Unexcited Travelers: What to do with non-Disney fans in the parks?

[WEDWDW]

Take him to Food & Wine on a Saturday night-MISSION:ACCOMPLISHED!

 

[Tigger1965]

Just get him there....the whole experience will change his mind for you.

 

[mhaigalodon]

Holy cow, so much great advice!!! Thank you all so much I feel much better, and I will certainly do my best to let him just relax and enjoy in his own way (or not) as it happens. You all rock!

 

[jpeterson]

Just to add my 2 cents. I wasn't super excited to go to Disney the first time. I was looking forward to my kids having a good time but mostly I was meh about it. I left all the planning to my wife, only begrudgingly putting input into fast passes, ADRs, etc.

Now 6 months later, I did all the planning for our trip in May (never thought we would be back that soon!), setup all the ADRs, fast passes, spend tons of time on disboards.

Wife didn't have to do anything to "convert" me, the experience was enough to do that!

 

[mhaigalodon]

I'm definitely going to keep my hopes up that he'll fall in love with Disney, but I'm still so encouraged by those reminding me that it's ok if he doesn't. I think I'd built up in my head that the pressure was on for him to love it so that we could be a Disney couple...we totally don't have to be! It's ok if it ends up being just my thing...just like it'd be ok if it becomes something we can share It's such a relief to take that pressure off.

 

[mhaigalodon]

You're all 100% right, though. If it happens, it'll have to happen WITHOUT me pressuring it!

 

[mhaigalodon]

Honestly, you can't get someone who's determined to think a trip to WDW is for kids/nerdy to fully embrace the magic. It will have to find them on its own, or you'll end up tiring yourself out. I always find that my older sister's boyfriends who are like that end up really getting into things once they see all the other men that are there and are acting like big kids again. I think they're always afraid of looking dumb or feeling stupid and when that fear is taken away they're able to have a lot of fun.

Make sure to take some extra time at the World Showcase in Epcot, avoid any kind of character dining for this first trip, and ensure that you guys have plenty of time to do some recreational things. Golfing and renting boats are both a lot of fun, and so is parasailing from the Contemporary! Spend some time at your resort pool, and visit Trader Sam's at the Poly.Go see a movie at the AMC at Disney Springs, or go bowling there. Hit up some of the bars/lounges at the deluxe resort. Plan a spa afternoon for the two of you at one of the spas on property. There's plenty to do on a Disney World vacation that isn't in the parks!

LOVE these ideas! I'm definitely going to look into parasailing...completely forgot about it, and I think it'd be right up his alley!

 

[rangerxenos]

My DH is not a Disney fan, but will go with me every few years because he knows it makes me happy. He doesn't like huge crowds of people or heat, so we travel at less crowded times, and when it's cooler.

He loves the food, and EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are probably his favorite parks. I compromise when I'm traveling with him to Disney versus traveling with friends; I always allow a couple of no park days, we find other things to do -- there are a lot of other non theme park attractions in Florida, there are some wonderful gardens and state parks, as well as other places. He loves the restaurants, and EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are probably his favorite parks because they are less theme park and more attractions.

Make peace with the fact he may not ever love it like you do, and you'll be fine. Or maybe you'll get lucky and he'll become a convert, LOL!

 

[fla4fun]

When I got my first job, I saved up to take my mom, dad and sister to WDW for our first on property stay. Mom and Sis were on board right away, but for a full year Dad was sure this was the worst idea ever. We had been to WDW for one day trips here and there, but he just couldn't wrap his mind around why we would want to spend a week or more there. Fast forward to the end of the trip and he was the first one asking when we could do it again (which we did many, many times).

What changed his mind? Well, I can't say for sure, but I did make sure that I made time for things he enjoyed on other vacations, like renting boats at the marina, and making sure it was as easy as possible to take breaks from parks. I think allowing him to focus on things he liked in general, as well as giving him breaks from things he liked the least ( like afternoon crowds and heat) he realized that a Disney vacation didn't have to be all Mickey Mouse.

You can't force someone to have a good time at Disney, but if you take the time to schedule time to do things they like in general, whether it's sports, fine dining, or drinking around the world, they may just surprise you.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

My hubby wasn't a big disney fan until he met me and I took him to Disney. While he's been when he was little, they stayed offsite and never dined on property. I made sure to plan every day out and to include things/dining that he would enjoy. I even include downtime for him to enjoy the pool. That's huge for him! Now he loves going to Disney and even puts in requests on things that he would like to do.

 

[sunflowerblooms]

My husband is the same also.
I carefully plan our days in the parks to maximize our time and limit standing in line. Most of the time it's beer break time for him by 3 pm. So off he goes either to a MK resort or the nearest place that sells beer and he sits and enjoys wherever he is. So work in some beer/drink breaks.
Food - he also loves the Turkey Legs so incorporating those in to trip planning is a must. Figure out some park food stops that will be enjoyed.
Look at some of the tours - we have done the Dive Quest at Epcot and the Wild Safari Tour in AK both were amazing.
Sign up for Memory Maker and stop at all the photo stops. My daughter and I like to see who can take the most outrageous photo pass photo each trip.
You don't have to do everything together. Rope drop a park without him and meet up later for lunch. It's an absolute blast to go to the parks by yourself.
My husband could easily be a hot miserable grump at Disney (he actually has a collection of Grumpy T-shirts to prove it) but he chooses to have fun with his family because 1. it's vacation 2. it's vacation 3. he loves us but most importantly it's vacation and he doesn't have to go to work! Plus there's beer.
And just to echo what everyone else has said - have fun, wear your Mickey ears or tiara, gets a Tink temporary tattoo, get pics with your favorite disney characters, and everything else will fall into place.

 

[Jfsag123]

I went to WDW as a kid. DH had been to DL, but never to WDW. We decided to take our kids for the first time when they were 2 and 5. In DH's mind this would be our one and only family trip there and he could not understand why I was so excited about it. He figured it would be better than Six Flags, but nothing to get worked up about. As others have suggested, I did all my planning in the background and I didn't push that he would need to see the magic. The trip felt easy and spontaneous, even though I had actually done a lot of planning. We hit Epcot first. By the end of the first day, DH was wearing an ear hat and saying that we'd have to come back. By the end of the week he was asking when we'd be back. Now his wardrobe is full of Disney shirts and his office at work is decorated with Disney stuff. Sometimes, the Disney disease is catching. Good luck!

 

[Micca]

My DH is not a Disney fan, but will go with me every few years because he knows it makes me happy.

Good advice for OP--let him know how much fun you're having & how much it means to have him there with you. I also agree with the idea of letting Disney work its magic on your non-fans. On a practical note: Keep 'em out of the lines & hot sun as much as possible.

 

[Eastern]

I'm headed to Disney in November with my boyfriend's family for a week long vacation. For me (28, new but huge fans of the parks), this is a guaranteed great time. My boyfriend (34, not much of a Disney fan) thinks the parks are just for kids or adults who loooooooove Disney. He doesn't dislike Disney, but I certainly wouldn't call him a fan, and he's the kind to roll his eyes at the idea of "Disney magic." What do I do??

I'm sending him a double dose of with a side of

 

[gillep]

I was actually the one that didn't want to go to WDW the first time and DH was super excited. Ten years, taking multiple trips per year, and 2 DVC contracts later, I was obviously converted. What helped me the most was getting excited about things ahead of time. I picked the hotel that I was most excited about, and picked the signature meals that appealed to me the most, and the drinks that I wanted to try, and was excited enough about those things that I was perfectly happy to allow DH to drag me around the parks!

Take him to Food & Wine on a Saturday night-MISSION:ACCOMPLISHED!

This would totally turn me off. I adore the Food and Wine festival, on a random Wednesday at 11am, when it first opens and isn't too crowded, Saturday night would be way too much for me with all the crowds!

 

[Belle83]

When DH and I went to WDW in 2011, he had never been. He went to Disneyland once as a child but didn't have a great experience (park was at capacity, his parents didn't want to wait in any lines, etc.). When we first got to WDW, we hit Downtown Disney first and then went to Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours. He started to relax pretty quickly and thought it was really cool to be in the parks late at night without lines. By the end of the trip, he was planning our next one We have taken numerous trips since, including our honeymoon. I say just take it easy. Try not to go too commando and you really can't control how much he enjoys WDW or not. Treat it like any other vacation.

 

[bladiator]

Lot of magic haters up in this mug ... I don't get the starry-eyed wonder myself, but I can't help but feel it when I see the people around me get into it.

..but back on the topic at hand, be sure to make a good plan for what you will go see and do -- maybe even over plan -- just don't let your SO know that you've done this much planning. That way you get the most out of the trip (which is a big deal to a lot of people because of the money factor) and yet it wasn't like "work" for him to have to deal with all the scheduling.

 

[GillianP1301]

I agree with the advice to not push it. Take the trip and let him decide if he enjoys the new experience or not.

Not everyone is a Disney fan (shocking, I know!) and some really dislike it, like my husband. After a few trips there together and then with our son, we decided that it was best that he just not go. I'm not going to force him to enjoy something he doesn't and he's not going to hold me back from enjoying something that I love. So now my son and I go together on a yearly trip and it's awesome.

 

[Accident]

Even 2 people who are both disney fans won't want to go to WDW the same way.. Just remember he's going in thinking he hates it so running from line to line isn't going to help. you'll want to go with a lighter plan, more adult things on the list and let him figure out how he enjoys being there.. You can sort out how you both like to travel there at some point... also consider other interests like maybe he'll want to play golf, or an day at the resort combined with a renting a boat for a few hours in the afternoon...

 

[disnut8]

The one thing you don't want to do is try really hard to convince him ahead of time that he's going to looooove it. Repeated attempts to make him "see the magic" will turn him right off. He's going. You don't need to talk him into the trip. Let him find his own enjoyment in it once he's there.

Another big turnoff for non-fans is overplanning. I mean, yeah, you need to plan some, it's fine to plan, but don't be spamming his e-mail inbox with schedules and spreadsheets. Do the work you need to do to make the trip go well, but do it in the background.

Totally agree. What I find works with my husband (who now does love Disney) is that I plan as much as I like but if I think he might not like something, I ask his OPINION on what he would like. If he shrugs his shoulders, I just move on and don't dwell on it and make the decision on my own. So, if you think of a meal you might like to do but not sure what his idea is, just ask him to look at the menus and see what he says. But you don't have to say "we are eating here on this day, here on this day, and there on that day." You can ask him what attractions he wants to do but don't say "OK, we can do this park on day one with these attractions in this order and then the next day we'll do this".