard 2 3 in the morning and when we called security they tried but nothing ever came to be. They pretend not to understand English but a majority of them do, Their champerones are just as bad. My answer is never go in July and stay at a value resort. We are going 3rd week of August and staying at POR because of the deal this year.

 

[Erin_Akey]

I am actually in the car on my way home from WDW as we speak. These groups really didn't bother us. Sure they were loud, but so were the screaming unhappy kids we would encounter periodically. It is Disney and so I expect it to get a bit loud. We had no trouble getting fastpasses except when we waited until five pm to try for TSM.

The worst behavior we encountered came from two very American teen girls who's parents sat there watching them fight with their water bottles and throw it on each other hitting guests in the process.

We never saw them at our hotel so I guess they don't stay at Boardwalk. It was pleasant and quiet there.

I do feel bad for those who had bad experiences. We just didn't any if that.

 

[Lam]

The statements made on here are so hypocritical and self-contradicting sometimes..

Do you really think they act this way because of a lack of understanding american norms/culture? I guess so, because that's what you just said.. But tell me, do you honestly think a group of 50+ american teenagers would act any better?

Stop blaming language barriers, stop blaming lack of cultural inderstanding and stop blaming "improper upbringing" or whatever.

It's just the way most teenagers act - It's annoying, it's rude, it's natural and you cant do anything about it.

 

[Horizons1]

The statements made on here are so hypocritical and self-contradicting sometimes..

Do you really think they act this way because of a lack of understanding american norms/culture? I guess so, because that's what you just said.. But tell me, do you honestly think a group of 50+ american teenagers would act any better?

Stop blaming language barriers, stop blaming lack of cultural inderstanding and stop blaming "improper upbringing" or whatever.

It's just the way most teenagers act - It's annoying, it's rude, it's natural and you cant do anything about it.

...it's cause they were Brazilian.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

we were at wdw the first week of december 2009 and had a similar experience with the same group(s). i don't mind groups cheering or being loud when on the open street areas of the park. i do however hate the pushing. i was there with my sister and we were behind two women with two very young children (under 3) when the brazilian tour group that was there that day began pushing to get into the haunted mansion. they continued pushing knocking several people off balance and one child to the ground from the area just before you enter the door all the way to loading into the doom buggies. there was just no room to move and they kept pushing no matter what anyone said. finally we had to get a cm to step in. we saw similar instances with the same group (all wore matching t-shirts) all day. we'd see them in line and head in another direction. i don't have a particular problem with any one group of people but what the hell is up? i've chaperoned groups of all star cheerleaders (all girl groups as well as coed and all teenagers including at disney in april) and have NEVER had them act that way. i can't believe the way the teenagers act but i'm absolutely shocked that the chaperons don't seem to have a problem with their actions and even act the same way themselves.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

...it's cause they were Brazilian.

While I agree with you to an extent... but have you ever been during the Cheerleading competition over at DHS? We made that mistake once and I am pretty sure they were not from Brazil.

Some Brazilian Groups(that I have seen) - loud, obnoxious line cutters.

Some Cheerleading groups(that I have seen) - just loud and obnoxious.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Wait... I'm confused. How many are in a Brazilian???
:lookaroun

 

[Horizons1]

While I agree with you to an extent... but have you ever been during the Cheerleading competition over at DHS? We made that mistake once and I am pretty sure they were not from Brazil.

Some Brazilian Groups(that I have seen) - loud, obnoxious line cutters.

Some Cheerleading groups(that I have seen) - just loud and obnoxious.

Yep, and that's a very fun weekend. But as for the Brazilians, that's not my real thoughts on the situation, I was just being a smartarse.

 

[stuey222]

I returned yesterday from WDW and while we did see many Brazilian tour groups, they weren't that much of a bother to us, of course, any time we saw a large group moving towards an attraction we went the other way.

We saw many more misbehaving kids and parents who do not know how to handle their children than annoying tour groups. Some people need to learn how to control their children!

 

[Mr Toad]

We never saw them at our hotel so I guess they don't stay at Boardwalk. It was pleasant and quiet there.

I have only seen them at Value Resorts, that's why we try not to stay there in the Summer.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Ive seen Sepultura, and I think they are touring now are they not?

 

[tink729]

Wait... I'm confused. How many are in a Brazilian???
:lookaroun

A CM told us that there were 3000 of them.

 

[Mickey is King]

I have had the pleasure of the experience....It soured me a tad.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I am so glad I don't go in summer.

And why is it that the Brazilian groups are so obnoxious and unsupervised? Is it the culture? Is it mob rule? Is it rich kid syndrome? Is it wimpy parenting? Is it an overabundance of caffeine?

I mean the Brazilian tour groups have been singled out over and over for their rotten behavior. Disney should be on top of it somehow. Kick a few out of the park one day to set an example when they cut in line. Who in their right mind would spend thousands of dollars on a trip for your family of four only to have it ruined by a bunch of hooligans? Eventually such mob rule will turn away far more families and dollars than the Brazilian tour groups bring in. Maybe it's doing that already. One bad trip, and people just don't come back; and they tell everyone else how awful the crowds were, and even more nice people stay away.

I don't see that much can be done about the fast pass problems, but the other behavior is utterly inappropriate. Perhaps Disney should somehow penalize the travel agents that book these trips. If the tour you booked and made a bunch of money off of results in continued consistent misery for so many others, then pull their official Disney travel agent certification, and refuse to let them book in the future, at least for a while. And Disney could also send a nice but stern written warning to such tour groups ahead of time. Put them on notice that we know of potential tendencies, and will enforce stern repercussions if problems occur. As a lawyer, I see nothing illegal with such warnings to all large groups, not just the Brazilians.

You know, it was the stern teachers in my life who taught me the most. They kept control of the troublemakers in the classroom, and we benefited greatly as a group. The feel good, funky, "Live and let live" teachers were a disaster, teaching little in the chaotic classroom atmosphere. Disney has to get sterner with these mobs, and pulling their tickets for a day, yanking the certification from travel agents, and publicizing the warnings are apt steps to take. I am sure other ideas would be helpful as well. Personally, I would never put up with it. Again, I'm so glad I don't travel to Disney in the summer.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

A CM told us that there were 3000 of them.

It was a joke. :wave:

 

[Uncle Lupe]

As I stated before they need to have some control of this situation. They make a vacation which is quite expensive miserable. If enough people complain to higher up as we did, something may get done. I know for a fact will never go in July again and stay at ASM. They seem to be staying at the value resorts. I stated it just wasn't the parks it was the hotel. Stealing things in the gift shop, knocking people over in the the food court, skinny dipping in the pool at night, throughing eggs at night, playing soccer in the coutyard 2 3 in the morning and when we called security they tried but nothing ever came to be. They pretend not to understand English but a majority of them do, Their champerones are just as bad. My answer is never go in July and stay at a value resort. We are going 3rd week of August and staying at POR because of the deal this year.

This is a cultural aspect I would like to learn more about and appreciate. So when do the Brazilian groups of 18-35 yrs old come to Orlando?

 

[EvilQueen-T]

While I agree with you to an extent... but have you ever been during the Cheerleading competition over at DHS? We made that mistake once and I am pretty sure they were not from Brazil.

Some Brazilian Groups(that I have seen) - loud, obnoxious line cutters.

Some Cheerleading groups(that I have seen) - just loud and obnoxious.

we've experienced the brazilian invasion...rough crowd.

the pop warner cheerleaders in december are far worse in my opinion than the allstars that are there in april. maybe it's because they're there longer (allstars are only there 3 days fri-sun last weekend of april) and overall they're use to traveling 8-10 times a season so it's not as big a deal. and with the allstars it's only their most advanced senior and college levels who compete at worlds in april. they are the ones in the gym all year round that uber tumblers etc... competitive but driven kids. pop warner are your typical side line high school types. loud is ok as long as it isn't in the hallway at 6am lol.

 

[mp2bill]

You are not alone.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=546393&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=604474&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=579001&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=365992&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=209302&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=34556&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=59199&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups
[URL]http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=334058&highlight=brazilian+tour+groups[/URL]

I love the number of threads already dedicated to this subject.

EDIT* I just realized OP has a whopping 2 posts so I'm really not feeling stooping to their level would be worth my time.

To those of you not from the U.S. and reading this, please know that we welcome you and look forward to your visit! MOST of us Americans are perfectly amicable people who would enjoy to see you here. "To ALL who come to this happy place: welcome"

Not if they're cutting in line, knocking over small children, and making it so that others who have also paid for the visit cannot enjoy their experience. Would you feel the same if somebody from these tour groups was smoking while at the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Factory?

PS - What does the number of posts of the OP have to do with his/her credibility? Would you be more understanding of his/her frustrations if he/she saturated other threads with meaningless posts first?

And as far as you not getting in line behind them...that's not the problem, the problem is when 200 of them cut in line in FRONT of you.

Agreed.