When does the childhood magic end?

[defendthehill]

My wife and I have taken our daughters to Disney World for two week long vacations. We also hit The World for a marathon day during our beach vacation on The Gulf. Our oldest daughter is 9 and just the other day she said to me, "Dad I want to go to Disney one more time while I am a kid." The "kid" part to me is really before the "magic" is gone. How old were your kids before the "magic" of Disney goes away? By the way, I think the magic comes back once you are old enough to realize that believing is ok....

 

[Pixie Princess]

Mine's 11, will be 12 in Jan, and she still loves it. The magic is still alive! Her tastes in what she likes to do have changed over the years; not particularly interested in princesses any more, but does still love character meet and greets; MK no longer her favorite park , Epcot is; used to hate the World Showcase and now loves it. She is also kind of "naive" for her age which may have something to do with it. However, we took a friend of hers with us this past May who is a pretty mature 11, and I was worried she'd end up saying it was too "babyish" once the initial newness wore off (it was her first trip to WDW or any sort of theme/amusement park). She loved it! She came home and told her parents they were taking her back. LOL!

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, but be encouraged- you may have another two years or more of "kid" time!

 

[minnie mum]

I'm not sure that every kid loses the 'magic". Mine are in their 30's and never lost it. Even in their teens, that most jaded of times, they still couldn't wait to get to Disney World. Maybe we were just lucky. DH and I are still kids at heart when it comes to our WDW visits.

 

[Now Addicted]

My wife and I have taken our daughters to Disney World for two week long vacations. We also hit The World for a marathon day during our beach vacation on The Gulf. Our oldest daughter is 9 and just the other day she said to me, "Dad I want to go to Disney one more time while I am a kid." The "kid" part to me is really before the "magic" is gone. How old were your kids before the "magic" of Disney goes away? By the way, I think the magic comes back once you are old enough to realize that believing is ok....

I am wondering the same thing and the magic will be gone for my kids ebb they stop believing in it. Maybe they will never stop believing in it.

I totally agree with you when you say that the magic comes back. As an adult and putting up with adult things most of the year, it is nice to go to a place where Pooh Bear really lives and have fun with my kids. That's why I like going to the parks so that I can buy into the fantasy and forget my worries for a few days.

 

[SallySkelington]

Agreed! I never lost the magic! It's still here, sometimes I feel like a weirdo walking WDW with this goofy look on my face, but I don't think about it until afterwards though.

 

[glammadiva]

My daughter is 30 and she never lost it.

 

[defendthehill]

I am a 43 year old man...football coach......and I walk around Disney with that same Goofy look on my face. I can visit The World and lose myself in the Magic!!

 

[Traveliz]

I think it just varies person to person.

We went a lot and my daughter would not be pre excited once she got in high school but once she got there it was full on excitement.

Now she works there and she has been able to balance the excitement and wonderment with the not so exciting times.

Its really fun to hear her call when something has gotten her all excited...going to a meeting one morning super early in October they were practicing lighting the Castle for Christmas and she called soooo excited. A couple of times she has had to stop for the Main Street train as it is coming out of its storage area on her way to the parks, new characters always excited her too....she went to MK early one morning to go to see the Tangled Meet and Greet.

So I think it just varies. Her brother...he was done in high school but he is happy to go now with his kids on my organized trips where he just has to show up and enjoy.

Liz

 

[lsherry]

I don't think that the magic is ever "truly" lost , just the interest may change. I'm 47 and my daughter 25 and we will always have the magic....

 

[YodaGirl]

I'm 30, and I never lost the magic.

 

[DisDadDoc]

I think "losing the magic" is an excuse people use. I know lots of people (myself included!) who never lost it!

 

[dizanimator]

I didn't visit WDW until I was about 12, and it's still a magical place for me now. I know about characters and their "friends", but still can't help waving and smiling at them in parades. Disney magic may be different for me now as opposed to what it was then, and definitely different than it would be for a young child, but it doesn't have to end. Sometimes knowing a bit about how a ride or effect works makes it more fun. Wasn't one or more of the parks dedicated to children of all ages?

 

[kylieh]

The magic is very real for my DD, nearly 9. To the point that Belle, Cinderella, etc fly between Disneyland and Disneyworld to meet everyone. She doesn't question Santa, Easter Bunny, et al either. I can't see it disappearing anytime soon.

 

[KeroKero]

I'm 31 now ... my frist trip to WDW was when I was 4 and I love it just as much as I did then. Likes and dislikes change through the years, but WDW will forever hold a special and magical piece of my heart!

 

[FairydustyPrincesses]

I think maybe wha op means By magic is when do they realize the characters are not real. I could be wrong but as we plan our September trip which will be my odd second trip we are wondering that ourselves.

Our first trip she had just turned five prime princess time now she will have turned 8 the week before we leave. She is very smart and savvy but she does love the magic and princesses and all that. She has said sole thugs that make us wonder if she will figure it out when we get there this time

I think she will still love it always because of believing in the magic but will she believe they are real princesses and real mickey this time? Idk luckily my midlle child was 9 months when weast went and is now three and will be enthralled with it all and a one year old girl yet to go through all the magical sweetness of childhood .

 

[nytimez]

Between 7:30 and 8:15, depending on the time of year.

 

[vsimeone]

I get this. But my son is 20 and we did the Keys to the Kingdom tour together in 2008. I guess that would ensure that you would you would "lose the magic" but we we are going back this Christmas and he is the one who has been asking for 3 years "when can we go back."

I agree with many of the PPers. I am 45 and I LOVE the the ability to have a place where I can just "make believe. Who cares what is really going on in the world. the only thing that is important is "where is Mickey and when are our next dining reservations?!

My DD is 23 and while she loves vacationing with us at the world, I don't see the "magic" in her eyes the way I do with DS.

I think it's all in what you choose to believe!

 

[Planogirl]

DS was only 5 when he told me that the characters were just people in costumes. He still liked the characters but he had already decided that they weren't real.

 

[DeaverTex]

I suppose you need to find the magic before you can lose it. Remember that most kids never go to WDW (or DLR) at all. I know, I was one of 'em.

But I'm thinking that it all depends on what you call the magic. If it's believing that the characters are real, well, even as a little kid when DLR was new, I knew that they were people in costumes because all the articles about this new park went into great detail. I suspect that for most kids, this probably happens around 6 or so, when they start questioning Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. (They're both real, by the way, and don't try to convince this old soldier any different. )

If it's believing that the parks are special places, though, where ordinary life isn't allowed in -- I believe that now MUCH more than I ever did as a kid. That's why I'm here in the first place. And I think that's where the REAL magic is, and I don't know that there's any special age where your kids might stop believing in that. If there is, then I feel sorry for 'em because they're all grown up then, and growing up is nothing but a desperate effort to deny your dreams and imagination.

And for the same reason, our (nearly) 22 year old son has been asking when we're going ever since I told him that it had come of the list of "not in my lifetime" items. He's more fired up than I am.

So, let's see... It may end at some point past 60, but I'm not there yet.

 

[BebopBaloo]

I never lost it. I just saw some things differently than I had before, but it never lost it's appeal. In fact, nostalgia probably has a lot to do with the appeal.