Taking Boyfriend to Disney, He's nervous its going to be boring

Get the vacation Disney DVD to start. U-tube is another good source to show rides.

Do some romantic walks. Take a boat ride. There are some terrific table service dining places; do a few as a party of two.

Have fun with Disney characters. Try to be like a kid.

Go off on your own with him at times.

Get memory maker and take a lot of pictures.
 
I would personally emphasize making sure you do 'rope drop' and ride some of the relatively thrilling attractions first thing. I'm sure you know what they are!!
I'm never sold on forcing first time visitors to be up at the crack of dawn and stand around for an hour until the park opens. This is how non-Disney fans begin to resent those who took them there, and start hating the fact that they're there in the first place. Don't overdo it on him. I figure her boyfriend will want him to show her around, but there's no reason to run the guy ragged. The minute he stops seeing is as being "fun", that's when he goes into revolt mode.

Then again, it's a whole year before they are going, and by then they could break up. So this whole thread would be for nothing.
 
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To open, the first time I went to Disney, I was almost 37 and went with my then girlfriend (now wife) when her parents took her there for a graduation trip when she finished her PhD. We spent a full day (on December 23) at Magic Kingdom, spending about 17 hours at the park. I wasn't completely thrilled about going, but I had never seen my wife so excited. She's not exactly a morning person but when she was up at 5am to get ready to go to the park, it was infectious! Aside from the enjoyment I got from her enjoyment, I was amazed how much I enjoyed it. And I was amazed at how different MK and Epcot were.

And this was when we knew nothing about how to plan for Disney, just going from one ride to another. I think the experience was so overwhelming with detail and theming and awesome that even 45 minutes to an hour in line for a ride passed without really thinking about it.

"NEXT!" 8-)
Seriously, why invest time with anyone who isn't stoked at the opportunity? What other fun aspects of your life are you going to have to twist his harm to join?

I'd say that the boyfriend should be given a chance. I wasn't all that excited initially (I believe I posted "Mickey, you better be worth it [getting up at an ungodly hour]" on social media before heading to MK). And now I'm a convert.

I took my wife there for our honeymoon and got to go to all four parks (AK is the favourite these days, even before visiting Pandora), but the initial reluctance is understandable from my point of view. Even my wife's parents had thought Disney (and theme parks) were a waste. Then they went to Epcot that year we all went and they loved it. My wife's dad was particularly impressed, and he's a scientist (and we had gone to Cape Canaveral the day before Epcot). On a trip to California for a conference, my in-laws actually went to another theme park (Universal Hollywood) that they thoroughly enjoyed.

So give the guy a chance. It just may be he doesn't know what he's missing yet.
 
"NEXT!" 8-)
Seriously, why invest time with anyone who isn't stoked at the opportunity? What other fun aspects of your life are you going to have to twist his harm to join?

Give the boyfriend a chance. DH had very little good to say about his first trip to WDW prior to going. The saving grace was he could get smashed at Epcot. Arrived the first day in the afternoon and went to HS because of the rides and he was hooked. My non morning person DH was up at 5 am bouncing off the ceiling like a 4 yo wondering why I was not ready. We had to eat at get to the parks ASAP! Unfortunately I created a monster! That was 3 years and 9 trips ago.
 
Think of this as an opportunity to change those misconceptions about Disneyworld.

So for me, "adult" things to do are ride the thrill rides but only using FP and NOT waiting in any lines, eating good food and drinking adult drinks. Don't go to the parks every day - take time with just the two of you away from family. A few of my favorite things to do without the kids are:

Spend the day at EPCOT - do a few rides, lunch at Marrakesh during the belly dancing show or France has some amazing foods, buy candy or unique food items at the different countries (Japan and China), and grab a drink at as many countries as you wish. We particularly like the tequila bar in Mexico, the Sake in Japan, and the beer in England and Germany.

Take the monorail around to the resorts and stop at different bars at the Poly, GF and Contemporary (depends on the mood you are in) - great to do after a long day at the parks, which I assume you will have to do with the family - but he can look forward to.

Go over to the AKL and look at the artifacts, the Martin & Olsa Johnson exhibit, and the animals. Have a drink and snacks at Victoria Falls (we love this bar), and view the animals in the dark using the night vision goggles (ask at the front desk the time and location).

Disney Springs has some great places to eat and bars - its not Disneyfied at all.
 


My boyfriend is going for the first time with my family in just 3 days! My family has been going every other year since 2010 and I love it more now as an adult than I did even as a teenager. The last time my boyfriend went to WDW was either middle school or early high school so it's been a good 13 years and he doesn't see why I'm so in love with going to the parks! What I have learned while preparing for this trip with him is to just tell him the reasoning for everything. I've explained to him multiple times that I love going because of that freeing, kid-spirited feeling I have when I'm there. Being in the Disney bubble is like a breathe of fresh air when all you do is work everyday. He also had a better understanding when I explained to him that getting up early means we can hit up some of the bigger ticketed rides first thing with very low waits, and then we're able to slow down the pace for the remainder of the day which was his concern. He's so used to relaxing beach side vacations and he's already dreading the hustle and bustle of a Disney vacation. I have fast passes for every morning so we can see where the tide takes us for the remainder of the day and get more fastpasses depending on what WE want to do. He's said to me he's excited that he gets to see me in my element so we'll see how this goes! I'll have to remind him not to sweat the small stuff like people to close to him, or waiting in lines and I'm determined to stay positive the entire trip!

I'll let you know his reactions and overall opinion about WDW when we get back! I'm hoping to convert him :-)
 
I think this is a common misconception from those who haven't been to Disney in the past ( or not since they were very young ) and they have not kept up with the news. ( I know, how doesn't - but they are out there ).

You mentioned that this was a present for graduation - wasn't sure if it's high school or college - if you're both of legal drinking age, there are some really fun activities for the 21+ tourists. Jellyrolls is at the top of our list every trip. Lots of fun music and a few cocktails to boot. You don't have to drink but I know the last time we were there you had to be 21 or older to enter. But if you aren't 21 yet, you also have options for live, fun music at POR with Yeehaw Bob and there is also live music at POFQ.

Epcot in itself is awesome for adults - lots of fun movies, activities and rides centered around several countries.

Lots of fun dinner experiences too.

I know several said, have him watch videos and I can't agree more. So may out there do Top 10 type videos and if you search you can also get Stacy's list from the resorts.
 
I'm never sold on forcing first time visitors to be up at the crack of dawn and stand around for an hour until the park opens. This is how non-Disney fans begin to resent those who took them there, and start hating the fact that they're there in the first place. Don't overdo it on him. I figure her boyfriend will want him to show her around, but there's no reason to run the guy ragged. The minute he stops seeing is as being "fun", that's when he goes into revolt mode.

Then again, it's a whole year before they are going, and by then they could break up. So this whole thread would be for nothing.

This! As great of a suggestion as rope drop is, if your bf is not a morning person he will turn into Grumpy! I know the whole vacation cannot be completely catered around his preferences, but if he's not a morning person I recommend letting him sleep in at least 1-2 days of the trip and perhaps doing late night EMH as a fair compromise. I say this because I am not a morning person by any means and I have never done rope drop as a Disney vet (lol). I prefer late mornings and night EMH.
 
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My fiancé had the same concerns when I took him for his first trip 3 years ago. But we are now in the process of planning our Disneymoon! So I promise, your boyfriends mind can be changed!

Some of the things that helped my fiancé was we planned a 'Drinking around the world' afternoon at Epcot, and a Monorail pub crawl one evening. I also let him decide which shows/rides to ride rather than pushing the ones I loved. He ended up picking most of the ones I wanted, anyways!

What does your boyfriend like? Is he a foodie? Lots of great restaurants on property! Does he like alcohol? Lots of different things to try around Epcot, and most of the other parks and hotels. Rides and shows are always available, of course! And let him see that it's okay to be silly and childlike as well - by the end of our trip, my fiancé was interacting with characters at meet and greets just as much as I was - more so with a few of them (Buzz Lightyear is his favourite, and I made a point of tracking him down one afternoon).
 
Okay so here's how I would handle this situation....because I've been in it before and believe me, it's ain't fun trying to tap dance all day to keep someone who's unimpressed interested in something you love. I would say this, "I think I'm going to go ahead and go on this trip by myself. You and I can go somewhere else together another time, like maybe a cruise?" lol TA-DAAA!!! You know his personality so you should be able to tell now if he's going to be the type that will actually get there and go, "Oh! this is cool!" or if he'll get there and never admit that it's super cool because he thinks HE'S too cool to be at a "kiddie park". Mine came from a family that never could afford such luxuries so it came out in pride form. ie: "I never wanted to go do Disney anyway." After every ride and meal, I would ask, "Did you like that one?" and I would get the shoulder shrug along with, "It was okay." Made me sooo mad! It's too expensive of a trip to let someone ruin your favorite place. Use your judgement wisely.
 
Hello, friends, I am anticipating taking my boyfriend with me to Disney next May. We will be going with my parents and my sister as a college graduation present for myself. Growing up going to Disney I know we're going to have a ton of fun but my boyfriend hasn't been since he was two and he's not that excited because he doesn't think there are a lot of "adult" things to do there. Could anyone suggest to me some fun things we can do so I can make sure he has the best time possible?

My brother in law took his kids when they were 3 and 5. They had no interest in going again. We had a week book at OKW in a 2 bedroom. There were 5 of us. We invited the in laws to join us. They spent the winter and spring outside of Tampa. They had never been. My DH's nephew was visiting them at the time. So we said bring him along. There was room. He was 17 and my boys were 17 and 19. They all had a blast. My inlaws said it was the most fun they had on a vacation. DH's nephew still talks about it till this day as being one of his all time favorite vacations. It is a completely different experience as an adult then it is as a kid. But no less magical.
 
Is he into golf? You could buy him a round at one of the courses. Or maybe a night at Jellyrolls? Who doesn't love drinking around the World Showcase? Boat rental/fishing?
 
We’re going again this year with our kids, and planning a 2019 weekend kids free. It’s mostly for me- DH is a big fisherman and that’s his only interest lol! Thankfully they have on-site fishing (he thought this was meh), and off-site (they come pick you up), so we’ll try that next time one morning! He’s a good sport though, sometimes I participate in his activities that I don’t care about...so he goes to Disney with me and finds what works for him. This thread was useful to me for other adult activity suggestions! OP hope you guys still go and have a great time! For point of reference we’re in our 30’s with toddlers :-)
 

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