Olivia's 3rd Birthday Extravaganza! DDxP,BBB and PP!Oh my! Our 12/10 TR! **Finished**

[eecteacher82]

We've been home for a week now from our best WDW trip to date! We had a wonderful and amazing 6 days in the World and were quite sad to leave. As sad as I am we are gone, I am as happy that I can relive our trip with all of you!

Here is the link to my PTR just in case you wanted some background info.
Loosen Your Belt Buckle, We're Doing Deluxe Dining!

Here are some quick details:
Who: Me (Erin), DH (Toby), DD (Olivia)
What: Our big trip of the year!
When: December 5-10, 2010
Where: Pop Century
Why: To celebrate Olivia's 3rd Birthday!!!

I'll start with a cast of characters:
Me, Me, Erin. A 28 year old, former kindergarten teacher turned stay at home mom to my princess Olivia and wife to my DH. I have loved all things Disney since my first visit when I was 4. I was born in Wisconsin and moved down to Florida when I was 8 and have been here ever since. We live about 1.5 hours from the mouse on the west coast of Florida, just south of Tampa. I am the total anal Disney planner and start planning the next big trip on the way home from the last one!

DH, Toby. A super hard working 25 year old daddy to Olivia! Toby works extremely hard so that I can stay home with Olivia! Toby will be the first to tell you that I am totally obsessed with Disney, although he does not share in my obsession (yet!). We went to Disney while I was pregnant with Olivia and I have been dragging him along ever since. He says Disney is just "ok", but while we are there he is having a blast and loving every minute of it.

DD, Olivia. Our 3 year old princess who, like me, loves all things Disney! She is our little miracle baby. Olivia was born at just 32 weeks, weighing 4 pounds and measuring 16 3/4 inches long and spent 3.5 weeks in the NICU more than an hour away from home. She made a total turn around, and now you would never know (other than being a bit on the small side) that she was a preemie! Olivia loves every minute of our Disney trips and asks on a daily basis to go back!

Now that you have our cast of characters, I will get started on fun stuff!

Coming up: Getting there and our arrival.

 

[eecteacher82]

Here are handy dandy chapter links!

Chapter 1: Introductions 12/19

Chapter 2: Arrival 12/19

Chapter 3: Animal Kingdom, tons of PP and FotLK 12/23

Chapter 3 Continued 12/23

Chapter 4: Lunch at Yak & Yeti 12/29

Chapter 5: Safari, more PP and Pooh! 1/1

Chapter 6: Finally! Our Room! Time to unpack! 1/5

Chapter 7: California Grill 1/5

Chapter 8: Day 1 Recap 1/8

Chapter 9: The start to my most anticipated day of the trip! Breakfast at Kona Cafe! 1/11

OT: I GOT A PIN CODE!!!!!! 1/12

Chapter 10: Our Princess! 1/13

Chapter 10 Continued: Our Princess! 1/13

Chapter 11: HoP and HM fun before lunch! 1/18

Chapter 12: Lunch with Pooh! 1/18

Facebook

New Mini Trip!!!!

Chapter 13: Meeting Royalty and classic rides! 1/25

Chapter 14: FGIT to the rescue and nap time! 1/26

Chapter 15: Dinner at 1900 Park Fare 2/3

Chapter 16: Freezing our hiney's off for fireworks! 2/15

Chapter 17: Day 2 Recap 2/16

Chapter 18: A Slight Detour Before DHS... 2/16

OT: February/March Trip 2/16

OT: February/March Trip- TICKED!!!! 2/17

OT: Another February/March Trip Update 2/19

Chapter 19: Lunch at Hollywood & Vine 2/24

Chapter 20: What I've Been Dying to Try at DHS! 3/8

Chapter 21: Dinner at Garden Grill 3/8

Chapter 22: Osbourne Lights! 3/24

Chapter 23: Day 3 Recap 3/24

Chapter 24: Breakfast at Cape May Cafe 4/5

Chapter 25: Morning fun at Epcot! 4/12

Chapter 26: Pick A Pearl! 4/28

Chapter 27: Lunch at Le Cellier 4/28

Chapter 28: World Showcase and a "special" drink! 4/28

Chapter 29: Dinner at Ohana 5/3

Chapter 30: Day 4 Recap 5/3

Chapter 31: Ohana...Again! 5/4

Chapter 32: Magic Kingdom without a plan. *Part 1* 5/4

Chapter 33: Magic Kingdom without a plan. *Part 2* 5/4

Chapter 34: An Epcot Afternoon 5/4

Chapter 35: Teppan Edo 5/5

Chapter 36: Our last night "around" the world, in "The World" 5/5

Chapter 37: Day 5 Recap 5/5

Chapter 38: Chef Mickey's 5/5

Chapter 39: Downtown Disney 5/10

Chapter 40: Planet Hollywood 5/10

Chapter 41: Trip Recap 5/10

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Am I first? Am I first? Going back to read!

 

[eecteacher82]

Am I first? Am I first? Going back to read!

You are! You are! Congratulations! You get.....well, nothing but the satisfaction of knowing that you are one awesome dedicated reader! I should have the next chapter up shortly, just putting the finishing touches on it now!

 

[weber1188]

I'm here too! Just finished reading your PTR!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Joining in! So sorry I didn't get a chance to meet up with you! Things were super crazy.

You are on the ball starting your TR! I am waiting till after Christmas to get to mine!

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm here too! Just finished reading your PTR!

Welcome aboard! I always love new readers! Hope you enjoy! I must say I am jealous of your ticker....4 days until Disney!

Joining in! So sorry I didn't get a chance to meet up with you! Things were super crazy.

You are on the ball starting your TR! I am waiting till after Christmas to get to mine!

Not a problem! I actually saw you guys at Pop on the 9th! We were filling mugs and you were picking up packages! I wanted to say hi, but Olivia was in a mood and your super cute kiddos were with your DH in the lobby.

I don't know if it's that I'm on the ball, or just thinking I want to start so I can re-live everything! I can't wait to read your TR when you start!

 

[eecteacher82]

Date: Sunday December 5, 2010

Wait, let me back track a bit. Saturday December 4, 2010. This was Saturday's schedule looked like:
*Toby had to work, so he was up and out the door by 6:30.
*Olivia participated in the annual Living Christmas Tree at our church and there were 2 shows on Saturday, 3:00 and 7:00. (I was also working my nursery job at church during all the performances).
*I still had to put the last minute touches on packing and get the house all cleaned up so I would be able to come home to a nice clean house (only to make a mess of it with luggage and stuff of course)!
*My mom and I needed to go to my Grandma's house and get all of her Christmas decorations out and put her tree up for her.

So, this is how the day went:
*I was up when Toby left for work and started the last minute packing and cleaning before Olivia woke up. I was on a mission, so I moved pretty quickly and by the time Olivia woke up at 7:45 all I had left to do was mop the floors! Woo Hoo!
*My mom came over around 10:00 and us girls headed to my Grandma's house where we successfully decorated her house and set up her tree. Woo Hoo again!
*At 1:45, Olivia and I said goodbye to my mom when she dropped us off at church.
*After the 2 shows, we left church around 9:30 and headed home.
*When we got home, Toby already had the car all loaded, so all I had to do was hop in the shower to get Olivia and I all cleaned up! Yet another Woo Hoo!
*Olivia and Toby were in bed by 10:00 and I finally fell asleep sometime around 2:30.

Ok, back to Sunday December 5!

My alarm went off at 7:00 and I hopped right up! It was FINALLY here! The day I had been planning for for 9 l o n g months! It was DISNEY DAY! I quickly got myself dressed and ready, and woke Toby and Olivia up. Both of them got out of bed pretty quickly as well. Once everyone was ready and we made a final check of everything in the house, we locked up, got in the car and pulled out of our driveway at 7:45 on the dot!

We stopped at Mickey D's just before we got on the interstate and grabbed a little breakfast and some caffeine! The ride was easy and uneventful-just the way I like it! It did however, start to rain about 10 minutes from WDW, so our normally pretty Mickey antenna and WDW sign pictures aren't very pretty!

At 9:30 we pulled into Pop and it was just barely drizzling when we all got out of the car to check in. As you recall (if you followed my PTR), I don't like online check-in, so we didn't do it. Luckily, the regular check-in line only had 2 people in it, so our was was about 3 minutes or so. I wish I could say then whole check-in process was as quick...it wasn't! We got a lovely, happy polite woman named Ting-Ting who was going to get us all set. She went over all the details, dates, dining plan...etc. After everything was confirmed, she pulled out a resort map and asked if I had a building preference. Yep, I sure do! Building 1 4th floor please! She says OK and starts typing away. After about 30 seconds she says, just a minute and she will be right back, and scurries off around a corner. After a full 10 minutes she comes back and says someone is checking into it for us....umm...its not a big deal, I'll take some other building in the 50's with the 4th floor. So, she scurries off again. After another 5 minutes she comes back with a manager! The manager politely explains the she is sorry, but there is no way they can get us a 1st floor room! What?! I don't want a 1st floor room, I want a 4th floor! She looked very shocked and then within 10 seconds she had us in a 4th floor room in building 1! Apparently the whole time Ting-Ting thought I was saying 1st and not 4th (even though I said multiple times that we liked it up top because it quieter and the view is better. So, with that we were told that we would get a text when the room was ready and the bed rail and fridge should be waiting when we get there. By the time we walked out of the lobby, went to the car to get the stroller and park bag, and got on a bus to Animal Kingdom it was 10:30!

Here are a couple of pics from the bus!

Up next: Animal Kingdom, the beginning of our Photopass quest, and characters!

 

[BridetobeDisney]

Yay! I'm so excited to hear about the trip!! Did you take pictures of all the restaurants you went to? I want to find a good place to go on our last day. I'm still thinking Cape May, like you said, but have to look at the options for Tyson and my brother. Brad and I are brave eaters that like new stuff. Tyson and Brandon don't though. I'm looking forward to more!

 

[eecteacher82]

Yay! I'm so excited to hear about the trip!! Did you take pictures of all the restaurants you went to? I want to find a good place to go on our last day. I'm still thinking Cape May, like you said, but have to look at the options for Tyson and my brother. Brad and I are brave eaters that like new stuff. Tyson and Brandon don't though. I'm looking forward to more!

Glad you made it over here! I certainly did take pics of all of our meals-and there were A LOT! We tried lots of new places this trip, and of our 14 meals, only 3 were repeats for us! I think Cape May is a good choice, they have a pretty good mix of normal/picky eater foods along with the yummy/more adventurous choices for you and Brad! Who knows...maybe you will like one of the restaurants we ate it!

 

[Nermel9]

I'm in! Great start! That's funny, how they didn't understand what building you were requesting at Pop! Come join my TR when you get a chance!

 

[Tinkermom76]

I'm in!!!! I was totally gonna use the oh my in my TR title too... great now I have to think again

I am so jealous that you live so close... it takes me that long to get to the airport

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great start to the trip!!

I'm sorry we did not get to meet up but if you back-tracked and read my FB updates, we had a not so great first night (and thankfully only night) at POP!

Glad to hear you got your room reqeusts..we did not but for just a night it wasn't a big deal..but bugs on the mattress were though!

 

[therussells08]

I'm here! Great updates! I have been looking forward to this TR! Poor Ting-Ting! She was probably kicking herself after all that hassle for nothing!

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm in! Great start! That's funny, how they didn't understand what building you were requesting at Pop! Come join my TR when you get a chance!

Welcome! I have been reading along with your TR, but it has been so crazy here I haven't had a chance to reply! I should be able to start relying to all the TRs I am following now that our trip is over and things are a bit less hectic around here! It is funny looking back on it, but I was pretty mad at the time!

I'm in!!!! I was totally gonna use the oh my in my TR title too... great now I have to think again

I am so jealous that you live so close... it takes me that long to get to the airport

LOL, sorry! I still don't think I like my title!

I always say that living so close to Disney is the only good part about living in Florida! It is pretty nice to be able to get there in less than 2 hours!

great start to the trip!!

I'm sorry we did not get to meet up but if you back-tracked and read my FB updates, we had a not so great first night (and thankfully only night) at POP!

Glad to hear you got your room reqeusts..we did not but for just a night it wasn't a big deal..but bugs on the mattress were though!

That's ok! I totally understand! Before anyone or anything went in our room, I went in and checked it really well! I'm so glad I didn't find anything!

I'm here! Great updates! I have been looking forward to this TR! Poor Ting-Ting! She was probably kicking herself after all that hassle for nothing!

Welcome! Glad you made it over! Ting-Ting was definitely kicking herself! That whole situation was horrible! I had a feeling that she was misunderstanding what I was saying, which is why I kept repeating myself and saying how much we loved to be up on the top floor...oh well!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I'm in. I gotta. I'm not sure when I will get my Trip Report started, but once I do I will have a link to it.

Funny my ticker says it is 11 months, 3 weeks to my next vacation. Did I win a vacation?

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm in! Nice start!

 

[AKL LOVER]

I'm in too! I just went back and read some of your PTR...my son sounds exactly like your daughter--he was also born at 32 weeks in a emergency C section. He also weighed 4lbs and was in the NICU for the same amount of time as your daughter! And while he still has some health complications due to the immaturity of his lungs, I am amazed every day by how far he has come!

Keep the updates coming!

 

[exwdwcm]

I'm here too and can't wait to read about all your wonderful adventures! I remember that drizzle- we were at MK that morning and it actually made for a great morning with low crowds thanks for the light rain!

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm in. I gotta. I'm not sure when I will get my Trip Report started, but once I do I will have a link to it.

Funny my ticker says it is 11 months, 3 weeks to my next vacation. Did I win a vacation?

Welcome, glad to see you here! I can't wait for you to start your TR, I'll be on the lookout for the link!

Wouldn't that be great if you won a vacation?! I think Disney should have a punch card system like sub shops and haircut places....after x amount of trips, you get a free one!

I'm in! Nice start!

Welcome aboard! Glad you made it over here!

I'm in too! I just went back and read some of your PTR...my son sounds exactly like your daughter--he was also born at 32 weeks in a emergency C section. He also weighed 4lbs and was in the NICU for the same amount of time as your daughter! And while he still has some health complications due to the immaturity of his lungs, I am amazed every day by how far he has come!

Keep the updates coming!

WELCOME! The more the merrier! Isn't it amazing how resilient tiny little babies are? I still can't believe that there is really nothing wrong with her after all that she has gone through! Glad your son is doing good too!

I'm working on another update now....it should be up today, but it is one of about 8 things I am working on right now, so no guarantee!

I'm here too and can't wait to read about all your wonderful adventures! I remember that drizzle- we were at MK that morning and it actually made for a great morning with low crowds thanks for the light rain!

Glad to see you here Michelle! I can't wait to relive our wonderful trip in my TR! I was glad the drizzle stopped before we went to AK, although it does make for nice touring while everyone else runs for cover.