Help! Need to convince hubby...

[btcrane]

My DH hates theme parks. He is also very "thrifty" with money. Neither one of us went to Disney as children, our first time was with our own three kids and he did it for me because I wanted to take them. He went fully expecting to not like Disney any more than other park, especially because it was so much more expensive. By the time we left that first time, even he was saying "this trip was worth every penny." He had so much fun (of course, we all did) and we go back every couple of years now--in fact, two trips planned this year!

I hope your experience with your DH will be the same--Disney cannot be compared to any other experience and can't be really appreciated until you actually visit. That said, I highly recommend that you do your homework before you leave, HIGHLY recommend you buy The Unofficial Guide to Disney, read it cover to cover, and follow the touring plans as closely as possible. DH told me that was one of the things he appreciated most about that first trip--my preparation. I was fully prepared for him to laugh at me when I said, "no, no, no! We can't ride that ride yet-we have to walk across the park, ride THIS ride next, and then we'll come back! TRUST me!" But after he saw how the plans worked, he took the touring plans from me and became our fearless leader.(His sense of direction is much better than mine LOL.)

Standing in line forever for rides will kill anyone's fun, or realizing it's dinner time and every restaurant is packed, so just plan, plan, plan! And then have spontaneous fun!!!!

 

[RMulieri]

My dh was the same way.He went on one Disney trip and hated it so much he refused to go back.Him hating it was mostly my fault since I planned an intenerary for every dang minute of the 5 days I was there.It took 7 yrs to get him to agree to go back.I let him plan where we stayed, what places we eat at.Other than an idea of what parks what days, I planned nothing.I tried to avoid talking disney Non stop. We went in Sept and he had a blast.We are going back this year.

 

[jenseib]

I agree about getting the unoffical guide for your own reference and info, but I don't think you should follow the plans. For someone who is not too excited about this trip, it wil be go go go, and I don;t think you want that. I bought it for the info, and about had a panic attack (I actually have stopped reading it now) because of all the dos and don'ts. Some are very helpful ,but some just won't work for us. Not with a child who needs to sleep in.
I think the books plans are probably good to follow if you can get there at opening each day, but we most likely never will this trip, and for a newbie who is unsure, he may be put off by the plans.

 

[Bob NC]

Hi!
I'm so excited to be heading to Disney with my 4 kids (2,4,6,11) in March. My husband is NOT happy about this trip. He's looking forward to getting away but has a VERY negative impression (no idea where it's coming from ) of all things Disney. He's putting a real downer on our planning and I need to get things turned around asap.
Please, if anyone has a story about a reluctant adult becoming a Disney convert I'd really appreciate you sharing that with me to aid me in convincing my husband to at the very least open his mind to the possibility that Disney is not an evil, greedy, commercial embarrassment.
Thank you all!
Christine in Ontario

Why not go on a vacation the entire family wants to go on?

 

[christinehill]

Thank you all so much for your thoughtful responses. You've given me some valuable suggestions and I now feel more sure that we'll ALL be able to have a good holiday on this trip.

I'll let you know how it goes.

14 days and counting till we head out!

THANK YOU

 

[Stargazer]

Well, my husband was definitely reluctant. He put off Disney until our DD was 5. At the end of the trip, he said "We won't be back until she's 10".

Well, cue forward a year and out of the blue, he asks if I want to change our vacation plans from Daytona to Disney again ... um, YEAH!

He still won't admit that it's his favorite vacation, but everytime we watch a Disney movie and the castle on the opening credits comes into view, he always says "Doesn't it make you wish we were back there right now?" so I know he's a convert!

He's already talking about how it's weird we're not going back this year, but how we'll DEFINITELY be there in 2010!

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

I made my husband go twice. He's not a fan. We've been lots of times and we just leave him at home. Going this summer for 8 days. When we first booked the trip, he was going. Now he's backed out. He's staying at home and fishing all week - the kids and I are going to Disney.

There's just no converting some people!

This is the exact situation with my DH. He's been twice in the last 4 years. He is not a fan of any amusement park; however, the kids and I love them. I wanted to back back this summer. DH told me there was no way that he would go. Then, he suggested that I ask my mom to go with me and the kids. Since my mom loves Disney, she agreed immediately! This is what is best for all of us. The other night, DH said that he may return to Disney when the kids are teenagers!

By the way, we live 35 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We all keep season passes. DH will go a couple of times a year for a few hours. This is just enough to keep everyone happy. Since I am off in the summer, the kids & I go for a few hours every week.

 

[Jblust524]

[/quote]Please, if anyone has a story about a reluctant adult becoming a Disney convert I'd really appreciate you sharing that with me to aid me in convincing my husband to at the very least open his mind to the possibility that Disney is not an evil, greedy, commercial embarrassment.
Thank you all!
Christine in Ontario
[/QUOTE]

i know I'm late to this thread especially since I'm quoting the OP, but my God, what is wrong with a company making money???? It's a much better experience for the guests if they are going to a park that makes money and can afford to HIRE people and continually update and create new attractions. We sure now how fun those bankrupt money losing Theme Parks are....What is the world coming too???????????