Disney World - Day 4

Though it has been months since I've had a chance to get back to this, I didn't have the heart to leave our Disney World trip unfinished. Shortly after the last post, Christmas activities arrived and the blogging was pushed to the side! So, I'm referencing the itinerary that I fortunately saved to help jog my memory!
It was an early morning again, mainly because we wanted to arrive the Magic Kingdom when the gates were opened. Since we had about 20 minutes to wait when we arrived, I found a little corner amongst the throngs of people to sit down and nurse Molly as discreetly as possible. There was another family with a toddler who helped shield us with some privacy. The Mom was sympathetic to my situation and was actually pregnant in her second trimester. The opening of the Magic Kingdom involved a cheesy but fun performance by several dancers and characters who came chugging by on the train. I would like to note that as soon as the gates opened, crowds pushed on through like cattle, much like the departure of audience members after a movie. So, per my request, Mom and I waited until the crowds had ceased to make our way through.
We visited all of the favorites of course, spending a great deal of time in Fantasy Land. Today we attempted an attraction with Molly that was one of my favorites from previous trips, Mickey's Philharmagic. I had a feeling this one would either be a hit or a total bust. Molly obviously couldn't enjoy the 3d experience seeing as the glasses did not fit her face. She smiled and babbled at the images on the screen and appeared to enjoy the music quite a bit! However, she became upset during the "Be Our Guest" sequence when puffs of air and loud pops simulated corks coming out of the bottles on screen. I was able to calm her down, but I could tell she was ready to leave at the end!
We spent a little more time seeking souvenirs. Several of the meal receipts included vouchers to be used in select shops throughout the parks. The majority of which we used for Molly of course.
We had the rare opportunity of running into the Fairy Godmother who was posing for greetings and pictures beside a corner of the castle. She held her arms out to Molly, and Molly went straight to her! For a few minutes the Fairy Godmother interacted with her face-to-face. It was so sweet! I guess all of her dreams will now come true!
We set aside a specific chunk of time to explore a section of the park that we had not seen much of on any of our trips, Mickey's Toontown. Designed primarily for the smallest of guests, it's no surprise that we waited until we had someone small with us to go exploring! We took the train that wraps around the park to make the commute a little more relaxing and fun for all concerned. Once we were there, we discovered she was a little too small to participate in the rides. However, she could still see Mickey and Minnie's houses and meet the Mice themselves in the Judges Tent.
This happened to be one of the highlights of the trip. When we entered the tent (it was actually a building) we did have a bit of line to wait in for pictures. This room was set aside from the actual room where the characters were located. Groups of people were led into the picture room at a time. When we got to the front of the line, the cast member asked us to wait as people ahead of us were herded in. The time came for us to enter the room and the cast member only allowed Mom, Molly and myself in at that time, even though there were a fair amount of people behind us in line. As we entered the picture room, we approached the characters with Molly. She grinned, giggled, and reached for them without any hesitation! (I think she was a definite Disney fan at this point) The whole time Molly interacted with them and posed for pictures, the cast members kept other families from coming in. They kept the room quiet and as activity-free as possible to make the environment as welcoming and safe for Molly as it could be. I was very impressed!
After visiting several favorite rides again, we headed back home for a rest/nap. We had reservations for the Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner, held at the same restaurant that we were late for breakfast two days earlier. Needless to say, we did not want to be at the mercy of the motor coach and monorail for timing again!
We had a wait time again for a table. So, we spent the time exploring the Grand Floridian decked out for the holidays with a gigantic Christmas tree in the lobby. I took the opportunity to have photo pass pictures taken in front of the tree with a photographer/cast member that was very good interacting with Molly!
Our Cinderella dinner was probably one of the biggest highlights of all! Recommended by my internship supervisor, the characters were so much fun to interact with, particularly the stepmother and stepsisters! We were a little taken aback that the girl playing Cinderella was the least friendly of all. Maybe the role got to her head... Here, Molly enjoyed her second birthday cupcake (the first was at breakfast two days prior). And the timing couldn't have been any more perfect. As she had her face buried in the frosting and cake, the stepmother approached our table. Completely in character, she grimaced and stated, "I'm SO looking forward to this opportunity!" She and one of the stepsisters, Drucilla, then knelt beside Molly and inquired about her enjoyment of the cupcake. Drucilla had the best time making faces and babbling with Molly. Molly gave them the best, who are you ?, stares ever! We also had a chance to meet Prince Charming as well! He specifically told us to tell the, "Kings," (Dad and Mark) that he said, "Hello!"
Since we still had a few hours left of the evening, we took the monorail over to Epcot again. It was after dark, so there were several decorations for Molly to look at that she had not experienced yet. We opted to stay for the IllumiNations fireworks show since the following night we would be at the Magic Kingdom. Again, I anticipated Molly getting upset (just like her Mama) from the loud sounds. However, she did relatively well and I only had to cover her ears for a few particularly loud sections.
We took our time, slowly wandering through the World Showcase (even though the attractions were closed) to get back to the motor coaches. Can you tell we are not fans of crowds and long lines? There was no reason to be up super early the following morning which was the perfect excuse to take our time!