V's BDay SURPRISE with 99 Characters and Costumes Galore Update May 19th Happy BDAY V

[DMGeurts]

Glad to hear you are doing OK Erin.

WOW!!! That's a lot of schools - in ONE district! Sheesh... We have 3 elementaries, 1 middle and 1 high school... Good luck to you with your search - they'd be lucky to have you!

Yah - those curly hair dolls usually aren't the best for first dolls - since those dolls get the most love. Hopefully she can add a straight haired sister to the mix.

D~

[mommy2mrb]

what a fun way to reveal the trip! she looks so cute in her outfit!

good luck with the job search!

[Marsheliz]

I have so enjoyed reading.. I used to be a nanny to a "V" too. But her name is Veronica.... I loved her just like she was my own.. I have two boys now and wish so bad I had a princess to dress up. Veronica is now 10.. AHHH... I cant wait to read more!

[MaeB]

I've been following along...you really went all out for the surprise! Love it! I've been looking out for an update but it sounds like you've been busy! In my small Eastern Ontario home town of 45,000 there are 4 school boards so my teacher friends are going through the same thing you are. You have public English, public French, separate (Catholic) English, and separate French. Things are different there now, but when I was in school there were 7 high schools...it's just ridiculous. Add to that separate schools for 50/50 and Core French in both public and separate boards. What a nightmare. Good luck to you meeting the principals! Looking forward to reading more about your trip!

[nannye]

Originally Posted by mom2rtk

I just saw Elizabeth! How awesome they look in their matching dresses! I'm sure she has years of fun ahead of her.

V LOVES her!
I don't think any other doll will ever compare. We came back from Disney and I kept Elizabeth because I wanted to do the photo sessions with V in her costumes and Elizabeth in hers. And then I kept her after because I needed to fix her hair among other things well we were just SO busy that it was only last Monday that V finally got poor Elizabeth back. I'm a mean nanny lol. I was just busy.

Originally Posted by addictedtonostalgia

WOW, you went all out for the surprise reveal! That was amazing. I will have to watch the video later for sure. You can tell she is excited in the pictures, even if she isn't jumping or screaming. I still get a bit too excited for Disney, my sister (another Victoria! )can't stand it!

Meh I get so excited over Disney and I've only been twice~ (well technically 3 but I don't count the first!)

I love her outfit (the Disney one)!

Thanks

Originally Posted by Tink rules

Awww. how cute!!!

and boy did you give dad some exercise!!!

That we did!

Originally Posted by TinkNH

Shes just too cute!

My oldest is the same way...she is excited about things but not one to jump up and down and scream..my parents surprised her with a trip when she was 7 and got NO reaction from her at the reveal she acted like she knew it all along lol

Ugh Some kids just like to be a know it all!

Originally Posted by blessedmom4

I loved the clues, the hunt, the pics and that video is priceless, I loved hearing her giggle and seeing the sparkle in V's eyes! GREAT JOB ERIN!!! I adore that Pettiskirt, wish they had it in bigger sizes, too cute and V looks precious!

Thanks Judy! I too wish they had it in bigger sizes!

Originally Posted by Aussiesalad

What a great start!!
I was a nanny for 8 years for the same little boy and girl and it was the best job! Some families are just so wonderful to work for!

Looking forward to hearing about the trip

Wow 8 years! We are on 4.5 now I can definitely foresee years 5 and maybe even 6. 8, I'm not so sure about, but maybe! by then it may be summers only.

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

That was an awesome update Erin!!! I just loved it all! And little V looks so adorable in her new outfit!

D~

She is the cutest!

Originally Posted by jennyjinx3

Great video...you really go all out for V! She is one lucky little girl to have you!!

Oh I'm pretty lucky to have her. Even when she is being a tota PITA!

Originally Posted by petals

Luvin the reveal

Thanks

Originally Posted by Moodyzblu

What a wonderful reveal ! I just love the outfit .. so cute !!

Gotta love Ebay!

Originally Posted by mommy2mrb

what a fun way to reveal the trip! she looks so cute in her outfit!

good luck with the job search!

Thanks, I don't know how I'd top that outfit if we go again! Maybe a different skirt and the same pettiskirt or I'll try to reinvent it. I LOVE the pettiskirt.

Originally Posted by Marsheliz

I have so enjoyed reading.. I used to be a nanny to a "V" too. But her name is Veronica.... I loved her just like she was my own.. I have two boys now and wish so bad I had a princess to dress up. Veronica is now 10.. AHHH... I cant wait to read more!

It's amazing how quick they grow!
There is just something special about little girls. I know I'd be just as happy with a boy, but I think I'd die if I didn't have a little girl!

Originally Posted by MaeB

I've been following along...you really went all out for the surprise! Love it! I've been looking out for an update but it sounds like you've been busy! In my small Eastern Ontario home town of 45,000 there are 4 school boards so my teacher friends are going through the same thing you are. You have public English, public French, separate (Catholic) English, and separate French. Things are different there now, but when I was in school there were 7 high schools...it's just ridiculous. Add to that separate schools for 50/50 and Core French in both public and separate boards. What a nightmare. Good luck to you meeting the principals! Looking forward to reading more about your trip!

Crazy crazy! so far I've had two schools call me so that's great. and I've booked 4 jobs through them actually 3 schools called but I had to say no to the third. so we're off to an okay start. I work 3 half days this week.

The next part is upon us!

[nannye]

Day 1
Part 2: We are Home

We left off with V’s surprise reveal!

After finishing breakfast we were on our way. V’s dad had to do some conference calls while we drove so her mom drove which made for a slightly interesting trip. V’s dad is in my eyes a bit of a faster driver shall we say and there is no other time I wish he was driving and getting us to Disney faster! My job then was to keep V quiet as we drove which wasn’t too hard, we read her book and stared out the window a lot.




It was like the longest drive EVER it felt so much longer than it did last year.



Finally the conference call was done and we saw our first icon of Disney; the Giant Mickey head radio tower or whatever it is. It was the FIRST Mickey thing we saw last year on our drive and we were both ecstatic to see it this time. Then there was the moment. We drove under that beautiful arch and it was like coming home.



And this was V when she saw it.



Once we were there we followed the directions to Port Orleans. There is the sign! Take the next exit for Port Orleans Riverside. Oh wait it’s not the next exit it’s THAT exit!!!! The sign was literally at the exit with NO warning we missed it! We missed our exit!

Oh dear what to do. We kept driving and ended up at Epcot Parking. After explaining our situation and missed exit to the booth attendant, she directed us to go ahead and just turn around and told us exactly where to go.

Whew! It was only a few minutes detour, but I’m sure you all can understand my sense of utter panic and are you FREAKING kidding me! Not that I would have been any different. It was not my bosses fault; I would have missed it to. I guess we’ll just have to remember for next year...... well that is assuming we go next summer and stay at POR.

Finally this beautiful sight greeted us.



Now Silly me I did NOT take pictures of the resort. There are a few here and there, but we were just so busy I did not get a chance to check out the resort and take pictures. I won’t disclude them! So here are some pics of Port Orleans Riverside to those who have never seen it. These pics are used from Port Orleans.org I did not take them!.

The Pool







Now with those pictures out of the way, we parked and lugged my suitcase and V’s out of the car. I helped V put on her Minnie skirt and immediately people were pointing at her skirt and commenting on how cute it was. It was pretty darn cute!

A very nice man with a giant Mickey hand stopped V and gave her Mickey stickers as we walked in. He welcomed us; he was so nice with this southern drawl (kind of made me weak in the knees!). He has a special place in our TR, I'll tell you about at the end. He welcomed us to Port Orleans and held open the doors for us as we lugged our stuff into the lobby and I held my breath. It was nearly 11 am. It was July the 5th. It was PEAK SEASON. I was DREADING the wait. I chose NOT to do online check in this time because I was hoping it would be easier to be reassigned if there were any problems.

I was literally holding my breath as we walked into the lobby and I nearly stopped dead. It was DESERTED! There was one family at Check in! I knew there were people coming in behind us so I tried to be super fast and I dropped our stuff with V’s dad and ran to the check in.

The lady who checked us in was super nice. I can’t remember her name but she noted it was V’s birthday and she wrote out her birthday button taking such care to do the letters in a fancy font; so sweet. We were slightly interrupted since she was a spanish speaking CM she had to give some direction to a spanish speaking family. She appologized profusely for the interruption, but it really was no problem at all. Really it wasn't of course to me at that moment every second delay was MURDER. I had booked a Royal Guest Room Garden View and I had put in a request for Oak Manor as it was closer to the bridge leading to the main building. I won’t lie, I was also hoping for some pixie dust in terms of an upgrade to a water view or something!

I breathed a sigh of relief when she said we were in Oak Manor! After getting all our info, we started the trek to Oak Manor. I was ecstatic when I saw the location of our room. I am not sure what our room is classified as. We were supposed to be in a Garden view room, but our room was on the ground floor directly under Oak Manors main staircase (Yay no stairs I think I will always request ground floor stroller or no stroller). Stepping out our door we had this view.



We had a garden with a fountain and if you look beyond the path, there is the river. I have no idea what our room was classified as, but I was so happy! It was a 3 min walk maybe to the main building and we had a gorgeous view. Directly in front of our front door is where they show the videos on the lawn.
I had seen initial mock up pics on the Disney website of the royal guest rooms and once the rooms opened I tried my hardest NOT to look at the pics that others posted because I wanted to be surprised.

I told V we had a very special room and her reaction when her dad opened the door was “Whoa!”

These are pics of the Royal Guest Rooms. Once again I forgot to take pics of our room so I can’t take credit for these pics but I wanted to include our room. They are from Port Orleans.org.








Here is a picture of our beds. The headboards have fibre optic lights and you press a button and fireworks explode for about 15 seconds.




So that is our room (sort of). V and I were both very impressed with all the little details that went into the room. V went to check out the bathroom and while I meant to take a video of what happened next, I forgot, I was too caught up. I laid out the American Girl Doll I’d bought for her on the bed and when V saw her she was so excited! “Welcome to Disney” I said! Little did she know there was a bunch of dresses for her doll and more on the way! She was pretty overwhelmed. V’s mom helped us unpack. She unpacked V’s clothes in the middle drawer and snacks in the top. (I later rearranged and bumped V’s clothes up to the top drawer with the snacks, mine in the middle and left the bottom for all the costumes!

I then went back to the main building for our stroller and a case of water. I paid $9 for this case of bottled water. That may be an insane amount to pay for a case of water, but it was worth every penny of convenience. I ordered it from the same place as the stroller, Kingdom Strollers! Now I know some may think you got a stroller for a 5 year old? Keep in mind folks this is Disney and I am slightly commando so I would rather a stroller to hold V and all our stuff and reserve her energy and mine than half her walk and be utterly exhausted. Now choosing a stroller was not easy. I had to take her to a baby store and test out different models to see what she would fit in because she is so tall. We got the City Elite stroller and I can definitely say it is her last year in the stroller she will not fit next year!

After getting unloaded V and her dad went for a little walk to check out the pool while we continued to unpack. While they were gone I laid out the Alice dress my mom had made for V with her invitation to the Wonderland Tea Party a wonderful person had made for me on Disboards.

V and her dad found the quiet pool and came back from their walk V was so excited to see the Alice dress and even more so to know that she was going to meet her at the tea party. It was time to say goodbye to mom and dad. They had offered to drive us to the Grand Floridian, but I knew if we left with them we would be extremely early and her dad had another conference call to do so we said goodbye! It was about 12 and I planned for us to leave no later than 12:30. The tea party was at 2 and I wanted to ensure we had enough time since I knew busses could be hit and miss. I got the back pack ready and Elizabeth and then I got V dressed into her Alice Costume. She LOVED it! And we were off! I had hoped to have some time to explore POR a little before we left but no such luck. As we neared the bus stop I began to get really nervous it was past 12:30 and we just missed the Magic Kingdom bus. Would we make it?

To be Continued!!!!!

[DMGeurts]

Excellent update Erin!!!

I love those rooms - they really are magical. And I think it was an amazing idea on Disney's part to do some themed rooms - even if they do cost more.

You and V look so happy! I wish I lived close enough to Disney to drive there - I would be in heaven for sure!

And I am sure you purposefully left out pictures of the Alice dress (is it doll or girl size? Or both?) - so I am very anxious to see that - you know how I am about things like that.

Thanks for the marvelous update!

D~

[mommy2mrb]

what a wonderul surprise for V! sounds like you got a great room and the view is very pretty!

hope you will be posting photos with all the cute outfits!

[redheadedmermaid73]

You sound like an amazing nanny! I can't wait to see all the outfits you sewed for V, they sound beautiful!

[solana131]

Great update! And what a great room location You make me wish I had chosen POR instead of POFQ for our July trip. I have just a boy, so I'm not sure when I will ever get to stay in a Royal Room....they just look so neat! Can't wait to hear about the tea party

[Sandite]

I am so looking forward to hearing about the tea party. I have only heard about it on one other post. I think the kids have to go in alone with no adults, so not sure my 5 year old would be up for that, but will see how your V does.

[nannye]

Just had to add a note!

I got a serger!!!!

[mom2rtk]

Originally Posted by nannye

Just had to add a note!

I got a serger!!!!

Congrats!

[addictedtonostalgia]

Great update, I love the way the royal rooms look! Too bad I probably will never get to stay in them, I think I've "outgrown" them now and by the time I finance my own trips there will probably be something new and exciting.

I can't wait to read about the Wonderland tea party, Alice is my favorite. This just sounds like such a magical trip, what a lucky little girl!

[nannye]

I just have to say YIPEEEEE!!!!!! Next time I go to Disney I will have a D bag. so darn excited!