I suspect that at age 8, merely draping a blanket over a coffee table (or a riding a magic dragon named Puff) is no longer as convincing a fantasy of Camelot as

I suspect that at age 8, merely draping a blanket over a coffee table (or a riding a magic dragon named Puff) is no longer as convincing a fantasy of Camelot as it was at age 3. Such fancies don't necessarily die off at some sell-by age; they evolve. Video games and RPGs inherit that mantle for most (boys esp). Many turn to reading and writing fiction and watching films. Book reading is alive and well, the vast majority of which sustain what the OP suggests has been lost: the love of fiction, fantasy, and romance. No, fantasy does not end with childhood. It transmogrifies to serve newfound passions that, hopefully, can still resonate forever with your meaning of life.