Help with a reluctant DH About This Page:

[JuliB57]

This whole discussion made me laugh. I see that I am not alone in doing all the planning. I give him a choice of several resturants. he chooses, I make reservations. I plan the days activities....he is up and ready to go with no complaints. He goes because I LOVE DISNEY!!

[MikeL]

Originally Posted by JuliB57

This whole discussion made me laugh. I see that I am not alone in doing all the planning. I give him a choice of several resturants. he chooses, I make reservations. I plan the days activities....he is up and ready to go with no complaints. He goes because I LOVE DISNEY!!

Guess he is avery smart man who understants the rules I posted and those by TINKER ME HAPPY

[Bev in Zion]

my husband is the same way...... he doesn't deal with the planning process, he has no clue what I do to make sure everyone has a good time. I read this board, buy my Passporter book and subscribe to the "Orlando magazine"-- this helps me stay up-to-date with all things Disney

We are a family of 4 (2 sons, ages 20 & 24). We just came back from Disney World (Jan 1 -10, 2011), we are DVC members (home resort BLT)

I was able to surprise my husband twice during our visit because I didn't tell my husband about the dining plan or that
our BLT villa was a 1 bedroom.

You see, he just assumed it was just an ordinary hotel room. (this was our first time using our DVC points as members),
and as for the dining plan, it was my family first time using it. They were surprise to learn that they could order whatever they wanted off the menu and we only had to pay our tip.
They had no clue how I made reservations 180 days out for all our table service restaurants.

Needless to say we all had a good time (as usual). Those surprises on both my husband and 2 sons faces made the planning process worthwhile

My husband (non-planner) actually surprised me when we returned home with the idea of inviting both his sister (her family of 4) and his brother (his family of 4) to Disney with us in Jan 2013 using our points.

They have NEVER been on a vacation. So my husband actually planned a family meeting with them, told them we would like to invite them on vacation with us and that we would provide them the hotel room (using our DVC points). I was so shock when I saw my husband's face light up as he explain to his family what we did on our trip and how I made it all happen. He also explained the dining plan to them. He was telling them things I didn't know he paid any attention to.

My husband is definitely NOT a planner, but he is now on board to helping me make our Jan 2013 family trip a great trip.
It will be 3 families consisting of 12 people.

I am so excited, I can't wait. This will be the first time my husband has ever planned our vacation trips. Of course I will be looking over his shoulders to make sure things go as plan.

To all those wives that have husbands that do not help with the planning process, just keep planning solo with the thought that you are returning to Disney - that is always something to look forward to for me.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by Bev in Zion

My husband (non-planner) actually surprised me when we returned home with the idea of inviting both his sister (her family of 4) and his brother (his family of 4) to Disney with us in Jan 2013 using our points.
[...]
My husband is definitely NOT a planner, but he is now on board to helping me make our Jan 2013 family trip a great trip.
It will be 3 families consisting of 12 people.

... Magic shared, is Magic doubled.

[CrimsonFarmer]

I would LOVE to go to Disney every year. My husband doesn't really like Disney. He would rather go to the Bahamas or someplace else. Please feel blessed that he'll go and not be in a bad mood the whole trip. It's almost impossible for me to have a good time when he gripes about everything the whole time. Remember planning for the trip is half the fun. Enjoy it.

[Karbeau]

My DH won't do any of the planning either, except to check the weather app on his phone starting about a week out. He happily joins me on the trip, has an excellent time, but the planning? Not so much. He tells me to take care of it all, and he'll come along.

[Pax]

Maybe he just recognises your planning genius, Karbeau?

[julieb]

Originally Posted by Bev in Zion

my husband is the same way...... he doesn't deal with the planning process, he has no clue what I do to make sure everyone has a good time. I read this board, buy my Passporter book and subscribe to the "Orlando magazine"-- this helps me stay up-to-date with all things Disney

We are a family of 4 (2 sons, ages 20 & 24). We just came back from Disney World (Jan 1 -10, 2011), we are DVC members (home resort BLT)

I was able to surprise my husband twice during our visit because I didn't tell my husband about the dining plan or that
our BLT villa was a 1 bedroom.

You see, he just assumed it was just an ordinary hotel room. (this was our first time using our DVC points as members),
and as for the dining plan, it was my family first time using it. They were surprise to learn that they could order whatever they wanted off the menu and we only had to pay our tip.
They had no clue how I made reservations 180 days out for all our table service restaurants.

Needless to say we all had a good time (as usual). Those surprises on both my husband and 2 sons faces made the planning process worthwhile

My husband (non-planner) actually surprised me when we returned home with the idea of inviting both his sister (her family of 4) and his brother (his family of 4) to Disney with us in Jan 2013 using our points.

They have NEVER been on a vacation. So my husband actually planned a family meeting with them, told them we would like to invite them on vacation with us and that we would provide them the hotel room (using our DVC points). I was so shock when I saw my husband's face light up as he explain to his family what we did on our trip and how I made it all happen. He also explained the dining plan to them. He was telling them things I didn't know he paid any attention to.

My husband is definitely NOT a planner, but he is now on board to helping me make our Jan 2013 family trip a great trip.
It will be 3 families consisting of 12 people.

I am so excited, I can't wait. This will be the first time my husband has ever planned our vacation trips. Of course I will be looking over his shoulders to make sure things go as plan.

To all those wives that have husbands that do not help with the planning process, just keep planning solo with the thought that you are returning to Disney - that is always something to look forward to for me.

Such a great story! I do all the planning, too, and although the kids have opinions, now, DH just kind of goes with it and knows that I've done a lot of work. I hope that you enjoy your upcoming trip! We are DVC members, too, and at BLT like you. We never seem to have enough points, though

[cmpayton]

Just thought I would add my own DH issues:

He thinks Disney is just another theme park and could care less about the planning stages. I also have to talk him into vacations no matter if it's Disney or the Grand Canyon, however he always seems to have a good time where ever we go, partly because I always make sure to plan a date night and this year DH is going to get 4 rounds of golf... He will definitely be a happy camper this time

[CatNipRules]

Originally Posted by DMatthews33

Okay, so the idea for this trip was mainly mine. I wanted to go to Harry Potter World and I thought, hey why not Disney World too? My DH got excited for about a minute when he asked me to make ressies at a character dinner. Now, I can't get him to help with the planning or read a book or ANYTHING. I want him to be involved somehow. We have 40 some days and he just keeps saying it's too far away. Any ideas? TIA!

I had to laugh when I read this. My DH is the exact same way. He's not into the whole planning of anything. I've asked him to take a look at my travel books and give me an idea of where he wants to eat. He's very fussy and will sometimes order what he thinks he will like and he won't. I want to try some different restaurants, but he says that he will find something.

He's always been like that though. He just goes with the flow and I do all the planning. I try and tell him that I want his input, but he says that he will be happy with whatever we do. It drives me crazy, but I know that I will never change him. So, I just keep making plans and usually he will give me his input a little bit here and there.

Just keep talking to him and telling him what you are wanting to plan. Ask him questions about your plans. And always preface it with, "Does that sound good to you?" Usually, DH will start getting more excited about it if I go about it that way rather than force him to look at the guide books or whatever else I'm doing. Sometimes men can be a real challange to work with. LOL!!

[cdnmickeyfan]

I plan every aspect of our vacations. My husband and kids do absolutely nothing!!!

But I prefer it that way. I know what they like and what they don't and we've had some amazing adventures (if I do say so myself).

[Alaskan Mom]

These posts were very entertaining. My DH and I have only been on one trip out of Alaska together although we are going to his family reunion in Tennessee in June. I've planned out what I want to do, because sitting around for 5 days making small talk with a bunch of people I don't know doesn't sound like fun. My DH and DD are not much in the way of planning, but tolerate my obsessions and will listen to me, they're so sweet. Anyway, I told them listen up, do either of you want to do this? How about that? Now I have DD wanting to do 2 things with me and DH one, the fourth thing (going to smokey Mt. park) I told them they could both go.

I can understand how wanting a DH or DW to be as interested as you because for me I want to share the fun. Even if my DH doesn't think it's fun, he usually says the only thing I want to do is X, you plan the rest and we're good. As long as I have X, he is happy.

[Bev in Zion]

my husband does not help with the planning either, he said just tell him when and for how long, so he can put in the correct # of vacation days.

Well last year (Jan 1 - 10th) we did a split stay at BLT and Saratoga and for the first time, we did the basic dining plan. I made all the dining reservations for our table service restaurant at the 180 day mark. Both husband and sons had no idea you should do this if you want to dine at the poplar restaurants (like LeCellier).

They so enjoyed the dining plan, so we are at Epcot on two different days and both my husband and son are outside reading the menus (World Showcase).... can you guess what came next. They both wanted to eat at that particular restaurant, at that moment. So I knew it was practically impossible to just walk right up and eat (unless luck is on your side). I told them to go ahead and see if seating is available. I knew it wasn't. After that they understood the dining plan does take some planning.

Now we are taking my brother-in-law and his family (we are DVC owners)
with us in Dec 2012/Jan 2013. My husband starts telling them how they should do the dining plan, where we ate at and how it was so worth it. You should hear him, he sounds like a pro telling all about it. (I just smile every time I hear him explain the dining plan to someone).

He also came to me and said that he really likes the dining plan (no kidding) and that is what he wants for our next trip. I was able to get him and our sons to agree to do some dining planning and since they missed out on a few restaurants that they really wanted to eat at when we were down there in 2011, they are making sure it on next trip.

Good luck with getting your husband to help,

[Ravyn79]

My hubby is that way too. I finally convinced him to go to WDW at the end of August, and I knew he wouldn't be much help with the planning. I just try to get imput on the important things (which resort, any dining plan, etc) from him and plan the rest. I knew to expect it though, seeing as I had to plan our whole 2-week honeymoon trip to Tokyo in 2010! Even though he wasn't helpful planning, he had such a blast.
Although, I love planning things, so if you also enjoy planning just have fun with it and let your DH know what you come up with (in case he has any objections). After buying my Passporter 2012, I asked my DH to just go through all the attractions with me in there so we could check off which ones we might go on. I'd consider attractions pretty important to get you DH's imput on, and might get him more excited about planning the trip! (If he's hesitant, perhaps just start with the attractions in one park, and go through the other attractions a different day)
Good luck, and have a fun time!!!