Husband's first time to Disney

[ktrask]

Hi all,

I have lurked here and finally decided to join in the fun!

I have been to Disney a few times, but it is DH's first time. He essentially is expecting no more than a money pit right now...little does he know. He has said the only reason he is going is because I wanted to do badly before we have kids.

I set up a welcome basket to be in our room for him. We are staying at ASMu and have tickets for MVMCP, reservations at the Rose and Crown to go to the candlelight processional, and 6 days of park tickets. I have saved money for months, so it won't effect our wallet in a bad way.

Any tips to make this a great experience for him??

 

[serene56]

Dont overkill him- I did that on "his" first trip and ruined it for the rest of my life. I did manage to talk him into taking the grandbaby when she turns 5-- so now I sit and wait until October 10, 2010. (which to most dis people- thats a life time away.)

If he looks like crowds are getting to him- take a break

 

[M&N]

Nice to have you aboard. It will be my first Christmas visit---glad you have the candlelight and MVMCP. Friends suggested not making MVMCP an all day thing--just go for the party. Make sure you get fast passes for the things you think he may like so he's not waiting in line too long. That's the only plan I follow---but then I don't do roller coasters.

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

Not sure what your DH's likes or dislikes are? But if he enjoys sports and pubs try the ESPN club on the boardwalk. probably can take in a game on Monday night and knock back some brews with some tasty chicken wings or try to sample beer from around the world in EPCOT world showcase

Jelly rolls on the boardwalk at night can be fun

try some clubs at DTD after dark, if he likes that sort of thing, (he may be worried its just for kids, show him all the great adult things they have to offer, he may warm up to the other stuff once he unwinds, I sure did )

Ride test track and check out the display cars as you exit the ride, also get him to Fantasmic, my personal favorite show.

For me the castle at MK at night is more special than during the day, I also love spectro magic, try to notice what all this stuff does to some of the young kids, they can be a hoot to watch.

P.S. if he golfs think about setting up a tee time at one of disney's world class courses on property.

 

[Jrabbit910]

Welcome to the boards! My DH never ever wanted to go to WDW so the only way that I got him there was to surprise him for his birthday a few years ago.. To make a long story short HE LOVES IT!!!
Rose & Crown is a great place for food & drinks... Epcot is my DH favorite place because of the food & drinks... I dont think you have to stress to much about it because once he is there I am sure he will fall in love w/ it too!

 

[Crimsion_Archer]

when i went to disney for the first time, my dad tried to get me to do everyhting, and overdid it.... just back off a bit, do what he wants to do, not what you think he wants to do...

 

[Melissa_E]

Its my husband's first time as well. After I got off the phone to put my deposit down I was dancing, he wasn't. But he'll understand once we get there, so will yours!!

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

I hope your DH has a fantastic time!

 

[Rochmom]

Welcome ktrask!

Everyone is right - don't plan activities for every minute. If you're not sure about where to eat, you can find menus on the DIS boards, and ask DH to help choose the spots! And definitely show him there's more to the World than kiddie stuff. You'll have a great time.

 

[missingthemouse]

Whatever you do, don't overdo it. By nature, I am a very detailed person, and DH just goes with the flow and never makes a plan (which-as we all know- is impossible at disney) His first trip was in september and he expected it to be like six flags. boy was he wrong! he really enjoyed it, but I regret having such a strict schedule while we were there. I felt pressured to make it "perfect" by doing and seeing everything on my list, but I think he would have enjoyed it much better if we had moved at a more relaxed pace.

 

[ktrask]

Thankfully...we both tend to just go with the flow. When I go to Disney I pick 3 things in each park that are must do's for me...I could care less when I do them..just that I do them at some point over the week. It tends to make things pretty relaxed through the days.

DH loves playing with our DSLR camera, so I am hoping he will have a blast taking pictures. I think he will especially love the pictures we can take in Epcot.

He is expecting a glorified six flags. I am sure he will have fun, and goodness knows I will!

Thanks for the suggestions...keep em comin!

 

[Mischa]

Welcome and I hope you both have the time of your life on our trip.

My DH & I went in May 2006 (first time for him) to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. My DH is like a big kid so when we went to MK and he saw the castle for the first time in person he turned into a 5-year-old! He absolutely fell in love with WDW (and we've been twice since May 2006!) And we even became DVC members too!

One thing...if your DH will wear it...get him a "1st timers" button! Don't over do it - take your time and enjoy.

Have fun!

 

[pepe of ohio]

But we're headed for trip 40 in January and it just keeps getting better and better. Some tips that drives me away from the Disney costs, if at all possible, make a grocery stop, either on the way or have groceries delivered. We put away alot of different kinds of alcohol and at Disney prices, no way. We like to sit on our balcony and have a taste, we go to the pool mid day and have a picnic, beer and snacks and sandwiches and in the evening, nothing beats going to the pool for a wine sampling, late night.

We're mid 50's and the meals at WDW are huge, we don't like to waste so we pick one meal and split it, leaves more room for Mickey snacks and saves a ton in money, we do not care for the dining plan, way too much food and we like to trim our meals down, not gorge ourselves.

Take Disney in small bites, head to a park and when you're pooped or the crowd thickens, head back to the resort for some R&R, then head back out late evening. We check out other resort lounges that have entertainment, POFQ, great Scat Cat Club, good jazz, nice ride from there to DTD via their boats, quick walk through and we catch the bus back to our resort. Putt Putt is great fun, ESPN Club for a game and brew, Jellyrolls, cover charge is high and beers expensive but the place is fun. Hoop Dee Do Revue is the best dinner show on property, kind of expensive but worth every penny, best chicken on earth, ribs strawberry shortcake and the show is funny, corny and fun plus its all you can drink, pop, beer, sangria etc. Good place to unwind one evening, its in Fort Wilderness Pioneer Hall, sometimes hard to snag a reservation. Old time soda salon, Beaches and Cream at the Y&B resort, fantastic hamburgers, onion rings and malts and shakes. I could go on and on about things outside of the parks. Just go slow, let the magic develop on its own, don't expect alot but enjoy what happens.

 

[RussellDisney]

Our upcoming December trip will actually be my DW's second trip, but I'm kinda treating it like her first. Her ACTUAL first trip was in Sept 2005, with the kids. The problems with this trip were many, as follows:

1) DW doesn't like hot weather and it was hot that week.

2) DW generally does not like amusement parks. I tried to "explain" WDW to her, but you all know how that goes.

3) DW, and I mean this, doesn't like hot weather. September in Orlando is hot.

4) The kids were 4 and 2 at the time. Our DS was still in diapers and still not sleeping through the night, so we were tired the whole trip and constantly caring for children.

5) September is HOT, DW doesn't like HOT.

6) I tried to do too much. The original "plan" (oh, the plan!!) was to hit MK on the first day, R&R by the pool on day two, hit MK the third day and then head home. Well, I decided that we couldn't "waste" a day at WDW by the pool, so I dragged us all to AK on our R&R day. BIG MISTAKE!! I mentioned before that it was hot, well it was extra hot that day. I had no idea what this park had to offer, which wasn't much that we could do, and did I mention that it was hot? Finally, it was really hot that day!

7) It was a bit hot that week...

So in summary, don't do anything that I did on that first trip. Our December trip is all planned out and we have that R&R day in there AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GONNA R&R THIS TIME, BABY! Other days we will sleep in just a bit, hit the parks, nap if we need to and relax in the evenings. Hopefully this will make up for a couple years ago and she will enjoy herself and learn to like Disney too!

If your husband is anything like my wife, don't go when it's hot. Did I mention that it was hot on our September trip? If I didn't, it was hot. Really hot. DW doesn't like hot. Really...doesn't...like...hot.

 

[byoung]

Welcome to the DIS! If he loves it there, check out the DVC.

 

[T-i-double-g-err]

First, welcome!

Jumping right in, I'd suggest that you pick your attractions based upon what you both like. You know your DH. Do some research to plan a trip that will make you both happy.

If your DH likes special effects, I'd highly recommend Fantasmic at MGM. You can do the dinner package. We've done both Hollywood Brown Derby and Mama Melrose. My preference was HBD, but I think DW and the kids preferred MM.

When DW and I went for our anniversary trip, we did a drink sampling around the world at Epcot, Margaritas in Mexico, warmed Christmas wine in Germany, Champagne in France, plum wine in Japan, and I tried the ice wine in Canada. If you like shows, check out the entertainment schedule for the various pavilions. We particularly liked the mime show in Italy. During December, the pavilions also have presentations on Christmas traditions around the world, if that interests you. We also enjoyed walking along the boardwalk.

If you like holiday decorations, you can also do a tour of the resorts. We went sight seeing on decorations at the GF, Poly, Contemporary, BWI, and Swan/Dolphin during our trip last December.

Last piece of advice. Don't over do it. Plan for some relaxing downtime.

 

[Kim in SPR]

I have to add my experience here. My hubby is the typical "manly" man. When I first wanted to take the family to Disney back in 2004, he wasn't that thrilled. He went along because he hadn't traveled much as a kid and figured it'd be nice to at least be in warm weather. He didn't do much at the parks other than people watch but when we were leaving the first thing he asked is when were we going next year?? When we got home, I saw he had taken literally hundreds of pictures. Of course we went the following year and I saw the same thing, only this time he was goofing around, wearing my DD's Ariel wig around, even bought himself a Mickey coat (if you knew him, he's NOT a Mickey guy!). We skipped 2006 but when I was planning a vacation for this year, I ended up having to cancel my hotel on the gulf coast because, you guessed it, he wanted to go to Disney!

Whatever you do don't miss the fireworks shows! This is what I think really did him in!

There's a lot to gripe about - the expense, the crowds, the hype. But if you allow yourself to be taken in by the magic and the "where dreams come true" feeling... you can't help but to love it.

Good Luck!

 

[Qiana]

my DH was not the coolest about the fact that I planned this vacation back in March. But we are leaving in 27 days and I swear...he's a changed man!

Trust me! My mom and I think he's on meds!!

With this being our first trip we added some extra days...to make it a total of 9 days in the park. And we have decided to take things very laid back. Just gonna take things one day at a time.

Although I know he's getting excited because yesterday he put the Disney Dvd in by himself...the girls didn't even ask...although they came running from all parts of the house when they heard the music... I swear...we are so excited!!!

I think all DH's come around in their own time...just play it by ear. I can't believe how much my DH has relaxed about this trip...I love 'em

Good Luck!!