Does the magic return when you have kids?

[SpaceAce]

I'm a 28-yr old "Disney brat," meaning I grew up on the stuff. Went every two or three years, and fully subscribed to the "magic" often referred to be Disney fanatics.

Lately it's been more like every 4 to 5 years.

I have loved it so as a kid, as a teen, and as a young adult. I just returned there this summer for a great 10 days. I had a wonderful time.

The thing was...it felt like a "normal vacation" instead of a Disney vacation. It was a great vacation, but I don't have to go into much detail for 90% of the readers here to understand what I mean by the magic not quite being there like it was before.

I am curious if other young adults have had this same experience? And also, if seeing your kids relive your experiences and wonderment brings it back for you?

I'm also wondering if it has anything to do with, as a kid growing up, I watched the place GROW, while now it seems to GROW and CHANGE. Rather than just adding rides or parks, the newer trend is to replace rides as well as add new ones.


Thanks to all who respond.

 

[joats]

I can't say what it is like w/kids as we are kid free. However, each time we go to Disney the magic keeps getting better and better for us. I'm sorry that you felt it was just a "vacation". I'm wondering what was it about your experience that made it feel so?

I'm sure once you have kids and you get to see your kids experience Disney, it's a totally different experience. Probably, based on reading others' posts, indeed magical. But selfishly, DH and I made the 8 year rule = we'll keep going kid free until our future kids are 8 years or older!!! LOL.

Sorry the magic wasn't there for you!

 

[SpaceAce]

I wonder if part of it was that we stayed at the Dolphin and Coronado Springs, where I had always stayed near the Magic Kingdom before. Dolphin is a great hotel, but still not truly a Disney hotel. And Coronodo Springs, while a good hotel, is certainly not the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian. Know what I mean?

I LOVE your 8-year rule LOL! I saw so many unhappy parents fighting with strollers. While not going as far as the 8-year rule, my wife and I agreed we will NOT go to Disney with strollers! We used the word "stroller-less" many times to describe how lucky we were not to deal with them!

Also, it was a little depressing to see Future World at Epcot close at 6pm in peak season.

Still, we had a GREAT time, but not necessarily a MAGICAL time

 

[Mishetta]

We lived in So. Calif. for 10 years & I lost count of how many times in a year I went. Especially since the company I worked for used to offer special discounted days at DL. It got to a point that when we had visitors come in, we'd just give them directions to get to DL since we were totally bored with going back.

Fast forward several years & 2 kids later.....we LOVE to go & it's even more magical than my DH & I ever experienced it! Of course, now due to location, we go to WDW but none the less, the magic has not only returned but there is pixie dust flying everywhere!

BTW ~ SpaceAge, what was the deal with the strollers? You mean people with toddlers were unhappy there? Or navigating a stroller around is difficult? I'm a little concerned since we started going to WDW when DS#1 was 4 y/o (now he's 8 y/o) but we also now have DS#2 who will be just a bit over 2 y/o when we go.....so this will be a "first time" with a stroller visit.

 

[joats]

SpaceAce:

I wonder if it did have to do with the hotel choice. We are staying at CSR this Oct. for the first time...our preferred hotel is WL. We're a bit nervous about staying at CSR too...will it be the same magic? But I've heard positive comments about it on here so hopefully. I think that the hotel piece can make a huge difference in your "magical" experience.

I love your stoller-less comment. I don't know how people do it. We are so exhausted by the end of the day I can't imagine lugging children, and all the stuff too. Parents amaze me!

 

[ChefBilly]

I'm actually really curious about this as well.
DW and I had a baby girl exactly 11-months ago today,

We've been to WDW a decent amount since 1998 when I re-acquired the Magic. But no trip has matched the magic of that first one we went on together. (It had been 18 years since I was in WDW.)

I've always assumed it would be much different seeing it through my daughter's eyes.

Ironically, I'll be flying out to WDW two days after she turns 1.
It's a long story - my daughter and wife are not going. A DVC friend got a suite at he Boardwalk and set out filling with with friends from high school. DW suggested I go. I said OK. I knew I married her for a reason!

Still, it won't be the same without her, and I really can't wait to take our little girl. We're thinking maybe when she's about 4.

 

[kidzmom3]

I can say, its AWESOME with your children. We have experienced so many fabulous moments through their eyes, that I have actually broken down into tears. On our second visit to the World, my two daughters aged 3 and 4 at the time met up with Cinderella at the Toon Town Faire. "Do you remeber us Cinderella? Why of course I do my princesses. How could I ever forget such wonderful girls. I am so happy you came back to see me." Later that day, from the float of the parade, Cinderella sees my girls, blows them kisses and mouths "Hello Katie and Holly" I thought they were going to faint from happiness, and it really touched my heart.

 

[Mamu]

I do think through the eyes of your children you do feel a different kind of magic.

I've experienced more magic then I could ever image and it's through the eyes of my Grandchildren.

There's something Magical about seeing your Grandsons hair cut. Seeing the twinkle in a Granddaughters eye when a Princess talks to her. Seeing how excited that get when Tinkerbell flies from the castle.

That doesn't mean that I need someone with me to feel Disney Magic. I feel it every time I walk through the gates.

 

[Kirby]

There is a special magic seeing WDW through your childrens eyes, because even though you know there are people inside those costumes, they are real to your children, therefore making them real to you. I wouldn't take anything for the pictures of my children on our first trip to WDW.

We made a rule also. We would not go until our youngest (we have two) child turned five. And we were glad we waited. But that was the best way to do it for our family. We prefered not to have to push strollers, change diapers, keep up with baby bottles, etc. We considered that too much of a hassle. Others do it, there's nothing wrong with it, but that wasn't for us.

 

[shep]

My oldest has been to Disney 3 times and she will be 6 in December and my youngest had been twice and she just turned 3 , just to see the excitement in their eyes when they go into the parks, & see the characters and get autographs is WELL worth it....If my kids made my trip miserable i'd consider leaving them home next time, but I can't complain one bit how they acted...
Now if I can only convince DW to go again next year....

 

[browneyes]

I didn't grow up going to WDW, I only took 1 trip to WDW as a kid (although at 14, I didn't think I was a kid). My kids love to hear what I remember from that first trip.

The true beauty of anything is "looking" through things through your own kids' eyes though. They notice things you normally wouldn't notice, or they'll conjure up lost happy memories to your mind. Sharing the magic with them is something profound.

 

[DrTomorrow]

I enjoyed WDW as a kid, as a parent with DS, and now DW and I (empty-nesters) are going back for magic and romance!

I honestly believe that the "Magic" comes from within. I agree that the resort you stay at can help/hurt, but you have to let go a bit and let the Magic happen. However, doing WDW with your child(ren) does make everything seem new and fresh again.

 

[Pop Daddy]

with that and the child tax credit you know what you go to do

 

[janette]

I didn't go as a child, first trip I was a teen. Really started going more often after I had kids so for me the magic has been seeing it through their eyes.

They were 3 & 6 when we went to DL the first time, my only regret was not taking my older DD earlier. Even at 6 they see it in a different way. Every trip we've made as they age there is something new they enjoy and the experience changes.

I've decided on our next trip that I need to work on being more of a kid myself. I think I'm going to get my own pair of mouse ears My girls will be 9 & 12 on our next trip and they won't wear them anymore

 

[SpaceAce]

In response to Mishetta,

I saw LOTS of unhappy parents with strollers. Keep in mind, we were there during peak season. Once we were riding the tram, it stopped to let off a bunch of people, and all of a sudden I heard an adult female voice yelling, "I hate you! I really hate you!" and she kicked her uncooperative stroller across the parcking lot. I think the problem was that it didn't collapse the way it was supposed to. I want to make clear she was yelling at the stroller, not her kids.

Anyway, it is so hard to navigate through the parks when they're busy and there are just 2 adults. When you add strollers to the mix, parents get fussier than their kids. I have been there with my brother, sister-in-law, and their 3 year old niece, and we had to deal with "uppie, uppie" because the niece wanted to be carried for 50 yards, then wanted to walk for 50 yards, then wanted in the stroller for 50 yards, in an ever endless cycle. I just know it's something I do not want to deal with.

I would go with a stroller, however, only in a true down time for Disney, like September or October, when the touring days and lines are shorter. I am out of luck because I am a teacher (which I love), but whenever we have breaks is exactly the time when crowds show up at Disney. Therefore, I will wait till my kids can take care of their bodily functions, including walking, on their own.

The sad news with my niece is I asked her more recently (she's 5 now) if she remembers going, and she doesn't.

I think an 8-year old rule is great, but I think I will be ready with 5 year olds.

Just my thoughts, and my apologies to anyone who sees things differently.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have only been able to experience WDW once with my kids, then 19 and 22. It was a real treat, watching their smiles, and so often looking and acting like they were 6 and 7 again. I always hope that someday they might go back with me, but do doubt it. I have thorougly enjoyed all my subsequent solo trips there, though not really solo, as I am with so many DIS'ers all the time. That can be truly magical too, enjoying the magic with people who enjoy it at the same level as we do. A group, large or small, of adults, all acting like 6 and 7 year olds.

 

[Dream]

I didn't read all of the responses here....so I hope this doesn't repeat too much.

In my humble "Dreamy" opinion....there is nothing as magical as Disney magic. I felt this special "thing" long before there was a Disney World.....and still feel tingly when I hear the intro to my childhood Sunday night ritual...."The Magical World of Disney". I feel that "the magic" lives in your heart, not in a place or a ride, an attraction or a resort. When your heart is full of magic, all things Disney put that special twinkle in your eye and that special song in your heart!
I first went to WDW as a teen....and was hooked for life!! I went back when my kids were small and .....oh yeah.....seeing the magic reflected in their eyes just magnified it for me!! It's something you don't forget. But kids can do that with a stroll in the backyard too! They hold their own magic!
I recently went to the World all alone....no kids, no husband, no friends. And oh my gosh....THAT was an incredably magical experience too!!! Different...yes....but still oh so wonderful!
In December , lucky me, I get to go back to the World....this time with friends who are as Disney crazed as I am!! And...I have NO doubt....the magic will be waiting for me!!!

I'm sorry you didn't feel that special zing on your last trip. And I guess what this LONG post (sorry shepand Jason) is tying to say is.....don't wait for kids to find your magic again!!! It's there.....just look in your heart!!!

 

[Zurg]

Some trips are more Magic than others but I am very much a believer in the idea that Magic is something you have to help make, not something that is all the work of the mouse.

I find that most of the Magic comes form interacting with CM's and enjoying the place with them not expecting them to serve it up.

We slow down, let some creativity and love of the place show and in most cases the CM's respond in kind.

We go with kids and sometimes without them. Either way it is joking around with CMs that makes all the differance.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by Dream
...In December , lucky me, I get to go back to the World....this time with friends who are as Disney crazed as I am!! And...I have NO doubt....the magic will be waiting for me!!!...

Cool, Jodi! Hopefully, early December!!!

 

[Dream]

Oh Zurgy....good points!!! Like the CM at the Dole Whip place ..."AlooooHa"!!! Disney CM's are the BEST.....I have never met one who wasn't ready to have FUN!! But you're right....this is a 2 way street!

Hee hee....yep Dan....early December!!