How to plan with "non-theme park" people?

My DH and I are super different in the ways that we spend our leisure time - that goes for everything from WDW vacations to what we do in the evening to unwind.

We chose to do couples counseling over the past year for a tune-up (fabulous - would recommend for anyone who wants to improve their relationship), and one of things we took away for this type of situation is needing to voice Will you do this with me? I had to remember it last night when I wanted to show him my 214 pictures from my recent WDW trip with my friend. Instead of asking him: do you want to look at my pictures? I asked, will you look at my pictures with me? I would like to show them to you.

I need to do that on our theme park trips. The reality is, with few exceptions, there is very little that he will actively want to do. Even things he does like, he won’t mind if he misses, but he does want me to have a good time, and he understands that there are things that I want us to enjoy together. He wants to enjoy things with me, but he could care less if he misses space mountain.

So when planning our next trip, my approach will be to ask him if there is anything he really wants to do (other than play golf) and make sure that that is in the plan for when we are in the park together. He will probably say Splash Mountain and Frozen ride - that’s it. I’ll plan those and the things that I want to do with him for the time we are both in the park together, asking him if he’ll do those things with me (which 99% of the time is a yes - even if it’s the tiki birds).

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I LOVE that you shared this. :yellow_heart:

From my point of view, there’s too much stigma about people using counseling services, like it has to be some secretive thing or there’s something wrong with you. I think some preventive maintenance is a great idea. Many couples could benefit greatly from that mindset and avoid lingering issues or even reaching a bad point of no return. None of us should pretend our marriages are perfect. They take tons of effort and sacrifice.

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@darkmite2 I just want to add a few of our favorite hacks. If you can get your wife to go early even a couple of days, you can get so much of the classic Disney stuff done with little wait time. We usually do a day where we start in FL (but not PPF) right at 8:00 when the park opens (on a day with no early entry). We do as many of the rides as we can which is usually 4 or 5 (not including PPF) and then at 8:55 head to Toon Town which opens at 9:00 AM. Especially since you don’t have kids, this is a good place to knock out right at opening when it’s practically empty and do Gadget’s Go Coaster and Roger Rabbit. You can easily have 7 rides done in less than 90 minutes. Another strategy is to do FL during early entry and then head over to Pirates and HM for park open. We’ve walked on Pirates and then walked on again. We can ride more rides in the first two hours than the rest of the day combined, sometimes!

Once your wife has tapped out and gone to sit somewhere cool or back to the room, you can take advantage of single rider lines. We love SR for Space, Splash, and RSR especially. It’s not always a good deal for the Incredicoaster. You can also use it at Goofy’s Sky School.

Also, let us know when you’ll be there. Maybe you can have a liner meet or two or three! LOL :joy:

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I’m happy to copy & paste what I sent to already, no trouble at all! :grin:

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As a lot of you know I make virtual plans to test the TP system. It’s also a great way, IMHO, to past the time. I’ll add in odd criteria / challenges to see if TP says I can do it.

While I can’t make any “real” plans this far out - especially with a lot of my favorite activities, like M&G and shows, unavailable. I did realize that it’s less than six months until I can test my plans!! Having waited so long already this is like seeing a big light ahead of the tunnel. (2019 “Me” would never have guessed that I’d be thrilled to only be 17 months away!)

It feels odd to start my trip at DCA, but that’s the Early Entry park on my first day!

I’m feeling so much less stressed now that I’m “front loading” my day with E-Tickets for my DW. I’ll do all the smaller stuff, like Casey Jr. & Toontown, in the middle of the day.

Here’s my Day One - Remember this is virtual / a test. You can give feedback, but no fear that this is set in stone…

https://touringplans.com/plans/print?id=4371320

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Thanks! My stress comes from having such an amazing, but extremely “low maintenance” spouse. It’s a blessing, but a also a curse at times! Since she rarely has an opinion about anything I often feel soo guilty about when I do solo trips or when I ask for vacation suggestions. Before the pandemic, I regularly spent my weekends outside the home with hobby groups / other friends.

Sometimes people look at me like I’m that “jerk” husband who “keeps” his wife at home while he goes out. I have to convince them that it’s really what she prefers. Heck… I’ve even had to convince a few people that I’m actually married by showing them my wife. :rofl:

(No need to delete post. It wasn’t negative to me!)

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I withdrew cause I forget that offering advice to married folks when I have never experienced the state is not good. Watching folks stress about fun stuff does make me nuts though. To each his own and enjoy. When I travel with anyone it is always with the upfront agreement that anyone can bow out for any reason at any time during the trip. Feeling guilty is not necessary or required. I am not a spring chicken anymore and neither are my friends. Compromise is necessary but being trapped in ones room cause the travel companion needs a nap is not. But again, not married.

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