My niece was just the most precious thing when she was 5 (well, I still think she is pretty special at 11 going on 31!). We went with my sister, brother-in-law, my niece, my nephew, who was turning 7, my aunt and mom.
My niece was (and secretly still is) the hugest Cinderella fan. Our first night in WDW we arrived about 3PM and had ADR's at 1900 Park Fare at the GF.
She had a Cinderella gown she wanted to wear, the "glass" slippers and long white gloves. She came into my room before we left and asked if I would do her hair like Cindy's. Well, she was all done and ready to go, but a bit grumpy because my sister persuaded her to wear her white Keds instead of her "glass" slippers for comfort. She did, but wasn't too sure about it!
We waited at the restaurant entrance and they had their pictures taken with Fairy Godmother, and we were shown to our table - about halfway back in the restaurant.
Now our kids have never met a buffet they didn't like. In fact, in those days, we used to always eat at the buffets, as we found it easier to find something they would eat - as opposed to shelling out for another plated meal that they would inevitably end up not liking and picking at, then you felt like you wasted money on that meal. They felt grown up picking out their own foods, made a big deal about it, and would happily eat what they chose. If by some chance they tasted something not to their liking, no problem, just go back up and choose something else. This made everyone happy - especially my brother-in-law who is one of those - "clean your plate no matter what" types.
So imagine our surprise on this night when my brother-in-law said "Come on Kathleen, let's go fix your plate" and she didn't move. She sat down, saw Cinderella on the other side of the room and locked onto her like a laser beam! We told her that no characters would come while we were gone, but she didn't care. When my brother-in-law offered to fix her a plate and asked what she would like, she said "Anything Daddy - just food". We rolled!
Once her food was in front of her, my mom suggested she take her gloves off to eat, to which she said in astonishment "Grammy!! A Princess does NOT take off her gloves to eat!!". LOL. We were all in amazement, as we had never seen her so focused on anything before!
Well, once Cinderella and her Prince made it to our table, she just stood up and gave her the biggest hug. Cinderella got down to her level and just quietly talked to her for about 5 minutes. She made all over her outfit, hair, gloves and said she wished she had Keds on too. She called my niece her "twin" which just put the biggest smile ever on her face. Oh, she was all puffed up with pride! I looked around the table through my misty eyes and saw my entire family also sitting there smiling through tears. It was just so precious. You all know the feeling - at that moment you don't care what you have spent on the trip - you would gladly double it to see your child that happy!
After dinner, we went out towards the Marina to watch the fireworks. She walked in front of us, still puffed up with pride, and imitated how Cinderella walked - hands pointed outwards at her sides, gracefully lifing up her dress as she glided down the stairs. So cute!
Of course, she got us again a couple of days later at AK and the Festival of the Lion King - and her brother got in on it too. We adults sat in the row behind my niece and nephew. We watched them more than the show, I think, and marveled at them just sitting there together, singing their hearts out at every single song. When it was "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", we looked over at my brother-in-law who had put his sunglasses on to hide his emotions. You know how dark that theater is? We, once again, were so choked up, and so thankful that we were able to share WDW with them.
Everyone was shocked when we returned. So now we go every year 
Saw this post and had to share our most magical moment from our trip this past May.
