January Tour Groups A Prob?

[MushuGrl]

We're tentatively (I keep saying that but it's getting less tentative..yah!) planning a trip for the last week in January, but I keep hearing about a ton of tour groups coming in at that time.

I've been in the summer, and I've been during Pop Warner and during free dining, and have never felt any problem with the crowds. Do the tour groups cause that much of a problem?

[Dsnygirl]

Honestly, I think it depends on where you're staying and if you're at the same parks they're at.

Some g'friends and I went this past January, during the last wknd... we stayed at ASMusic, and had quite a time with tour groups from Brazil.

I was locked out of my room one night for an hour and a half b/c the "runner" who had to come with a master key kept getting pulled to do stuff for the tour groups... they actually had to pull a runner from ASMovies to come get me in!! (The extra security latch was on on the inside of my door, and we had to go into the room next door to un-latch it) They (the staff there) said it was crazy, and they had mousekeeping issues, too, as the teens in the groups kept moving the "do not disturb" signs to different doors, so folks who wanted to be left alone were being woken up, and those who wanted service were being ignored b/c the signs were ending up on the wrong doors. So, lots of late night calls for towels, etc., from the non-touring guests who were missed kept the staff running, too.

The only other "resort glitch" we noticed was that if you were at a park when it closed with tour groups there, and they were headed to your resort, if you didn't get to the buses before them, you were likely waiting over an hour to get a bus "home". We had this happen at MK -- two groups hit the buses before we did, and we sat on the pavement in line for over an hour. Finally, Disney brought more than one bus at a time, but it took them an hour to do even that. So -- word to the wise -- if you notice tour groups and the parks are closing, either sprint to your bus ahead of them (we did this, at Epcot -- we were out of breath, but we got to our resort fast! :D) or wait and do your shopping at the close of the day so at least you can enjoy the wait! ;)

As far as in the parks, I didn't notice much craziness during the day, but nights at Epcot were a bit nuts b/c the tour groups would scream and holler for their countries during Illuminations -- understandable, they're teens and proud of their country -- but it really made the show unenjoyable, esp. if you were right near them, which we always seemed to be! :(

[dmallan]

In the parks, just turn and head the other direction when you see any tour groups. Do not get in line behind them - they tend to be loud and abnoxious.

[MushuGrl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[fanofdisney]

We are looking at going in January. When do these tour groups typically go to WDW?

[ThanxForNoticin]

We've visited WDW the last week of January numerous times, and I can honestly say that we've never had any problems with the tour groups. Apparently, it could be a bigger deal if you are staying at an All-Star or Pop where these groups are staying. But as far as an impact in the parks, we have not ever had any problems. I don't think they're any different than many of the other groups - like the football teams, baseball teams, cheerleading teams, school groups, or large family groups. And I certainly wouldn't let them change your plans to go in January - go and have a great time!