This is Sophie as she learns that Ariel is making her way over for a hug and a kiss.

Imagine the ecstasy. You’re almost 4 years old and a huge fan of princesses. You have obsessively watched every single princess movie that exists in the Disney library. You love castles and fairytales and think that kissing is gross. Your boyfriend is Adam Lambert, the soon-to-be (we hope) crowned winner of American Idol.

You are living your pre-K dream of spending a week at the happiest place on earth, and the crowning moment is dinner in a Norwegian castle in Epcot with – your heart skips several beats – Belle, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty for those of you not in the know), Ariel (the two-legged human version), Cinderella and Snow White. Each one of them visits you at your banquet table and gives you a hug and blows you a kiss.

Sophie lived her dream tonight – and her 43 month-old life is now complete.

Chloe, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the character dining. She would have been much happier eating among a Disney villain quintet (we love that idea and suggested she write a letter to Disney management to advocate for such a character meal). Sophie promptly let Sleeping Beauty know that her older sister was not at all interested in having her photo taken with her. Sleeping Beauty, the polite princess that she is, respected Chloe’s controversial decision to sit out the photo ops.

The highlight of Chloe’s day was the animated, interactive Kim Possible scavenger hunt in Epcot. She had a ball finding the clues in the various “countries” of World Showcase, and after collecting such mementos as a fortune cookie and an English tea bag, she plans to continue her adventure tomorrow in Japan, France and Mexico.

After our dinner last night at a family-style (read: unlimited portions of extremely unhealthy food) restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, we staked out a prime spot to watch the parade. I was amazed, although I should not have been surprised, that people were settling in to watch the spectacle about 90 minutes before show time. People are crazy.

That said, we didn’t want to miss out on the action. While Chloe took Maxime for a drive at the speedway (the photos of her grinning while “driving” the car are priceless), my mom, Sophie and I found the perfect spot to view the show. We arrived about one hour before it started, which I suppose makes us only marginally less crazy than those who got settled in earlier.

The time passed quickly, however. And Sophie had her second wind, and was performing in front of the live audience, singing and dancing and generally being merry.

For those of us, including myself, who tend to be cynical about Disney World, the parade is the perfect antidote. The electric light parade was truly spectacular (and of course the batteries in my camera ran out of juice just as it got underway) and temporarily transported me far away from any adult worries and stress back to the wonderment and awe of childhood. Sophie was shouting with glee, and when she saw Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White, she grinned a grin larger than that of the Cheshire Cat. Chloe was also entranced. As were we all. The parade, in all of its multicolor lighted glory, was worth the price of admission alone.

The icing on the cake was the fireworks display that started as we returned to the shore of Fort Wilderness. Having caught the boat just after the parade was over, we arrived at the Fort’s beach just in time to see Magic Kingdom’s nightly display. No need to endure the crowds at the park – the view from the shore was absolutely perfect.