I can't believe this happened!!

[Rinx]

I just returned home from a week long trip to WDW with my girlfriend. I was extremely excited going down because she has never been before...well that excitement quickly vanished when we got there and discovered the massive amounts of Brazilian Tour Groups. Not just in the parks but in our resort, Caribbean Beach, as well. Everyone knows how obnoxious, rude, and disrespectful some of them can be. Well on our third night, we were walking from Aruba to Port Royal, on the bridge over to Caribbean Cay, when a small group of them came running from behind us screaming and singing. They pushed passed both of us and in the process stepped on my girlfriend's foot causing her to roll her ankle and fall down. Luckily she wasn't seriously hurt but walking was a great challenge and painful the rest of the trip. We immediately went to the Custom House to explain. We spoke to a very nice manager and she asked if we wanted a room transfer or a resort transfer so we said any resort that didn't have the tour groups. She came back a few minutes later and said that Port Orleans and Coronado had them but Wilderness Lodge did not and that they were willing to take us at the rate we paid for at Caribbean Beach. I was immediately ecstatic to receive such an upgrade for free. It took a moment to explain to my girlfriend the difference between Moderate and Deluxe resorts, etc. So we moved that night and got to enjoy the rest of the week in peace Can't wait to return in one month with my family!

P.S. Does anyone know where I can submit this story to the proper people? I have the names of the manager at Caribbean Beach and Wilderness Lodge who so graciously helped us out and I want to make sure they get the recognition they deserve.

 

[Florida_is_hot]

Glad the Disney staff was able to rescue you vacation.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Wow! How unfortunate for the injury, but glad for the outcome! Its a shame the Brazilian Tour groups give a lot of people the wrong impression of Brazilians to a lot of people. I know many Brazilians, and they are wonderful respectful people. I guess with any group of 'young poeple on vacation' this sort of behavior is common.

Anyway, I'm glad you were able to spend the rest of the trip in peace.

 

[SleepingMonk]

Submit the story to corporate headquarters.

Submit all girlfriend pics to Pumbas Nakasak.

 

[maryszhi]

wow i'm glad they were able to accommodate you guys. i'm sorry that that happened.

 

[Rinx]

Thanks everyone! I'm just so happy we got to experience some real Disney Magic, I couldn't believe it. And I'm not bashing all the tour groups. Some of them were very quiet and organized...just not the ones at Caribbean Beach that's for sure.

 

[wdwmagic]

Great service you received there.

 

[marni1971]

Likey.

 

[maryszhi]

Thanks everyone! I'm just so happy we got to experience some real Disney Magic, I couldn't believe it. And I'm not bashing all the tour groups. Some of them were very quiet and organized...just not the ones at Caribbean Beach that's for sure.

i know right. back in july of 2010 i went with a friend. needless to say i suffered the same injury as your gf except it was the knee that i have really bad arthritis. another tour group ( not the one that caused it) saw what happened and helped me to the first aid station at mk. needless to say i still keep in contact with them. they were some of the nicest people. they were staying at the same hotel and my friend and i and were quite the quiet tour group at the hotel

 

[crosswagon]

Happy the staff was so accomodating.
We didn't have the tour groups in December but we have been enough times in the summer to have that experience and the tour groups do give the country a bad impression. They tend to "act" like they don't understand line queues or single rider lines which tends to aggravate all those around them. There is no excuse for loud, obnoxious behavior no matter what you country you hail from. I have seen alot from my fellow americans but usually in a small group not in a raving pack!

 

[Phonedave]

I just got back as well (well sort of, end of June, early July1) and while I have been going to WDW for a number of years now, and have never had a problem with the tour groups, I have to say this trip they did "Stand out". All of MUSA packed with them, chanting, large groups pushing through, I was the first time I would ever say I was bothered in the least by them. As we were staying at VWL, we did not see them at the resort.

However, now in defense of the groups. We were in line at Primeavel Whirl, when 2 or 3 kids pushed passed us to join their group ahead. I stopped them and said "hey, where you are going?' One of them apologized, and said "I am sorry sir, some of my friends have no manners." then he turned to his friends and said "even though everyong else is up there, you can't just go pushing past people". Thats when I told them all to re-join their group, but just ask next time.

-dave

 

[Nemo14]

Great service, and I hope your girlfriend is OK now. Nice to hear a happy-ending story!

 

[Patricia Melton]

I'm always afraid of getting a cast member in trouble by telling corporate about something they gave me like an upgrade. Since TDO is so revenue-focused, can a cast member chime in and let us know if the hotel person would get in any trouble for giving you that upgrade?

Here is why I ask, and it's something I still feel really bad about. But back in 1997 or so, my husband and I were in NYC and we ate at the restaurant the Rainbow Room on top Rockefeller Center. It was our anniversary and the waitstaff was just tremendous. We had a lot of fun and developed a nice rapport with the waiter...who then at the end of our meal asked us to come with him. He snuck us up a flight of stairs to what turned out to be the abandoned observation deck from the 30s (this has since been remodeled and opened to the public, but back then it was off limits). It was an unobstructed view of the city from up there with no railings or fences and just the staff up there smoking and keeping it a secret to themselves. It was one of the greatest gifts ever to go up there and it was pure magic. The waiter really made the anniversary once in a lifetime by taking us up there.

Well, my husband had a lot to drink and he thought he was doing a nice thing on the way out by telling the manager at the front what a great time we had...and instantly I knew he got the waiter in trouble by telling him he took us up to the roof. I saw the look on the manager's face as soon as the words came out of Earl's mouth. I don't drink, so I cut in and told the manager that Earl was just kidding and was drunk...and lamely I tried to cover by saying that the waiter made us feel like we were dancing on the stars and we felt like we were on top of the world, which is what my husband "meant to say". Earl was so drunk he was arguing with me saying "No, remember when he took us up the stairs to the roof?".

I have never known what happened after we left but it breaks my heart to think the kid got in any trouble because my husband is a big mouth. I just have run into enough nasty mangers to know that when a staff member goes out of their way to do something nice, it's best to be VERY nonspecific in any kind of complimentary letter you write.

Just stress how understanding and kind they were...and how they found you other accommodations that were better. There's no need to mention in your letter that they bumped you up to a Deluxe Resort. If management wants to take the time to research your file and see where you were moved to, let them. But not putting that part in the letter prevents that part of the story from landing on the wrong person's desk at TDO who might be angry that a Deluxe Room at Wilderness was used for a Caribbean upgrades.

You might think you are doing something very nice, but I know you would feel really bad if your letter of compliment ending up costing the cast member her job because she went above what she was supposed to do to make you happy.

That's why a cast member should chime in who is familiar with working in the hotels...to see if there is any chance of the hotel clerk getting in trouble before you announce to corporate what she did for you.

 

[Gabe1]

Yep, many years ago I had a group of them plow over my tiny DD, trampled really, they turned as I peeled her up crying and they laughed with an ooops. I don't understand the culture. Glad she wasn't seriously injured.

I tip toe here as I remind everyone of the President of the US coming to WDW a short while ago with his speech on Main Street stating he wanted to quicken the process of bringing these tour groups to WDW by making it faster to obtain a Visa into the US. By the discription of the OP, the Presidents Dream Came True.

 

[cowanfamily]

Nice post! Now I just need to roll my ankle! LOL

 

[Redsky89]

I would have completely lost it. Those tourist from Brazil....I swear. But it's awesome Disney upgraded ya.

 

[Patricia Melton]

QUESTION: What should Disney do if one group of people is hindering the enjoyment of the park for others?

I keep hearing that the Brazilian Tour Groups bring in a lot of money for Disney. But what would happen if regular, non tour group guests started marching over to City Hall and demanding refunds for the screaming, pushing, line-cutting, and antics that Disney allows the Brazilians to commit?

What if the situation didn't involve Brazilians, but street gangs loose in the park behaving this way?

Would Disney allow street gangs to come into the parks and create a ruckus like this?

I admit I do not fully understand this situation, but my husband used to be in the restaurant business. There was always a balancing act between dealing with a large group of people there as a party and people who were individuals, couples, or tables of four. The large parties made a lot of noise, demanded a lot of attention, often became quite drunk while celebrating, and were counted on to deliver a large check (which is revenue for the restaurant). How many tables of 1, 2, or 4 could my husband afford to alienate by not stepping in to get the large parties to control themselves?

I'll tell you as someone who used to type up the managers' log notes into the computer for him that my husband would tolerate the noise from a large party up to a point. He'd end up comping (which means eating the check) one or two tables' meals for a large rowdy party...but if TOO many other customers complained, then he'd have to look at booting the large party.

Sounds like it's not at the point where the Brazilians are costing Disney money in terms of guest complaints. If the antics of the Brazilians started really eating into Disney's pockets, then I could see Disney aggressively addressing this issue. Until then, it looks like there's a lot of twiddling of thumbs.

QUEStION #2: How often does Disney refund people their money if they complain about disruptive large groups like the Brazilians?

The only experience I have with a refund at Disney (after going for more then 30 years annually) was one year when a cast member in one of the gift shops was cruel to my son. My son is gay and we were there for Gay Days and my son had a red shirt on (and both my husband and I had red PFLAG shirts on) and a very snotty cast member said something under his breath (but loud enough for me to hear) about my son being a (fill in the blank for a pejorative against a gay person). I also heard the cast member talking about how much he hated that there were a bunch of gay people there that day. It really hurt my feelings.

So I told the person I assumed to be the lead in that store what happened, and she looked horrified and said she'd speak to the person. I was so upset I marched down to City Hall and told them what happened. I even had a picture of the guy who did this (even if it was just the side of his head). It must have been severe enough a breach of Disney rules that midway through telling what happened the cast member in City Hall asked to step away and she brought what I assumed was her supervisor and I told him what happened. We were offered passes to come back another day but we declined as we had already bought the tickets for the remainder of our trip. I didn't want anything free and my point was just to make sure that cast member in the gift shop never did anything like this again. We never went to another Gay Days weekend because my son is still so hurt by what happened, but we go back to WDW every year and have never encountered another bad CM like that again. I don't know what happened to that little snot, but I hope he was fired. I'm almost 60 and I honestly can say he is the only person I've ever wanted to see fired (other than a bad football coach or certain Disney executives).

 

[Tigger1988]

The only experience I have with a refund at Disney (after going for more then 30 years annually) was one year when a cast member in one of the gift shops was cruel to my son. My son is gay and we were there for Gay Days and my son had a red shirt on (and both my husband and I had red PFLAG shirts on) and a very snotty cast member said something under his breath (but loud enough for me to hear) about my son being a (fill in the blank for a pejorative against a gay person). I also heard the cast member talking about how much he hated that there were a bunch of gay people there that day. It really hurt my feelings.

So I told the person I assumed to be the lead in that store what happened, and she looked horrified and said she'd speak to the person. I was so upset I marched down to City Hall and told them what happened. I even had a picture of the guy who did this (even if it was just the side of his head). It must have been severe enough a breach of Disney rules that midway through telling what happened the cast member in City Hall asked to step away and she brought what I assumed was her supervisor and I told him what happened. We were offered passes to come back another day but we declined as we had already bought the tickets for the remainder of our trip. I didn't want anything free and my point was just to make sure that cast member in the gift shop never did anything like this again. We never went to another Gay Days weekend because my son is still so hurt by what happened, but we go back to WDW every year and have never encountered another bad CM like that again. I don't know what happened to that little snot, but I hope he was fired. I'm almost 60 and I honestly can say he is the only person I've ever wanted to see fired (other than a bad football coach or certain Disney executives).

That CM is working in the wrong place if he's upset by seeing a lot of gay people. Outrageous. Don't let this keep you from enjoying Gay Days in the future, trust me CMs like that are extremely rare.

 

[Patricia Melton]

That CM is working in the wrong place if he's upset by seeing a lot of gay people. Outrageous. Don't let this keep you from enjoying Gay Days in the future, trust me CMs like that are extremely rare.

I've been a PFLAG mom since 1994 when my son Robby came out to me. He had been wanting to go to Gay Days for a few years, but for whatever reason it never worked out schedule wise while he was in school (because I think he always still had class into the second week of June and Gay Days is the first weekend in June).

We were all very excited to go for Gay Days. A lot of you might not understand this, but it's a big deal as a PFLAG mom or dad to take part in something that's a big event like this. I liked seeing the big sea of red at the parks. We went to MK, EPCOT, and DHS with the Gay Days group. The only place we had a problem was at MK with that one cast member. The horrified looks on the Disney lead's face and the CM at City Hall told me that this was NOT what to expect from Disney.

But Robby still doesn't want to go to another Gay Days. He comes with us to WDW on our family trip each year though. You can make fun of me for this and I won't care, but I kind of have a mission to set my son up with this one adorable Disney blogger named Adam who makes the greatest videos in the parks. I don't know where that idea came from, but I just think if the two of them would meet they would hit it off. Robby discourages me from this, of course, but I can't help meddling. They would be so cute together. They have the same sense of humor and Adam is dark haired and my son is blond and they would just be like two Disney princes together.

 

[MickeyPeace]

I've been a PFLAG mom since 1994 when my son Robby came out to me. He had been wanting to go to Gay Days for a few years, but for whatever reason it never worked out schedule wise while he was in school (because I think he always still had class into the second week of June and Gay Days is the first weekend in June).

We were all very excited to go for Gay Days. A lot of you might not understand this, but it's a big deal as a PFLAG mom or dad to take part in something that's a big event like this. I liked seeing the big sea of red at the parks. We went to MK, EPCOT, and DHS with the Gay Days group. The only place we had a problem was at MK with that one cast member. The horrified looks on the Disney lead's face and the CM at City Hall told me that this was NOT what to expect from Disney.

But Robby still doesn't want to go to another Gay Days. He comes with us to WDW on our family trip each year though. You can make fun of me for this and I won't care, but I kind of have a mission to set my son up with this one adorable Disney blogger named Adam who makes the greatest videos in the parks. I don't know where that idea came from, but I just think if the two of them would meet they would hit it off. Robby discourages me from this, of course, but I can't help meddling. They would be so cute together. They have the same sense of humor and Adam is dark haired and my son is blond and they would just be like two Disney princes together.

You are a great mom. Your son is so lucky to have you!

You did the right thing by complaining at City Hall. Disney does not tolerate hate toward guests because they are gay. And they will take action.