Getting My husband involved with trip planning...

[Jkjohnson1983]

I am curious to see what some of you all have for advice. Here is the situation... I have been a fan of Disney since I went for the first time 27 years ago. My sister got married there, my parents were married there...needless to say, Disney is in our blood! My husband has never been before, so when I brought up the idea of us taking our first trip together there, he was not so excited. He keeps saying, "Disney is for little kids. What are we supposed to do there?" Like I said, since he has never been, I told him that once he goes for the first time, he will see why I'm in love with it. I finally got him to cave so we are going in December this year for our 5 year anniversary. The only thing driving me nuts, is when I ask his opinion on dining and where he would want to eat, or I show him videos of the parks and resorts from The DIS, he doesn't get the same excitement or interest that I do. How can I get him hyped about the trip and get his input with planning? I know once we get there and he sees all the magic and amazing things at Disney, he will be totally different. Help! Lol!

 

[bryanb]

Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary! I think it's awesome that he'll be able to share in something that you've enjoyed for so long. Some people have it so ingrained in their mind that Disney is for kids, it's very difficult to convince them otherwise until they see it and decide for themselves.

The other question: is he usually a planner by nature? Maybe this is one time where you should just take the driver's seat and pick out things that you will both enjoy. I'd definitely select more adult activities that are tailored to his interests (as well as yours). Who knows? Maybe after experiencing the fun of World Showcase or some good dining, he will definitely want to do more for your next trip!

 

[Jkjohnson1983]

Thank you so much! It's funny you asked about if he was typically a planner, and I feel like such a dummy for not even thinking about it. But to be honest, I've always been the planner/researcher for any trip we have been on. I just thought it would be cool if he helped with input on dining or something. Don't get me wrong, he hasn't been negative about the trip at all. He says that seeing me this excited about it makes him happy. I don't think he understands just how magical everything there is, but I'm pretty sure he will be a Disney fan once we get there! I do have to say, that after watching the DIS videos about Drinking Around The World, he thought that would pretty cool. He is also very interested about Star Wars at HS.

 

[ToddyLu]

Dh went for his 12th bday with family for the first time in 1976. He promised to take me for my first trip when we married ( my parents just couldn't afford it--but had great vacations other places). Anyway, he finally decided our 8th anniversary in 2002 would be a great time to visit. I was 34. Let's just say he was excited to go on vacation, I was in orbit!!!! I bought a Pass porter and memorized where certain areas were, how to get places, blah, blah, blah...even now I am ready to book FP+ and ARD's for our October Trip and we still have to go on our trip THIS MAY!

My point is...he just isn't a planner. But he likes what I plan. I know him after 21 years, and I pick places where loves to eat at and we book things around our travel habits. He loves to drink a special wine that he only gets at Disney, then we go and watch Nat Geo on the TV. He likes to nap while I am at the pool. When he was into photgraphy he would go to AK for the day to take photos without me. I love baby gorillas but not watching them for two hours to get the perfect photo. So I would do my own thing, plop on a bench somewhere with a drink and people watch--which drives him nuts.

Purchase a guide book and put it in the bathroom, set it on the floor with a pen near the toilet. He will look at it eventually and maybe get a little more excited closer to the trip. It is hard to be excited when you have no clue what to expect. I had to remind a co-worker this week when she was talking about how easy it would be to drive around WDW on their first trip --that from AKL to MK is 20 minutes on a bus without leaving property. She looked at me like a deer in headlights.

If he likes drinking make time for that, if he likes sports make time to watch them at ESPN or something. Book a tee time for him or play mini golf. If he loves Star Wars make events at DHS important ( like meet and great with Kylo Ren---yay!!!). If he doesn't like rides do one or two here and there but keep your excitement low key and let him take it in without forcing it. That is really hard for me...not forcing things. So I usually get up a couple of hours before DH, get dressed, walk around the resort, and on occasion have left for a park. He calls me to meet up and when he asks "why did you leave"...I yank his arm off and in a squealing voice say " I'M AT DISNEY WORLD"!!!! He grins and we go on to have a wonderful day together.

 

[ToddyLu]

I get that not all people like to go to WDW, but something in their core has to respond at seeing the castle for the first time--especially growing up in the US. People may not be into rides or crowds, but I think they respect its purpose and appreciate the details. He will get that becasue you got it long ago and he respects you. You should have seen Todd's grin when I made that first corner and screamed "Its the real castle!!!" and looked at him in awe. He made me close my eyes before going into our DVC studio for the first time...and grinned when I jumped around and said it looked just like the picutre on the internet. Even the Bellman grinned. So when you see him smile or stop to pick up something or gaze across a land at MK, just enjoy watching him....knowing you could have never planned that.

Have a terrific first trip with your best friend!

 

[Aliceacc]

Your husband is probably picturing a Six Flags kind of setup, not the reality.

So make plans that you know he'll enjoy. Choose the type of resort you know he'll enjoy, plan the types of meals you know he'll enjoy, make the types of Fastpasses you know he'll enjoy.

 

[kiford]

DH loves Disney (especially WDW) and usually is the one to suggest that we go. We'll talk about dates and resorts and then, once it's booked, he zones out of it until about 6 weeks before we go when he suddenly decides that he wants to do this and that and this restaurant and that one, etc. Drives me nuts. I have everything booked on the earliest date as possible and then spend the next 30-60 days making changes as he suddenly gets interested again.

Don't stress it. Plan what you want, try to incorporate some things you think he'll be interested in, but don't try to force him to get him to be interested or involved in the plan. If my DH who loves WDW doesn't even get interested until the last minute, yours doesn't even know what he might want. Just try to think about him when making plans and what he might like.

 

[Minniesgal]

I am curious to see what some of you all have for advice. Here is the situation... I have been a fan of Disney since I went for the first time 27 years ago. My sister got married there, my parents were married there...needless to say, Disney is in our blood! My husband has never been before, so when I brought up the idea of us taking our first trip together there, he was not so excited. He keeps saying, "Disney is for little kids. What are we supposed to do there?" Like I said, since he has never been, I told him that once he goes for the first time, he will see why I'm in love with it. I finally got him to cave so we are going in December this year for our 5 year anniversary. The only thing driving me nuts, is when I ask his opinion on dining and where he would want to eat, or I show him videos of the parks and resorts from The DIS, he doesn't get the same excitement or interest that I do. How can I get him hyped about the trip and get his input with planning? I know once we get there and he sees all the magic and amazing things at Disney, he will be totally different. Help! Lol!

Sounds like you are massively over doing it. You have to accept he isn't going to get as excited as you before the trip and you have to accept he may well not love it the way you do. My DH likes it but doesn't love it and could well live without going. I don't involve him in planning. I plan thing I know he will like or things he liked before an don't overwhelm him with we can do this or that. I don't massively plan days out we do afternoon FP+ so we can have a chilled morning and come back to dress for dinner. We don't do rope drop to park close ever.

Some DHs just never get that into Disney.

 

[Jkjohnson1983]

Thank you all for your awesome wisdom and advice! Very good points from all of you! I've gone ahead and picked out places for dining that I know is his fave kind of food, I've been looking into anything Star Wars for him at HS ( even tho I'm not a fan lol)... Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to force him into loving anything. He was this same way when I took him back home for the first time a few years ago, but the minute we went to Islamorada, he looked at me and said one day we will have a house there lol! So I know he will appreciate Disney like I will. It cracks him up seeing me read all these books, and watching all the DIS unplugged podcasts...he told me yesterday I need a Disney intervention lol. I just told him that since our trip isn't until December, I'm using these things to keep me occupied and informed of all that is going on there. Plus, it helps to keep me from getting bummed when I see how many days we still until we leave. We haven't had a vacation in a couple years either so I know we are both excited to just get away for a little while!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

How funny! My DH and I went to WDW a few months after our 5 year anniversary - and it was his first ever trip there!

He surprised me by how into it he was. If there was audience participation, his hands were up - if his whole body wasn't out of his seat already. He enjoyed his escargot at Chefs de France so much that all the tables around us ordered it as well. We had a great time.

We're going again this coming May and he definitely doesn't plan like I do - and teases me about how into I am. But I notice as we get closer to our dates that he is more interested in watching videos about different rides and restaurants. "See what Eating My Ears has to say about it." is a common request nowadays.

He definitely developed a few stronger opinions about what he wants to do on the upcoming trip after last time. He is VERY excited about Eating/Drinking Around the World during Flower & Garden. He is a Star Wars superfan, so of course we have loads of Star Wars time planned at DHS. He is looking forward to Tomorrowland at night. He can't wait to try some Sleepy Hollow waffles. On the flip side, he doesn't want to do any ride where he could get wet (we got soaked on PotC last time and he was less than thrilled).

 

[Jkjohnson1983]

How funny! My DH and I went to WDW a few months after our 5 year anniversary - and it was his first ever trip there!

He surprised me by how into it he was. If there was audience participation, his hands were up - if his whole body wasn't out of his seat already. He enjoyed his escargot at Chefs de France so much that all the tables around us ordered it as well. We had a great time.

We're going again this coming May and he definitely doesn't plan like I do - and teases me about how into I am. But I notice as we get closer to our dates that he is more interested in watching videos about different rides and restaurants. "See what Eating My Ears has to say about it." is a common request nowadays.

He definitely developed a few stronger opinions about what he wants to do on the upcoming trip after last time. He is VERY excited about Eating/Drinking Around the World during Flower & Garden. He is a Star Wars superfan, so of course we have loads of Star Wars time planned at DHS. He is looking forward to Tomorrowland at night. He can't wait to try some Sleepy Hollow waffles. On the flip side, he doesn't want to do any ride where he could get wet (we got soaked on PotC last time and he was less than thrilled).

Too funny! Yeah I know that the Star Wars stuff is a must! He is definitely excited about all that. Luckily all of his friends that have been before, that felt the same way he does before their first trip, has told him that it definitely isn't just for kids. One of his friends that lives out west, once Eric told him we were going, his buddy said, " Oh my god! You get to go to Disney World?! Ugh you're so lucky!!!" I guess his friend has only been to Disneyland and has been dying to visit DW.

 

[Pooh2]

Beyond looking at the calendar and picking a date for our vacation and maybe booking the hotel and plane tickets, my husband is just not interested in planning.I read the books, the blogs, etc. When we get to Disney, he is very appreciative of all the time I put into planning a great trip. Each morning over breakfast, he enjoys asking about what I have planned for that day. Going on 32 years of marriage, so it works for us!

 

[Jkjohnson1983]

Beyond looking at the calendar and picking a date for our vacation and maybe booking the hotel and plane tickets, my husband is just not interested in planning.I read the books, the blogs, etc. When we get to Disney, he is very appreciative of all the time I put into planning a great trip. Each morning over breakfast, he enjoys asking about what I have planned for that day. Going on 32 years of marriage, so it works for us!

32 years?! That is awesome! That's kinda how Eric is too. That's why I'm staying optimistic that he will be the same way once we get there. He knows how important it is to me, mainly because of all the memories I had with my Mom there. And now that she is gone, it's so important for me to go back and be able to share all those experiences with him that I had growing up.

 

[pa. dad]

My tip would be to take him To Epcot first as that may be the least "kiddie" of the parks and make your dinner reservations at places with more adult appeal . Stay away from character meals. Maybe if you can direct him to some things with a better adult appeal early in your trip, that will put him in a positive frame of mind. Save Fantasyland for a little later in the trip.

 

[Kiren]

My husband wasn't all that excited for our honeymoon trip coming up in May. When I started asking him input for ADR's he would just shrug and say it's six months away. I let it drop for a little bit. Well one night he was in the bathroom and all I hear is "HONEY! WE HAVE TO GO TO 50'S PRIME TIME CAFE!" Just like that his excitement shot up! Now neither of us can wait to go. I just let him discover the magic on his own! HAHA!

 

[LizzyS]

I am curious to see what some of you all have for advice. Here is the situation... I have been a fan of Disney since I went for the first time 27 years ago. My sister got married there, my parents were married there...needless to say, Disney is in our blood! My husband has never been before, so when I brought up the idea of us taking our first trip together there, he was not so excited. He keeps saying, "Disney is for little kids. What are we supposed to do there?" Like I said, since he has never been, I told him that once he goes for the first time, he will see why I'm in love with it. I finally got him to cave so we are going in December this year for our 5 year anniversary. The only thing driving me nuts, is when I ask his opinion on dining and where he would want to eat, or I show him videos of the parks and resorts from The DIS, he doesn't get the same excitement or interest that I do. How can I get him hyped about the trip and get his input with planning? I know once we get there and he sees all the magic and amazing things at Disney, he will be totally different. Help! Lol!

I had the same issue with my husband before we went to Disneyland the first time! Just drag him there and plan things that you think he will like and he will see what all the fuss is about. I've not had any trouble getting my husband to agree to go back since that first trip. ;-)

 

[MikeTaylor]

Just let the day happen (the DW and I went to Magic Kingdom our first day and just moved around the park-it was less crowded back then) and try not to ask them what they think all the time, you won't get the response you're hoping for unless they connect to something and get a crazy attachment to it... so let them ride or experience whatever they want again if they take an interest to something.

 

[Sir William]

I'm the trip planner in our house. DW typically shows little interest until the plane lands. She basically just asks what the weather will be when she packs the night before we leave. Consequently, I pretty much select activities and dining based on what I know she likes, and then request either her concurrence or choice.

WDW isn't for everyone. DW likes Disney cruises, Aulani, and the WDW resorts, but the last time she visited the parks was 2012, while I've been in twice (solo) since then. We'll be in Orlando this time next year and I'll be going to the parks solo again because she said she was "just there."

 

[MalkaR]

We haven't done our first trip to WDW yet, I'm planning it now, but we went to Disneyland a few times and I'm always the planner (even though there's much less to plan there). I took DH and my brother one time (before we had kids), and I had to tell them to stop walking behind me like I was a tour guide! It was so strange. We're a year out from our WDW trip and DH knows I'm planning but has no interest in contributing. He says he's just doing this for me and the kids. We don't eat at restaurants, and that might be the only thing he'd care about.

ETA: I just reread that and it sounds harsh. It's not so much that DH doesn't care what we do, it's that he knows it's my passion and he'll be fine with my decisions. He trusts I'll get the best value out of this trip that I can. And it's probably not happening again, way too expensive, so he's letting me take the lead.

 

[lustergirl]

My husband loves disney, just not as much as I do. Going on a trip pretty soon. I asked his input on a few things but he trusts my judgment.