I spent a lot of money on an experience and didn't enjoy it

[Newname101]

There's something I've wanted to do for ages, do dh and I bought very expensive tickets yo do it. We travelled into London which he hated and it was short and wasn't for me, I left feeling stupid and sad that we spent out money on it. Dh said at least we gave it s go and we had the money spare. I enjoyed walking through St james park with dh more than the activity.
It's really made me doubt myself and worry about doing things in the future.

If you hadn't gone, you'd be forever wondering why, and what kind of amazing experience you had missed.

It's not the disappointments that matter anyway, it's how you deal with them.

I tend to enjoy all these pop up experiences (though we only do the family friendly ones in recent years since we've had kids). Most places we manage to get into with a discount due to disabilities (effectively half price as a carer goes free), which helps when the experience is a disappointment, as at least it feels like I haven't wasted as much money.

You’re a nicer friend than me, @TheYearOfSmallThings — I said ‘Not on your life!’ and agreed to meet afterwards.

It’s not often I say this on MN, but you really need to listen to your husband 😁

From your snippet about him, he sounds like a good egg. So you made a good decision there 🙂

I hate spending a fortune and then feeling disappointed. I now manage my expectations differently and am very selective in what I choose to do thinking “Is it worth the risk given the money paid?” and “Can I also do something else with the day to make sure that even if the event is a bit crap I have gained something positive from it (eg. a walk through a park / seeing a few sights / quality time with a friend)?” Put it down to experience. We don’t have a crystal ball….we have to try new things which helps us understand what we like!

PS. Iron Maiden are brilliant live. I’m not even a huge fan but I loved the concert, the atmosphere and the people.

It is incredible, don’t worry!

Hmm, DH and I have seen them a few times over the last 30 years. Most recently we went last year and we both thought the performance was ace and high energy - neither of us thought anything amiss with Bruce’s voice, it was amazing! We may be plebs with no ear for the fine details though :) I am SURE you will enjoy seeing them in any case.

Has your husband tried anti-sickness?
There are two main types. One (such as Stugeron) focuses on the stomach, the other (such as kwells) works on the brain. It’s worth trying both to see which is best for him as an individual.

Ah OP, one of my mottos for life is: only regret the things you don’t do. You have to try things, and sometimes they don’t work out and sometimes they do. Chalk it down to experience and move on, you can’t change the past. Enjoy Iron Maiden!

But cheaper?

And you can reframe the trauma by writing a song about it. (NSFW) 5

Was it the Mamma Mia Experience?

Well positives are you've ticked something off your 'to do' list, your DH was supportive although not liking London and he coped with the Tube. Don't let it put you off trying things again, just keep your expectations low.

F1 exhibition?

M&M World.

If it was Task Master my friend said it wasn't worth £100 either!

I drove my DCs for an hour to the 100 acre wood in Sussex to go to Pooh Corner cafe and, walk a Winnie the Pooh trail and play Pooh sticks.

The forest was so muddy. Hard to walk without slipping over. Within 10 minutes we were all freezing and covered in mud.

Gave up and took them to soft play instead.

Sometimes things are just a bit crap.

Agree if it was Taskmaster then they have overpriced the tickets and it's worth about half the price.

I'm sorry you didn't have a great time. Chalk it up to experience. Don't let it put you off doing other things but check reviews first if you can.

I agree!! I loved it.

I took my DD and her friend to London for the day. The experience part was crap, lunch was overpriced and crap and the weather was crap. The bit the enjoyed most was seeing the rabbit statues on the Southbank on the 10 min walk back to the tube.

I feel for you as I can get really hung up on things like this. It will pass OP.

Oh God that was dire too!

I was going to suggest this. My friend and I got cyber Monday tickets so 2 for £50 and we thought it was just about worth that. If I’d paid £100 each I’d have been furious.

I once went paragliding over a boat after thinking I really wanted to do it for years. Turns out I didn't! I was 18, stupid and hated every minute of it. I'm pretty sure it cost £80 - the last of our combined holiday money and this was 2003!

Swingers ?

Surely you've been in this situation before why the over reaction this time

Oh God, I was thinking of booking this for my husband's birthday! Is it crap?