Still believing in the magic...

[momof3disneyfans]

Does anyone have an older child that still believes in the Disney magic ? My 8 year old still believes whole heartedly in the characters at Disney , especially the princesses . While telling me about her day yesterday she told me that she was talking about Disney with her friends and none of them believe in the magic , but that she still does. I told her that was fine, that not everyone believes and that thats okay . DH and I agreed that since believing still seems so important to her , and with us having an upcoming trip this summer that we are not ready to ruin that for her. She has always been a bit socially immature, and is also one of the younger kids in her 3rd grade class. I suggested she find other things to talk about with them, and save the disney talk for me at home, but she is so invested in the Disney magic that I worry she will alienate the friends that she has
Has anyone else ever dealt with anything similar and have some advice ?

 

[Colleen27]

My 7.5yo 2nd grader is the same way and it has never been an issue socially. She's a pretty strong-willed kid, though, and she has no problem going her own way regardless of the opinions of her peers. She knows her friends don't believe in magic, Disney characters, Santa Claus, and the rest, and she thinks that is sad but it has no effect on her belief.

 

[cogero]

My 7.5 year old still believes too and on a similar note in our house if you don't believe in Santa you Don't receive.

It is all about the spirit of it. My daughter is big into giving and spreading joy so it isn't that difficult.

 

[cglaura]

This is what I did to keep Christmas magic alive, it might work for Disney magic too.

Of course you know, new babies are being born all the time. In order to not completely exhaust Santa, the parents have agreed to take over for him when the children reach age "x" (we used 6). So that Santa could dedicate his whole heart and nobody would get shorted.

I supposed Disney princesses could have princess helpers, because there are so many places they need to visit?

I know this doesn't much help your case with the friends, but it might ease her into the subject when you need to discuss.

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

When we go in May my kids will be 22 and 19, and they still believe in the Disney Magic!!

 

[momof3disneyfans]

Thank you all for your responses. Glad to see there are still some kids fairly close to her age that believe - in her class she's the only one - she apparently asked each of her friends yesterday . My husband and I are thrilled that she still believes as we think children grow up way too fast these days - so we are happy that she finds so much joy in these types of things - and it makes trips to WDW so much fun , she cannnot wait to see Cinderella again !

My only concern is if her peers start teasing her on it - she is very sure of her beliefs , so I'm not worried about them changing her mind about it - I just don't want her to be made fun of because of it. Right now I'm just hoping she takes my advice and tries to find other subjects to talk about with her peers , as ever since we announced this years Disney trip its about all she talks about!

Thanks Again !

 

[nessz79]

I'm a high school teacher and we have had to take classes on gifted students. Something that came up is that some gifted students tend to believe in fairy tales, Santa, etc. longer than their peers. Perhaps your daughter is like this?

No worries- my sister and I were both like this as kids. I think you did enough by talking to her about how other kids may not see things the same way. And then it's up to her to decide if she would continue talking about it in class. I wish we could protect them everywhere...I know where you are coming from .

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I'm so jealous! My DD who is very observant picked up on the zippers in the costumes when she was only 3. She does believe that the Princesses are real so that is the only excitement we get at Disney. It makes me sad because your trip truly is more special when your kiddos still believe.

 

[Disney Brat]

I'm so jealous! My DD who is very observant picked up on the zippers in the costumes when she was only 3. She does believe that the Princesses are real so that is the only excitement we get at Disney. It makes me sad because your trip truly is more special when your kiddos still believe.

My DD(5) caught Plutos zipper this past trip, my heart just sank...DH did a quick attention diverting move and she seemed to forget about it. She hasn't mentioned it since, so I think we may have avoided that one. Although I think she may know deep down, but won't admit to it, in case it spoils it for her...

 

[momx2]

My 7.5 year old still believes too and on a similar note in our house if you don't believe in Santa you Don't receive.

It is all about the spirit of it. My daughter is big into giving and spreading joy so it isn't that difficult.

My dad had the same rule and I was the oldest. I remember being either 12 or 13 and crying and worrying because I had let is slip to my mom that I didn't believe any longer in Santa. I remember that it seemed like my dad was mad at me that year...talk about losing the magic. It's not worth it for your adult child to still have these bad memories of a Christmas. I personally believe it is somewhat selfish of the parent that does this because you are prolonging it for you, not the child. It is natural for a child to grow up and not believe in these things any longer. It doesn't make Christmas any less magical to not have Santa. Remember the reason for the season is not Santa.

OP, my DDs have never discussed whether they believe the characters are real or not. I assumed when they were toddlers and preschoolers they believed because they also believed they were princesses. I firmly believe that my youngest DD, 8, knows there really aren't princesses now and that someone is in the Mickey suit and trust me they still feel the "magic." I've never discussed it with either daughter, but they will stop believing when it's time to stop. IMO, 3rd grade is a bit old to still believe that Mickey is a real person. I would worry that she'll be made fun of by other children. Children can be so cruel about things like this.

 

[scottish mum]

My kids 11,7 and 4 all still believe in the magic. I think the 7 yr old will probably be the 1st to stop believing, my 11 yr old believes because he wants too.

My kids think that the characters are only in one park at a time ( the one we go to) and that all the helicopters that are always flying around disney take the characters to the differrent parks so that they get there quickly. They decided this themselves

 

[HockeyMomNH]

My DD is 9 and this is the first year that she has really started to question about these things. She noticed that they are selling eggs and grass at the grocery store and asked me why if the Easter Bunny is real do they need to sell that stuff.

I said to her, "look at my ears? Do I look like a rabbit to you?" I don't think she's buying it though.

 

[WDW Traveler]

My DD is 10 and she still believes in Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and all the Magic that Disney can dish out. Now is she doing it just because she thinks she will stop getting gifts? Not sure.

We have a gentleman at work who plays Santa during the season (real white beard and all ) and my DD is convince he is THE real Santa and he just works at my work the rest of the year to not get bored!

I of course will continue to play along with her as long as she believes, but will probably not try to convince her otherwise if she starts to question things. I'll tell her it's magic and you look at it that way, not if it's real or fake.

 

[trayletha]

Wait - what do you mean??!?! Not real - what's not real? <I still believe>

I have a DD who is 10 and still believes in Santa, EBunny, TFairy and everything Disney, last year she started asking questions about Santa and we told her "the Truth" she didn't believe it?!?! Now she pretends that conversation never happened. Funny she had no trouble believing the truth about where babies came from...

I'm with the PP kids grow up way too fast anymore - she can believe forever if she wants to. As for teasing - well kids get teased over anything, at least this is something she chose not something she can't help (ie glasses or a lisp) as long as it doesn't get out of hand she'll be fine...maybe even stronger then she'd be otherwise. It is pretty impressive to see a child who sticks to their beliefs even when everybody else is "jumping off that oft' mentioned bridge".

 

[minimandymouse]

Have any of you done the Fairy Godmother thing it is wonderful

 

[momof3disneyfans]

Thank you again for all of your responses. Its really good to hear she's not the only one!

To the PP - what is the Fairy Godmother thing ?

 

[twins2again]

If the zipper thing ever came up for meI would simply say its their clothes! everyone wears clothes

 

[WillowBelle]

Both of my DDs (10 & 8) still believe. They believe that ALL of the characters are real. When we watch AFV on t.v. and they see DL with Mickey there, they get quite confused. I have convinced them that Mickey flys between the two parks to keep everyone happy.

During our trip last summer, DD8 was looking at the castle as we were leaving from pm EMH's ('round 1:00am). She stared in amazement at the castle swearing that she saw Cinderella pass by. She was borderline angry that Cindy was still awake and had EVERY LIGHT on in the castle and wanted to know what she could possibly be doing that late and why she wasn't turning off lights in rooms that she wasn't in.

 

[minimandymouse]

Thank you again for all of your responses. Its really good to hear she's not the only one!

To the PP - what is the Fairy Godmother thing ?

Its brilliant you get someone who is going to WDW before you to send your DD DS DH or DW or anyone else a postcard saying something like "can't wait to see you" and sign it from Mickey or whoever you want
Its at the beginning of this thread its called Fairy Godmother
My children have just received their postcards from theirs and the reaction is amazing
Try it
Love
Mandy

 

[Carrie772]

My DD9 still believes. She says that she has friends that don't believe and that it can't be any fun for them when they go to WDW.