How are British visitors viewed?

[I<3EvilQueen]

I have to agree with what someone else said, that the stereotype over here is that the British are "proper" and "reserve". I have found the best conversations and friendlist people are the British citizens, when I am in line.

The tipping aspect was news to me, but then several countries around the world don't tip like we Americans do.

I only know of one rude Brit, and that is a vice-president here at my job, but that is more his personality, not his nationality.

 

[jonkatony]

Mind you the new blue and white spurs shirt is very nice fizz13

 

[yorkshiregirl]

We got reminded in a not very subtle way in a hotel in Clearwater at breakfast about leaving a tip by the waitress asking over and over again if we had enjoyed our meal and had she brought everything we needed She was obviously used to having to remind us Brits about the tip.
Talking of Speedo's where they what Daniel Craig wore in Casino Royale? Wouldn't minding seeing lots of those, toned bodies of course!

 

[Laren]

Does anyone have any opinions of us British? I would be interested to know your views on this subject.

I do! As a 'native' LOL I find the British tourists to be utterly charming, lovely, and so much more polite than most of the other tourists we encounter in WDW including our fellow Americans! LOL

I love the diversity you see in WDW- and want to just say that manners know no country of origin and that people should be open minded and smile and you'd be surprised how many more fun, kind and nice people you meet, from every country! There's a quote from a song I love by a-ha that says "How you look will decide what you see."

True words I hope all visitors to WDW feel welcome here in the states! forgive me if I didn't word this too well, my brain is shot today. . .

hugs to all
Laren

 

[LISAMWDW]

I also haven't noticed that it's a nationalty think. I think that for foreigners, that it is such a big deal for them to actually be in WDW in USA that they forget their manners! Don't get me wrong, everyone does it but I've noticed foreigners can be extemely aggressive in their cutting, shoving and standing right in front of you, blocking your view after you have been waiting, etc.

 

[missypie]

I am very aware that if someone is "different", they stand out and thus, attract more scrutiny. I've just been to a dance competition, so this issue is on my mind. In the last two days, I've watched hundreds of girls dance in groups. If one girl is heavier than all the others, or has super-skinny legs, or her costume is slightly different from the others, or has short hair when the others have a bun, the eye naturally goes to that girl. It is human nature. So to some degree, the success of the team depends more on how that "different" one dances. If the different one dances well, that is great. If the different one makes a mistake, however, it is more likely to be noticed than the mistakes of the other girls.

I don't think we can or should train ourselves to not notice people who are "different" ... it is really a survival thing that is built into us (e.g. from an evolutionary standpoint, we are programmed to notice when a member of the enemy tribe tries to slip into our territory. The Crime Watch folks still tell us to look for someone who is "out of place" in our neighborhoods.) Also, if someone is acting differently, they may be ill or otherwise in need of help.

So, how does that relate to Brits at WDW? We Americans notice the accent because it is different (most of us love to listen to it). Hearing an accent makes us pay a bit more attention to those persons than we pay to the thousands of other people at the parks. So, if you have a different accent and your behavior is exemplary, it is noted. However, if your children are screaming at the top of their lungs or are otherwise behaving badly, that is noticed also. At WDW, everyone sort of tunes out the voices of whiney kids and cross parents. But, if the voice we hear attracts our attention in some way (e.g. a British accent), then we pay more attention to those whines and cross words than we do to all of the others. We might hear 50 obnoxious American kids and 1 obnoxious British kid, but we're more likely to notice the obnoxious British kid.

And of course, the Brits get more scrutiny, because your accent attracts our attention AND we can understand what you are saying. If someone speaking Chinese is saying something rude, I'll never know it.

It happens to me with other American tourists all the time. I'll cringe when I overhear the insensitive things that other Americans say in Europe. But the Japanese guy in the same gift shop might be saying something just as bad, but I'll never know it. Thus, I get the impression of my fellow Americans being the rude ones.

 

[Chelley00]

We had a lovely time last year with the British tourist since we were at WDW at the tail end of their October break. They were always so polite and we had great conversations with many people from the UK! We did find it funny that they all walked on the "wrong side" of the road though And my husband said even if we did run into a rude British person saying something completely mean, we wouldn't really know it because it would just sound so proper. My 11 year old did come home saying "rubbish" because he heard someone say it at WDW and thought it was hysterical

 

[wic0721]

I love the fact that the Brits are always the ones eating everything with a knife and fork, including fries and pizza. I did NOT know it was culturally acceptable to eat bacon with your fingers - totally NOT done in the UK by anyone over the age of 3 - until a few weeks ago when someone on the DIS mentioned it.

You eat bacon with a fork and knife???

I'm going to have to watch my neice's boyfriend, who's from England, eat more often now! He's going to think I'm the creepy Aunt, who watches him eat all the time!

 

[missypie]

You eat bacon with a fork and knife???

I'm going to have to watch my neice's boyfriend, who's from England, eat more often now! He's going to think I'm the creepy Aunt, who watches him eat all the time!

You have to look at the differences between how Americans and Brits cook bacon. Brits think we Americans burn bacon and we think they serve it raw. So, if you tried to pick up their limp floppy bacon, it would be a mess (thus the knife and fork); if you tried to cut our crisp bacon, it would be a mess (thus, picking it up).

 

[fizz13]

You have to look at the differences between how Americans and Brits cook bacon. Brits think we Americans burn bacon and we think they serve it raw. So, if you tried to pick up their limp floppy bacon, it would be a mess (thus the knife and fork); if you tried to cut our crisp bacon, it would be a mess (thus, picking it up).

Now thats exactly what i was going to say! i tried and tried to eat my bacon with my knife and fork at breakfast and it just kept shattering, i had to have a real debate with myself if I would be judged if i picked it up with my fingers We do cook bacon very differently, only until it changes colour really, but i do love it extra crispy at WDW yum!

 

[NotUrsula]

Not just the difference in how bacon is cooked, but the difference in what it actually IS. Bacon in the UK is more like what an American would call Canadian Bacon, it is taken off the pig's back. American bacon is known as "streaky bacon" in the UK, it comes from around the belly.

Back bacon doesn't get crispy when well-cooked, but streaky bacon does. If you try to cut it with a knife and fork, it will just crumble to bits.

Here's another bacon-related difference: brown sauce (the usual US brand being A-1; the fave UK brand being H-P). Folks from the north of England and most of Ireland expect brown sauce with their bacon; it is always available. Ask for it in the US and waiters tend to think you are strange.

As for the OP's scenario: my guess would be that it was about 90% probable that the issue was that the American guests appeared to be about to make a scene, and perhaps 10% probable that the question of a tip played into it. I have been in the position of waiting tables in a tourist destination, and you are aware of nationalities' tipping patterns, but generally waiters don't get much say -- it is the person manning the stand who makes those decisions, but that position isn't tipped. The party will normally be seated unless they are KNOWN to stiff checks (not fail to leave a tip, but fail to pay at all.) I've never known a restaurant where the host/hostess was good enough friends with ALL of the waiters that he/she would steer potential bad tippers away; more commonly they only steer for people that they are friends with.

 

[MissMet]

I have always thought that Brits are incredibly friendly! It seems if we ever start a conversation with anyone it's almost ALWAYS Brits.

The only thing that drives my family nuts is something I guess we just have to work on...

I was unaware that the majority of NYers walk very fast compared to the majority of the US until we started going to WDW on a regular basis. We kept finding ourselves getting all worked up because the people in front of us were walking so SLOOOOOOOOOOOOW. I know we really shouldn't be in a rush at WDW but we don't even notice that we are walking faster than the norm until at WDW. Any other NYers find the same problem?? Every time we bring friends they always end up saying the same thing & we're like "See! It's not just us!"

I guess we'll just have to make an effort to slow down.

 

[allysmom1218]

I have met several Brits on my trips to WDW and I always find them to be very friendly and respectful. As a matter of fact, I really enjoy talking to them. I find it to be very educating on my part. On my first trip to WDW, I met a man and his family who were from the UK and he said that they are so amazed at how FAST paced we Americans are. He said we always seem to be in such a hurry and they just take things at a much slower pace. Maybe the reason we are always in such a hurry is because we average 1 week at WDW and they will spend almost 3 weeks there for their average.

 

[kimberh]

I want to ditto the positive comments at Walt Disney World, then I want to take it to Europe... we traveled to London...had a wonderful 7 day trip, not a rude person, well there was one at the tube, (just overlooked him) then we went to Paris, OK, Who came to our rescue? A british family and it could not have happened at a better time. We were so lost. The French didn't give a rip! We were on a Alaska cruise, met a wonderful couple, from outside London. They stayed in touch for a few years, invited us over. We were on a NCL cruise where you pick your time to eat. We ate a few meals with them. It was so enjoyable.

I didn't know that we didn't have to tip in Europe. Is that right?

 

[mom2my3kids]

You have to look at the differences between how Americans and Brits cook bacon. Brits think we Americans burn bacon and we think they serve it raw. So, if you tried to pick up their limp floppy bacon, it would be a mess (thus the knife and fork); if you tried to cut our crisp bacon, it would be a mess (thus, picking it up).

Yeah most Americans like (crispy bacon), I hear it all the time at work. Make sure my bacon is crisp..lol As for accent's we were at our local sports store and there was a man in there talking to my husband. He must of been from Rhode Island because of his accent. When we got to the car my daughter said did you hear how he talked. She knew what part of the country he was from, I don't think us hoosier's have a accent..

 

[Ellasgirls]

Here's a funny little story! Dh & I went to WDW 6 months after our wedding for our honeymoon and were sitting down for the Spectromagic parade when a family from England stood behind us with 2 small children. My dh & I asked if they would like the kids to sit with us so they could see better and the family agreed. We talked for quite a while until the parade started and ended up with the 2 boys on our laps (they were adorable btw). Towards the end of the parade my dh looked at me kind of weird but didn't say anything. When the parade got done he kindly stood up, gave the child back and informed the parents that the little guy had an "accident" ON MY DH!!! The lady was mortified! I thought it was hilarious and my dh was such a great sport about it. The lady even offered to have us come back to their resort (Poly....where they had stayed for the past 3 WEEKS!!!...can we say $$$$) so she could wash his clothes. We declined and hurried back to ASMu since it was closing time anyway. So even after that we don't have a "bad" view of other cultures and I find it awesome to hear all the accents! Have a great time and hopefully you don't run into any problems from rude people of any culture...

 

[Mad Tea Party]

It's nice to see such positive views of us British!
Personally, I find Americans so polite and I always manage to strike up a conversation with a younger child on the bus or a cast member. I'm going to WDW in october with my dad and sister so come and say hi to us!, everyone seems to love my dad's London accent

 

[WDWtinkbell1982]

With regards to tipping in the Uk we tend to round the bill up to the next ten pounds (if its £14.00 we pay £20) but as others stated it is not such a big deal here where tips are that little bit extra and not to be lived on. I do try to remember to tip more in the US.

I am wondering if you hit the nail on the head here. It is my feeling that there are no ill feelings to our British Brethren, but there is a cultural difference when it comes to tipping. So it may make sense to the OP why they American couple was seated....but in my honest opinion.....I think the American couple wined until they got their way.

 

[GOOFYDONALDMICKEY]

Does anyone have any opinions of us British? I would be interested to know your views on this subject.

I find the British to be very friendly and courteous. Quite honestly, I have never met a Brit that I did not like. We had one of the best conversations on our last trip with a small group from southern England. I have always wondered how the Brits view us.

 

[Kies99]

Okay, not sure if this is posted or not and I don't feel like reading through the whole thread.

As for the British, I think England is the greatest place in the world and I can never get enough of it (and yes I was born here in the U.S. and am not married to a Brit nor have I ever lived there). My family did live in Germany and whenever I went to visit my parents, I scheduled a flight that allowed for an 8 hour layover in London just so I could go into the city for a few hours. I have never met a Brit who was any more rude than any typical American. I love all things Brit.

Now the French........

As for the tipping thing, it's not a lack of etiquite or anything like that. It's just not done in many/most other countries (applying to dining only). A lot of times you might just round up your bill to an even number. That being said, in the U.S., I will NOT tip because I'm expected to. If I get less than adequate service then that person gets no tip.

As for "spot the foreigner", I have this magical ability. I was born in the U.S., spent my formative years in Australia and have lived in Germany. I've travelled substantially and circumnavigated the globe 4 times. I have an uncanny ability to "spot" a foreigner. It's in the way they dress and carry themselves. This is not a bad thing, it's just that it's slightly noticeable things. Kind of like dark socks and tennis shoes with shorts or a T-shirt is made of thinner material than we are used to in the U.S. Like I said, it's little things that I've noticed that I can pick up. While some of it's done in the in the U.S., it's not as frequent as you might find outside the U.S. Does that make sense? And hey, don't knock the Football (soccer) jerseys. I find these incredibly comfortable and I usually can be found wearing one at least once a week (I wear a suit everyday for work so I like my comfort outside of work). And yes Manchester United is the greatest thing since sliced bread!!!

Anyway, no matter what nationality you are you should be viewed on a individual basis. Anyone who holds a negative view about a nation or race as a whole is just plain ignorant.