I think I've created a 22month old addict! Our 9/09 TR! **Update 10/13**

[eecteacher82]

Well, we are home and I am taking a break from unpacking so I thought I would get a quick first post of our TR!

First of all, to catch you up, here is our PTR (http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2261196)

I was packed and ready to go by 11:00am on Friday 9/25....I just had to wait for DH to get off work so we could leave! After what seemed like days, he was off work and ready to go at about 4:00.

We left right away and made the 1.5 hour trip in about 2 hours (thanks to the Friday afternoon traffic)!. We checked into our (non-Disney) hotel (we only planned on sleeping there and then getting up early to head to the parks and our Disney hotel so we decided to save money and stay at a cheapie for the first night) and grabbed a quick dinner at Chick-fil-a then hit the sack early to get some sleep for the morning!

That's it for now! No pics or anything exciting on our first night, but LOTS of fun and pics to come![/SIZE]

[eecteacher82]

I woke up at 7:00 on Saturday so I could pack our overnight stuff and get myself ready before I woke up DH (Toby) and DD (Olivia). I was all ready to go and woke them up at 7:30. Toby actually got ready pretty quickly and Olivia perked up VERY fast when I said we were going to see Mickey and Minnie! We were all packed and ready to leave the room at 8:00-which actually was my goal time! We grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and were on the road by 8:40.

It was about a 10 minute drive to Saratoga Springs (SSR) from our hotel...but we started talking and managed to miss one of our turns, so after going down the road for a while, we realized we had to turn around. After the quick detour, we saw the Disney World sign (which I of course forgot to have DH take a picture of since I was driving) and easily followed the signs to SSR and pulled in to the check-in parking at 9:00. Since I did online check-in all I did was walk to the counter, pick up our welcome package and birthday/anniversary buttons, and arrange for a text when our room was ready.

By 9:15 we were on a bus to Epcot! The bus was pretty full so we had to stand, but Olivia quickly discovered that she liked to hold on to the rails:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/1.jpg

We arrived at Epcot by 9:30 and headed right for Guest Services to upgrade our 4 day park hopper tickets to Florida Resident Seasonal Passes and to pick up our Guest Assistance Card (GAC). We got a wonderful CM and she was kind enough to give us REFUNDS since our original park hopper tickets cost more than the SP's!!! So that was an extra $60 in our pockets!

Our first ride was Spaceship Earth. Olivia loved the "big ball" and was quite excited to just stare at it while we were in line!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09039.jpg

After Spaceship Earth we headed over to Ellen's Energy Adventure...but made a pit stop at Mouse Gear on the way....
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09002.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09003.jpg
I told you Olivia loves Minnie!

It was almost lunch time now, but we wanted to squeeze in Ellen before lunch. They say hindsight is 20/20 and I agree....we probably should have done this after lunch
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09004.jpg
Olivia did like the pretty flowers though
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09005.jpg

Olivia did end up enjoying Ellen's and she fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through it. When the ride was over we headed over to the Land Pavillion for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Olivia was still asleep so Toby stayed up top with her while I went for food. I forgot to take pictures, but I got the 1/2 chicken with mashed potatoes and carrots and Toby got Mongolian Beef from the Asian station. They were both excellent! Olivia was still sleeping when I got back upstairs with the food so we ate and people watched. After a while, she finally woke up and only wanted a bit of a snack and something to drink.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09006.jpg

Next up: Characters: Will she laugh or scream bloody murder like our February trip?

[Stasieki]

Great start. Olivia looks like she is having fun. I love the plush Minnie you got her!

[shebaxric]

Hi there!:wave2:
I found your report and am subbing! DD is so cute! I'll be heading to WDW and staying at SSR for the first time in November, so any tips you can give me would be great!:goodvibes

[eecteacher82]

Great start. Olivia looks like she is having fun. I love the plush Minnie you got her!
Glad you're here!!! It's nice knowing people are reading!

Hi there!:wave2:
I found your report and am subbing! DD is so cute! I'll be heading to WDW and staying at SSR for the first time in November, so any tips you can give me would be great!:goodvibes
Welcome! We loved SSR. We had a 1bdrm villa (there will be pics to come). The whole resort is beautiful and we had no problems with busses or anything!It was very quiet. I have to confess that we never made it to the pool, so I can't comment on that. I will share lots more resort info in the next part or two of our TR!

[disneymoon_0307]

Just found your report. Olivia is so precious. I have a 4 month old and we are taking her to Disney when she's 2 if not before then ;). I can't wait to hear more. Keep it coming.

[eecteacher82]

After lunch we decided that there was no better time to see how Olivia would react to the character this trip. (On our February trip she screamed if any character came within 10 feet of her.)

We left the Land Pavillion and headed toward the Epcot Character Spot. I started by having Olivia look through the windows to see how she reacted. Window viewing=good, no problems. Next step, walk inside to look. Inside viewing=good, saying "Hi Mickey". We decided to get in line to meet the gang. The closer we got the Mickey, the more excited Olivia got! Finally after about 20 minutes it was our turn. The moment of truth.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09013.jpg
Pluto
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09017.jpg
Minnie!!!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09023.jpg
Donald Duck (one of her new favorites)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09025.jpg
Goofy
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09028.jpg\

Meeting the characters was a huge success!!!! It literally brought a tear to my eye when it was time to go and Olivia turned around the waved bye and said "bye bye my Minnine". Toby turned to me and said that made it worth all the money we paid for the trip.

Now it was on to The Seas with Nemo. Olivia loves fish and turtles, so I knew this would be a hit. She was totally into it from the moment we stepped into our Clam mobiles:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09030.jpg

When we finished up on Nemo, we headed over to Journey into Imagination with Figment. Olivia loved this ride too! Although I think she enjoyed the play area at the end even more!

After play time, we headed off to Japan. I wanted to watch the pick a pearl station in the Japan store, and Toby and Olivia wanted the air conditioning (did I mention it was about 93 outside!?). On the way we took some pictures (I couldn't get that lone guy to move..ughh!)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09034.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09035.jpg

When we had watched a few people pick pearls, my DH said he wanted me to pick one and have it put on a ring as a late anniversary gift! I was so excited that I forgot to take any pictures!!! I got my pearl and had it set on a simple silver band, and it is beautiful!

By this time it was 3:30 and I had just got the text that our room was ready, so we decided to head out of Epcot so we could get to the hotel and unpack and freshen up a bit before our dinner reservations. On the way out, we made a quick pit stop at the Norway pavillion to ride Maelstrom. This was another one that mesmerized Olivia:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09036.jpg

We also grabbed a quick popsicle since it was SO HOT! Olivia enjoyed hers in a unique way:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09038.jpg

Next up: We finally get to see our hotel!

[eecteacher82]

Just found your report. Olivia is so precious. I have a 4 month old and we are taking her to Disney when she's 2 if not before then ;). I can't wait to hear more. Keep it coming.

Welcome aboard!!! I love your avatar!!! We took Olivia for the first time when she was 15 months old and this trip was her 4th, and can't wait to go back in 3 weeks!

[shebaxric]

Looks like a very successful character meet!!:cool1: Now I understand the whole "addict" in the title!:rotfl:

[onelilspark]

I'm aboard :) Your daughter is cute with the characters!

[princess_momma]

I just found your tr! Olivia is so precious!! I just got back from a trip taking my 10 month old! I think its nice taking kids when they're young!! Imagine all the great pics you'll have of her through the years in Disney World! :goodvibes

[MomsOf2boys]

:rotfl:I stumbled upon your TR from another and think I will just pull up a chair and sit and read for a spell. :surfweb: So happy that your DD is not afraid of the charactors this trip. Loved how she cooled off by holding her popcicle. :rotfl:

[eecteacher82]

I just found your tr! Olivia is so precious!! I just got back from a trip taking my 10 month old! I think its nice taking kids when they're young!! Imagine all the great pics you'll have of her through the years in Disney World! :goodvibes
Welcome! I just jumped over to your TR and caught myself up. I am loving it! You have such a handsome little man! I am quite excited to get pictures of Olivia "growing up" at Disney! Every trip so far, we have made sure to take a picture of her in the same place so we can see how much she grows from trip to trip and year to year!

:rotfl:I stumbled upon your TR from another and think I will just pull up a chair and sit and read for a spell. :surfweb: So happy that your DD is not afraid of the charactors this trip. Loved how she cooled off by holding her popcicle. :rotfl:
Glad you stumbled over here, the more the merrier! I am SO glad she wasn't afraid either! I think it helped that now she knows who most of the character are and is familiar with them, as opposed to our February trip when she still didn't really "get" them!

[MadilynnsMomma]

I'm getting ready to take my DD (just turned 2 on 9/06) - I am looking forward to hearing more about the trip! My DD is all geared up to go see her "Ickey/Minnie" :goodvibes

[eecteacher82]

I last left off with us leaving Epcot and heading to our hotel (which we had not seen yet). We waiting maybe 3 minutes for the bus to come and hopped on heading for our "home", Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa! We had a 1 bedroom villa. We were in the Paddock section, room 5145. I had requested the Grandstand section, first floor... We did get a ground floor, water view back in the corner, and we LOVED it! I am so glad we got the Paddock section! It was totally quiet and amazing (except for the, umm, funky smell in the hallway)! We managed to get everything out of the car in the room in one trip! Here are some pics of our room and the view:
Bedroom looking in from the door:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09041.jpg
Part of the bathroom (for some reasone I didnt take a picture of the part with the shower/toilet area):
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09043.jpg
Kitchen:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09044.jpg
The the view from our porch area:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09177.jpg

After we got everything in the room, we washed up and I changed Olivia's clothes and it was off to the Magic Kingdom for dinner with Pooh! We hopped on the bus and were at the MK by 6:50 for our 7:15 ADR. We stopped and took some pictures on the way in...Olivia loved the "punky's" (pumpkins). Sorry for the blurry pics :o(
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09046.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09048.jpg
Don't know why, but I love this pic!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09054.jpg

*Let me just say that I made the ADR for 7:15 hoping we could see at least a bit of Spectromagic since that was the only night it was playing for our trip.*
When I walked up to check in I knew it was not good..the line was at least 25 people long...just to check in!!!!!!! When it was finally my turn I was told that they were running about an hour behind! We decided to wait and hope for some pixie dust that we would be seated sooner! After about 20 minutes, Olivia was getting pretty fussy and hungry, but we just had to wait....wait....and wait some more! Finally at 8:00 (of course just as Spectromagic was starting), we were seated! Since we were celebrating our anniversary on this trip, we found this at our table:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09056.jpg
It was a very cute touch! Olivia loved all the "pretty's" and played with them through the whole meal. Once again I forgot to take pictures of our plates, but I did get some good character ones:
Tigger (notice Olivia is still playing with the confetti):
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09057.jpg
Pooh (I love her face on this one)!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09064.jpg
Eeyore:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09073.jpg
Our anniversary cupcake and Olivia eating her Birthday cupcake:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09062.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09059.jpg

After waiting a LONG time, Piglet was nowhere to be found, and it was getting late, Olivia didn't have a real nap, we had been up early, and had VERY early ADR's wth Mickey in the morning, so we decided to leave. Just before we left, our server came over and gave Olivia a birthday card signed by Pooh and the Gang, and we got an anniversary certificate signed by them as well. This was a great meal and we will definitely do it again (hopefully minus the waiting)!

When we walked out of the Crystal Palace is was literally monsooning out!!!! Of couse I didn't think to put the rain cover on the stroller before we went in, so when I went to put it on, I noticed that there was a puddle, yes a PUDDLE in the stroller seat!!!! :scared1: I threw the rain cover on while Toby waited on the porch and ran to them and we tossed Olivia in and started running for the exit. The rain had come down so fast and in such HUGE amounts, Main Street was flooded!!! Like up to our ankles flooded!!! We trudged along all the way to the busses, and luckily beat the crowd there and were 3rd in the bus line!!! The bus came within 5 minutes and we got on and took the first seats we saw. Olivia fell asleep in about 2 minutes. I started to get her ready so I could give her a quick shower when we got back to the room. I took her hair bows out, then her shoes and socks....she was in the stroller the whole time and even her feet managed to get SOAKED!:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09070.jpg

After a 20 minute bus ride we were back in the room and within 10 minutes were showered and Olivia was asleep. I threw a load of laundry in, mostly so Olivia and I would have dry shoes and her stroller would be dry as well. I threw the laundry in the dryer and was asleep by midnight.

Next up: Mickey first thing, and a morning of fun at the Magic Kingdom!!

[princess_momma]

Welcome! I just jumped over to your TR and caught myself up. I am loving it! You have such a handsome little man! I am quite excited to get pictures of Olivia "growing up" at Disney! Every trip so far, we have made sure to take a picture of her in the same place so we can see how much she grows from trip to trip and year to year!


Thanks! Olivia is so precious!! Glad you had a good time at CP too! Landon loved it. Except it stinks you missed Spectro! We both missed it! Dang! I bet Landon and Olivia both would've loved it!!

That rain sure sounds pretty crazy!! I'm pretty sure it started raining once while we were eating somewhere too and we didn't have the stroller cover on! Crazy Florida rain!

[shebaxric]

SSR pictures!! I love the scenic picture with the fountain in the middle! I also love the Halloween pics, I'm definitely going to have to try and get there during this time of year!

Those poor little piggies! I hate wet feet, so I can imagine how all of you felt! I love the nail polish, by the way!:cutie:

[MomsOf2boys]

Oh no Piglet! :sad2: Piglet is one of my favorites for some odd reason.

I'm very glad she isn't afraid of the charactors. My oldest son (now 18) got frightened by goofy at one point and still will not sleep in any rooms with dolls or stuffed animals. I guess he thought the "stuffed animal goofy" came alive. :eek: Sorry for him then, love to tease him about it now though. :rotfl2:

[eecteacher82]

SSR pictures!! I love the scenic picture with the fountain in the middle! I also love the Halloween pics, I'm definitely going to have to try and get there during this time of year!

Those poor little piggies! I hate wet feet, so I can imagine how all of you felt! I love the nail polish, by the way!:cutie:
I really loved SSR! It was an awesome resort and just so quiet and relaxing! We never had any trouble with waiting for busses and everyone there was very friendly. We would definitely stay there again!

The wet feet really did suck! At least it happened as we were walking out for the night though! Olivia is a total girl and loves having her toes "pity" (pretty), so whenever we go to my mom's house (Guma), she runs to her and says "pity toes peas"!

Oh no Piglet! :sad2: Piglet is one of my favorites for some odd reason.

I'm very glad she isn't afraid of the charactors. My oldest son (now 18) got frightened by goofy at one point and still will not sleep in any rooms with dolls or stuffed animals. I guess he thought the "stuffed animal goofy" came alive. :eek: Sorry for him then, love to tease him about it now though. :rotfl2:
I love Piglet too, so I was pretty upset we missed him. That is just a good reason to go back to CP on our next trip!

I was SO glad Olivia wasn't scared this time! After the meltdown she had last trip, I took a big chance booking 3 character meals, but I am SO glad I did! A friend of mine had a daughter who is 8 and is still terrified by the characters!

[eecteacher82]

I left off with us ending our first day getting soaked to the bone and then hitting the sack for some much needed rest.

The next morning was a VERY early morning (luckily the only early morning I planned all trip)! When I made our ADRs I knew I really wanted Chef Mickey's and the only time I could get was 7:15am, so I took it. This of course meant a super early wake-up call after a late night...

I woke up at 6:00, got myself ready, got all of Olivia's cups ready for the day, repacked the diaper bag, put the stroller back together after drying it the night before, and was ready by 6:30. I woke Toby up first, then moved on to Olivia. Toby is NOT a morning person at all, so I basically had to jump on him to get him up on moving. Olivia on the other hand is pretty easy. I just rubbed her back a little and asked if she wanted to go see Mickey and Minnie and she practically jumped up!

We were all ready and out the door by 6:45, and on a bus by 6:50. Since we were the only ones on the bus the driver took us right to the Contemporary, which was really nice. Here is a pic of Toby and Oliiva on the bus...you can see just how tired they are!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09076.jpg

We got to Chef Mickey's at 7:10, checked in and were seated in about 2 minutes-the complete opposite of our dinner the night before at Crystal Palace! Breakfast was very good! I only managed to take a picture of Olivia's plate, but Toby had waffles, fruit, bacon, sausage and eggs, and I had waffles, eggs and fruit.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09077.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09078.jpg
Waiting for Goofy:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09079.jpg
**These pictures are not the best...DH was in charge of pics this day**
Goofy
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09083.jpg
Mickey (she was trying to chew and smile at the same time!)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09084.jpg
I love this one because it looks like he is trying to take her!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09086.jpg
Minnie!!!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09090.jpg
Look Minnie...you're on my dress!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09092.jpg
Donald Duck
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09097.jpg
Pluto
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09101.jpg

Of course since we were celebrating Olivia's birthday and our anniversary, cupcakes were in order....Olivia could see them coming a mile away!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09104.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09088.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09087.jpg
Olivia is NOT a shy eater:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09109.jpg
Or clean eater for that matter:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09110.jpg

After breakfast was over it was only 8:10 and MK didn't open until 9:00, so we decided to take the monorail over, just to enjoy the ride. Olivia loves the monorail on everytrip. She loves just getting up on her knees and looking out the windows:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09113.jpg

Even with taking our time, we were able to get to Magic Kingdom for the Opening Ceremony! I haven't seen this since I was in college, so it was a nice treat! Olivia loved the train and seeing all the characters at once!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09116.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09117.jpg

And one of my favorite pics from the whole trip:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09115.jpg

Next up: Toby's only must do of the trip, boat rides and bears and shopping!

[MomsOf2boys]

Wow that was an early day! I hope you found time for a little nap! :cloud9:

I loved her trying to eat smile... it looked like a crooked smile. :rotfl2:

[princess_momma]

How cute is your breakfast at Chef Mickey's! I love that place, we had the best time there too!! Can't wait for more!

[MadilynnsMomma]

I would hope right up outta bed if someone asked me to go see Mickey and Minnie too :)

Love the pics :thumbsup2

[shebaxric]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09110.jpg
That is too funny! I love a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it!:thumbsup2

And one of my favorite pics from the whole trip:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09115.jpg
Daddy baby girl pictures are always special!:cutie:


I'm glad you enjoyed your early Chef Mickey's ADR, we have the exact same ADR time, but on the last day of our trip!:scared1: I haven't told my family yet for fear of rebellion. . . .:rolleyes1

[eecteacher82]

Wow that was an early day! I hope you found time for a little nap! :cloud9:

I loved her trying to eat smile... it looked like a crooked smile. :rotfl2:
We did manage to squeeze in a nap,that tale should be in the next update or two! I love the picture with Mickey too. DH and I joke that she looks like there should be a piece of hay sticking out of the side of her mouth or something!

How cute is your breakfast at Chef Mickey's! I love that place, we had the best time there too!! Can't wait for more!
Chef Mickey's is one of my Top 3! We went in February (that is when we discovered at that time that she hated characters!), Olivia and I are taking a girls only trip w/ by best friend and her daughter in 2 weeks and we are eating there again! It is pretty much a must do on every trip! Glad you and Landon liked it as well!

I would hope right up outta bed if someone asked me to go see Mickey and Minnie too :)

Love the pics :thumbsup2
I woke up as soon as the alarm even finished it's first beep! I was excited to see Mickey and Minnie! Now if it would only work on the DH!

I'm glad you enjoyed your early Chef Mickey's ADR, we have the exact same ADR time, but on the last day of our trip!:scared1: I haven't told my family yet for fear of rebellion. . . .:rolleyes1
LOL!!! I was scared of telling him b/c he is not a morning person-especially on vacation! I was glad we had no problem getting a bus, and easily made it there on time! I actually prefer the earlier times because they haven't had a chance to get backed up yet! Good luck with your family!

[princess_momma]

Chef Mickey's is one of my Top 3! We went in February (that is when we discovered at that time that she hated characters!), Olivia and I are taking a girls only trip w/ by best friend and her daughter in 2 weeks and we are eating there again! It is pretty much a must do on every trip! Glad you and Landon liked it as well!


We loved it! We will definitely be back!! Was this trip your reporting on Olivia's second trip? I don't remember if you said!

Your upcoming trip sounds so awesome! Can't wait to read about that one too!

[eecteacher82]

We loved it! We will definitely be back!! Was this trip your reporting on Olivia's second trip? I don't remember if you said!

Your upcoming trip sounds so awesome! Can't wait to read about that one too!

Yep, this is her second "official" trip (we have taken 3 or 4 day trips since February), but I consider this an actual trip!

I can't wait for our Girls Only trip! It should be a blast! I am also planning an Olivia, Mom, Grandma trip for early December and another family mini-trip (just a long weekend) for February! I guess I will have lots of TRs to keep my busy!

[heaven2dc]

Olivia is so adorable! Especially in her Minnie dress - what cute pics :love: The SSR looks so beautiful - I'd love to stay there sometime but it will have to be without my kids as they love BWV.

[eecteacher82]

I last left off with us enjoying the Openeing Ceremony at MK and getting ready to hit the park!

DH has always been a huge history buff, so his only attraction request at MK was the newly refurbished Hall of Presidents, so off we went. We stopped to take a pretty castle picture on the way:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09118.jpg

When we arrived at the Hall of Presidents theater we were treated to a private show since nobody else was there! I was quite tahnkful for this because I was not sure how well Olivia would sit through the show since there is really nothing she would find interesting about it. It turns out, she was a perfect angel, not a peep out of her the whole show! I really enjoy this show. It's even better now with the update!

After the HOP, it was on to:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09052.jpg
for a ride on the Jungle Cruise. This ride is just so cheesy, but I still laugh at all the goofy jokes! Olivia loved looking at all the animals, and made sure to point all all the ones she knew (snake, elephant, monkey, birds...).

When we got off Jungle Cruise we decided to chance Pirates of the Caribbean. Olivia was fine on this ride in February, but since Halloween has gotten closer, my niece and nephew have started to torture Olivia with masks, and now when we walk into the Halloween section of a store she flips out! I am happy to say, that she LOVED the ride!!!! (She is also no longer scared of the Halloween section of the store!!)

Our next stop was the Country Bear Jamboree. I haven't done this attraction since I was a kid, and Toby had never seen it, and we knew Olivia would love it, since she loves anything that involves singing! There was only about a 5 minute wait for the next show, so we just hung out in the lobby.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09119.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09120.jpg

After the show ended it was about 10:30 and Olivia was definitely ready for a nap! We decided to head back to the hotel, but of course being the woman I am...I said we must stop to shop on the way out!
Olivia grabbed this lollipop before I could stop her!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09122.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09123.jpg
Couldn't pass up a picture with the Happy Birthday hat!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09124.jpg

I kept my shopping short, knowing how tired Olivia was...the next pictures show it all:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09125.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09126.jpg

We got back to SSR right around 11:00 and I layed Olivia down in the Pack n Play and she slept until 3:00!!!!!!!!! Toby and I got about an hour of nap time, but it was really nice to just relax!

We all cleaned up and were ready to head back out around 4:30.

Next up: Can we do Tomorrowland, Toon Town, Fantasy Land, Dinner and fireworks all in one night?....

[princess_momma]

Yep, this is her second "official" trip (we have taken 3 or 4 day trips since February), but I consider this an actual trip!

I can't wait for our Girls Only trip! It should be a blast! I am also planning an Olivia, Mom, Grandma trip for early December and another family mini-trip (just a long weekend) for February! I guess I will have lots of TRs to keep my busy!

That's awesome! It must be nice to be able to go so often and live so close? About how far is where you live from WDW?

Love your last update too! Olivia got so tired! How precious! Glad she wasn't scared of pirates though! :goodvibes

[eecteacher82]

That's awesome! It must be nice to be able to go so often and live so close? About how far is where you live from WDW?

Love your last update too! Olivia got so tired! How precious! Glad she wasn't scared of pirates though! :goodvibes

We are only about 1.5 hrs from WDW! I love being so close, it makes it much more afforadable to to all the time without having to worry about airfare and such! I actually went to college in Orlando, and I definitely took advantage of being that close!

[MomsOf2boys]

That lolipop was as big as her whole head! :rotfl2::rotfl2:

I loved seeing the sleeping baby on the bus! And I'm glad she got a good long nap in! She had to feel so much better after catching up on some sleep! :goodvibes

[trickiwoo]

I love your TR! Olivia is absolutely adorable!!! It sounds like she and I have a lot in common! I also stared at the "big ball" in awe for several minutes! I am also very fond of cupcakes and find confetti to be highly entertaining!

I'm loving the pictures! I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip!

[Sunset Cliffs]

Hi there! I thought that I had already posted but I guess that I didn't. :confused3 You have such good pictures from your trip. LOVE the one of her asleep on the bus. It is so cute that kids can just fall asleep anywhere when they need to. LOL

It's nice you fit in so many character meals. I think my hubby would have rebelled if I had schedule one so early though. It seems like it was worth it, since she hugged every character! That is progress, compared to being afraid of them last time.

[princess_momma]

Oh I would love to live that close!! Olivia is so lucky to grow up that close! Did you just go to college in Orlando or did you do the college program? Either way, thats awesome!! It definitely saves a bundle on airfare!

[eecteacher82]

That lolipop was as big as her whole head! :rotfl2::rotfl2:

I loved seeing the sleeping baby on the bus! And I'm glad she got a good long nap in! She had to feel so much better after catching up on some sleep! :goodvibes
I love the lollipop picture! It is pretty darn funny that it is as big as her head! She wasn't intimidated by it though, she really wanted us to buy it, she kept saying "pity peas"! Daddy had to walk away b/c he is a softy!

I love your TR! Olivia is absolutely adorable!!! It sounds like she and I have a lot in common! I also stared at the "big ball" in awe for several minutes! I am also very fond of cupcakes and find confetti to be highly entertaining!

I'm loving the pictures! I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip!
Thank you! LOL, glad you love such awesome things as big balls, cupcakes and confetti! I actually saved the confetti to use at her birthday party next month since it will of course be a Minnie party!

Hi there! I thought that I had already posted but I guess that I didn't. :confused3 You have such good pictures from your trip. LOVE the one of her asleep on the bus. It is so cute that kids can just fall asleep anywhere when they need to. LOL

It's nice you fit in so many character meals. I think my hubby would have rebelled if I had schedule one so early though. It seems like it was worth it, since she hugged every character! That is progress, compared to being afraid of them last time.
I have no idea why kids can fall asleep like that, but I wish it stayed with as as we grew up!
I think I got in the character meals, b/c I love them (well, that and I knew hubby would be more upset waiting in the lines to see all those characters than getting up early)! I love your pics of Dylan from Crystal Palace, he is just so stinking cute!!!

Oh I would love to live that close!! Olivia is so lucky to grow up that close! Did you just go to college in Orlando or did you do the college program? Either way, thats awesome!! It definitely saves a bundle on airfare!
Yeah, I love being this close!! I went to the University of Central Florida, so I was only about 30 minutes away!!! My Disney obsession was not as huge when I was in college, so I never thought of doing the college program, but looking back on it, I would have loved to do that!!!

[shebaxric]

I last left off with us enjoying the Openeing Ceremony at MK and getting ready to hit the park!

DH has always been a huge history buff, so his only attraction request at MK was the newly refurbished Hall of Presidents, so off we went. We stopped to take a pretty castle picture on the way:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09118.jpgOooh, pretty castle pic!!


I kept my shopping short, knowing how tired Olivia was...the next pictures show it all:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09125.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09126.jpg Poor baby, she definitely looks pooped!

We got back to SSR right around 11:00 and I layed Olivia down in the Pack n Play and she slept until 3:00!!!!!!!!! Toby and I got about an hour of nap time, but it was really nice to just relax!

We all cleaned up and were ready to head back out around 4:30.

Next up: Can we do Tomorrowland, Toon Town, Fantasy Land, Dinner and fireworks all in one night?....
I can't wait to hear if you got it all in!:goodvibes

[Stasieki]

What a great update - I can't wait to hear if you got all that in one night -if so, that is amazing.

[DWGal210]

Great TR so far! Olivia is just precious - what a cutie pie! :lovestruc

I'm glad you liked SSR - we've stayed there a few times and I really like it. It's nice and peaceful, and you can't beat being within walking distance to DTD! :thumbsup2

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

[eecteacher82]

After our nice relaxing afternoon (and Olivia's 4 hour nap), we were all ready to go and headed back to MK.

We arrived at MK right around 5:00 and headed to Tomorrowland since we had not even ventured into this area yet. Two of my very favorite rides/attractions are here! First stop the The People Mover! (Yes I know that now it is call the TTA, but it will ALWAYS be the people mover to me)! I don't know what it is about this ride, but I can't get enough of it. It's good thing I can't get enough of it, because we got stuck for about 20 minutes! It was actually pretty neat though. Since Space Mountain is closed for a refurb, all the lights are on inside and you can kind of see things if you look over the barracades. We were "lucky" enough to be stuck inside of SM! Of course we had the small group of obnoxious teens who were yelling and just acting well, like goofy teenagers. We finally got going again and finished our birds eye tour of Tomorrowland. Next stop my all time favorite WDW attraction....

The Carousel of Progress!!! I am not embarassed to say that I know the song from this ride word for word, and can almost repeat the show word for word as well! I was a bit worried about how Olivia would sit through the show, but once again, she did an awesome job! She loved the dog and just watched it in every scene. I truly cannot get enough of this ride. If they ever take it out, it will be quite the sad day for me!

After COP, I figured it was time for a bit more action, so we headed over to Buzz Lightyear. This was probably one of the most fun rides we did as a family. Toby and I each got control of one of the laser guns and then showed Olivia how to work the joystick that did all the turning of the car. I am sure that I don't need to say it, but she was crazy and Toby and I had horrible scores. Olivia was laughing the whole ride and as she would spin, she was saying "go, go, go, fast"! It was the cutest thing, although my motion sickness was definitely starting to show!

With 3 gurgling tummy's we headed over to Cosmic Rays for some dinner. Once again I forgot to take pictures, but Toby and I both had the 1/2 chicken and ribs combo with mashed potatoes and beans. Toby had carrot cake for dessert, and I had chocolate cake. There was more than enough to share with Olivia and even then, we had leftovers!

When we finished we headed over to Toontown to visit Olivia's very favorite people, Mickey and Minnie of course! We went to the Judge's Tent and after about 5 minutes we were let in! This was one of my favorite character interactions! Olivia was so excited to see Mickey and Minnie together, she didn't know who to go to first! Here are the pics:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09135.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09133.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09134.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09132.jpg
*I have to say that I did not like the photographer in this room. She was in a HUGE hurry and wouldn't wait for Olivia to look at the camera. We literally maybe had 15-20 seconds with them.* **Rant over**

We finished up our tour of Toontown and headed over to Fantasy Land. As we were walking over, I took my camera out to take a picture, only to realize that the battery almost dead! :scared1: The red battery light was flashing furiously so I knew I would only be able to take about 2 more pictures for the night! :scared1: The first ride we headed to was Pooh. Olivia loved this ride and pointed out Pooh and Tigger every chance she got. Right after Pooh, we made our way to Snow White's Scary Adventure. It was about 10 minutes away from the start of Wishes, so there was no line and we literally walked right on.

After the ride, we just hung out near Cinderella's carousel for the fireworks. I really wish my camera was working during this time!!! Olivia was sitting on Toby's shoulders watching the fireworks and saying "ooh" and "pretty" every time one went off. Once the fireworks finished, we headed over to Small World. This was one of Oliva's favorite rides on her first trip back in February, so I figured she would love it again, especially since she is really into dolls right now. This happens to be Toby's least favorite of all time, and I think this picture says it all:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09136.jpg

Next on the list was Peter Pan. We walked up, showed our resort ID's since I was an EMH night and got right in line and on the ride in about 10 minutes. Olivia's favorite part of this ride was of all things, the black lights! She loved that it made parts of her clothes glow, and she kept pointing and saying pretty colors!

After Peter Pan, our last must do of the night was Haunted Mansion. The line was super short, so we got on almost immediately. This was another ride I was unsure if Olivia would like, but once again, she loved it (even when we got stuck for about 5 minutes)

By now it was 9:15 and we were all ready to head back to the hotel for some shut eye! We made our way to the bus and were aboard and headed back to SSR by 9:30. We got to our room right at 10:00 and waiting for us on the table were 2 cards! One was a birthday card for Olivia and one was an anniversary card for Toby and I! They both had cute pictures of Mickey and Minnie inside, along with 20% off photopass coupons. It was a nice surprise to come home to!

We quickly took showers, packed up the stroller and park bags for the morning and we were all in bed by 10:30!

Next up: DHS and Olivia's new obsession with water bottles!

[shebaxric]

After our nice relaxing afternoon (and Olivia's 4 hour nap), we were all ready to go and headed back to MK.

When we finished we headed over to Toontown to visit Olivia's very favorite people, Mickey and Minnie of course! We went to the Judge's Tent and after about 5 minutes we were let in! This was one of my favorite character interactions! Olivia was so excited to see Mickey and Minnie together, she didn't know who to go to first! Here are the pics:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09135.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09133.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09134.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09132.jpg
All of those pictures are really cute, but I would definitely be upset if someone was trying to "rush" my experience, especially if I had a child that was clearly enamored by Minnie!

Once the fireworks finished, we headed over to Small World. This was one of Oliva's favorite rides on her first trip back in February, so I figured she would love it again, especially since she is really into dolls right now. This happens to be Toby's least favorite of all time, and I think this picture says it all:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/ECTeacher82/Disney2/Disney9-09136.jpg:rotfl2::rotfl2:


By now it was 9:15 and we were all ready to head back to the hotel for some shut eye! We made our way to the bus and were aboard and headed back to SSR by 9:30. We got to our room right at 10:00 and waiting for us on the table were 2 cards! One was a birthday card for Olivia and one was an anniversary card for Toby and I! They both had cute pictures of Mickey and Minnie inside, along with 20% off photopass coupons. It was a nice surprise to come home to! :thumbsup2 It's always nice to get those little magic touches, huh? I think that's why everyone on the DIS boardsloves towel animals! :lmao:

Next up: DHS and Olivia's new obsession with water bottles!

Wonderful update!:goodvibes

[thecapells]

Only a 5 minute wait for Mickey?
Nice job!!

[MadilynnsMomma]

I am so glad that you reported of portions. As we will be traveling with our DD, I am curious if a kids meal will be necessary. Keep me posted when/where you may have gotten a meal for Olivia (aside from buffets). Thanks! :thumbsup2

[eecteacher82]

Only a 5 minute wait for Mickey?
Nice job!!
I was quite impressed by the 5 minute wait as well! I think it was because it was getting close to fireworks time and the fact that they were totally rushing everyone through (lots of people were complaining about it near the exit). Still not quite as lucky as your double ride on Soarin before the park even opened, but I will take it!

I am so glad that you reported of portions. As we will be traveling with our DD, I am curious if a kids meal will be necessary. Keep me posted when/where you may have gotten a meal for Olivia (aside from buffets). Thanks! :thumbsup2
No problem! I was trying to figure out about kids meals and if I should budget extra money for them before we left, so I figure I would try and help out a bit! The day before at Sunshine Seasons (in The Land pavilion at Epcot)
we shared our meals with Olivia as well (I had the 1/2 chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots and DH had mongolian beef w/ rice and veggies from the Asian station there) and there was plenty of food to go around. Olivia is a pretty good eater too (as you can tell by the cupcake pictures from a couple of posts ago!). I will definitely remember to keep the portions/sharing meals as part of my updates! Glad you're here!

[MadilynnsMomma]

No problem! I was trying to figure out about kids meals and if I should budget extra money for them before we left, so I figure I would try and help out a bit! The day before at Sunshine Seasons (in The Land pavilion at Epcot)
we shared our meals with Olivia as well (I had the 1/2 chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots and DH had mongolian beef w/ rice and veggies from the Asian station there) and there was plenty of food to go around. Olivia is a pretty good eater too (as you can tell by the cupcake pictures from a couple of posts ago!). I will definitely remember to keep the portions/sharing meals as part of my updates! Glad you're here!

Thanks again! :thumbsup2 I am so excited to be taking my Madi in December and am loving following other 2 year old "singles" :goodvibes

[UncleOrville]

Great TR! Looks like you had lots of fun, and Olivia is adorable!

My favorite ride is the Carousel of Progress, too! Always great to find another fan! :thumbsup2 I also love the People Mover - it was the first and last ride of our recent trip! :laughing:

[eecteacher82]

Sorry for the lack of updates...the swine flu/strep throat/bronchitis invaded our house last week! :scared1: I was lucky enough to escape it, but DH and DD were hit pretty hard. Everyone is better now, so I should have an update today or tomorrow!

[Stasieki]

Sorry for the lack of updates...the swine flu/strep throat/bronchitis invaded our house last week! :scared1: I was lucky enough to escape it, but DH and DD were hit pretty hard. Everyone is better now, so I should have an update today or tomorrow!

I'm glad everyone is better now -that is scary. I had a sinus infection last week. I am pregnant and really want to get the shot, but I couldn't last week since I was sick. I went this AM and they are out of the shots:sad2:. I go to Disney in 2 weeks and really wanted it before we go.

[shebaxric]

Sorry for the lack of updates...the swine flu/strep throat/bronchitis invaded our house last week! :scared1: I was lucky enough to escape it, but DH and DD were hit pretty hard. Everyone is better now, so I should have an update today or tomorrow!

:scared1::scared1: You poor thing, having to take care of a sick toddler and a sick husband is scary enough in itself!! I'm so glad to hear that everyone is better! Take your time, we'll be here!:goodvibes