How to make your boyfriend LOVE Disney

[Tramp77]

Ladies I am single and I am an athletic jock type several months out of a LTR...had my heart broken. Been to WDW over 30 times, former Disney Store cast member. 6'1, 229 pounds, football player's build. Very nice, laid back and down to earth. Feel free to say hello...

 

[Plum85]

My DBF of 4 years was extremely sceptical about Disney. He doesn't like hot weather, is a really bad flier (9 hours for us with one stop in between), he HATES roller coasters or anything other than very small rides. He always said Disney was really childish, never seen any of the movies and didn't know why I liked it so much. We went in september last year for two weeks, and once we arrived home we immediately booked to go again. HE LOVED IT!!

DBF sounds like the least likely candidate to fall in love with Disney but he did. I made sure we did lots of other activities like shopping, eating out, laying by the pool, and both US and IoA. My advice is not to make it ALL about Disney. We go again in 8 weeks and DBF is so excited. Don't give up hope!

 

[Dizisfun]

IMO Disney is one of those things that you either love it or you don't. Fortunately for me my DH loves Disney...But I have to say that he would spend our entire vacation at Epcot if it were up to him. I think when most people think about Disney they are thinking Magic Kingdom. So my suggestion would be to introduce him to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Also Disney has the Richard Petty driving experience which may be something that he would be interested in doing....Good luck

 

[elishakaylen]

Me and my bf have a trip booked for this December for my 21st birthday and I am beyond excited, but he just hasn't showed very much thrill about it. I have been many times (never at Christmas time though), but he has only been one time on a family trip when he was pretty young. I guess he really only saw the little kid aspect of it and is not realizing adults (we're 20 and 22, will be 21 and 23 at time of trip) can enjoy WDW too!

Hope he gets excited when we get there, which I am sure he will. But right now he just rolls his time every time i meantion it and talk about the plans.

 

[TXGoofyGirl]

As a former BF (now DH) I would say show him how important it is to you and the love of Disney will follow

When I first invited my BF (now DH) to Disney, he was game, but not totally stoked about it. When he saw how my face lights up when I see the castle, or how I cry during Wishes, he just "got" it. And now he's just as excited about going back as I am - 3+ times a year - and we're not locals!

 

[pg0314]

My BFF's hubby isn't a theme park fan but goes to Disney with her because he knows how much she loves it. Knowing it's not really his thing, she doesn't push him to go commando style or try things he's really not interested in. For example, he hates getting up early on vacation so they usually don't hit the parks until lunchtime. He gets motion sickness so she doesn't try to force him onto thrill rides. And they always have a non-Disney day where they do something he really likes: Sea World or the Kennedy Space Center for example.

 

[MissSabrinaLee]

My BF doesn't like amusement parks, thrill rides, water rides, crowds, or heat. That being said he has agreed to go to WDW for an 8 night trip. How? I did exactly what everyone is suggesting. Find a few things that he IS interested in. Unfortunately he's not uber excited yet. I think once they get there the magic will take over if you don't force it. I'm hoping that he'll come away wanting to go back as much as me! (Or at the very least be willing to go back =])

 

[canopynut66]

hate to tell you but some just into it and some not IMO cannot make someone love it like we do. have a cousin like that he hates it???? but he has NEVER been in any park? so how can you hate something you have never seen or know nothing about is my question to him and he just shrugs his shoulders and says not going...ask him to at least go and go over to ESPN and watch NASCAR of sports all day so his wife and kid could go and nope he wants his beer and chair at home. it is what it is and only gets worse...

 

[magicLAL12]

I brought my DBF along for his first ever trip to WDW in early June. I have to admit, at first he didn't seem very excited- it actually made me a bit upset when I booked the trip and he wasn't jumping up and down like I was. But at the same time, he was smiling and did agree to go- which is better than nothing!

Since it was his first time, and I hadn't been in over 10 years, I bought a guidebook so that we could learn more about the parks/rides/restaurants that had changed, etc.. While DBF didn't want to read the book cover-to-cover like I did, he had a lot of fun glancing through the book and picking out things that HE found interesting.

DBF ended up falling in love with Disney- he even booked our next trip 2 days after we returned home! I have to agree with some of the other posts in this thread as well:

My advice is kind of negative but I think it's important. Be very careful about how you go about this because you can easily go from suggestions to pestering. Good luck though!

I have to agree entirely- sometimes (since we've experienced Disney) we get annoyed when others aren't as excited about certain things. I would let your boyfriend become excited naturally- like I suggested, let HIM to the research on his own! Don't overplan the trip with thousands of sporting events, etc- because then you don't really get to experience Disney as a couple. Just relax, and if he loves you- it will all work out!

When I first invited my BF (now DH) to Disney, he was game, but not totally stoked about it. When he saw how my face lights up when I see the castle, or how I cry during Wishes, he just "got" it. And now he's just as excited about going back as I am - 3+ times a year - and we're not locals!

This pretty much sums up our trip in early June- no matter how much "planning" you do beforehand- nothing will compare to how happy he will see you once you reach Disney.

Have fun!

 

[rabbitroger]

And if nothing else peaks his interest, tell him to search "Flash Mountain"

 

[brandihead2012]

I just wanted to updated everyone! He said yes and we are going in march. Hos only request, he gets to see menus before I book adrs!

 

[somethingblue]

If it's important to you, he should go, because it's important to you. But if he complains and hates it the whole time, you'll know it's not for him.

Don't forget to do something important to him that you don't particularly like, too.

 

[brandihead2012]

Agreed. I requested the video and maps for him to watch. I am thinking about all thinga he might like but I watch him getting more and more excited when describing things. You can follow my ptr for more details and suggestions

 

[Leota]

DH used to do WDW to please DS & I. He liked it, recommended it to his friends, but wasn't nuts about it. Then I pushed him away from Disney by "asking for his input" too much & planning too many "things I just know you would love"

Then I finally got the message, started just making plans on my own & stopped being commando & he started to like it again. Then DS grew up & we started going just the 2 of us & basing the whole trip around adult pursuits & he fell completely in love with it. So much so that we are in the process of buying a home down there for our impending retirement.

Congrats on getting him to agree! That's great. Now just don't make the mistakes I made & try to talk to him about the trip all the time. And let him call the shots for how much he wants to do or not do. If he's a real lazy tour-er and you just gotta have some commando time, ask for one day to do that. But listen carefully to his signals. It's so easy for us Mouse Fans to go a wee bit overboard and be oblivious about it.

 

[AJ1983]

I wasn't so sure how excited my boyfriend was with going to Disney with me for a day... So I looked into things.

I found photos of interesting foods at service stations he might like to eat. I looked into what kind of beer was where. I told him interesting facts that applied to his interest that weren't so.. Obvious about Disney.


And then, we were at a mall and it had a huge Disney store. The whole thing that sold him on it would be fun to go to Disney? The smile on my face when i walked in there.

We also agreed when we went into the park that we would take it easy, if it wasn't a high priority ride for us we could easily skip it. Since we aren't big line waiters we enjoyed the time together exploring and taking in the sights.

LOL that sounds like me...I found out all the places he could buy Coors Light, and told him that Garden Grocer will deliver it to the hotel for us. I also planned 2 days at US/IOA because he loves comic book/superhero stuff.

I think what really sold him is when I FINALLY admitted that there are some useful apps...I told him we have to look at getting international rates put on his IPhone for that month so we can use the wait time and restaurant menu apps. I told him that would save us alot of time walking around from ride to ride trying to find one with a short line/quick FP return time. Plus, he smokes, so I told him he could choose his supper or his next ride from the DSA haha

Its odd to have to "prep" someone so much for a Disney trip, when I'm already counting down the days haha. However, when I told him today that it was under 200 days, he seemed a little more interested than normal And he immediately agreed to go to the Be Our Guest restaurant and said it looked "really cool", so I think we're in business now haha

 

[nurse.darcy]

Hope he gets excited when we get there, which I am sure he will. But right now he just rolls his time every time i meantion it and talk about the plans.

Quit talking about it. Seriously. Just make plans and know that he will LOVE it once there.

I just wanted to updated everyone! He said yes and we are going in march. Hos only request, he gets to see menus before I book adrs!

Excellent. . .Now, don't book every meal. Let some of them be spontaneous. There are some restaurants that you can get last minute ressies in or do a walk up without any issues. Several that I can think of off the top of my head are. . .Tokyo Dining, Big River Grille on the Boardwalk, Nine Dragons in China, the restaurant in Morocco (can't remember the name), Yak and Yeti at Animal Kingdom, Tony's Town Square Restaurant at MK, nearly all the restaurants at DTD and the Hollywood Brown Derby at DHS. There are also several bars that you can sit at and enjoy a full menu. My favorite is Tune Inn Lounge with a menu from 50's Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios.

Take it easy on the "over the top" Disney stuff and let him dictate your touring style while on vacation. It will go much better if you let him decide when to get out of bed and when to go back to the hotel. Enjoy your trip. . .cannot wait to hear how it goes.

LOL that sounds like me...I found out all the places he could buy Coors Light, and told him that Garden Grocer will deliver it to the hotel for us. I also planned 2 days at US/IOA because he loves comic book/superhero stuff.

I think what really sold him is when I FINALLY admitted that there are some useful apps...I told him we have to look at getting international rates put on his IPhone for that month so we can use the wait time and restaurant menu apps. I told him that would save us alot of time walking around from ride to ride trying to find one with a short line/quick FP return time. Plus, he smokes, so I told him he could choose his supper or his next ride from the DSA haha

Its odd to have to "prep" someone so much for a Disney trip, when I'm already counting down the days haha. However, when I told him today that it was under 200 days, he seemed a little more interested than normal And he immediately agreed to go to the Be Our Guest restaurant and said it looked "really cool", so I think we're in business now haha

Oh girl, I get that. I met my BF on Match.com. After a couple times talking on the phone, we decided to meet. He picked Epcot because he knew, after long conversations, that I loved Disney and anything WDW. I showed him Epcot from my point of view and we talked, had an awesome dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel and went on to enjoy Illuminations and head to DTD after Epcot closed. Our date went on far into the night.

I am still with him today (Its been nearly a year and a half) and we are both Annual Passholders. He is the love of my life and, even though he is from Florida and had lived in the Orlando area for a VERY LONG time, was not a Disney enthusiast till I showed him how to have fun at Disney. We don't ever commando, and he likes to sleep in. If I want to go to rope drop when there, I don't make him come. I let him sleep in and he meets me later. . .its awesome. . .I get the best and don't deal with a man who prefers sleep to rope drop. . .lol. I know you all get that.

 

[NightStar]

I also had to do a lot of convincing to get my DFi to go again. Part of his resistance was my fault. The last two times we went were only one day stints and we only visited MK. He thought that was all there is to offer and that the other parks were exactly like that. I became determined to prove him wrong. I told him about the Exotic Driving Experience at WDW speedway. He got all excited about driving a Ferrari (a childhood dream) so he told me to book the trip after that lol . We are going for 7 nights in Dec. He keeps getting excited about all the signature restaurants, drinking around the world in Epcot, cirque du soleil la nouba, going on Star Tours and the safari at AK. I am really trying to plan this trip with him in mind. I keep trying to find little things we can do that are right up his alley. I hope after this trip he will become a Disney addict.