Skeptical bf - movies to prep for Disney trip

Pdollar88

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 20, 2017
Wasn't sure where to post this. But I think here works!

My bf and I are going to WDW in March 2018. It's his first trip, so I'm excited for him. However, he has a lot of misconceptions about Disney and mildly dislikes most of the movies (at least until he starts watching -- he perked up at the final battle with Maleficent and some other clips he's seen). He also thinks he's seen them all, but every time I'm watching one he asks what it is and says he hasn't seen it. So I think his contempt prior to investigation is getting to him.

But anyway, I suggested yesterday that we'd be watching movies to psych up for our trip in March, and asked when he wanted to do that. He grumbled and groaned about it. Making me continue to be concerned at taking him on the trip, but he swears he wants to go and thinks it'll be fun (or fun enough).

He backpedaled a little and seems agreeable to watching at least a few movies. Which movies would you watch? I tried to explain that it would deepen his appreciation and understanding of the park if he had watched the movies and could recognize things -- he was highly skeptical. But to achieve those goals, any must-sees? He's already watched Beauty and the Beast with me.

I was thinking, for a very short list, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Toy Story (or Finding Nemo), and Frozen (which I'm on the fence about, but I think it's funny). And maybe tempering it with some Star Wars, Indiana Jones.

Wooooo that's a long post. Thanks for your input!
 
Avatar, Frozen definitely as the Frozen Sing A Long is very funny with humour for the grown ups, Lion King and Toy Story - bet he loves the Toy Story ride! I would have said Maleficent too and the new Beauty.
 
So, Pixar movies are generally super relevant, even to those who do not typically watch animation. They tug at the heart strings. I might start with some of those. Cars might be good, even though it's less "feel-y" but Toy Story or Ratatouille or Up are solid winners. He is a guy, so maybe go less with the Princess movies (even though I love them, many guys do not feel it). Peter Pan is a good one. More recently, Big Hero 6, maybe Zootopia. Sometimes the older movies are a tough sell to people not raised with them, but Dumbo and Pinocchio are good ones.

Also, I might recommend watching something about Walt Disney himself, which might help add some context to the worlds he created. A healthy respect for the vision and the artistry will go a long way toward appreciation.
 
So, Pixar movies are generally super relevant, even to those who do not typically watch animation. They tug at the heart strings. I might start with some of those. Cars might be good, even though it's less "feel-y" but Toy Story or Ratatouille or Up are solid winners. He is a guy, so maybe go less with the Princess movies (even though I love them, many guys do not feel it). Peter Pan is a good one. More recently, Big Hero 6, maybe Zootopia. Sometimes the older movies are a tough sell to people not raised with them, but Dumbo and Pinocchio are good ones.

Also, I might recommend watching something about Walt Disney himself, which might help add some context to the worlds he created. A healthy respect for the vision and the artistry will go a long way toward appreciation.
Oh yes Saving Mr Banks!
 


So, Pixar movies are generally super relevant, even to those who do not typically watch animation. They tug at the heart strings. I might start with some of those. Cars might be good, even though it's less "feel-y" but Toy Story or Ratatouille or Up are solid winners. He is a guy, so maybe go less with the Princess movies (even though I love them, many guys do not feel it). Peter Pan is a good one. More recently, Big Hero 6, maybe Zootopia. Sometimes the older movies are a tough sell to people not raised with them, but Dumbo and Pinocchio are good ones.

Also, I might recommend watching something about Walt Disney himself, which might help add some context to the worlds he created. A healthy respect for the vision and the artistry will go a long way toward appreciation.

He seemed into Big Hero 6 at first! Maybe revisiting that one. He mostly liked Zootopia and Wreck It Ralph. I think he also has negative associations with Pixar for some reason -- he thinks they're overly sentimental? The hurdle is getting him to actually watch it, most of the time when we start he gets somewhat into it.

I'm really unsure about the Disney side -- that was my idea as well. But he's one of those people who have all those misconceptions (or somewhat true conceptions) and shudder at the name Walt Disney. It makes it sound really crazy that we're going -- but he fully agreed and seems marginally excited. He's just a big stick in the mud and thinks he dislikes most things that aren't Magic the Gathering or Transformers.

But love your suggestions - I'd forgotten about some of those (and some of the ones he'd already watched with me lol).
 
The American Experience about Walt Disney that aired on PBS was quite good as well.
 


I want to make an off topic suggestion to you. Depending on the length of your trip, do the parks in this order:
Epcot, AK, HS, MK
or if you have enough time,
Right side of Epcot, AK, Left side of Epcot, HS, MK
This increases the magic slowly. I used this strategy for DW's first trip. She was willing to go, but thought Disney was just for kids. She changed her mind. After the trip, I asked if she enjoyed herself. She said it was fun, but we didn't get to ride Dumbo. :rolleyes2 Who would have thought that from an adult who thought Disney was too much for kids? We went to the Halloween Party and I made SURE we rode Dumbo. Actually is was kind of cozy and romantic.

I wish you the best of luck in getting him more into Disney.
 
I want to make an off topic suggestion to you. Depending on the length of your trip, do the parks in this order:
Epcot, AK, HS, MK
or if you have enough time,
Right side of Epcot, AK, Left side of Epcot, HS, MK
This increases the magic slowly. I used this strategy for DW's first trip. She was willing to go, but thought Disney was just for kids. She changed her mind. After the trip, I asked if she enjoyed herself. She said it was fun, but we didn't get to ride Dumbo. :rolleyes2 Who would have thought that from an adult who thought Disney was too much for kids? We went to the Halloween Party and I made SURE we rode Dumbo. Actually is was kind of cozy and romantic.

I wish you the best of luck in getting him more into Disney.

I love that a lot - thank you for sharing!

I feel relatively locked into our days. arrival day we’ll just barely go into world showcase. Then HS, Epcot, MK, and AK. Universal on Thursday and returning to MK for After Hours. I’m hoping that’ll ease him into it - he likes the sound of HS, so I thought I’d start there with RNRC as fast as I could.
 
You say he perked up a bit at the Maleficent battle--does he like Fantasy/medieval things/epic battles? If so, maybe Sword in the Stone? And Black Cauldron if you're feeling adventurous :P Also echo other people's suggestions of Pixar films!
 
A good one to try might be “Enchanted”, because for Disney lovers it plays as an homage to classic Disney movies, but non-Disney lovers can interpret it as a gentle parody. Plus it has a Maleficent/Sleeping Beauty-like battle at the end.

Also, doing MK after hours is a great choice, because I’ve found one thing that kills the magic for non-Disney lovers is the wait times. Everything gets weighed against the wait as to whether it’s worth it or not. At MKAH, everything is basically a walk-on, so you remove that obstacle from the equation.
 
I want to make an off topic suggestion to you. Depending on the length of your trip, do the parks in this order:
Epcot, AK, HS, MK
or if you have enough time,
Right side of Epcot, AK, Left side of Epcot, HS, MK
This increases the magic slowly. I used this strategy for DW's first trip. She was willing to go, but thought Disney was just for kids. She changed her mind. After the trip, I asked if she enjoyed herself. She said it was fun, but we didn't get to ride Dumbo. :rolleyes2 Who would have thought that from an adult who thought Disney was too much for kids? We went to the Halloween Party and I made SURE we rode Dumbo. Actually is was kind of cozy and romantic.

I wish you the best of luck in getting him more into Disney.
First time at Disney was back in 1990 - was not interested - only went because my 16 year old daughter wanted it - first stop MK - conversion time 10seconds! Would recommend MK as first visit - the magic is real as soon as you enter Main Square!
 
Honestly, I would just go and let the parks speak for themselves. I was entirely uninterested in watching Disney movies for the first several years I went to the parks. I was more interested in going on the rides, eating the food and generally having fun. If you must watch movies I think Pixar movies would be the best. They seem to have more universal appeal.
 
Honestly, I would just go and let the parks speak for themselves. I was entirely uninterested in watching Disney movies for the first several years I went to the parks. I was more interested in going on the rides, eating the food and generally having fun. If you must watch movies I think Pixar movies would be the best. They seem to have more universal appeal.

I really appreciate everyone's responses, but I do think this is the ultimate approach I'm going to take. The movies are useful in psyching me up, but even they don't really convey what you're going to experience in the parks. I think I'll let the awesomeness of the whole experience (and the Haunted Mansion) speak for itself.

I don't want to kill the magic before we get there - watching the movies might just ingrain his misconceptions even more.
 
I really appreciate everyone's responses, but I do think this is the ultimate approach I'm going to take. The movies are useful in psyching me up, but even they don't really convey what you're going to experience in the parks. I think I'll let the awesomeness of the whole experience (and the Haunted Mansion) speak for itself.

I don't want to kill the magic before we get there - watching the movies might just ingrain his misconceptions even more.
Is he the type that bristles at things that are considered insensitive by today's standards? If he's already prickly about Walt Disney as a company, then I would be careful with a few of the older animated movies. I loved Peter Pan as a kid, then rewatched it when I got it on BluRay. The way Native Americans are depicted is full of racist stereotypes from 60 years ago. If he's the type to become a naysayer easily, I'd probably leave Peter Pan off the list (even though the Peter Pan ride is delightful, I think he could appreciate it without having seen the movie).

Zootopia is pretty great for a more recent Disney movie, I think you can't go wrong with Little Mermaid, Rapunzel is really entertaining as well, and Brave is totally a good choice from Pixar.
Has he seriously never seen a Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie?
 
Is he the type that bristles at things that are considered insensitive by today's standards? If he's already prickly about Walt Disney as a company, then I would be careful with a few of the older animated movies. I loved Peter Pan as a kid, then rewatched it when I got it on BluRay. The way Native Americans are depicted is full of racist stereotypes from 60 years ago. If he's the type to become a naysayer easily, I'd probably leave Peter Pan off the list (even though the Peter Pan ride is delightful, I think he could appreciate it without having seen the movie).

Zootopia is pretty great for a more recent Disney movie, I think you can't go wrong with Little Mermaid, Rapunzel is really entertaining as well, and Brave is totally a good choice from Pixar.
Has he seriously never seen a Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie?

He is somewhat inconsistent in what he bristles at - he laughs at wildly inappropriate things in other contexts. But he'd likely seize on the cannon fodder of racist stereotypes that is prevalent in Peter Pan to confirm his negative ideas about Disney.

He has seen Indiana Jones and Star Wars -- he just enjoys those and I thought it would be a way to psych him up. But I'll probably just forego all prep for him - I, on the other hand, will be watching lots of things.

It's funny about Pixar -- he makes fun of some of the sentimental things that I've seen almost every other grown man cry about (the opening of Up, Toy Story toys going to their death). Again, I think it's only because he's aware it's a Disney property (now). He enjoyed Wreck It Ralph (especially at first because I didn't tell him it was Disney).
 
He is somewhat inconsistent in what he bristles at - he laughs at wildly inappropriate things in other contexts. But he'd likely seize on the cannon fodder of racist stereotypes that is prevalent in Peter Pan to confirm his negative ideas about Disney.

He has seen Indiana Jones and Star Wars -- he just enjoys those and I thought it would be a way to psych him up. But I'll probably just forego all prep for him - I, on the other hand, will be watching lots of things.

It's funny about Pixar -- he makes fun of some of the sentimental things that I've seen almost every other grown man cry about (the opening of Up, Toy Story toys going to their death). Again, I think it's only because he's aware it's a Disney property (now). He enjoyed Wreck It Ralph (especially at first because I didn't tell him it was Disney).
Let's just hope he has a Disney moment and falls in love after a day in the Magic Kingdom! Hopefully you have a fantastic trip!
 
Let's just hope he has a Disney moment and falls in love after a day in the Magic Kingdom! Hopefully you have a fantastic trip!

Thank you, I appreciate it! It sounds worse than it is. He's pretty negative but always enjoys himself once we get there. And he earnestly says he wants to go. So fingers crossed the magic hits!
 
Honestly, I would just go and let the parks speak for themselves. I was entirely uninterested in watching Disney movies for the first several years I went to the parks. I was more interested in going on the rides, eating the food and generally having fun. If you must watch movies I think Pixar movies would be the best. They seem to have more universal appeal.

I absolutely agree with this. Perhaps pick a two or three, such as Saving Mr. Banks, Finding Nemo, and maybe one older feature.

I think one can certainly go without seeing the relevant features and have an amazing time. If you listen to the podcast you'll recall the conversations had about visiting Pandora without seeing Avatar! I never saw Avatar and cannot get over how amazing Pandora and the rides are!
 

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