DH...the scrooge

One man’s opinion! Reading some of these posts really depress me and actually make my blood boil a bit. I feel really bad for those of you who have spouses that… dare I say… just don’t get it! The magic, the memories, the laughter, the love you share with families.

My wife and I have gone to WDW every year since we’ve been married. I do the bookings and such but she is heavily involved in the planning as well. We talk Disney all the time, not only to make sure everything is organized but it actually excites us as we think of new things to do and old things that we’ve done that we can make new again which will then ignite side convos of past memories and laughter.

I couldn’t imagine doing Disney without her and to read some of these posts makes me sad a bit.

Lol don't be sad for me. While I do like it when my DH goes to Disney with me, I don't loose any sleep when he doesn't. (Plus it means the dogs don't have to go to the kennel and we don't have to find someone to feed the horses lol.)

If he complained about how often I go THEN we would have a problem but since he bought me DVC so I can go whenever I want my vacation life is awesome! :thumbsup2
 
Other than choosing the dates and resort, what is there to plan? We are a "wing it" type of WDW family.
 
Sometimes "planning" just means talking about what we want to do, not necessarily when :O)

We tend to be "just wing it" disney'ers too, but we can't stop talking about haha.
 

he just wants to go other places! We went in 1984 (alone), 1989 (with DD) and 1999 (with DD and DS). In 2005 he got his "mid-life crisis" Harley, so in 2006 I got my "mid-life crisis" WDW trip - 10 days at WL with free dining. I was totally hooked and he was done. "How many times can we go?" Well, I've gone every year since with either DD or DBr. Last year I dragged him down with DGS as an excuse. Now DD lives in Kissimmee and, well we have to stay somewhere and did I mention we could get free dining again? (the only part he really likes)

I've learned not to talk about it too much and he'll just go along. It is, however, funny to listen to him tell his buddies what great deals I get on WDW vacations!
 
One man’s opinion! Reading some of these posts really depress me and actually make my blood boil a bit. I feel really bad for those of you who have spouses that… dare I say… just don’t get it! The magic, the memories, the laughter, the love you share with families.



I couldn’t imagine doing Disney without her and to read some of these posts makes me sad a bit.


Why would you be sad that others are not like you? I go more often then my DH, he loves it but he is not gong there every vacation. No problem.
 
Why would you be sad that others are not like you? I go more often then my DH, he loves it but he is not gong there every vacation. No problem.

Errrrrr, I'm not sad others are not like me... In fact I would feel even worse if anyone was like me :thumbsup2. Poor saps!;)

I just sense a lot of frustration/sadness/emotion of your choice... from other posters here regarding their husbands or even wives in some cases not care at all or have very little interest. I guess its just strange to me to hear people take separate vacations.
 
My husband is very similar. The good news is that he does love it once we are there and is always willing to go back. He just can't deal with my (admittedly endless) chatter and list making and deciding what (not just where) we should eats months in advance.

He has been often enough that he appreciates my planning and will very occasionally ask to make sure we do something or other. And slightly more frequently that we skip parades and live stage shows involving singing (true grump - I swear I could hear his eyes rolling during Voyage of the Little Mermaid).

But he really doesn't participate in planning beyond an initial when, how long, and how much conversation. This is true for all vacations. If I really want his input on something, I email him overly dramatic PowerPoint presentations laying out the options because they make him laugh and usually result in an answer.

One final tip - if he really hates crowds, lines, and walking, you might want to at least discuss the virtues of rope drop. And if you haven't already, make sure you look at Josh's (EasyWDW.com) recommended parks and cheat sheets.

I'm the planner. Dh asks for very little. He might help me decide between a few resorts, or request one specific meal. But in 9 trips it's all been up to me. However, he has a great time and I have heard several times "Kids, your mom plans the best trips ever!" :goodvibes
He appreciates it, but doesn't get excited until it's almost time to go. He's usually swamped with school and work and we take our vacations right after his exams. So he loves putting down the books, packing a bag and having fun for a week without having to worry about the details. It works for us so I don't mind. He was talking about DVC at dinner the other night though. Which is weird for him. I think we mostly decided it just doesn't make sense for us (again) but it was interesting that he brought it up.


Find out what makes your DH tick. Both of us are frugal by nature and love getting the best deals. Our first WDW trip was because we had Give a Day passes - so 1 free entry each. We planned a long weekend since we had some airmiles to burn. Ended up staying onsite because it was cheaper than offsite (because of ME).

DH fell absolutely in love with the place. I was completely shocked. This is SO not my DH. He barely knows any of the characters and has watched only a handful of Disney movies. I remember when we were dating, he had no idea of the storyline of most fairy tales (and still doesn't).

He hadn't listened to a word of all my excited planning chatter, I made him watch Youtube videos he somehow has no clue about. Even if you ask him today what it is he loves about WDW - he can't verbalize it. I call it pixie dust.

He loved that we didn't wait in many lines. He really loves feeling like a VIP and the idea of walking past the poor folks in standby lines gave him a huge kick.

He loves that the whole family is together for most things. He has zero interest in Universal because he doesn't do coasters and such. At WDW, he only has to sit on a bench for a few rides. On a side note, he has no problems sitting on a bench waiting - we had season passes for Cedar Point and in a dozen trips over one summer, he spent 50% of his time waiting for DD and I - and was happy about it because he likes seeing us have so much fun.

He loves the free dining deals I get. He loves feeling like we scored an awesome deal.

He loves that there is so much to see and do always.

Most of all - he loves my planning so he doesn't have to stress about any logistics.

On my part, I no longer bore him with planning chatter. I'll ask now and again stuff like, "do you want to stay here for $xx or spend $xx more to stay here?". "How many times do you want to eat at your fave place, Ohana?".

Most of my planning obsessions are restricted to the Dis. He likes it that way. I wish he was more into planning - but I also know I am over the top nuts (hey, it's my way to relax!).
 
I apologize is this isn't the correct place for this but I didn't know where else to put it.

I need some advice on how to handle my DH. He is a notorious scrooge.
He is on board to go on our 1st family vacation (kids are 8 and 5) and he is on board with that vacation being Disney. He wants NOTHING to do with the planning. I have planned everything. I have tried to sit down with him and ask his opinion on things like restaurants or our car rental and he just says do what you want.

He refuses to listen to anything about Disney, such as the strategy of rope drop, the shoes we need to wear, the pros and cons of offsite vs. onsite....

He hates crowds, walking, standing in line, and taking pictures. Umm, that is what Disney is about isn't it?

I get that not everyone is going to be excited over every detail so I am doing as much as I can on my own - and I am getting my ideal vacation so I am happy about that. I just don't know what I can do to get him to realize what he is getting himself into and prepare him for what to expect at Disney.

Should I just forget it and he'll be just as surprised at everything as the kids will be when they get there or should I be pushing him to go through some of the details with me.

How involved are your DH's?

As a student of Psychology (PSY major pre-med minor) I have seen this dynamic between couples many times. What your husband is doing is making sure that no matter what you are doing or where you are at any given time he can complain. And complain with vegence because he did not make any of the decisions. You should warn him very strongly before you go that "SINCE AFTER NUMEROUS REQUESTS FOR INPUT, FROM YOU, ABOUT WHAT WE SHOULD DO AND WHERE WE SHOULD GO AND WITH NO SUGGESTIONS FROM YOU,YOU HAVE GIVEN UP ANY RICHT YOU MAKE THINK YOU HAVE TO COMPLAIN ONCE WE GET THERE." My advice is to tell him this more than once and then when you see him going into complaint mode, and you know you can see it before you hear it, calmly remind him he gave up his right to complain. Then smile and have a good time :cool1:
 
What I have found is to find a happy medium. We will plan a few park days and also some non park days and he is happy. I have also found out that he does much better off-site than on. Give him a house with a pool, hot tub, patio, big screen TV, king size bed and a kitchen and he is a happy camper! He can keep his drinks cold, his snacks hot, catch-up on movies he has missed on off days and he feels like he got the vacation he wants too!
 
I apologize is this isn't the correct place for this but I didn't know where else to put it.

I need some advice on how to handle my DH. He is a notorious scrooge.
He is on board to go on our 1st family vacation (kids are 8 and 5) and he is on board with that vacation being Disney. He wants NOTHING to do with the planning. I have planned everything. I have tried to sit down with him and ask his opinion on things like restaurants or our car rental and he just says do what you want.

He refuses to listen to anything about Disney, such as the strategy of rope drop, the shoes we need to wear, the pros and cons of offsite vs. onsite....

He hates crowds, walking, standing in line, and taking pictures. Umm, that is what Disney is about isn't it?

I get that not everyone is going to be excited over every detail so I am doing as much as I can on my own - and I am getting my ideal vacation so I am happy about that. I just don't know what I can do to get him to realize what he is getting himself into and prepare him for what to expect at Disney.

Should I just forget it and he'll be just as surprised at everything as the kids will be when they get there or should I be pushing him to go through some of the details with me.

How involved are your DH's?

I just have to say that my husband sounds an awful lot like yours. He has nothing to do with planning and even makes fun of me. He does seem to ultimatley enjoy his time there and has let us return for 6 years in a row.

However, I we did travel with a family last year that had a DH that hated DIsney. He vowed never to go. In the end, because of my planning, he said he tolerated it. My point. If it make you happy do all the planning and leave him out. There is not reason to have him ruin the magic!
 
Sounds almost like my DH. I started planning/researching our trip 10 months prior and getting him to give any input along the way was like pulling teeth. He said at first, "After this trip, we're not going back for 10 years!" Then when we were there, he said, "OK, we can come back in 5 years" A month or so ago, after watching a WDW show on Destination America, he amended it to 4 years. But in the meantime, I am planning a DLR cruise for next fall. I can't even talk with him about it though, cuz he thinks it's too early to start talking about it.

All that being said, he does enjoy himself while we are there and has said many times that he appreciates the effort/obsessing I put into the trips. He even tells people how my planning/obsessing always makes for a fun and economical trip. ha ha

But going without him? Nope, not gonna happen. He thinks of vacations as "family" vacations, not single parent vacations, leaving one at home. :sad:
 
I just had to chime in and say it is not just wives that have husbands that a grumps about going to Disney. For me it is my wife that is the grump. She says she only wants to go once every 5 years even though I and our 6 yr old daughter pretty much like the idea of every year. :confused3

So last year I decided to do a daddy/daughter trip and we had a blast. :thumbsup2

Now after that I am planning a trip for 2014 and told her she is welcome to come but if she doesn't want to come we will go just my daughter and I. Well now she seems to not like that idea so much either and goes on a rant about what a waste it is to keep going there.

To me i look at it that there are only so many more years that our daughter will be "young" and she really loves it and is really into the whole "magic" of it (another thing that will probably change when she is older).

To me i feel that yes Disney once a year for the next say 6 years or so to really enjoy the magic through her eyes in a way that will not be possible 5 years from now when my wife wants to take the next trip is not such a crazy thing.

But she just does not see it that way I guess. :sad1:
 
He hates crowds, walking, standing in line, and taking pictures. Umm, that is what Disney is about isn't it?

I confess...I am just like that too. Hate walking, check. Hate standing in line, check. Hate taking pictures, check. Hate crowds, triple check. However, I do the planning for our trips. It works out pretty well seeing as I'm the picky one for the most part.

I would explain to him that he may have to make a couple of choices. For instance, if he really doesn't like crowds and standing in line, that makes getting to rope drop more of a priority.

If you make ADR's, plan for being close to the restaurant near your ressie time. Then you can say "Are you hungry? I'm hungry, let's try this one to see if we can get a table" and you can look like a magician when the people ahead of you get turned away at Le Cellier and you guys get in.

Finally, my main rule was "There is a lot to do here. If you are not having fun at the moment, go find something fun for you and we can meet up later - we have cell phones. Love ya, bye." So if he really just wants to spend some time relaxing at the hotel while the rest of you want to ride rides and see shows, he should go and enjoy himself - don't drag the rest of the family down.
 
Leave him at home. Take me instead. I'm clean and well mannered, great with kids. Don't need much space. I'm sure my wife would give me the time off.
 
My DW's DH loves to go to Disney and in fact handles all the planning, booking, arrangements, etc. Sometimes we have extended family going, so I handle everthing for that group as well. Of course, DW is considered and has input, but all the details are left to me---and I gladly take on the process.
 
Leave him at home. Take me instead. I'm clean and well mannered, great with kids. Don't need much space. I'm sure my wife would give me the time off.

LOL

Didn't read all the response so I apologize if this has been repeated.

1) not everyone is going to like walt disney. we here need to accept that.
2) how often are you "talking" disney? I have a coworker who walks, talks and breathes wdw. People now duck into empty labs when we see her coming. I mean yeah it's a great place but 24/7 can get annoying. My dh did enjoy wdw but he really did not want to hear about it 8 months before hand.
3) make your plans and let him in on what's going on, then drop it.

Have a great time.
 
I'm glad that DH and I have our love of Disney to share. All other hobbies/activities are not always shared with the same enthusiasm. Disney is the 1 place we have a mutual love for and that is major bonding for us and our family. If DH did not like it much, we would find other vacation spots but I would still take the kids to Disney (just less often) without him.

I don't see anything wrong with 1 parent taking a Disney trip w/ the kids as long as that's fine with the other parent. Whatever works for your family is fine! :)

Ps- If OP's DH is grumpy when it comes to Disney, I would just plan everything and hope when he gets there enjoys the trip and expresses gratitude for all wife's planning to make it happen. :)
 
My husband pays for the trip, get up on time on departure day and gets dressed, and puts the luggage in the truck. That's the extent of his help with the trip. If he doesn't like what I have planned oh well, he can go do his own thing for an hour or so. But, he always has fun and tells everyone how I plan the perfect trips. If your hubby doesn't want to get involved dont make him. Plan it the way you think will work best for your family and go with it!
 





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