He says we're not going back!

[KJay]

Can you imagine??

How do you all deal with a reluctant partner??

 

[PixieDust91]

Wow, that's horrible...Luckily one of my partner requirements was he has be a Disney fan ! He's obsessed with Disney as much as I am.

Why does he not want to go back? Maybe you can try to find something within Disney that he would enjoy?

 

[duffy]

Go without him.

 

[disneychic2]

Yes, go without him...or find a new partner? Love me, love my Disney obsession.

 

[Vickilynn42]

I'd either go without him or find a friend who would love to come along with me each time.

 

[klmall]

I too have a reluctant partner. Yes, we have been many times as a family but we can't go for at least 1 year and probably 2 or more!

Right now it's been almost 4 years since our last trip and going again is truly a $$$ money issue in general plus he does not enjoy it very much.

I have taken a solo trip which I really enjoyed (5 days in an off-season) and you can read about many people here on DIS who simply go to WDW with people other than their spouses such as family and friends and have a great time. Recently I told my DH that if we can't afford a trip soon as a family I can plan a cheap trip for myself at a Value resort in the off-season (he needs to be on the monorail for a variety of mobility reasons) for 1/5 the cost of a family trip and he was a bit 'horrified' and then I go where I want, when I want and take pictures to my heart's content as they say!

Find out exactly what he's thinking!

 

[PoohsFan1]

I'd either go without him or find a friend who would love to come along with me each time.

I agree either to go solo or find someone else to share your obsession with. Luckily my DH is just as huge a Disney nut as I am, however, if I ever did want to go solo or take a "Girls only" trip, he would be mad that he wasn't going either.

 

[VAN]

My DH is not a "Disney nut" but over the years has developed a definite fondness for the place. I was shocked when he came back from golfing at the Palms with a Disney golf duffle bag!!!

Anyway, our last visit (Sept 2010) is going to be it for a while. I hate to say this, but it is just not as "magical" for us as it has been in the past, so I think we just need some time away.

Except for the first couple visits, we have always gone for a full week or more and then mixed in other things with the parks, so it was more of a relaxing vacation.

So if you still need your Disney fix, agree with others that you should either find someone else to go with you or just do a solo visit. Sometimes the more you pressure someone, the more they dig in - so just let it go and do your own thing!

 

[Patience]

I have a reluctant husband too. He had to be persuaded about our upcoming trip in October. He prefers "real" experiences- he LOVED our trip to China, adored our trip to Mexico, is excited about our trip to Puerto Rico next year, etc. However, he will have a good time at WDW because he adores our kids and sees how excited they are, especially our 4 year old. Honestly, that's the part that matters to me too. If it weren't for my kids, I wouldn't care a hoot about the rides, characters, etc. but I am very excited to see my little one experience the fantasy that is WDW for the first time. Real has its place and I truly enjoy experiencing new countries and new cultures but this trip is about our kids. A little fantasy is nice once in awhile.

 

[Belle1969]

Our first trip years ago my husband hated it. We stayed off site and he did not like the trips to and from the parking lot and all the driving hassles as well as non stop morning to night park action.

The next trip I took with my SIL and kids and he joined us the last few days and we stayed on site. He enjoyed it so much more.

I was able to talk him into another trip we stayed for 9 nights on site and took down time everyday at the resort mid afternoon and some days of just resort and water park. He is ready to go again for another 9 days.

Ask your husband what he doesn't like and try to incorporate things he would enjoy or a travel style he would like better, it may make a difference and you may make him a disney lover yet.

 

[KJay]

It's not that he doesn't like it- he loves it. I guess it's more financial. We don't have a ton of extra money, but I've carefully saved for our last two trips, and we were able to do them without sacrificing in other areas, and without having to put anything on a credit card (I'm not comfortable doing a trip that puts us in any debt). I did use a chunk of our tax return though, combined with my vacation fund savings. He also doesn't want to be "stuck" going to WDW for every vacation.

I think we just have very different styles of picking what's important to us. I read an interesting article recently about different styles of "spending for pleasure". The article was written from the perspective of someone more like me- I'd much rather spend a big chunk of money on something that makes memories- like a trip to WDW, rather than "stuff". Dh would rather spend money on stuff he can have & use on an ongoing basis. For example, if we have X-number of dollars we could spend on a WDW vacation, he'd rather use that X-number of dollars (at least this year, anyway, maybe not always) on things spread throughout the year, like HBO, a cool new TV, and iphones/upgraded data plans. I'd much rather forgo all that stuff for the one big trip.

My sister is currently in WDW for two weeks, with her family of 6. We've already talked about maybe doing a sister's quick-trip (we could each only get away from our respective families for a couple of days, tops). She's loving it, but there's so much more she could do and/or enjoy in a different way if it were just us! And maybe dh will get jealous enough to see the error of his ways

 

[klmall]

It's not that he doesn't like it- he loves it. I guess it's more financial. We don't have a ton of extra money, but I've carefully saved for our last two trips, and we were able to do them without sacrificing in other areas, and without having to put anything on a credit card (I'm not comfortable doing a trip that puts us in any debt). I did use a chunk of our tax return though, combined with my vacation fund savings. He also doesn't want to be "stuck" going to WDW for every vacation.

I think we just have very different styles of picking what's important to us. I read an interesting article recently about different styles of "spending for pleasure". The article was written from the perspective of someone more like me- I'd much rather spend a big chunk of money on something that makes memories- like a trip to WDW, rather than "stuff". Dh would rather spend money on stuff he can have & use on an ongoing basis. For example, if we have X-number of dollars we could spend on a WDW vacation, he'd rather use that X-number of dollars (at least this year, anyway, maybe not always) on things spread throughout the year, like HBO, a cool new TV, and iphones/upgraded data plans. I'd much rather forgo all that stuff for the one big trip.

My sister is currently in WDW for two weeks, with her family of 6. We've already talked about maybe doing a sister's quick-trip (we could each only get away from our respective families for a couple of days, tops). She's loving it, but there's so much more she could do and/or enjoy in a different way if it were just us! And maybe dh will get jealous enough to see the error of his ways

Sounds like you have a good understanding of what he is thinking and how he likes to spend money compared to you. That is very important. And unlike some on the DIS, we as couple felt that our family should see more than Florida so we took our son across the US and encouraged him to travel places as he grew up. For us, we are at the point in our lives where we have realized that we won't always be taking vacations the way we have for several reasons: money, health (his is definitely declining), moving to a permanent retirement location somewhere and the options are narrowing for vacations.

He has always given in to my active, travel far preferences overall and while we took beach vacations for him, we rarely do slow, or beach vacations which he likes anymore.

Now that he is retired, I have agreed that we can plan an Alaskan cruise (non-Disney; my choice) that also combines a side trip to see Denali. I am definitely compromising since the idea of a cruise anywhere does not excite me. I still work for money reasons only and giving up any of my scarce 9 paid vacation days a year (TOTAL including holidays) has got to be worthwhile!

See if compromising is in the cards for success for you in getting to Disney!

 

[bsjs0708]

My DH has been on 7 Disney trips as a family and says he needs a break from Disney. Well that's cool with us because my brother likes to go to Denver every Sept for the beer festival for abour 4 days and this is the second year DH is going with him. Soooo...he has his beer vaca with the boys and I get a Disney vaca every year with the girls we (the girls and I ) are going again in Feb...

 

[LovinPooh]

DH was reluctant... til I brainwashed him
bwahahahaha

could try hypnotism...