Originally Posted By TDLFAN This is an FYI for those of you who plan to visit WDW in the next few days and weeks until the end of the summer season. I was at EPCOT Center several days ago with family members. The day was enjoyable for the most psrt but we had to endure the over abundance of teenage tour groups from Brazil and now also from Paraguay. There were at least 10 tour groups, each with what appeared to be at least 75 members in them (all dressed in same color uniform teeshirts that proudly display their nation's flags and with Disney name font that should be a clear trademark violation. They go around in large flocks, sometimes chanting loudly, and just taking over certain areas as if they were the proud owners of the parks. They go into the shops, open merchandise and throw it on the floor, and don't apologize or have any concerns for other guests in the park. But the abuse is there and it's being instigated by the group tour guides themselves. These tour guides are showing up at Fastpass machines with stacks of tickets in their hands and effectively take 50+ fastpasses for the convenience of their tours. I saw 2 different tour guide members doing this at the same time at the fastpass machines at Test trak the other day, and some guests were taking notice and getting ticked off, rightfully so. One guy confronted one of the two people about the excessive amount of fastpasses he was acquiring while others waited and the tour guide did not even look at him. These tour guides pretend not to be bilingual but trust me they DO SPEAK ENGLISH but will pretend not to in order to continue to abuse the systems Disney has in place for all guests to enjoy. So next time you see a Brazilian tour guide with 75 tickets getting 75 fastpasses from the machines in one turn, speak up and let them know you're not amused, and let Guest relations know as well. Also, if you plan to be in a coveted area for the fireworks then, be there very early, because tour guides are taking it upon themselves to park their tour groups at the most desirable spots around World showcase lagoon well in advanced for Illuminations. The day of our visit, 90 mins before showtime, the entire central area between the Ports of Call shops was totally taken up by these brazilian tour groups, and the guides were telling other people who tried to claim a spot that it was reserved for their groups. I brought this to the attention of the CM in the area and she replied that they were awared of the abuse but could not do anything because its first come first serve sitting... problem is, some people are holding spots for people who won't show up until 10 minutes before show time. IT's JUST UNFAIR for small families to have to deal with this abusive behavior and sense of entitlement. Then there is the other issue.. Disney recognizing them as important income. The last few weeks I have noticed how Disney is placing portuguese speaking CMs in green polos that resemble the Brazilian flag, and they are strategically positioned around the park to attend to these tour groups needs. That's fine and dandy, but my problem is.. the abuse these groups inflict on other guests. Considering these tour groups are afforded discounted group rates, the companies organizing these tour groups behave as if the own the freaking parks. To summarize, this is what I observed: -Tour guides getting dozens of Fastpasses at once, with huge stacks of tickets in their hands, monopolizing FP machines for over 5 minutes while they obtain FPs for their entire groups, as other guests wait behind them. -Tour groups showing up at Fast pass lines at the same time, effectively cluttering those lines and further backing up the stand by lines. There was no reason why my Fastpass line wait for test track took almost 40 mins if it had not been for the 75+ brazilian teens that cluttered the FP line at the same time. Even the CM managing the FP line seemed overwhelmed and trust me when I say a lot of FP holder not related to these tour were very upset and visible pissed. So was I. - Tour groups taking over the best spots for the show and claiming ownership of those areas and working together to weed out non-tour guests by claiming such spots are reserved or by holding large areas for their tour members.. I think it's BS. -Tour groups messing up merchandise at the Disney shops in the park and discarding it on the floor, etc. If I wanted to see that, I'd go shop at Ross. Anyways.. hope you don't get caught up in brazilian tour group HELL next time you visit WDW.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 The way it has been working for several years now has been the groups arrive early and the group heads to a major attraction...at Epcot it may be Test Track. While the group is on the standby line there since the wait time is short, the tour guide heads over to Soarin to get FP's. I once asked a manager about this and was told there is nothing that can be done. The tickets are valid and there are no rules that say you have to be the one putting your ticket in the machine. I agree that Disney is now catering to the groups as they are big money to the parks but I also find the groups to be fairly disrespectful at times also. But honestly I find that to be true for almost all large groups. Large American groups can be just as disrespectful.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Should I be surprised that Disney doesn't regulate the behavior of these groups when they are in the parks? I would think that an organized groups with the numbers of attendees as described would be subject to some kind of Disney oversight. Surely cast members and low level managers have reported the poor behavior of these groups over the years. Maybe we need to call the Today Show and have them do an expose on the problem. I bet if they did a segment warning people about the presence of obnoxious South American tour groups WDW management would suddenly spring into action.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I have seen group leaders spoken to, but Disney's only real authority would be to throw the group out of the park and the behavior, while annoying is not enough for that to happen.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Oh God. Those groups suck and have for years, but get worse every year. It is largely why I stopped going to WDW in the fall. They are loud and RUDE, gathering in groups, jumping up and down and chanting whatever the hell it is they chant. And unlike Brazilians visiting on their own, the women aren't even half naked. No fun whatsoever.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 " And unlike Brazilians visiting on their own, the women aren't even half naked. No fun whatsoever." Thanks. That made me laugh out loud. I needed that!
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "-Tour guides getting dozens of Fastpasses at once, with huge stacks of tickets in their hands, monopolizing FP machines for over 5 minutes while they obtain FPs for their entire groups, as other guests wait behind them. -Tour groups showing up at Fast pass lines at the same time, effectively cluttering those lines and further backing up the stand by lines." Perhaps this will be one of the hidden benefits of MyMagic+ - the ability to reserve multiple FPs in advance for large groups.
Originally Posted By disney pete Ugh have encountered a few of these in my times there not a pleasent experience.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I was stopped by a group of Brazilian girls once from a tour group in the MK who wanted to pose with me for pictures. WTH?? They didn't speak any English, so I couldn't ask why. I went along with it (because I'm silly like that way) figuring they must have thought I was someone famous.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Just out of curiosity, how is getting 75 FPs at once any worse than putting 75 people into the standby line at once. Either way, there's a large group of people in front of other guests. While I agree that it's certainly annoying to be stuck behind them, they are following Disney's rules just fine. If mom and the kids want to ride Test Track while dad grabs FPs for Soarin', nobody has an issue with it; the tour groups are doing the exact same thing. They pay to enter the parks just like the rest of us, and should be allowed to use FP too. Similarly, if they want to sit and wait 90 minutes for the fireworks just like everybody else, more power to them. I would have an issue if a couple people were saving space for 75 (just like how I don't want one person saving space for a family of 5), but it sounds like they are waiting it out fair and square For me, it's the chanting, general rudeness, and ability to 'take over' any given portion of the parks that bugs me. Unlike a family that might be rude on their own, these large groups are impossible to miss due to their sheer size and matching clothes. This is the area that's hardest to control, because it's the fuzzy grey area, but I think it's the most important one These tour groups must have some sort of official affiliation with Disney. In the early 00's, DL kicked Jim Hill out for giving unauthorized tours to small groups, so I would expect that a similar tour enterprise would also be subject to those policies. Disney allowed official groups in, so they should be able to control the madness somehow. Perhaps they could require that groups over a certain size be accompanied by a Disney tour guide to keep them in check (but not allow 'backdoor' privelages on attractions). I don't know what the solution is, but there is certainly a problem. What makes it particularly tough is that they really aren't breaking the rules; they're just loud and annoying for the rest of us
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Funny that WDW does not want to have Grad Nights anymore but this is encouraged and allowed.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I have noticed large groups in town for Sporting Events but they seem to also arrive for huge family/graduation events also. I guess any excuse to celebrate and bring the whole family. Disney must offer huge discounts to foreigners with free dining to fill the All Star resorts since Art of Animation opened ( the new in demand choice for small families)... If you read any of the DVC- owner's blogs, it becomes apparent they arrive to enjoy their hotel room and pool and DD and dining. Many say they never enter the parks...so Disney has to search for income and somebody to buy all the souvenirs... WDW actually discounted the annual passes to encourage DVCers to enter the parks and spend more money.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Just out of curiosity, how is getting 75 FPs at once any worse than putting 75 people into the standby line at once. Either way, there's a large group of people in front of other guests. While I agree that it's certainly annoying to be stuck behind them, they are following Disney's rules just fine." I agree. I do think that Disney ought to have a system in place for groups larger than X requiring that FPs for them be distributed to the tour leaders in advance to avoid congestion and bottlenecking at the FP machines. If the goal of FP is to maximize the enjoyment of all guests, then there is obviously a failure when large groups are trying to collect their FPs. This is a prime example of why all FP dispensers need to have the ability to offer any available FP for ALL FP enabled attractions anywhere in the park. It also demonstrates how FP+ could be used to put some controls on large groups hogging up the machines.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Yep after reading TDLFans original post I am all for the new Magic+. And you are right...there should be a limit of 5 or 10 FP per person. DL does have one rule to control crowds hogging the bench in front of the Castle: 2 people must be seated at all times to hold the bench not just one person. Of course WDW took care of that problem by just removing the benches on Main Street and rocking chairs by the Liberty Tree! And now they rope off all the good sections for "reserved seating" everywhere. It must be so stressful handling crowds and complaints , etc... I think the new Magic+ will have so much fine print to eliminate all future demands for reimbursements at City Hall...
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I also wonder what it is like for daily housekeeping to clean these rooms full of teenagers cause I am guessing they do not have one adult per room enforced.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Once upon a time school groups were heavily lectured on their behavior because they were representing their school or country.. just another old fashion concept I guess.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros My school groups were always lectured that we were representing ourselves, our school, our city, our state, etc. to everybody else, and we were pretty well behaved. That said, you set 100 13-year-old loose at Disney World in matching T-shirts, and of course there are going to be some obnoxious moments. We were allowed to go out in small groups (4?) and check in throughout the day, so our impact at any given place and time wasn't too bad, but it's very easy to see how things could get bad if there were too many people in one area. Whenever we saw another group from our school, we made sure to greet them loudly, which is really no better than the Brazilian approach. Whenever you have a group of that size, there's some inherent obnoxiousness involved If anybody's ever been in WDW when the cheerleading groups are there to compete, I'm sure you've noticed that they're just as bad, even if there are only 10-15 people in each squad.
