How to get friends excited for trip?

[kasey1988]

I am going with a friend who has only been to disney once, she dosnt remember much. Ive been showing her pictures from my past trips and park maps trying to get her excited. Do you guys have any other ideas to get her more excited for this trip?? She thinks since im the disney fanatic i should just plan it all and shell have fun, but i want her to be a part of it to!

 

[Mybails]

We look for graphics and make t-shirts to wear. Adults and kids alike wear them. It makes everyone think of their favorite character, ride, park, whatever and can really get interest going.

Another thing. we hook the laptop to the tv and often go to youtube to show folks the different rides.

 

[digger1977]

I am going with a friend who has only been to disney once, she dosnt remember much. Ive been showing her pictures from my past trips and park maps trying to get her excited. Do you guys have any other ideas to get her more excited for this trip?? She thinks since im the disney fanatic i should just plan it all and shell have fun, but i want her to be a part of it to!

everthing u have said here mirrors my own situation. i've tired everything from movies, planning DVD's and photo gallerys. i think maybe they r both excited but not on the level we're at. my friend has never been to the world before and there is nothing i can compare and describe the feeling of being there. i know for a fact though he is loving that i'm close to bursting with excitment .

 

[CommandoDisney]

one thing we did in the past was come up with "code-names". the idea was when those radios were popular, we would send members of our party to all parts of the parks to get fastpasses or check lines and stuff. we decided the use of code names were a funny way to go about this. the code-names were our favorite disney characters. so when talking about the trip we refered to each other by our names and it gave us a laugh and got us excited. one trip we were bringing our little cousins for their first trip and i made a "training" video for them, showing pictures from past trips with music and videos, and introduced the "troops". i know it sounds really cheesy but it worked for us. this year instead of characters we each picked a country in epcot for our cheers and beers around the world tour, and every person is expected to make a toast in their "home country"

 

[WDW-LUVR]

We have Disney weekends. 1 a month up till a month out then we do them every weekend. Food, Games, Movies, the night before we oder pizza and watch the Disney vacation planning DVD. You can order her one with out her knowing it and have it sent to her/his house. You can Start a scrapbook. Make packing list together. You can make her a Disney Survival kit. Go shoping together for the things you will need for your trip, (sneakers, clothes,ect...)

 

[WDW-LUVR]

one thing we did in the past was come up with "code-names". the idea was when those radios were popular, we would send members of our party to all parts of the parks to get fastpasses or check lines and stuff. we decided the use of code names were a funny way to go about this. the code-names were our favorite disney characters. so when talking about the trip we refered to each other by our names and it gave us a laugh and got us excited. one trip we were bringing our little cousins for their first trip and i made a "training" video for them, showing pictures from past trips with music and videos, and introduced the "troops". i know it sounds really cheesy but it worked for us. this year instead of characters we each picked a country in epcot for our cheers and beers around the world tour, and every person is expected to make a toast in their "home country"

That is AWESOME, sounds like lots of fun.

 

[kasey1988]

We have Disney weekends. 1 a month up till a month out then we do them every weekend. Food, Games, Movies, the night before we oder pizza and watch the Disney vacation planning DVD. You can order her one with out her knowing it and have it sent to her/his house. You can Start a scrapbook. Make packing list together. You can make her a Disney Survival kit. Go shoping together for the things you will need for your trip, (sneakers, clothes,ect...)

I love these ideas! I think ill do her up a disney survival kit for her birthday (right around booking time), Maybe ill start a new thread for ideas on what everyone would use in their disney survival kit!
Thanks for all the great ideas everyone!

 

[WDW-LUVR]

I love these ideas! I think ill do her up a disney survival kit for her birthday (right around booking time), Maybe ill start a new thread for ideas on what everyone would use in their disney survival kit!
Thanks for all the great ideas everyone!

That would be GREAT. I'm also doing one for some special friends that are going for there first time in Nov. so some unique ideas would be awesome. I know that there was a thread a while back that I'm going to search for.

 

[kasey1988]

That would be GREAT. I'm also doing one for some special friends that are going for there first time in Nov. so some unique ideas would be awesome. I know that there was a thread a while back that I'm going to search for.

I know, fellow disney fans will have some great ideas for us! If you find the thread could you post it or PM me with it? Thanks!

 

[WDW-LUVR]

I know, fellow disney fans will have some great ideas for us! If you find the thread could you post it or PM me with it? Thanks!

You Betcha

 

[cooleo]

Show them this & they're done! :sohappy:

 

[BigNormsMom]

I have a day planner that has the month on 2 pages and each day in a 2" square. As far in advance as we can we find out the EMH days. Then Big Norm sits down and figures which parks we are going to on what days. Then he makes reservations for one sit down service meal a day and the rest we snack. Depending on which park we are in when we are ready for a snack(Casey's Corner; Aloha Isle; Sunshine Season; Backlot Express; or Flame Tree BBQ. We try to find as many hidden Mickey's as possible. We have even bought the book. We also have a book of Disney trivia that we play on the way down. Just thinking about it makes me want to return. Oh well, 2010. Disney Tee's; swimsuits;towels; almost anything with Disney characters can be purchased at Sears, Wal-Mart, K-Mart or JC Penney's. We do this spread out over several month period so we don't have to lay out the big buck's the week before we leave. Have fun and please stay at a resort hotel. You do not say what month or resort you will be in but regardlesss of when, staying on property just makes it a little more Disney special. Enjoy:wave:

 

[syandell2000]

I know we've had a lot of discussion about best Disney guides, but before our last trip (taking my parents to WDW for their 45th wedding anniversary), I gave them a copy of Julie and Mike Neal's _The Complete Guide to WDW_. IMHO, there's a not a better book out there for capturing the spirit of WDW. It's got great pictures, and it gives a great sense of the hugeness of the place. It also captures the vibrancy of the place better, I think, than the Unofficial Guide (which can be too intimidating for the uninitiated) or Birnbaum's guide--which smacks a little too much of staged photos for my taste.

Give them the book as a gift (or for yourself if you don't have it)-- you won't regret it!

 

[WhatJaneSays]

A few years ago I had a friend (she was 20 at the time) that lived within a few hours drive of WDW her whole life and had never been there. We'd bought her a 4-day pass for her birthday because we were going to "drag her along" and she was not that thrilled. She was a though egg to crack ...

We started doing little things about two months from the trip. Mailing her postcards from Minnie, leaving while you were out notes from Peter Pan, packing an entire box of acorns from Chip and Dale and leaving on her front step. By the time we left for the trip she was a 5-year-old again and couldn't wait. I suppose it was silly, but it really made her get into the magic of it all.

Less than a month after that trip she went back by herself for a few days and got an annual pass. She's hooked!

 

[C&D]

Don't push, let them become fans from their own realization. Trust their judgement and in all likelihood, they'll get it.

 

[rlaeromech]

Don't push, let them become fans from their own realization. Trust their judgement and in all likelihood, they'll get it.

I was just about to say.. don't do anything. Let them have their own perception of what its like, then let reality blow them out of the water.

 

[Crazy4WDW1]

Some people just need a small nudge. There are some great shows about WDW coming up on the Travel Channel. In fact, there's one this Friday evening. Why not invite her over to watch it?

 

[mainstreet1997]

1. Don't push.

2. Watch the Sam Brown shows!