Does Disneyland Lose "The Magic" As an Adult?

[smackdr]

Hey everybody.

I'm twenty years old and can still remember the first time I went to Disney World. I think I was about 8 or so and thought that Disney World was the coolest place in the world. I definitely felt the Magic and the fireworks at the end of the night were kind of sad as I knew the experience was over.

So my question is for those who experienced the Magic as kids and went back as Adults. Did it lose the magic over time?

 

[ter-moo]

Make that a resounding, "NO!"

In fact one of the best memories of all my life was going there when I was 22 or so (after having been there twice as a kid) with a group of friends. I was a poor, starving actress in L.A., and my friends paid the, um, $12.95 to get me in.

It was the most magical day of my life.

As you can see by my siggie, I've been several times since then, and I'm always struck dead in my tracks as I enter Main Street USA. There's just something about it. ixiedust:

It may not have the most daring thrill rides, but it's got every other theme park beat out for cleanliness, customer service, imagination, and magic.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

Ditto that! If anything it's the exact opposite. As an adult, I've grown to appreciate it more.

The day it loses the magic will be a very sad day for me.

 

[hlbtimes2]

Its still very magical for dh and I. We still get tears in our eyes when its time for a trip to end. The fireworks and F! are both just wonderful, emotional experiences for us. It our favorite place to vacation. It was before having children, and that love has just grown now that we have kids.

 

[Leggyb]

Oh geez! I hope not. I'm 21 and just planning this trip for my friends and myself has made me feel like an 11 year old. We are so excited! One of my friends has never even been there before so hopefully she will at least be able to feel the magic!

 

[Disneyland1084]

The magic NEVER goes away in my opinion. Surely 5 years old experience a different "magic." It's kind of hard to explain. I was 5 when I first went and am now 27. I still find it very magical, and so does my mom and she's 56.

 

[spazzyjazzy]

It has gotten more magical as I get older. Disneyland is my happy place and my stress reliever. I almost cancelled my trip next week because my beloved grandmother passed away two weeks ago. It has been very hard for me losing her. But, I know that she would not have wanted me to cancel my trip because she loved it there as much as I did.

 

[snoodledoo]

Personally, I think if you never went as a kid, and your first trip was as an adult, the magic *may* elude you. I was worried about some friends who just went for the first time, but they got the magic!

 

[Rena75]

I've been going to Disneyland my whole life and even now my daughter and I go several times a month. Sometimes we just go and listen to the Bootstrappers or Billy Hill and the Hillbillies! There are days where we don't even go on rides, we just go for the magic.

My family always laugh at me because we are there so much. I told my nephew that I was going to start telling him I'm in a bar instead of Disneyland since there is somewhere to go to get help for that!

 

[GailT]

Take this answer from a almost 50 year old NO NO NO I go and leave my whole world behind me and soak it all in. I go once a year either DW or DL, this year I am doing both

 

[deletedpenguin]

It's the immersion of Disneyland that makes it better than other theme parks out there. You just leave your worries on the other side of the gate.

 

[TheZue]

I would say the magic just changes. When you are little you take it in like it's real and you don't know how any of it happens. When you go as a childless adult with friends it magical for being one of those really fun out of the ordinary experiences with friends...I will never forget our friend almost getting a bird in the face on Big Thunder Mountain the week after that happened to Fabio, or our other friend when he had rubbed his hand stamp all over his face and it was glowing in Pinochio. We still laugh at those. Once you have kids it changes again, because you see the magic through your kids eyes, seeing my son jump around with tiger on Main Street was just amazing.

 

[ktulu]

The magic only goes away if you let it

 

[Chumpson]

You aren't going to get unbiased opinions with a question like that here. We all love Disneyland and it doesn't go away for us. We were having this discussion with family yesterday and my cousin (28) said he went a couple years ago and wouldn't go back until he has kids. He said he would rather go to a 'big ride' theme park. So, I guess it depends on the individual. I can say that I wouldn't enjoy it as much without my kids, though I would still have bunches of fun!

 

[SandyCA]

spazzyjazzy, so sorry for your loss

I don't think the magic ever goes away - I am 45 and everytime I walk in the park, I can't help but squeal with delight and feel like I am 10 again. My DH just looks at me and laughs(which is why I prefer to go with my sister- she's just like me! ).

 

[LukenDC]

Not at all. As I have grown older, I have become more appreciative of all the special touches that make Disneyland truly magical. Landscaping, theming, lighting, music, hidden Mickeys, color schemes, engineering, etc. are all of interest to me now. I also enjoy the shopping and hotel areas that completely bored me when I was a child.

As a kid, the rides were my exclusive focus while at Disneyland. As an adult I still love the rides, but I now find myself taking an equal amount of time out to enjoy shows and parades.

I also enjoy the history of Disneyland. Disneyland is a cultural milestone and a true piece of Americana.

 

[Misskitty3]

I feel the magic EVERYTIME we go.........................!

 

[TINKERIFIC]

I am 32, born in So Ca, but I live somewhere else (I know, tragic, sorry...parents fault)

Anywho, my grandparents (who did and still do live in Placenta) made it a point to take me to DL every summer. On our way there, I would stare out the window of the car waiting to see the matterhorn in the distance...knowing we were almost there. I remember being scared of SM, excited about the subs (my fav), amazed by the monorail, running around Tom Sawyer island as if in another world, mesmerized by the main street electrical parade (when it was on main street), and wonder just how I could see tinkerbell from so far away.

Yes, as a child it is amazing and magical and wonderful and exciting, but now I get to see it all over again through my children's eyes. IMO, that is more magical then Disney itself. To see my daughter look at a princess like she was a teenager at her first rock concert IS MAGICAL!

When I pass under the train, my worries and stress disapear. I have come home to my happy place.

NO, THE MAGIC NEVER STOPS...AS LONG AS YOU BELIEVE!!!

 

[kelmac284]

I agree with everyone else and I can tell you the older I get (just turned 40) the more magical it is to me. People say I am crazy to go as much as I do and we only go a few times a year, but I just LOVE it there and it is one place that we can go and with driving, staying in bargain rooms and our AP it is relatively inexpensive.

Sure I LOVE going other places too but it is one thing since I have had kids that I said I will do at least once a year from now on.

There are always new things to see and do and I LIVE for the day when I can go again.

I LOVE going and I am sad to leave when I do but always know that there is another trip to be planned in the future. I didn't go a whole lot as a kid and as I said as much as I loved it as a kid and young adult I don't think it truly got magical to me till I had kids of my own. Experiencing it with them is the best.

To me it is a fun wholesome place that is magical and as many people said you leave reality behind you when you enter the gates.

My mother is 62 and loves it as much as I do and I just can't say enough how much we love it there and look forward to the next trip and the next!

 

[fairycat]

I was born and raised in SO Cal (always about an 1 to 1 1/2 hours away from the parks) and always went at least once a year for just about every year of my life.

Then about wow 7 years ago I started to get Annual Passes and I go a lot through the year, and you know what, I still feel the magic!!!

I still find things I need to do, or haven't done in a while, I still have memories of eating a melting popsicle as my Mom took a picture of me and my sister at Snow White's Grotto. I still laugh at the story told of a very young me being shown out the hatch of the subs as I screamed my lungs out. I still love the primeival world and the Tiki room and always love the feel of the Bat Staitions heads at the Haunted Manison.

I think that doing any of the parks if you want to feel the magic you sure will!