Let me apologize in advance, as this is be a bit long winded. I have posted this once before, but it really applies to this thread, so I'm posting again. Wall 'o text coming, ye be warned.
I have loved Disney World dearly since my wife first talked me into taking my two older kids (back then, they were our only kids). We went when DD was seven, and DS had just turned five. It was a great trip, despite the crowds and heat of spring break, and us not knowing what we were doing.
We went three years later in December, and loved it again. So much so, that we made a conscious choice to bring home a special souvenir. Yep, we had a new DS the following August.
This started us on our "second family", as we sometimes refer to it. Today, we have three boys aged six, four, and two... to go with our teenagers aged seventeen and fifteen.
When baby #4 was four months old, we went for our third Disney trip. We've loved WDW for some time, but on that trip, the third child went from Mommy's boy to Daddy's Disney buddy. Aged two at the time, he rode a lot of rides with me while mom held the baby. But the real treat was seeing true magic and wonder in his eyes as he met the characters, saw the castle for the first time, etc.
We went back when he was four, child #4 was two, and child #5 was four months old. He was more into rides then, but again, the two year old was filled with magic.
I see parents deciding to wait until their kids are tall enough to ride everything before they go to WDW. I understand the logic, having had a short five year old that couldn't do it all (and wanted to do so). But wow, the magic that you miss.
Recently, we booked for this November. DD17 will not be going, to my dismay... she just hasn't cared for Disney since becoming a teen, and we've decided to not force her to go. Fortunately, DS15 still loves it. Obviously, the little boys are looking forward to it like crazy.
At travel time, we'll be mom and dad, DS15, DS6, DS4, DS2. Mom will not be able to ride a ton this time, as baby #6 is on the way.
DS6 and I were recently talking about the upcoming trip. The little boys are very into Star Wars right now; I was mentioning how I'd love to go in June one year for SWW, even with the heat and crowds. It was then that my Disney buddy asked a question that made me wistful.
"Who do you think dresses up as Darth Vader?" he asked.
I knew this day would come, of course. DS is very bright. And naturally, you can't expect a child to believe that the characters are "really real" forever. I had hoped it might last a bit longer, as he is our first to be home schooled; there is a little more innocence in him than, say, in his baseball teammates. Still, I had seen less magic during our trip when he was age four compared to his trip at age two; it stands to reason that most of it would be gone by the worldly age of six (when we travel this year).
Saddened, I prepared to have a talk about how it's fun to pretend, that so much of the joy of WDW comes from imagination, etc.
"What do you mean?" I asked, deciding to play coy for a bit longer. "Isn't that the real Darth Vader?"
"You're silly," he told me. "The real Darth Vader wouldn't just stand around to meet people."
Good point, kid. Still unsure of what to say, I flipped it on him. "Maybe," I allowed. "Who do you think it is?" I asked.
He thought about it for a minute. "Mickey Mouse," he spoke with some assurance.
I asked him what he meant, so he explained. "I bet Mickey Mouse dresses up as Darth Vader. At least sometimes. " As if it was a clearly obvious answer.
I allowed that maybe he was right, and we went on to talk about other things. Apparently there is still some magic left... at least for a little while longer.
