Brazil's tour groups

[happy day]

Any one who has been in Disney this last June and now July, are the tour groups as large as usual, and which hotels do these groups usually stay?

[Daisy712]

We were there last mid-June. We didn't see any groups at Pop Century.

[Altair]

Their summer is our winter, so the tour groups are less in June and July.

[Rekenna]

I read on another site about the large Brazillian tour groups-the thread was titled Billions of Brazillians. I do not have first hand experience with this, but the comments on the thread describe the large groups as very rude and cutting in line mulitple times. Doesn't sound fun.

[DizneyRox]

Their summer is our winter, so the tour groups are less in June and July.

Really? There are less now than usual? Glad I come in the summer then. There are a bunch here now, not any noisier or ruder than I remember. Actually pretty well behaved than prior years.

[honeebee86]

Having been to both AK and MK just this past Thursday I can tell you what I observed. At AK I noticed about 2 large groups made up of about 40 or so. At Mk there were 2-3 smaller groups of about 20 or so. The only thing that is hard is that they try to keep everyone together so when you have one cut you off on the street another 20-40 will follow. I don't think they are rude, they are just high school aged students with that same attitude most high school students have. Also, a lot do not speak English so I am sure they feel uncomfortable as well.

[honeebee86]

oh and as for them cutting into lines, i didn't notice anything like that but have on previous visits years before. They do have some wait in line and then the rest join when the line gets closer to the attraction. And yes it is annoying when all of a sudden you have 15 people making their way to the front of the line. But to me it is no different that families who have one person wait and then the rest join them at the front.

[Tekneek]

Nothing wrong with people holding spots for another family member with young children, in my opinion, but holding spots for a dozen or more teenage-or-older people is excessive and exploitative. Touring with a large group should not be twisted into a self-made variation of the fast pass.

[Daisy712]

Nothing wrong with people holding spots for another family member with young children, in my opinion, but holding spots for a dozen or more teenage-or-older people is excessive and exploitative. Touring with a large group should not be twisted into a self-made variation of the fast pass.

I agree. I hate seeing people push through the lines to get to their party. Completely different story when they have small children in tow. You never know when a little one will need a potty break.

[honeebee86]

I agree with the young children, I was referring to families who do this with teenagers or other adult family members.

[JPL]

The best startegy for dealing with any large tour group is to reverse your direction they usually flow through the park in one direction so head in the opposite direction they are and you will be fine. If you see a large group heading towards a stand-by line skip that attraction and come back to it.

[BluewaterBrad]

We have never had a problem with any "group"! Last I remember I live in America. Quit complaining. Just another post for people to complain. Very SAD INDEED!!! Yes, I expect a pm from a mod that says I just overstepped my bounds. Unbelievable.

[MushuGrl]

We noticed alot of them when we went back in January. I too read some other threads about said groups and actually feared for my vacation - even going as far as changing resorts.

However I have to say none of the things I was "warned" about happened. I would just make sure, if I saw them heading toward a ride, I would chose a different ride (mainly because I knew ride time about about to shoot straight up.) But then again I tended to do that anyway if I saw a large group of anybody going toward one attraction.

[Dickson Thunder]

When we last went in July 2007, on one occassion at Soarin, part of a tour group that got ahead of their party let us pass on by in line instead of the back-end trying to cut in front of us. We also saw a couple of groups at Animal Kingdom with no problems either. We go back in 6 days and actually hope to see a couple of groups to liven things up!

[SandmanGStefani24]

We have never had a problem with any "group"! Last I remember I live in America. Quit complaining. Just another post for people to complain. Very SAD INDEED!!! Yes, I expect a pm from a mod that says I just overstepped my bounds. Unbelievable.

I think you've overreacted a bit here...I don't think this is any different than asking about Pop Warner or Cheerleader groups. It's not who they are or where they are from, it's simply about large groups of individuals singing, chanting, or cheering loudly. (all 3 groups I mentioned do that, it doesnt matter where the kids are from...) Also, it can cause logjams on rides or at restaurants. I don't think any member of Intercot would be thinking anything negative simply because of where they are from. Tour groups, nothing more.

Off my now...and back to topic...
Pop warner and cheerleading weeks are posted online, so can this info maybe be found as well?

[Daisy'sMom]

I don't know where the tour groups are from nor do I care. I have seen the worse and the best of them at Disney. I have seen them steal, and yet I have seen them stop and try to placate a crying child. But then again, no matter where you are, you will find the same thing. Good and bad.

[Disney1977]

We ran into the Brazilian Tour Groups for one day of our January 2009 vacation. They did cut the lines and monopolize the fast pass machines. Tour leaders would take up all the fast pass machines at a particular attraction and feed hundreds of cards through.

It was really annoying and rude IMHO.

[5togetherWDW]

Last July (2009) there were MANY tour groups of teens chanting loudly in Portuguese. I believe they were Brazilian. We were there mid-July. One night we were waiting in the tight pathway for Fantasmic with at least 5 different groups. They were enjoying themselves by trying to outdo one another (yelling, cheering, chanting, etc).
One of the nearby teens told me that it is tradition - they always come to the US for their break. She said it is the most fun when many groups land in the same park. From what she said, I had the impression that July was their annual break time.
Generally, they seemed friendly enough teens -- but it was a bit much when trapped in the middle of the group waiting to get into the theater. On the other hand, they ended up doing a pretty good pre-show for us all once we were in our seats.

[BigThunderFan]

I agree, they can really make the wait at Fantasmic! a lot more fun with their singing/chanting. On Small World or Pirates, not so much fun though... Kind of ruins it for us.

[madhatterrules]

I was actually assalted by a member of the group. My husband, my best friend, our 2 children and myself were waiting in line at Soaring. It was a LONG line and we were still very close to the entrance when the 2 girls, age 6, said they needed to use the bathroom. I saw a CM and asked if it would be OK if I got out of line to take them to the restroom and rejoin my husband & friend. They said it was OK, as the bathroom was visible from where we were in line. As I was taking them out of the line, the group from Brazil was very rude and would not let us get through, they kept shoving us. We finally made it out and then on our way back had no problem until we reached that group again. They actuall all linked arms and blocked the entire width of the line. When we tried to go through them they hit the girls in the head with their elbows. I told them we needed to get back to my husband who was sitting in a wheel chair waiting for us. As we agin tried to pass through a woman punched me in the back of the head with both her fists! I was so shocked and started yelling for help. Other guests helped me get back to my husband; with 2 crying children. There was no CM to be found until we got up closer to the boarding area of the ride; I told them that I had just been assalted and they said "let me guess; it was one of the people from Brazil. We've been having problems with them all day, you are the 3rd person that's been hit" They told me that there was suppossed to be a WDW employee with them to help avoid any problems and they were going to ask them to leave but I needed to understand it was part of their culture. I have friends from all over the world and many different cultures and no one I know thinks its an acceptable thing to do to anyone. I think if Disney knows there are problems with large groups then they should be addressed immediately and always have an employee with them who can help control any situations. It was the only time I've had a bad time in WDW.