How do I get him excited?

[Bambi Sunshine]

My boyfriend and I are embarking on our first Florida Journey together; when I say journey I mean the booking, planning, build-up and then the actual trip.

I have been to Florida before and LOVED every second of it and I had wanted to go ever since I was a kid. My other half however has never been and never had any desire to go and is basically going because he knows I want to; he is also paying for the whole trip.

At the moment I am REALLY excited (you all know how it is) and he is almost as excited as he is about going to work on a Monday!

I have told him alllllll about it, how great it is and how he will have the best time and that he will never regret it but he isnt buying that he will enjoy it. As a rule he doesnt go to theme parks because he doesnt like rides where there is a strong G force element...again I have explained to him that the rides at Disney arent like that and also that it's not about the rides, it's so much more.

I am really struggling. I know the other element of it at the moment with him is the money aspect, we are trying to do it as cheeply as possible and if I cant sort out flights, accomadation, park tickets and car for under £1000 each it's a no go...the further under the £1000 the better he is going to feel

I have ordered the disney planning DVD and i have tried to get him involved in the planning but he just says that I have been there before and he has no idea so he is just going to leave it up to me.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get him interested? Is there anyone who didnt want to go to Florida and was pleasantly surprised by what it was like and became a convert?

HELP!!!!!! Thanks

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Take him every year for the next four years, finally he will start to become excited - it worked for DH!!

 

[Dimplenose]

I have been to Florida before and LOVED every second of it and I had wanted to go ever since I was a kid. My other half however has never been and never had any desire to go and is basically going because he knows I want to; he is also paying for the whole trip.

I'd stop trying to get him excited about the trip. Telling someone what they are going to enjoy is always difficult and can often put them off. Once he is out there he'll realise what you've been going on about but let him discover it for himself.

DH loves WDW but always leaves the planning to me.

In the meantime you can enjoy your excitement with us who fully understand why you are excited at such an early stage of your "journey".

Have fun,
Libby

 

[Melcatfish]

My DH isn't really interested in Disney at all (shock) but what he ended up enjoying were all the other aspects of the trip - the food, Kennedy Space center, the food, Seaworld, the food, you get the picture?! I think maybe stop trying to make him excited and let him just go with it. Share your excitement on here and let him find out for himself what a great holiday it is.

Mel
x

 

[wilma-bride]

I agree with Libby, stop trying to get him excited. My husband is the same - he doesn't get excited at all and we're only 6 weeks away from our 5th trip

I have had to accept that's just the way he is - he loves it when we're there and I've heard him raving about our trips to his friends so I know he enjoys it. I must admit, when we go to Islands of Adventure and we get our first glimpse of the hulk on each trip, he gets a gleam in his eye - that's good enough for me

 

[natalielongstaff]

i agree just get excited with us

 

[wayneg]

I was very similar before our 1st trip 14 years ago, now look at the trips we have done below but you might also have to accept he might not enjoy it, although we all love it some people don't. My Uncle has been twice, he can't understand why we go back 3 or 4 times a year, he has just got back from 2 weeks All inclusive 5* in Cancun and says he cant see him going to Florida again. My Brother goes to Vegas every 2-3 months, hates theme parks, loud children and crowds.
Glad I am different, can't get enough of Orlando
Another option is a new boyfriend

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I agree with Libby too.
Do the opposite, don't attempt to get him interested - if you are happy doing the planning he can relax and just await the holiday.
In all probability once he gets out there he will have a great time.

To be honest I am not a Disney fanatic, I just love Florida. I have to admit (some would say I should be ashamed) but I have never seen 1 Disney film all the way through. It's the whole package I like, WDW, the beaches , the weather, great shopping, all the travelling you can do , Universal Studios, Sea World and on and on.....

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I agree with Libby too.
Do the opposite, don't attempt to get him interested - if you are happy doing the planning he can relax and just await the holiday.

To be honest I am not a Disney fanatic, I just love Florida. I have to admit (some would say I should be ashamed) but I have never seen 1 Disney film all the way through.
There is so much more to enjoy that just WDW, you have all the other theme parks which are just as good, the weather, great shopping, all the travelling you can do etc etc

I fully agree Johnny.
Sometimes we go and do not visit WDW at all.
Theres is so much to see and do outside of the parks.
What hobbies does he have?

There is sports available, there are beaches close by, St Augustine, Cape Kennedy, the everglades, Hooters

 

[Little Flower]

My DH is exactly the same - he really doesn't get excited at anything. I just get on with the planning and watch all my disney movies and leave him to it. For me the planning is a huge part of the excitement and now that we are back i'm dying to book a new holiday just so i can get that back.

Having said that, once we arrive he is usually dragging me out of bed in the morning, eager to go somewhere. I'll never forget the look on his face when we walked into our hotel last month!!!

 

[Mr&MrsPotatoeHead]

My DH wasn't excited either for our first trip and it drove me mad. Now we're back its all he can talk about and he cant wait to go again. We even had all these different places we wanted to go after we came back but now have decided to wait and go back to wdw in 2009!

 

[AliceGardner]

I am with Obi, Johnny and Dimplenose

It can be very hard/off-putting if you have people telling you that you WILL REALLY enjhoy something and going on and on about it. Let him relax and discover things for himself

My husband isn't a "pre-holiday excitment" person either... I do all the research, planning and booking. I consult him on key questions (i.e. "it costs £x, is that ok?"), that is about it. He doesn't want to know the details... (although if we return somewhere, he may say "I want to stay at x again"). The less he has to do pre-holiday, the happier he is.

My advice is not to go OTT with the planning - leave the holiday pretty open: have suggestions about what to do and where to eat each day, but be VERY flexible. Your boyfriend may not want to spend 2 weeks solid in MK, with mickey ears on his head, a Disney balloon tied to his wrist, eating all his meals with characters etc . Break him in gentley. Like Obi said, do lots of "non-Disney" things too (Universal, IoA, SeaWorld, shopping, Kennedy Space Centre Beach etc). Orlando/Florida is "different things to different people": the important thing is getting a balance that appeals to your boyfriend, not necesarily turning him into a "Disney fanatic"

Have great fun planning
Alice

I fully agree Johnny.
Sometimes we go and do not visit WDW at all.
Theres is so much to see and do outside of the parks.
What hobbies does he have?

There is sports available, there are beaches close by, St Augustine, Cape Kennedy, the everglades, Hooters

 

[wicket2005]

I would just leave him to it and it is quite a while till you are actually away. My hubbie loves Florida but does only start to say not long now at this point in time (3 weeks) whereas I am excited once I book up. You may find as you get closer he will be more interested in it.

As regards planning, you do it to the best of your ability. It is easier if one of you just does it rather than having everyone wading in, in any case. If he becomes interested tell him what the plans are.

I am sure he will have a fantastic time because the level of entertainment over there is leagues above what you can experience in this country and till you experience it, it is hard to understand why people get excited about it. The first time is always the best because you don't know what to expect. He may be under the impression it is just for kids but he will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[wideeyes]

My husband isn't a "pre-holiday excitment" person either... I do all the research, planning and booking. I consult him on key questions (i.e. "it costs £x, is that ok?"), that is about it. He doesn't want to know the details... (although if we return somewhere, he may say "I want to stay at x again"). The less he has to do pre-holiday, the happier he is.

Have great fun planning
Alice

I agree with what has been said, my DBF is just like that, I just tell him the date and time of the flight, the cost and that is all he wants to know, if I keeping going on about the holiday he gets fed up with the holiday before we are even there, I would just get on with planing the holiday yourself, and then enyoy the holiday together.

 

[KWJR]

You don't know how to get your man excited ????? - It's obvious, Get the beers in and put the footy on the telly

Seriously though but, my other half is just the same. She is not at all interested in the organising but I love all the research, getting the best deals etc. etc. She is what she is and I won't change her. However, she's like a kid in a sweet shop when she's there. So much so, she gets quite upset when nobody joins in with her excitement at seeing The Mickey Mouse ears on the lighting columns leading to Disney.Me and the 2 boys wind her up ??? Nooooo - of course not.

Don't feel sorry for her though,because she has the rather irritating habit of criticising the planner if anything is not to her liking

I've learned to just accept the situation as it is - I suggest you do the same. As long as you are getting excited and enjoying it that's all that matters

 

[Hobbes]

My DBf is the same-hes watched the planning DVD with me, but more to appease me than anything else. I bought him "Birnbaums nosh guide" as a gift (You know what they say-the way to a guys heart is through his chest with a pick-axe, I mean through his stomach) so he got mildly interested in the thought of stuffing himself silly every day. The funniest thing was when he caught me watching one of our holiday videos from 2001, of Spectromagic parade (Or even Main St Electric parade ) and just commented "Its very loud isn't it" Poor babe really has no idea! As long as he enjoys it whilst hes there, I don't care if he has to be dragged kicking and screaming onto the plane. I can be giddy enough for us both.

 

[T16GEM]

My DH loves Disney and Florida but he doesn't like to get involved with the planning or anything so that's always down to me.
Like others have said, let him discover how great it is for himself and then sit back with a smug grin while he tells you how much he has enjoyed himself!

 

[maureen4200040]

You've done the hard bit he's at least going to Orlando .

My other half is'nt the least bit interested in going. He would rather go golfing in Spain with his mates. He thinks Disney is only for 5 year olds, and can't understand why a 44 yr old women (ME) would want to see Mickey Mouse & firends more than once in a lifetime. If only he knew .

I'm constantly looking for other family members to come with me on my trips. I wish Tiger Woods could play a golf match on the Disney Property, my other half would be on that flight to Orlando in two seconds flat .

Maureen4200040

 

[wayneg]

I wish Tiger Woods could play a golf match on the Disney Property, my other half would be on that flight to Orlando in two seconds flat .

Maureen4200040

He does every year, a little later this year, we normally hit the traffic in Oct.
Disney's Magnolia & Disney's Palm Course, Lake Buena Vista, FL
November 1 - 4, 2007 Contact: 407/824-2250
Disney Golf Classic

Its part of the PGA tour
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r045/

 

[lostinwonderland]

I had the same problem earlier this year with my DBF (except it was DLRP not WDW). Try as I might to get him excited he just wasn't interested..

So I had to learn to stop going on about it, and go on about it on here instead, which was kind of annoying, because you want them to be excited as you are so you have someone to get really excited with... SO I just bragged to my mates and they got jealouse hehe...

But I think when he gets there and he gets what its about he'll like it..

The second day, Pluto came up and hugged Russell, and that was it, from that moment Russell loved every second of it, he even made a scrap book when we got back bless him.. He's always telling people about it and when looking into WDW for next year, he actually sat down and watched the whole planning dvd with me!! :O

I think until you get there, there's not much you can do, just think about stuff he'd like while your planning... If you really want him to plan a day, set aside a day with nothing planned like in the middle of the trip (maybe by then he'd have learnt what there is there) and let him plan that day when you're there... I dunno...

Just don't let him ruin your excitement though!