How can I "Disney-fy" my husband?

[lisalonglash]

I KNOW he'll have fun (he loves rides, Tinkerbell is his all-time favourite "celebrity", etc.), but he's making me nuts with his grumpy "why do we have to go to WDW?" "I'll just sit by the pool, YOU take the boys", "why do we have to take a flight that connects somewhere?" (there are NO direct flights to Orlando from Vancouver, but he is adamantly refusing to drive to Seattle to get a direct flight)...

Anyone else have a husband like mine? How can I get him to be even a teensy bit excited and/or less bloody annoying about this? LOL

Thanks for all input

 

[laura001]

I can say that for years my DH has put up with my DISNEY stuff and has relented to the odd trip, he always enjoyed it when we were there but never "got it". I took the kids down a few times on my own and then last year I talked (took a lot) him into just him and I going down this past April.

I made the vacation all about things we had never done, things I knew he would love etc. We had the best darned vacation ever and he loved it! I knew that I had one chance only to make it a place he would want to go to. I honestly think he had fun watching me even!

Shortly before we went I booked a trip for my DD and her friend and I for October, he said he didn't want to go. No problem! But then...hahaha, he had such a good time in April, I know he was sorry that he had said "no".

We had such a good time in April, that come September and he wanted to take a little trip away, guess what....we go to Disney, didn't even go to the parks. We stayed at the CR, had a great dinner at the CG and layed by the pool............it was AWESOME! Then he was really bummed that he wasn't going with us in October.

We really aren't supposed to go again until April of 2009, but I am sure that he will just come up to me at some point soon and say, "book it baby!"

All I can say, if he really doesn't want to go, don't let him spoil it for you, take your kids and a friend, go have a great time and let him figure out what he is missing.

 

[bdtracey]

I was the exact same way as your DH! My DW had always wanted to go to WDW ever since I met her and she was bigger Disney fan than me until our first trip.

My folks gave us airline points to fly anywhere in North America as a university graduation present. I was dreaming of seeing a Nascar race or something along those lines but DW just kept poking me about going to WDW. Finally I told her that we should go to the bookstore and look at travel books so that we could have an informed idea of where we wanted to go. After I started reading the Unofficial Guide to WDW I was hooked. You see, I'm kind of a type-A personality that likes to have everything scheduled and planned but I'm also not afraid of straying from the plan. I like to tour the world commando style; go here, do this, go there do that.

Once I realized that plotting and planning a Disney vacation I was all for it. I literally sat down and put pen to paper deciding on how we should go about our vacation. I got multiple quotes from TA's about the trip, planned all of the ADR's, decided which parks to go to on which days, etc. I get an absolute thrill out of "beating the system" as I put it.

Maybe your DH is the same way. It's worth a shot at giving him the option to plan everything out. Heck, you guys might make a great team at Disney planning! If he does like things planned, scheduled, and orderly then maybe having him plan things out might work out well. I know it'll be hard because of all the knowledge that you have but you can still throw in your $0.02 as he plans and, hopefully, he say "that's a great idea! Where'd you learn that???" and once he's at that point he'll be hooked.

I guess I have a bit of an addictive personality and once I get a sniff of something that I can potentially save money on AND have a great time doing it I'm all over it like stink on a litter box!

HTH

 

[Babyjustrun]

I remember my dad had absolutely no interest in going to Disney, whatsoever. He couldn't imagine why anybody would want to walk around in the heat four days(we were taking the Land & Sea so we weren't there for a week) and be surrounded by everything Disney, and he fell in love with it.
We went back the following year, and he's missed it like crazy since then.

 

[highland3]

Another former grumpy non-Disney man here!

DW inherited some $$$ and wanted to take the kids to WDW. I couldn't believe it... I wanted a beach and a drink.

Then I discovered the DIS board ... and the rest is history. I started reading, chatting and looking at pictures... and then fell in love WDW.

Now, I wear Mickey clothes, have a Mickey antenna topper and license plate frame on my truck, and spend (according to DW) wayyyyyyyy to much time on Disney-related web sites.

 

[Ham Ham]

My DW planned a trip for us in August of 2005 to WDW.

We've been back to WDW two more times, took a Disney cruise and now own DVC.

I wish I had not put up so much resistance, listen to my wife and done WDW earlier and not waiting until the kids were older, there were 11 and 6 when we went. We all love the show that Disney provides

I'm looking forward to going to Disneyland in California, Paris Disneyland, DVC in Hawaii, South Carolina and Vero Beach.

Gotta love the mouse in the quality vacation he and the cast provides.

 

[debbiet1]

I have a DH EXACTLY like yours. We are going for Christmas and its like the Scrooge is coming with us. You take the kids to the parks, I only want to see Epcot. You take the kids I'll go to the cigar bar or stay by the pool. We're there for 12 days.. I'm packing plenty of advil.. I'm wondering who I'm going to hear the most complaining from lol. Its pretty bad when you look forward and afraid of your holiday all in one.

 

[princess pooh]

I made the vacation all about things we had never done, things I knew he would love etc. We had the best darned vacation ever and he loved it! I knew that I had one chance only to make it a place he would want to go to. I honestly think he had fun watching me even!

That was how I disney-fied my DH. I picked out a hotel and restaurants that he would enjoy, and we went during low-crowd season to avoid the long lines and humid weather. He was totally won over and we would have gone back this winter if it weren't for the baby. I did a lot of research and planning but it really paid off.

 

[ChisJo]

My fiance isn't in to Disney either...he can't be bothered. He thinks it's all about big stuffy animals and "lame" kids rides (we don't have children). He can't imagine having a good time there. Truthfully, I do think he will like Universal better, but I also think he will like Disney too....I got him to watch a couple of the planning DVDs that I have, and he seemed more interested, but he doesn't get that you need to plan a bit with Disney....he thinks you should just be able to go on vacation and not worry about planning. I hope he understands once we leave - 5 weeks to go!

 

[sheilag]

Hopefully the magic will catch him when he gets there - but maybe you might find something to get him excited about before he goes. What does he like? The Richard Petty Driving experience gets some folks pretty hot and bothered. How about Atlanta Braves spring training? Food and wine? A side trip to Cape Canaveral? A side trip to Disney's Vero Beach resort for beach time? Find something you know he likes, and try to incorporate it into your vacation - and get him going on planning that angle.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

My dh thankfully isn't like that.... he's the one that had to work to convince ME to buy into DVC on our first trip.

Here's what you do..... watch Disney movies endlessly, buy him Disney clothing, only listen to Disney music (he'll be singing along in no time!!LOL) at night while he's sleeping you can whisper in his ear that he loves Disney or play an 'I love Disney' recording with the music in the background.

If that doesn't work suggest he could go play a round of golf or splurge on the richard petty driving experience or a segway tour around the world. Or tell him about the food and wine festival (I'm pretty sure it's on when you are going) and he could drink his way around the world!

And if all that fails - gag him, hit him over the head and hopefully he'll wake up in Disney happy!!

 

[abirdd]

Another former grumpy non-Disney man here!

DW inherited some $$$ and wanted to take the kids to WDW. I couldn't believe it... I wanted a beach and a drink.

Then I discovered the DIS board ... and the rest is history. I started reading, chatting and looking at pictures... and then fell in love WDW.

Now, I wear Mickey clothes, have a Mickey antenna topper and license plate frame on my truck, and spend (according to DW) wayyyyyyyy to much time on Disney-related web sites.

Hum... I'm wondering if there is something in the water here in the Ottawa region!

This post is exactly what my DH was like... and now he too has a Disney wardrobe, antenna toppers for various seasons, and is even talking about DVC.

 

[debbiet1]

ok send some of that Almonte water over this way lol If I would have known that I would have had the Almonte/Pakenham group that come to Oktoberfest bring me some water!

 

[abirdd]

ok send some of that Almonte water over this way lol If I would have known that I would have had the Almonte/Pakenham group that come to Oktoberfest bring me some water!

Now watch me try to explain to DH why I want to start exporting Almonte water!

 

[wee-haggis]

Unfortunately some folk just don't "get it".
No matter what you say,you cannot force anyone to love it much as we do.

 

[lisalonglash]

I really appreciate your input! I wish I could just force him to be joyful about our vacation, but I think I'm going to have to do this the old-fashioned way (and coincidentally, the same way he finally broke me down into letting him get a stupid motorcycle) - I'm just going to have to keep inserting Disney tidbits into our daily lives, ignore his complaints about this trip and make sure our boys keep telling him how excited they are

Seriously though, I do appreciate your help and I really hope he'll come around by the time we go. If not, we'll just have fun anyway

Oh, and as for arranging to do all the stuff he likes, we have two young sons, so although I'll make sure he gets to the F&WF at least, what our boys want to do (which is everything, of course lol) is probably what we'll end up doing

 

[lisalonglash]

My DW planned a trip for us in August of 2005 to WDW.

We've been back to WDW two more times, took a Disney cruise and now own DVC.

I wish I had not put up so much resistance, listen to my wife and done WDW earlier and not waiting until the kids were older, there were 11 and 6 when we went. We all love the show that Disney provides

I'm looking forward to going to Disneyland in California, Paris Disneyland, DVC in Hawaii, South Carolina and Vero Beach.

Gotta love the mouse in the quality vacation he and the cast provides.

Just wanted to let you know that DLRP is lovely! It's quite small compared to WDW - the size is much more like DL. I was in heaven - our children loved everything and I got to enjoy their excitement while eating a French crepe - nothing compares to that! Have a great time!

 

[debbiet1]

Thats what I intend on doing. No matter how much he complains I"m going to ignore it and we'll have fun. Plus I told him this week the more you complain the more I spend on shopping lol That should keep him somewhat quiet.

I'd have to explain to him why we're drinking imported Almonte water also lol

 

[seashell724]

Hello! LOL
Reading your post made me laugh. My DH is also not "Disney-fied!" and in no way interested. Thinks it's for kids. Never was brought up on Disney. Liked some suggestions. Maybe do some stuff outside of the parks that he would enjoy doing as well. Downtown Disney perhaps?

 

[laura001]

A few of the things that I planned were:

more pool time, lazing with a marguerita
some very nice dinners
segway tour at Epcot
backstage safari tour at AK
evening at Jellyrolls

DH loved doing these things!