Traveling with "non-believers" - any tips?

[KateDrake]

These were my first thoughts too. I wondered if it was just the OP's parents trying to be "equal" in what they were offering like not wanting to just take one family (the OP's family) without offering to take the other.

Purely my opinion but I would have suggested a better suited vacation destination if the OP was asking if it was a good idea as there are countless other places to have one big family vacation. One that everyone would be interested in. That said the family may have better time at Universal (sans Wizarding World due to theming) assuming the 9 and 7 year old are able to ride the rides there if the big issue ends up being all the characters, theming, etc at Disney.

Good questions all! A little more info:

We've gone on several big family vacations and managed to have a great time. In this case, my mom wants to take the kids and have that magical Disney grandma experience. We went to Costa Rica with everyone this year and managed to have a pretty good time. I think the biggest thing is just that my sister and her family are all homebodies. They are the type who stayed in the hotel room watching The Office when we went to Mexico, and when you ask their kids their favorite part of Costa Rica, they say the pool. My family and my parents, on the other hand, are big world travelers and love going to places new and old. So yes, kind of a different vacation style and I just don't know that they will suddenly convert to enjoying going places, but you never know!

Thankfully my sister has said she's good with whatever we plan and they will kind of just go along. We plan on rope dropping and getting some stuff done in the morning, and then after lunch everyone can break off and do their own thing for a while - go back to the hotel, stay in the parks, etc. So hopefully it will be OK. I mostly just want it to be a good experience and help them enjoy it as much as they can, even though it's not the type of vacation they would normally choose (I think that would be just staying home and watching Netflix, which is totally OK! Just not the way I normally vacation!)

ETA: We're staying at AKL for 7 nights, 5 park days at Disney. Rest day where we move to Universal, and then 3 days there.

 

[Pyxie]

You don't have to love Disney movies or Disney IP to love Disney World. It's easy to enjoy the attractions for what they are even if you don't care about or have never seen the movies. (I know plenty of people who love Flight of Passage but could take or leave the Avatar movie for example).

My kids also know the characters aren't real and they've always known that. They still love meeting them and my daughter loves getting their autographs even know she knows it's just a person in a costume. It's still fun.

But at the same time, if they don't love it like you do, try not to take it personally. It's not for everyone and you can still enjoy yourself if you set this expectation going in.

 

[2Lunds]

I drug my husband to Disney World. I was not really a “Disney Magic” kind of person. Just wanted my kids to have the rite of passage experience that Disney offers. I am now planning a second trip and a cruise. I am even secretly looking at DVC points. My husband is buying Disney shirts and is fully on board with the “Disney Magic”. My advice to you is not to worry and have fun. The magic is real and it’s hard not to find it….. the best thing you can do is to have a clear plan and let them use your plan if they want. That way they won’t get overwhelmed with planning.

My boss dragged me during an Orlando conference in 2015, and I dragged my husband in 2017. We've been 4 times since then and bought DVC this year. We're not really fans either - it's just plain fun.

 

[sponica]

Good questions all! A little more info:

We've gone on several big family vacations and managed to have a great time. In this case, my mom wants to take the kids and have that magical Disney grandma experience. We went to Costa Rica with everyone this year and managed to have a pretty good time. I think the biggest thing is just that my sister and her family are all homebodies. They are the type who stayed in the hotel room watching The Office when we went to Mexico, and when you ask their kids their favorite part of Costa Rica, they say the pool. My family and my parents, on the other hand, are big world travelers and love going to places new and old. So yes, kind of a different vacation style and I just don't know that they will suddenly convert to enjoying going places, but you never know!

Thankfully my sister has said she's good with whatever we plan and they will kind of just go along. We plan on rope dropping and getting some stuff done in the morning, and then after lunch everyone can break off and do their own thing for a while - go back to the hotel, stay in the parks, etc. So hopefully it will be OK. I mostly just want it to be a good experience and help them enjoy it as much as they can, even though it's not the type of vacation they would normally choose (I think that would be just staying home and watching Netflix, which is totally OK! Just not the way I normally vacation!)

ETA: We're staying at AKL for 7 nights, 5 park days at Disney. Rest day where we move to Universal, and then 3 days there.

Well if you ask my 6 year old what her favorite part of Disney is, she'll say the pool

And I'm pretty much a homebody except when on vacation. Because if I was going to be a homebody, I could have stayed home for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. My in-laws are massive homebodies...because my MIL's unmanaged unacknowledged anxiety prevents them from really going anywhere. Just between you, me and the entirety of the disboards, I do wonder if that's a factor here.

I think mornings together and then letting them go off in the afternoon should work but also don't force it. If they're not early birds, getting them to be early birds on vacation when they're doing a vacation they never normally do will be an uphill climb.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We plan on rope dropping and getting some stuff done in the morning

Only thing I would suggest is preparing them for a TON of people at rope drop especially DHS. If people aren't used to the crowds (and even if they are) this can start your day off at the wrong foot.

I would also suggest letting them know what rope drop really is because it's getting there before the park opens to get in line, and well before the park opens too. Morning is good for getting things done.

At Universal the pace is more relaxed and less hectic. If you're staying on-site at Universal it's even easier (not sure if you are). We found the bus system to be fantastic there. We stayed 2 nights at Endless Summer Surfside then switched for a night at Royal Pacific (for the EP). For Endless Summer we used the busses and for Royal Pacific we just walked the path.

My husband and I are homeboddies I would say too in that we get out and do some things at home, but on vacation? We're like the complete opposite. No way would I spend money to go do what they've done. We went to Hawaii in 2016 and never even turned on the tv.

I want to be positive for you especially since you've mentioned that you've done vacations with them too but I also don't want you to feel like you have to carry them. I almost would suggest letting them do their own thing completely so no one feels responsible for the other party but that would be hard for rides if you're doing Genie+/ILL so I feel like some joint planning would want to occur, maybe meals depending on what their budget and likes may be.

I'm sure you'll have fun regardless it at least sounds like neither holds the other traveling party in a negative light due to different traveling patterns and that can happen very easy when traveling with other people (especially family).

 

[Magical2017]

I would not worry about what you cannot control but if they rain on your parade, you can spend some time alone with your family and then meet up with them a bit later each day. You don't have to spend every minute with them. If they cannot find any way to have fun in the parks that is their loss.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would go with the expectation that it will be different from your normal trip and that's okay. What works for each family is good for them.

I helped an aunt plan a trip for her family and in the end they spent most time at their resort but, they had a good time so their trip worked for them even though it's not how we would have done it.

Are you able to split up at times? It's hard to please everyone when you try to stick together in a group. I'd recommend some of the time families each do their own thing then meet up.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I was once married to the Disney grinch..... literally almost gave her seat on the plane to her best friend, she didn't want to go so bad... hind sight I should have let her...

By lunch the first day her option had totally change.....

Disney is running a little low on magic right now, but the kids will probably come around by dinner,

Just let the experience do its own thing, that's why it is called magic.

 

[kathy884]

ETA: We're staying at AKL for 7 nights, 5 park days at Disney. Rest day where we move to Universal, and then 3 days there.

Wow! -- With staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, even if many in the group mostly hang out at the resort, what a great resort to chill at. Can I come? // To me that sounds like a great choice of a place to stay. What's not to like. I'd probably if staying there spend less time at the parks than I usually do, just to soak up the AKL atmosphere.

My parents who have been to South Africa have commented many times about how authentic the AKL feels. That sounds so perfect for someone more comfortable being close to home to have that vibe in a very comfortable close to home way.

Planning some things together and then doing some splitting up sounds good. When we go with an extended family group of 10-14, my brother and I would plan what a core group was going to do (even a detailed touring plan -- Genie + if using that makes that harder though), let all the others know plans the night before, invite them to come for all or part of it or do their own thing splitting up. It was great, though, not having a big huge group all saying what do we want to do next. And it really surprised me actually how many would come and do the core plan for the full day.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Wow! -- With staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, even if many in the group mostly hang out at the resort, what a great resort to chill at. Can I come? // To me that sounds like a great choice of a place to stay. What's not to like. I'd probably if staying there spend Southwest Airlines same-day standby experiences?less time at the parks than I usually do, just to soak up the AKL atmosphere.

My parents who have been to South Africa have commented many times about how authentic the AKL feels. That sounds so perfect for someone more comfortable being close to home to have that vibe in a very comfortable close to home way.

Our DISer friends were staying there back in May for a wedding, while we were not staying there we all did (minus 2 of our DISer friends) a late evening meal after the parks at Sanaa. Excellent food--though we should have just stuck with the bread plate (it's huge) but the entrees we had was really good too and I had french press coffee). The lobby is beautiful. We didn't have enough time to explore much but it was nice from what we saw.

Boma is also highly recommended from others (haven't eaten there yet).

 

[glocon]

If someone has never been there, they don’t really understand what to expect.
They may have thoughts on Disney and think they understand it, but the reality may be very different.

You just don’t know until you try.

The first time we went, DH and I were 36 and our DS was 5. DH really really didn’t want to go. Thought Disney was just for kids.

Before our second day was done he was asking when we could come back for our next trip.

Idk if I’d want to expose a family of homebodies to RD. It could be overwhelming and set the day up in a negative way.

Maybe plan a different kind of trip… sleep in, breakfast at the resort or a resort near to the park you’ll be visiting that day, back to resort early enough after the parks to enjoy the pool/resort. Just more of a laid back kind of vacation. It’s hard to do that sometimes, I get that, but maybe try and plan a more casual kind of trip.

Just a thought.

I hope it goes well!

 

[_19disnA]

Everyone has their own idea of how to best enjoy a trip to Disney. I don't think you need to 'prep' ahead of time by watching specific movies/TV shows/etc. You can enjoy the various rides/shows even if you have no advance knowledge of them. I do think if traveling in a large group, you should discuss ahead of time what your general plans will be. You obviously need daily park reservations, but everyone probably won't want to do all of the same things. It would be a mistake to not discuss that before your trip and then get to your first park and suddenly realize everyone wants to go different ways.

You might agree to split up and get together for a certain meal. Some may want to sleep in while others get up early and are anxious to get to the park. Some may want to spend time by the pool while others want to spend all day at the parks. The parks can involve MILES of walking and be very crowded, so having some knowledge of that ahead of time will allow for better planning. If you let each family decide how to best spend their vacation time will likely work out the best for everyone. I don't think you should try to convince others to like Disney the same way you do.

 

[danceintherain]

Good questions all! A little more info:

We've gone on several big family vacations and managed to have a great time. In this case, my mom wants to take the kids and have that magical Disney grandma experience. We went to Costa Rica with everyone this year and managed to have a pretty good time. I think the biggest thing is just that my sister and her family are all homebodies. They are the type who stayed in the hotel room watching The Office when we went to Mexico, and when you ask their kids their favorite part of Costa Rica, they say the pool. My family and my parents, on the other hand, are big world travelers and love going to places new and old. So yes, kind of a different vacation style and I just don't know that they will suddenly convert to enjoying going places, but you never know!

Thankfully my sister has said she's good with whatever we plan and they will kind of just go along. We plan on rope dropping and getting some stuff done in the morning, and then after lunch everyone can break off and do their own thing for a while - go back to the hotel, stay in the parks, etc. So hopefully it will be OK. I mostly just want it to be a good experience and help them enjoy it as much as they can, even though it's not the type of vacation they would normally choose (I think that would be just staying home and watching Netflix, which is totally OK! Just not the way I normally vacation!)

ETA: We're staying at AKL for 7 nights, 5 park days at Disney. Rest day where we move to Universal, and then 3 days there.

My kids' favorite part of every vacation is the pool. They love Disney, but they probably would be just as happy at a rando hotel a mile from our house as long as there was a pool. I tend to avoid pools, because its SOOO much work for me with 4 kids with varying levels of swimming abilities. You would think Disney would be harder, but it just isn't for me, because the younger kids can be in the stroller and there's less immediate danger.
We do Disney because I love it. If I didn't love it, we wouldn't go. DH didn't come on our last trip. He's coming on the next one, and we'll see how that goes. He would 100% rather stay home, but does have fun....mostly.

Our next trip is with my extended family, and I intend to simply plan for my kids and I, and go from there. DH may end up spending time in the room with the 2 year old a lot. We absolutely plan nap breaks, and may not return to the parks in the evening.
I would have talked Disney 24/7 since the day my parents offered the trip, but I learned a long time that MOST people won't tolerate that. We booked a DVC rental MONTHS ago, and I've only mentioned it to DH maybe 3 times. I've talked to my sisters about it, and some degree my Mom. But, even my parents, who are paying for the trip, have a limited tolerance for discussion. I plan to coordinate dining with my siblings over the next few weeks, but that's going to be limited, because its expensive and time consuming. After that, there will likely be zero discussion about the trip with some of my siblings, until we get there.
I'll be ready with Touring Plans etc and anyone who feels like joining me can benefit from my planning, but then we'll see how it goes.
ETA: My kids haven't seen NEARLY as many Disney movies as I had planned before they were born. They pretty much think they're all "scary." Then they typically request to switch to something else after a few minutes of the ones that aren't "scary." They've still all liked Disney thus far.

 

[Flagondry]

I don’t watch Disney movies nor care for characters, but love Disney. My husband is fine with Disney but loves their water parks. If the kids love pools, I suggest one full day in at least one of the water parks. I’d take TL before any park but MK. A day of TL, dinner at DS and make your own snack at goofys candy kitchen it my perfect day.