Traveling to Walt Disney World With Someone Who Doesn't Want To Be There

[JJZMgailey]

In this episode of the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcast, the panel discusses the experience of being at Walt Disney World with a person in your traveling group who doesn't care to be part of the magic that is a Disney vacation, whether it's because of the cost or craziness.

 

[kathy884]

I didn't watch the video, but my advice is to leave them at home. Why pay the expense for someone who doesn't want to go? Plus negativity negatively affects the fun of the Disney theme park loving group.

 

[Cynt]

And this folks is why you can't travel with everyone. Leave them at home and plan a vacation they will like. Stop trying to force your vacation preferences on someone else. It's ok to like something different. It's ok to vacation different.

 

[Melora]

2 years ago we went back to the magic after not having been for 10 years.
My son wanted to bring his friend (both of them were in their early 20s)
My son's friend had never been to Disney and was very unimpresed even to the point of getting off of Toy Story mania and saying he thought it was dumb.
My son was so disappointed that his friend could not see the magic and excitement that he himself felt and it kind of put a damper on the trip.
He and I and one other kid are going in 3 weeks and I know we will have a much better time with only people who love Disney.

 

[gottalovepluto]

My son's friend had never been to Disney and was very unimpresed even to the point of getting off of Toy Story mania and saying he thought it was dumb….He and I and one other kid are going in 3 weeks and I know we will have a much better time with only people who love Disney.

And aren’t selfish jerks. Comments like that kid made are only said to elevate oneself over anyone who enjoyed it. Nothing like travel to bring out a person’s true personality.

 

[Disney Spaz]

Over the years we have gone with a variety of people who felt varying degrees of interest in the trip. For me the worst was a person who we paid for year after year only to be told in a fit of anger they hated Disney and didn't want to go there and we should spend our money to take them somewhere they wanted to go. They were in their mid-thirties when this happened. Needless to say we no longer vacation with them anywhere.

We have also gone with another family where one spouse was like us, a true Disney World fan but their spouse was not. It changed the mood of the trip for sure but it was not awful by any means we just did our own things and then came together some of the time. I will say had it been someone we were sharing a room with or tried to do everything together it could have been a bigger issue.

Lastly, my oldest son who is now a dad himself was over Disney World by his teens and let me know his unhappiness in the middle of Epcot when I was walking too slow, while pregnant with my youngest. He kept telling me I was ruining his vacation. I told him if he said it again it would be the last vacation I took him on. He persisted the whole way to the bus stop and back to the room. Needless to say we have yet to go on vacation together since.

In the end each of the people in my situations had every right to feel the way they felt and not enjoy Disney World. My issues only arose when they chose not to say "hey thanks for thinking of me but I am not really interested in going to Disney World again" and instead had my DH and I pay for them over and over then blow up at us about how we were choosing to spend our vacation dollars.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I wouldn't invite them on the trip. I've done it before and it DRASTICALLY impacts the vibe of the trip in a negative way. It's like if someone were to invite me to Vegas. It really isn't my thing and I would only go if I was forced to for a work conference. People vacation differently and that's fine.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Just leave them at resort and meet up for dinner. There are ways to enjoy each others company without spending 24/7 with them. Plus no one has to pay for tickets that aren’t appreciated. That could be me. I’m so over the parks but love the resorts. We usually go to parks once during a 10 day stay. And that’s too much for me. But I do put on a happy face as much as I can.

 

[Princess Merida]

This is a battle we have within my family. I love Disney and my husband not so much. Our oldest daughter is over it, but was soooo into it when she was little. She had all the princess dresses and wore them to the parks and lit up with the magic. Now she's ready for other adventures. Our youngest daughter loves Disney like me although she will never put on one of those itchy princess dresses lol. We are DVC members and would go 3 times per year. However, now we have tapered that down to once a year to allow for other vacations for my oldest daughter and husband. This year we did NYC and Gatlinburg and it was great for everyone. The last two Disney trips were only my youngest and I as well as my Dad on one of them. I have to say as much as I enjoyed those, it also puts a damper on the trip with my husband and oldest being so far away. We've decided that all vacations going forward will be all four of us. For Disney everyone can decide what parks they want to or don't want to go to so that they can relax and stay poolside or go to Disney Springs or sleep or whatever. They really enjoy the resorts and food. Because we are only going once a year it has also allowed for HHI weekends and larger or multiple rooms which we have booked in April and are bringing along family. I hope this trip goes well and everyone has a great time. It would be great to have a compromise that works out for everyone.

 

[LKing]

even to the point of getting off of Toy Story mania and saying he thought it was dumb.

I'm a Disneyland MK holder and visit the parks weekly. I'll admit, I think Toy Story Mania is dumb. I also think Webslingers and Ariel's Undersea Adventure are dumb. I don't get the hype. My spouse thinks Maters Junkyard Jamboree and the Tiki Room are dumb. We don't let it bother us.

There are people in the world that don't like pizza. Does that mean pizza is bad? No, it means more pizza for me!

 

[Selket]

My DH is not a Disney fan. He doesn't like rides and just not generally into it. He went on family trips when the kids were little and as time went on discovered things he DOES like - like the food festivals at Epcot. He enjoys eating so we are careful to include interesting meals, relaxing mornings getting coffee, etc. Now that the kids are grown, we all still continue to go together but I go by myself sometimes. Our younger son is currently a CM at WDW so I can visit him and I currently need surgery to replace both knees so it's one of the few places I can vacation and use an ECV and all the lines are mainstreamed, etc.

I would be very frustrated to vacation with anyone who constantly beat me over the head with how dumb Disney is. I've also found I enjoy short, more focused trips - like 3 nights - which can work to get your Disney fix in and see the new stuff - and those are easier to do just yourself or with an older kid or friend (or the spouse who doesn't love it like you do).

 

[beccasmom]

We have a very good friend who traveled with us to WDW in the late 80’s. He paid his share of the expenses. He enjoyed it and was fun to travel with, but he has never opted to return, even after we became DVC members. He knows we are “all in”, but it just doesn’t have the same effect on him. He is more of a beach vacation type, and that’s fine - we enjoy the beach too! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course. But making everyone else on the trip miserable with a bad attitude is not an option. We were fortunate - our friend went along with the program and we enjoyed his company.

 

[Neener16]

I went to Disney a few years ago to do a half marathon. My kids and I are Disney freaks, several people we were with were definitely not. I tried to steer them to what I thought were fun things to do. Still didn’t like it. Lots of wasted time and I was very happy we had a couple days at the end without them. I never want to go with anyone who doesn’t really want to be there again.