My daughter is disappointed since she LOVES Molly - she saved the money to buy Molly herself and was even Molly for Halloween.
She has put Molly's Ice Skating Outfit & Accessories on her Christmas list since it is the only outfit she does not have for the dolls.
Personally, I am not surprised that Molly was the next doll to be retired as she was the last of the original 3 dolls. The only thing that surprised me about the timing was that Molly had a new bed and PJs introduced this spring. When they introduced those new items, I figured Molly had at least another year left.
American Girl has added new historical dolls each of the last two years (Marie-Grace & Cecile in fall 2011 and Caroline in fall 2012), so I understand that they need to retire some in order to release new historical dolls. The other retired dolls (Samantha, Felicity, and Kirsten) live on in the books, the American Girl website, and mini-dolls. I expect that Molly will receive the same treatment. I am glad that they continue to introduce new dolls and expose girls to different eras of American life.
In reading the comments on American Girls' Facebook announcement, one jumped out at me. It was that the poster's daughter had a father deployed in Afghanistan and identified with Molly since Molly's dad was in England fighting World War II (I'm sorry, I can't seem to link to a specific comment).
