Would someone fill me in please?

[bellissimo]

A very good point is raised here: these are unsupervised kids. The behaviors noted are no worse, and, in some cases, better, than that of the behaviors exhibited on "kids days" at some of the Renaissance Festivals at which I have performed. Such behavior was marked by thieving from the vendors and aggressive roughhousing towards the performers. And none of those attending kids groups were Brazilian.

I'm not excusing rude and obnoxious behavior, but it is wrong to target a specific group for it. Look around and you'll find plenty of obnoxiosity to go around.

Yup, exactly. I didn't say I agreed with that stereotype- I was just throwing it out there. Unsupervised teenagers are unsupervised teenagers no matter where they're from.

 

[wizards8507]

Unsupervised teenagers are unsupervised teenagers no matter where they're from.

YEAH! So THERE!

Punk kids.

:lookaroun

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Those groups have no respect. I was on my senior trip and me and 2 other kids ended up stuck on Splash mountain with 5 morons from our school that were very obnoxious. The log left with 8 people and came back with 3. The others went straight from Splash Mountain to their room to get their stuff and straight to the plane. Later I found out one of the kid's dropped his phone getting out of the log and his dad was on the phone with Disney all day threatening to sue them if they didn't replace his phone. So if any of you CM's found a phone just crush it with the hammer .

 

[Iakona]

I'm perfectly calm and not being rude, thanks.

What I'm saying is, where does it stop? I personally consider double-wide strollers far more irritating than tour groups. Others are turned off by cigarettes or scooters. You're right in making your decision to "steer clear" if you don't like it, and I applaud your decision to do so, but I think its unreasonable to blame this on profit seeking. How is a tour group different than a large family? Ban reservations of 3 or more rooms, and they'll just go ahead and make individual reservations. I really don't see a practical way to "stop" it, even if they wanted to.

If, as you suggest, it is all about profit, then policy would change if and only if those (like you) who don't like the tour groups and avoid the parks on those months began to outweigh the extra business the groups bring in.

There is plenty that can and should be done. Mandate how many chaperones per # of kids. Then if the tour operator violates this or their groups are rowdy, disruptive, or cut it in line then penalize the tour company. I have had the unlucky experience of having them try and cut me in line. About 40 of them. I would not allow it and the CMs were helpless.

 

[marni1971]

I'm so glad it wasn't just me. I was getting worried...

 

[Mickey is King]

I have had poor experiences with these tour groups once they even spilled soda on my husband and me when we wouldn't move for them. We did tell a cast member and we were given tee shirts (because ours were soaked and sticky) and a priority spot to watch Wishes (since it happened around that time).

But this last trip in July I was worried about encountering them the only day we had an issue (that was saw them) was the day we went to Hollywood Studios on a non EMH morning. So they must not stay on property, so my new game plan is to avoid non EMH parks so then I might avoid them.

Good point, I haven't heard of or seen the BTG's at the resort hotels. I have experienced them though. I think it is a cultural difference in accepted social behavior, Although I have never been to Brazil or even South America for that matter. I think us American's are a smidge tighter wound than some other parts of the world.

 

[HeatherK]

I actually work for Disney right now & those Brazilians are the worst. Most groups are bad, but nothing worse then them. My main problem with them is they don't know how to wait their turn. I'm helping another guest & they throw something down on the counter and ask "how much? What is this?" and other things. First, they get mad when they ask if I speak their language & I say no. I don't go to your country to get you to speak my language. & Where I work it just a line of registers with a point in the back where people wait while we call them to help them. They don't wait there. They cluster up behind a family being helped & squeeze in practically pushing the family out of the area to be helped. They don't understand there is a certain place to wait and that having someone at the register means the Cast Member is busy & we will call you when we are ready. I could do without them.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I had the good fortune of being slightly ahead of the Brazillian tour groups in January/February this year. Pooh was meeting near the entrance to Dinoland and we waited in a line about 5 people deep to see him. As soon as we're done with Pooh... BOOM! Fifty people show up screaming with excitement at seeing Pooh. Five people in line becomes 60! At Sunshine Seasons, we got our food and sat down. I had to go back up to get napkins or an extra dessert or something... BOOM! Wall-to-wall Brazillians! The poor chaperone was yelling instructions while waving things around in the air (Things like, "This is a cup!", based on his wavings). Some chanting, but the biggest group I heard doing it was in nice, open Innoventions Plaza. I felt fortunate to come away unscathed.

 

[tomes1225]

I was in Universal once in May. There were so many tour groups that day it was unbelievable. It was a 2 hour wait for the hulk and an hour and a half for dueling dragons, but they all left around 3 and the park was empty.

 

[magicalmemories]

I can tell you they were there in mid February, Over Valentines weekend. We stayed at POP and they were everywhere. I truly felt like I had left the United States for all the non-English being spoken. The food court was a zoo all the time. Now we stay at POP all the time, even over Spring Breaks, and we really felt this was much worse than even spring break. Now don't get me wrong, the parks were NOT crowded at all, Only the resort. We were talking to the CM who checked out baggage the day we left (I believe his name tag said some sort of manager) and he said that POP was at 100% capacity because of the tour groups.

We had one experience at night in our room about 12:30am when someone was pounding on our door, I got up and told them they had the wrong room and they giggled and ran off ..... only to come back about 10 minutes later. That time my husband got up and opened the door and yelled at them in that 'Angry Father' voice and again, they giggled and ran off, but did not return. He said their faces kinda dropped when he opened the door.

That, and lots of running up and down the hallways at all hours of the night, while yelling at each other, not that we could understand what they were saying.

We did see them several times in the parks, holding up walkways and running behind the little flag on a stick, I think the worst was at AK one visit, I know I was glad to see them turning AWAY from Dinosaur when we were walking up to it.

Sounds like we were on the end of their time frame of their vacations. Can't say I have noticed them like that any other time we have gone (March, April, May)

 

[Lucky]

I actually work for Disney right now & those Brazilians are the worst. Most groups are bad, but nothing worse then them. My main problem with them is they don't know how to wait their turn. I'm helping another guest & they throw something down on the counter and ask "how much? What is this?" and other things. First, they get mad when they ask if I speak their language & I say no. I don't go to your country to get you to speak my language. & Where I work it just a line of registers with a point in the back where people wait while we call them to help them. They don't wait there. They cluster up behind a family being helped & squeeze in practically pushing the family out of the area to be helped. They don't understand there is a certain place to wait and that having someone at the register means the Cast Member is busy & we will call you when we are ready. I could do without them.

I think there are 3 things that come together to make these groups the worst.

1. Large groups of teenagers with too few chaperones tend to misbehave. This applies to almost any nationality. I've seen it with Americans on the Mall in D.C.

2. As someone pointed out in an earlier post, Brazil has high inequality and the tour group kids are from wealthy families. In developing countries with high inequality, servants are cheap, most people are poorly educated, and the wealthy fall into the habit of thinking they're better and more deserving than other people. I saw this in grad school with students from India.

3. There are recognized cultural differences in queueing behavior. The best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell wrote a nice article on this for the Washington Post years ago. He singled out Brazil as a country where people resist waiting their turn in lines and all jostle to be first.

So the BTGs are like the perfect storm with all of these risk factors coming together.

 

[xdan0920]

I think there are 3 things that come together to make these groups the worst.

1. Large groups of teenagers with too few chaperones tend to misbehave. This applies to almost any nationality. I've seen it with Americans on the Mall in D.C.

2. As someone pointed out in an earlier post, Brazil has high inequality and the tour group kids are from wealthy families. In developing countries with high inequality, servants are cheap, most people are poorly educated, and the wealthy fall into the habit of thinking they're better and more deserving than other people. I saw this in grad school with students from India.

3. There are recognized cultural differences in queueing behavior. The best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell wrote a nice article on this for the Washington Post years ago. He singled out Brazil as a country where people resist waiting their turn in lines and all jostle to be first.

So the BTGs are like the perfect storm with all of these risk factors coming together.

Think you could link to this? Sounds like a very interesting read.

 

[skimbob]

I think what it boils down to is an issue of respect for others. We all pay a lot to go to WDW and we expect everyone to behave in an acceptable manner no matter who they are. I see a lot of teen groups in the parks and most of them are a little loud but they don't typically run amok. It is the responsibility of the chaperones to maintain some order. It is not the parks responsibility to play babysitter to anyone. I have seen adults behave bad as well and there have been a couple of times where I have wanted to remind them that you are adults so grow up. Maybe what Disney could do is to send a letter to these tour groups outlining some of the problems and saying that for the enjoyment of all guests they ask that groups follow some basic rules.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

And the obnoxious behavior is behavior you’d experience with most tour groups. When you put a group of teenagers together, speaking from the perspective of a teenage, it’s bound to get a bit out of hand. So it’s really no surprise that the groups are annoying and rude; not to mention these kids are somewhat “wealthy”, and so depending on your opinion, they may or may not be more spoiled, and thus rowdier, than other kids. That’s very political, though.. don’t quote me on it.

Excuse me but which other tour groups are in WDW in huge numbers that behave in a similar obnoxious way and are that notorious for rude, ruthless and uncivilized behaviour? I saw Japanese groups, Chinese groups, American groups etc. etc. but not one of them was behaving even remotely as annoying and disrespectful to others as the Brazilians. It is NOT a tour group problem, it is a Brazilian group problem.

 

[ddbowdoin]

Excuse me but which other tour groups are in WDW in huge numbers that behave in a similar obnoxious way and are that notorious for rude, ruthless and uncivilized behaviour? I saw Japanese groups, Chinese groups, American groups etc. etc. but not one of them was behaving even remotely as annoying and disrespectful to others as the Brazilians. It is NOT a tour group problem, it is a Brazilian group problem.

SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE PROPHET

no one wants to just be honest, it is a Brazilian problem.

 

[bellissimo]

Excuse me but which other tour groups are in WDW in huge numbers that behave in a similar obnoxious way and are that notorious for rude, ruthless and uncivilized behaviour? I saw Japanese groups, Chinese groups, American groups etc. etc. but not one of them was behaving even remotely as annoying and disrespectful to others as the Brazilians. It is NOT a tour group problem, it is a Brazilian group problem.

Not to be rude.. but I'm politely going to decline this statement. Completely. Brazilians and Americans are strung differently. You can't compare two entirely different cultures and compare one to the other- it just doesn't make sense. In Brazil, it's tolerable to act how Brazilians act. And in the United States? It's tolerable to act how Americans act. They might be the ones who find it okay to be loud and somewhat obnoxious in WDW, but at least they're not the ones suing Disney when their child falls and scrapes his knee. :lookaroun

 

[thewhitequeen]

I actually had a cm phone reservationist tell me to book my trip in August vs. July due to the "large groups - wink, wink, nod, nod." With that information, I googled and found the "large groups" she was speaking of.

My advice is if you see a bunch of the same t-shirts, go the opposite way.

 

[mickey&me]

Not to be rude.. but I'm politely going to decline this statement. Completely. Brazilians and Americans are strung differently. You can't compare two entirely different cultures and compare one to the other- it just doesn't make sense. In Brazil, it's tolerable to act how Brazilians act. And in the United States? It's tolerable to act how Americans act. They might be the ones who find it okay to be loud and somewhat obnoxious in WDW, but at least they're not the ones suing Disney when their child falls and scrapes his knee. :lookaroun

Yes, but they aren't acting that way in Brazil. They are acting that way in the U.S. And remember, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

 

[DisneyGigi]

I do not believe in singling out a group of people under normal circumstances, but if a certain group goes out of their way to be just flat out plain rude, then I am sorry, but you deserve it!
We have run into the tour groups in the park and they are loud, obnoxious, and just rude. The kicker though was running into them in our local shopping center. It wasn't just the teens being rude it was the adults. The kids were pushing shopping buggies with kids in them down the aisle at high speed and the adults were laughing and pushing their way in front of people in check out lines. I understand completely why people say what they do about these groups on here. It is one thing to run into a group of teens but they in no way act as bad as the Brazilian tour groups do, because the adults are every bit as bad as the kids! PS if our local kids acted that way in the stores they would be thrown out! (as they should be)

 

[The Duck]

Because of my timeshare schedule, I've been visiting WDW in late January for the past 30 years or so. In all the years that I've been visiting at this time, I've seen Brazilians cut in line, shouting and chanting and even spitting on people when they were confronted about their behavior. This past visit, I saw a Brazilian teenager leading his groups "chant" with a bullhorn. This was near the Main St. train station at closing time and there were several security guards standing nearby and not one of them stopped to ask them to shut the bullhorn off. Maybe I'm the one that's messed up, but is bringing a bullhorn into the parks acceptable behavior? Does anyone know if there's an official policy about this sort of thing?