When we are taking someone with us to WDW that isn’t all that into it, like Brian, we have a policy - tailor the trip to the person who is most likely to complain.  It’s really easy because WDW has something for everyone, and so we just plan the activities accordingly.

When traveling with the reluctant ones, it’s essential not to schedule every minute of their day with Disney stuff - in fact, we give them every morning “off” to do what they like to do. Brian s a runner, so we just let him run and then go to the gym every morning. The deluxe resorts have gyms you can use for free, but even those guests in the other resorts that want to work out can do so for $12.00 a day.

There are water activities - they can rent a boat and go fishing. They can parasail, learn to surf, or lots of other things.  Does your reluctant guest like to golf? Play tennis? Read?  Knit? Stare at the wall? Whatever it is, let them do it all morning long and don’t bug them about doing anything else. Call (407) PLAY or (407) WDW GOLF for details.

Tell them to meet you for lunch when they are done. While we WDW fanatics like to dine with the characters and love all the really silly restaurants, this is not the trip for that. This trip, you need to think about your reluctant friend and what it is that they like. Brian likes sushi and sashimi and so we took him to Tokyo Dining at the Japan Pavilion, where he was not only impressed and happy but also a little bit sloshed from the 3 sake lunch he had - and much more willing to do a couple of rides with us.

Remember with the reluctant guests getting all of the rides in is not your primary goal, but if it is the crowds and the lines that is holding them back from riding, try to make your trip during one of the after hours party, like the Pirates and Princess Party or the Halloween Party so that you can ride with a lower crowd level.

We always plan some more free time before the dinner hours so that Brian can read, nap, and sit out in the sun, but then we urge him to leave the resort a few hours before dinner so that we can go to EPCOT for the entertainment and have a glass of wine at the France or Italy Pavilion. There are acrobats at the China Pavilion, Japanese drummers, and belly dancers at Morocco, and strolling around looking for them is oh so pleasant with a glass of  Pouiilly fuisse from the France Pavilion.

Again, we plan dinners at the nice places, with the good wine lists and the non-Disney emphasis. There are so many good restaurants like Jiko and Victoria and Albert’s that make Brian forget where he is.

If we avoid crowds, provide fine wine and meals, and let him have time to himself, our reluctant visitor has a really good time.  It’s worth it, honestly, treating these types with kid gloves in order to make them happy. After all, when Brian’s happy, I’m happy! ( I was going to add, when Brian is unhappy, everybody is unhappy - but we won’t go there...)