Tips for Taking a Reluctant Visitor?

[eacatwork]

DH and I are going for our anniversary in October. Since I've known him (1993) he has been dead set against going to WDW. Too commercial. It's all about kids. Too many kids there. Too much happiness. Those were always his excuses.

About a year ago, I simply told him we were going with friends (another couple) in October 2007 and he reluctantly accepted it. Now the friends have backed out and it's just us. Surprisingly, he still wanted to go and even almost somewhat seems to be looking forward to it. A little.

Of course I am OCD when it comes to planning for stuff like this, so I am already talking about making ADRs, planning which parks to visit which days, etc. (but will make the final decisions when EMH are announced). My big fear is that all of my advanced planning will scare him off again.

What is the best strategy for visiting WDW with a less than enthusiastic companion? Should I let him decide where/when to go? Should I have itineraries in mind and subtly try to stick to them? Or do I go all commando on him and lead the charge?

Yes, I realize this is my husband that I have known for 13 years, so you'd think I'd know how to handle this, but I wanted to get some others' perspectives.

Thanks!

 

[Kim1964]

I think you should include him in the planning to the extent that he wants to be involved. Maybe he has particular restaurants or types of food he'd like to try, so going over potential ADRs with him might make sense...but I'd wait until closer to the 180 day window to talk about it with him so he doesn't get sick of the conversation.

There are tons of different tours available, so maybe he'd enjoy something like that. My DH expressed an interest in the Around the World segway tour, so I booked it for him....it was the first thing he actually found out about for himself regarding WDW and actually showed enthusiasm for it.

I'd also pick a hotel that feels kind of grown up. If DH and I ever got to go without the kids, I think we'd try GF because it feels like a more adult atmosphere to me.

 

[HeatherC]

My dh and I went without the kids about 2 years ago and had an awesome time!

Heres a couple things that could make the trip seem more grown-up.

If you can afford it...have dinner at the California Grill. Food is amazing..service is great, not many kids there and if you time it right you can watch Wishes from the balcony after you eat. Very romantic.

Maybe go see a show like Cirque du Soleil one evening.

You could also check out the Richard Perry driving course. (read about it on wdwig.com)....is pretty expensive though. But I know you can use Amex points for this. He may think that is real cool.

For less expensive ideas...hit the boardwalk one night. Very romantic and pretty and cheap. You could share a "kitchen sink" at beaches and cream.

If you have a car...you could go to Celebration for dinner one night. Very pretty town...very close by and right on a lake. There are shops to browse and some great restaurants.


Sleep in one day and order room service for breakfast! One of my favorites!!

There are so many things for adults to do at Disney that I don't think anyone could ever be bored.

We just went with an idea of what we wanted to do and played it by ear. We definitely stick to more of a schedule when we bring our 3 kids. But when we went by ourselves we had fun hopping on the monorail and zipping over to Epcot for dinner one night. With kids and strollers we weren't likely to do that on other trips.

Go to Disney Quest for a few hours. Makes you feel like a kid again with all the old arcade games. But it is loud though!!!


Check out wdwig.com. There are some great ideas about what to do outside the parks.


Hope these ideas help.

Have an awesome time!!

 

[dsnymomof4]

Definitely get him involved in the planning. Do you have the planning DVD? Maybe go onto Allears and look at the menus and let him pick some dining places. I wouldn't go commando on him. Have a general idea of what you want to do, but let him pick some things to do. Maybe once he gets there and is immersed in the Disney magic, he will have no choice but to enjoy himself!

 

[princess pooh]

I'm in the same boat with DH. He's not interested in planning at all so I just chose things I think he'd like. I just hope he has a good time so he'll want to go back!

 

[AutumnKlassic]

My boyfriend hates to make plans and keeps stating that all he is doing is paying for the trip. I want his imput, but have come to realize that if I dont want to put him off of the trip, dont bug him at all! Every conversation we have I have to remind myself not to talk about the upcoming trip. But I do remember to make sure to include things I know he will love (Disney Quest (kid at heart) and the boat rentals). The less I bother him, the easier the trip will be.

He does like Disney when we get there and ask when are we going back when we board the plane to leave.

 

[Amyg]

Funny, I've also known my DH for 13 years! He is NOT a theme park person at ALL but he agreed that we would take our 9 year old son last year. I planned for almost a year and would try to get his opinions, he said he trusted me in whatever I planned.

We stayed at POFQ for 8 nights and I had every day planned out (using TourGuideMike, thankfully!) and every ADR made for our entire trip. Although he said the trip was "okay" he said that he did enjoy the time we spent together. He did tell me later that he did enjoy Epcot and would go there again. Also, don't do the parks commando style since that may throw a wrench in it as well! Get some afternoon down time to recoup and freshen up, check out some of the other resorts (AKL has a great Savannah!)

You might test the waters by asking his opinion on dining options and go from there. If you think too much planning is what might turn him off, then just try planning it on your own. IMHO, I think once he is there he'll enjoy it if he is with YOU!

Good luck!

 

[Enchanted]

My dad worked in the food industry for years, and so he was on his feet for hours on end. Needless to say, a trip to Disney where one is on their feet A LOT was not his idea of a great time. Every year he would whine and complain about going, but once he got there he'd have a good time.

The most important tip I can give you is DON'T OVERPLAN or GO COMMANDO. Have a general idea of what park you might want to visit on what days, and maybe plan a few ADRs, but keep the rest of your time wide open. I know it's tempting to plan every last second of your day (I tend to be the one in my family who tries to do that, so I totally understand.) Some of the best memories I've had at WDW have come from spontaneous experiences not involving rides, parades, or ADRs. On our last trip, my family and I were at Animal Kingdom on the verge of an argument about what to do next when my brother and I spotted "Gibbon Island" (can't remember if that's what it's really called, but that's what we called it) where three gibbon monkeys were swinging on bamboo poles and trees. We stood there for thirty minutes watching those monkeys, and we laughed more then than we had all day. Needless to say, it wasn't something that anyone could have planned on any itenerary.

My advice would be to include your hubby on the planning and allow yourself time to just relax. There's no way that you can do everything in one trip (My family has been going at least once a year since 2000, and we STILL haven't seen and done EVERYTHING.) so make a top ten or top twenty list of rides or attractions and make sure you do all of those things and don't sweat the rest.

October is a great time to go (Our last trip was in October, and it was AWESOME.), and I would recommend taking your DH to the Food and Wine Festival in Epcot. It's fun to try all of the different foods from the various countries, and it's an "adult" activity that he might enjoy.

Have fun, and have a happy anniversary!

 

[TaraPA]

We just went in Dec. and DH was NOT into going at all. He's been there done that a million times as a kid, or with our kids, and he was grumpy about the whole thing. For me, it was best not to mention anything I was planning - it drove him nuts & it seemed like nagging to him. He was miserable the entire trip, which in turn made us miserable. I've learned my lesson - he is staying home from now on! But since this is your DH's 1st trip, I would include him in some planning - but don't overdo it. He may get tired of hearing about it.

 

[PrincessTToo]

I strongly recommend not overwhelming your DH with the planning for your trip. I learned (the hard way) to limit myself to a short vacation planning discussion with my DH about once a week. If I tried to talk about it every day, then he'd "shut down" and I'd risk losing him. Now he brags at work how he doesn't have to do anything but show up for our vacations. He's very happy that I do all the planning and research. He loves waking up when we're on vacation and saying "So, what are we doing today?".

And don't stress about your ADRs. You're going at a time when it's easy to reschedule.

Have a great trip!