When does the childhood magic end?

[CalSea12]

I am 25 years old, and every time the word Disney comes up my eyes sparkle with the magic, and my heart beats faster. I love Disney, and everything Disney, always have and always will. I never lost the magic, I transform into one of the biggest kids once I land in the Orlando Airport.

 

[defendthehill]

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

 

[defendthehill]

OP here.....

My 9 year old figured out Santa, then the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy etc... She knows there are humans inside of the costumes already. That magic has left already.

When she asked me if we could go to Disney one more time as a "kid" it just made me think that Disney is a bit more special for a "kid" in her mind and she knows that will probably end at some point. Of course she is not aware that taking her kids years from now will provide just as much magic.....but I digress.

She still loves the princesses, meeting the characters, and getting lost in the magic of Disney. Maybe that will never go away as some posters have said. I just thought I want her to have that magical feeling one more time....before she is not a "kid" anymore.

 

[amandaj1014]

My family couldn't afford to take us to WDW until I was 18. My brother was 15 and my sister was 9. We all absolutely thought is was the most amazing, wonderful place we'd ever seen, but, for my brother and myself, we never really got to experience it through a "kid's" eyes. Which is why I am SOOOO excited to take my own kids there! The magic now is watching them experience everything. We went once in 2008 when they were 7 and 3 and now they are 6 and 10, and we're going in less than 2 weeks! I do wonder how DS10 will see it compared to what he thought when he was 7! DD6 is the perfect age, can't wait to experience the World with her!!!

Back to OP, your daughter sounds very wise for her 9 years--knowing that soon she won't see things as a "kid" like she used to is a very interesting insight into the mind of a child!

 

[Chipndalenut]

We only have one child...an 8 year old and she is growing up in a home with two TOTAL Disney nuts so I really dont think the magic will ever be lost. Especially because we watch our videos from our WDW vacations over and over. The wonderful memories they bring back make all of us want to go back again and again We wish we lived closer so we could go more than once a year !!!

 

[kecmouse]

I am one of those crazy teenagers that is kind, works hard on my homework, lives for god and vacation... I absoloutely love disney! I never met any teen that has told me disney sucks, but of course I hang out with some pretty awesome kids like me at my school. It suprises me that your kid would ever say that, I always wished my parents took me to disney when I was younger! I find the magic isn't about the characters, it's about being there

 

[Sappermont]

OP here.....

My 9 year old figured out Santa, then the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy etc... She knows there are humans inside of the costumes already. That magic has left already.

When she asked me if we could go to Disney one more time as a "kid" it just made me think that Disney is a bit more special for a "kid" in her mind and she knows that will probably end at some point. Of course she is not aware that taking her kids years from now will provide just as much magic.....but I digress.

She still loves the princesses, meeting the characters, and getting lost in the magic of Disney. Maybe that will never go away as some posters have said. I just thought I want her to have that magical feeling one more time....before she is not a "kid" anymore.

It sounds to me it's not so much a "losing the magic" type of thing but experiencing things differently. I love WDW just as much as I did when I first went in 1982. However, there are things that you experience as a kid that you just can't experience as an adult or you experience them differently. I used to LOVE going on the tea cups with my father and sister, but now I get too sick from them. I loved ordering the children's burrito meal off the San Angel Inn menu - all these things were the things that made up my "kid" experience. I loved WDW as a teen and young adult and I'm anticipating loving it on my upcoming trip. So, maybe it's not about losing the magic but missing the experiences from a kid's perspective?

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

This might sound strange, but here goes.

While I don't think you ever lose the magic, things are different and we all go through stages.

When I was a kid, these magical CMs opened doors and gave me a key to a great place to stay. They opened the park gates to me and I saw the Castle and Mickey, etc. My parents whisked me into a Moroccan feast or a banquet in Cinderella Castle. It was all an amazing gift and a surprise! It truly was magic.

Now, I have to call 180 days out for ADRs and I have to recite my credit card number over the phone for Mickey to bill. I think when you work for the trip, you view it differently than when you are a kid and it is all just given to you.

This does not diminish my enjoyment in any way. I got married in Disney and I will go back my whole life, God willing. However, it is a different experience.

 

[kimpulse]

I think that bringing our DD to Disney multiple times kind of helped her see that no matter how difficult life got as she got older, there is always a place she could go to get a break and feel like a kid again. She'll be 20 in September and she loves it now as much as she did when she was 5. I feel the need to get a fix once a year (at least). I do it for my kid. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[xerotheory7803]

I'm 24 years old, and it never went away. It actually intensified once I was old enough to start making my own vacation plans. I've been to WDW 12 times since I turned 18, with the 13th (20th overall!) in a few weeks.

 

[Sammie]

No one in our family has lost it, and we still hear the reindeer bell too, We Believe.


Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

 

[Mrs. Bob Loblaw]

For me, the magic depended in part on the company. My grandparents kinda controlled what we would do and when, and my cousins would always get "sick" when I was young. They would fight and complain and t trips were never much fun. It became soooooo much fun once I started going with my mom and we wouldn't go with the party poopers in our family. Then, it became even more magical once I was able to research and plan the perfect vacation. Now my mom says it will never be as good without me. So sweet and I agree it can only be truly magical with certain people. Age doesn't have anything to do with it for me.

 

[jerry112]

I don't think you really ever lose it once you have found it!

My 171/2 year old son is still very excited to be coming with us to disney. In fact, one day it really hit him that he was going to be 18 and an "adult" soon and he was quite upset that we might not bring him to disney with us anymore!

I think once you're hooked, you're hooked for life!

 

[Cee]

Mine are 30, 28, and 26. They drop everything to come to Disney with us. We just can't shake them. DH says it's because we continue to feed them.

 

[BBG-BLT]

I don't think some ever "lose" the magic but I think I might understand what she's saying.

Right about 9 or 10 kids start to change a bit - start to have that internal argument between being a kid and being a tweener (for example you might see some baby talk from girls as this internal struggle occurs). Right about the start of puberty.

My oldest asked to do BBB this year - wanted to do the dress and all. "I'm like you'll be 10?!?" and she said - "well none of my friends will be there and I can be a kid one more time."

So - yes she'll be doing BBB but it will be the diva package and she can make believe she's younger, not going to middle school, not interested in boys etc.

 

[Maddykins06]

No one in our family has lost it, and we still hear the reindeer bell too, We Believe.


Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

LOVE THIS!
And this is exactly what keeps the magic for me & my family.

It's walking down Main Street on our way to Crystal Palace for breakfast in the quiet of the morning before the park has opened. Looking up at the names on the windows along Main Street realizing that Dreams Can Come True if You Believe in them with all your heart.
I still have a lot of dreaming to do!

 

[picktails]

NEVER!!
DS18 went for his HS grad trip with 3 friends. DD15 is bringing a friend with us in November and can't wait to show her EVERYTHING!

The magic changes...but never fades

 

[Tomh]

The magic ends? I'm 42, and I haven't outgrown it yet

Don't believe me, just ask my DD16, she often tells me I'm such a little kid

 

[tmarquez]

I think it varies from person to person...and I don't think it ends...but changes. My DD is only 8, but I am considerably older and have been going since I was 3. I even bought my own "season" pass when I was in high school as my parents didn't like to go as much as I did. I did take an extended break from going so much (but still went) between finishing college and when DD was born.

As for the statement by your own DD. Well...I don't know her, but that totally sounds like something my own DD would say so that I would take her.

 

[ducky_love]

You mean I have to grow up... and lose the magic... ?

This is worse than finding out about Santa!!!