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

[eecteacher82]

Well, after much checking online (about 5x a day), I just was able to get POR for our first night as well!!!!! YEAH!! No hotel switching after a night!!!!!! So now we are officially booked at POR for 2/28-3/3!!!! I was so excited when I checked and saw it was available! I couldn't dial fast enough! Now I just owe the 2 nights balance at POR which I will pay as soon as I get the POP refund back. On that note, apparently the other CM I spoke to the other day didn't give me back the refund from the original 3 night POP ressie...he put it in the computer to be a credit to my room Glad that was taken care of! I'm so excited not to be stressing about this ressie anymore! Now....must start packing!

When I went to Target today I started to get a few odds and ends things. Water, snacks, travel size toiletries, etc., so we are pretty set on that stuff. I think I will wait until we get closer to really start packing since the forecast right now ranges from a high of 68, to a high of 82...for the same day...different forecasters!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Congrats on getting the room! I felt the same way when I saw POFQ pop up with the AP discount. It seemed like after that they had ressies galore so I don't know if they were being held and then opened up or what! You guys are going to have a blast and I'm sure Olivia will love the pool! If you get a chance to check out the pool at FQ you might want to! I think their pool is more "preschool oriented" than POR but both are great!

I'll be heading to Target in the next few weeks too. Between all my contact changes at the eye doctor, I now have 4 or 5 bottles of travel solution/contact cases so I won't have to buy that for a while!

 

[eecteacher82]

Congrats on getting the room! I felt the same way when I saw POFQ pop up with the AP discount. It seemed like after that they had ressies galore so I don't know if they were being held and then opened up or what! You guys are going to have a blast and I'm sure Olivia will love the pool! If you get a chance to check out the pool at FQ you might want to! I think their pool is more "preschool oriented" than POR but both are great!

I'll be heading to Target in the next few weeks too. Between all my contact changes at the eye doctor, I now have 4 or 5 bottles of travel solution/contact cases so I won't have to buy that for a while!

Thanks! I am still super excited I got it! I didn't even tell my hubby...he thinks we are staying at POP again! I called him after the fiasco on Thursday and told him that POR was sold out and POP it was. He was kind of upset because he wanted a change. We stayed at POP 4 or 5 times last year, and as much as we all love it, he likes to try new things. Now my goal is to get him to let me drive there so I can just drive to POR and surprise him!

I'm excited about the pool! Livy is super excited for the slide! She is such a little daredevil I'm sure she will have a blast! I was thinking about doing POFQ on our last day and having some beignets and hanging out at the pool there and then maybe head to DTD. We have to be home by 5:00 or so that night b/c Toby has a coaches meeting for Livy's soccer team, and he definitely can't miss that!

I can't say how much I Target! I go at least 2x a week! It doesn't hurt that it is so close to home that Olivia and I walk up there when the weather is nice. I should have gone through our travel toiletries bag before I went though...I now have about 10 mini bars of Dove soap, enough shampoo to wash the hair of an army, and lots and lots of little tubes of toothpaste! It never fails though....with all of the travel supplies we have, I always find a way to forget something!

 

[MrsCies]

I am LOVING your detailed trip report and the load of pictures!!!

We are going to WDW in 18 days!!! To celebrate our daugthers 3rd birthday as well! We also are taking her to BBB. She watched Videos on YouTube of other "princesses" and she is beyond excited - its all she talks about!

Where did you get Olivias crocs? They dont look like the "Typical" crocs - I love them! Also on her birthday button did you use stickers to put her name on there? Ive only seen them written on before.

I am love love LOVING your report!!

 

[eecteacher82]

I am LOVING your detailed trip report and the load of pictures!!!

We are going to WDW in 18 days!!! To celebrate our daugthers 3rd birthday as well! We also are taking her to BBB. She watched Videos on YouTube of other "princesses" and she is beyond excited - its all she talks about!

Where did you get Olivias crocs? They dont look like the "Typical" crocs - I love them! Also on her birthday button did you use stickers to put her name on there? Ive only seen them written on before.

I am love love LOVING your report!!

Welcome! Thanks for all the compliments! Olivia spent about 6 months watching YouTube videos from the BBB before our trip and was so excited to finally get to do it herself!

I got Olivia's crocs at Disney on one of our trips last summer. I love them, and she is just about ready for the next size up so we will be buying those when we go next week! I'm pretty sure they were $32.95.

I made her birthday button. When we checked in and they gave us her button, I just asked them not to write her name on it and used my stickers when we got back to the room I stuck them on. The stickers I had were from a Disney scrapbooking kit I had at home.

I bet you are getting so excited for your trip! I know I'm getting excited for our mini trip next week!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

yay for surprises!!!!

I have one of those plastic bins with drawers that I have all the travel products in. Mine is totally filled! I do go through it because some things I took but would never use and others I refill my travel bag so I guess it's saving $ at Target but that's less fun!!!

 

[exwdwcm]

so glad you got your POR ressie! i hope you get your refund soon too.

i also love the disney crocs- Will loves them, they are his favorite shoes, so we will buy a pair each time we go probably!

 

[blessedby3]

Glad you got your reservation changed! It will be much easier for you now

 

[eecteacher82]

yay for surprises!!!!

I have one of those plastic bins with drawers that I have all the travel products in. Mine is totally filled! I do go through it because some things I took but would never use and others I refill my travel bag so I guess it's saving $ at Target but that's less fun!!!

I'm excited for the surprise! I've never been able to surprise him with Disney stuff before!

I have a whole shelf in my linen closet of misc travel stuff that I just keep adding to, but no matter how thorough I am, I always manage to forget something on a trip!

so glad you got your POR ressie! i hope you get your refund soon too.

i also love the disney crocs- Will loves them, they are his favorite shoes, so we will buy a pair each time we go probably!

I'm hoping the refund comes through quickly as well! I really want to just pay it off and get it over with!

Livy wears hear Mickey crocs all the time! She isn't quite ready to move up to the next size yet, but I would rather buy them now, rather than wait until she tries to squeeze her feet into them!

Glad you got your reservation changed! It will be much easier for you now

I'm so glad I was able to get POR for all of our nights as well! It will be so much more relaxed! I can't wait to try a new resort!

 

[Tinkermom76]

I can't wait to hear all about POR, I wanna stay there sometime!

 

[eecteacher82]

When I last left off, we were heading over to Hollywood & Vine to check in for our 11:30 lunch ADR. We checked in at about 11:20 and were seated at 11:40 (which I thought was a bit nuts...there really wasn't anyone else there for there to be that long of a wait). Anyway, once seated our waiter came and took our drink orders (the usual, Coke, Diet Coke and lemonade), and I headed up to the buffet to get Olivia and my plates.

Once I got back, Toby headed up to get his plate as well.

I know there are mixed reviews for H&V, but we really enjoyed it! Maybe we enjoyed pretty much all of our Disney dining because we don't go in expecting gourmet food so we aren't disappointed

Olivia pretty much licked her plate clean and wanted more salad and chicken nuggets. I also ate everything and went for more salad, and I'm pretty sure Toby made about 3 trips to the buffet.

Shortly after we sat down to eat, the characters started coming. First up was Special Agent Oso! Livy loves this show and watches it almost daily.

After some snuggly bear hugs, it was time for our favorite fix it man, Handy Manny of course!

Once we had our Manny "fix" (sorry, couldn't help it), it was time for a visit by Leo!

After Leo, his buddy June came out and paid our little ballerina (Livy has been taking ballet for a little over a year) and pulled her up front to join her in a dance! *Sorry for the bad pics...Toby was in charge of the camera.*

After all of the dancing and character visits it was time for....can you figure it out? What was missing from our meal?

After our princess was cleaned up from the frosting bath she took, Toby decided to be silly with the camera

I actually really like this picture, and I think we will take similar ones when we can!

Our total for lunch was $61.75 and we tipped $12.00. I would say that we would return to Hollywood & Vine again, and maybe even try breakfast. All of the food was fresh and hot (or cold where applicable) and tasted pretty good.

Up Next: Something I have been DYING to try at DHS!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Nice update! I'm in the "dislike HV crowd". My uncle insisted all 8 of us go there the one year, that it was good food and characters. When we got there for dinner, we were seated an hour past our ADR = my father was already livid mr. time keeper! We thought the food was horrible and there were no characters. My uncle even agreed that the meal was horrible and said sorry. We all ended up going back and eating at Whispering Canyon lol. I'm glad you guys had a better experience and had characters!!

Your trip is getting SOOO CLOSE!!!!!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Whew! Officially out of lurkdom and caught up again!


You know, I'd wondered why I didn't hear from you that day .... At the time I'd chalked it up to just the general busy -ness that happens when we're at Disney, but I'm glad to hear you got your phone back! Alex lost his at Space Mountain and never got it back. Your ring tone cracks me up!

Demetri and I loved H&V on our special lunch... the characters were great and the food was fine, a bit different then the standard stuff. Demetri is adventureous with his choices so that helps.

Olivia's shirt is so cute!

 

[exwdwcm]

great update! the food looks better than what I've heard- did they have actual sandwiches on the buffet? I would take Will here, he does know Manny and Oso, but he doesn't know the Little Einsteins. He only got into watching tv/movies this January, before that, he would barely watch but 5 minutes. He only knows Manny and Oso since he would watch a few minutes while he eats breakfast in the am before heading to day care.

looks good actually!

oh and it brings back memories of cleaning those silver chairs and tables when i worked there. does this costume look familiar- i think they just changed the costume last year though.......but it was this lovely pink and green for a long time! lol

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Oh Olivia looks like she had so much fun at Hollywood and Vine!!!! I'm so sad that Aisling has proclaimed herself "too old" for Playhouse Disney/Disney Jr

 

[eecteacher82]

Nice update! I'm in the "dislike HV crowd". My uncle insisted all 8 of us go there the one year, that it was good food and characters. When we got there for dinner, we were seated an hour past our ADR = my father was already livid mr. time keeper! We thought the food was horrible and there were no characters. My uncle even agreed that the meal was horrible and said sorry. We all ended up going back and eating at Whispering Canyon lol. I'm glad you guys had a better experience and had characters!!

Your trip is getting SOOO CLOSE!!!!!!!

Oh no! That doesn't sound like a good experience at all!!! I can totally see why you are not a fan! Aside from the wait to get in, we didn't have any problems and the food was yummy and fresh. I liked that they had a few different things on the buffet, like the huge sandwiches!

Our trip is getting close! I'm so excited! Of course Toby called me this morning and said he wanted to leave Sunday night instead of Monday morning, and to see what kind of hotel I could get! scared1 I don't really want to spend a ton since we wont get up there until after 9:00 or so and will leave by 8:00 the next morning, so spending a bunch for something really nice seems dumb to me! I guess we will see what I can do!

Whew! Officially out of lurkdom and caught up again!


You know, I'd wondered why I didn't hear from you that day .... At the time I'd chalked it up to just the general busy -ness that happens when we're at Disney, but I'm glad to hear you got your phone back! Alex lost his at Space Mountain and never got it back. Your ring tone cracks me up!

Demetri and I loved H&V on our special lunch... the characters were great and the food was fine, a bit different then the standard stuff. Demetri is adventureous with his choices so that helps.

Olivia's shirt is so cute!

Welcome back from lurkdom!

Yep, a lovely lost phone...I really wasn't ignoring you!!!! I'm so glad I got it back. Mostly because I hate re-entering everyone's information!! I seriously giggle every time Toby calls and the phone yells WEEE WEEE WEEE! I can't believe Alex lost his phone! That really stinks! Did he lose it on the ride or waiting in line?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought H&V was nice! The food definitely wasn't fine dining or anything, but I liked the variety and it was fresh!

great update! the food looks better than what I've heard- did they have actual sandwiches on the buffet? I would take Will here, he does know Manny and Oso, but he doesn't know the Little Einsteins. He only got into watching tv/movies this January, before that, he would barely watch but 5 minutes. He only knows Manny and Oso since he would watch a few minutes while he eats breakfast in the am before heading to day care.

looks good actually!

oh and it brings back memories of cleaning those silver chairs and tables when i worked there. does this costume look familiar- i think they just changed the costume last year though.......but it was this lovely pink and green for a long time! lol

I bet Will would love to see Manny and Oso! Livy really doesn't know the Little Einsteins either, but since I knew they would be there, I had her watch a couple of episodes before we left so she would know who they were! The food really wasn't bad at all! Those huge sandwiches were great, and there were a few different varieties of them.

That's right! I forgot you worked at H&V! The costumes have changed, I can't remember exactly what colors they are now, but I know they were not like yours.

Oh Olivia looks like she had so much fun at Hollywood and Vine!!!! I'm so sad that Aisling has proclaimed herself "too old" for Playhouse Disney/Disney Jr

Livy really did have a good time! She really loves every single minute of our Disney trips!

How sad that Ash thinks she is too old for Disney Jr! I can see how though. Of the new stuff that is on, Olivia really only watches 1 of them, and it is something about pirates. I think she will be done with Disney Jr long before I am ready for her to be....she is now obsessed with High School Musical and asks to watch it all. the. time.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Yep, a lovely lost phone...I really wasn't ignoring you!!!! I'm so glad I got it back. Mostly because I hate re-entering everyone's information!! I seriously giggle every time Toby calls and the phone yells WEEE WEEE WEEE! I can't believe Alex lost his phone! That really stinks! Did he lose it on the ride or waiting in line?

Ah I knew you weren't ignoring me.

We're not sure exactly where he lost it. His last text to us was while he was in line at Space, about to go on the ride. Then poof - it was gone. We tried all the lost and founds but no luck.

He didn't realize for a while it was missing though, so when George got a strange phone call later that same day, he didn't answer it because we were all with him and our cell plans don't cover phone calls, only texts. He's totally kicking himself now because we figure it was someone calling from his cell. Unfortunately it appears they hung onto it themselves.

 

[eecteacher82]

Hi guys! Just wanted to say sorry I have been such a slacker on my TR! I'm sure I will regret it since we are leaving tomorrow and coming home on Thursday for a quick trip, and I of course will have to write at least a mini TR for that as well! Guess I will just have to take good notes and lots of pics!

For this mini trip we are leaving tomorrow (2/27) night after I get done working in the church nursery, so we should arrive to Orlando around 9:00 or so. Since we were originally not leaving until Monday morning, I had to get a last minute hotel, and since we were literally just sleeping there, I didn't want to pay Disney prices for a few hours so I did a name your own price on Priceline and got a Radisson that is super close to WDW for $32 for the night.

We will get up Monday morning and go check in at POR, where we will be staying until Thursday. I decided against the dining plan, so we will just be doing QS for the week, which is totally fine with me! I literally have NO plans on what we are going to do!!! Toby really wants to take it easy and have a semi-relaxing vacation, so we will spend lots of time at the pool and just do whatever we decide on at the time!

I should probably get going, since I still have to pack! Yes I know it is 7:00 the night before we are leaving and I have to work tomorrow....

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend and has a great week! I'll be updating Facebook throughout our trip, so feel free to follow along!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Have a great trip! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

YAY!!! DID YOU SEE THE THREAD WITH THE NEW RESORT MUGS!!! Can you please post if they are out at POR when you get there on Monday?!!! I know we're only going to have the DDP but we'll still buy them. We love to use them in the mornings and at the pool! I guess they are out at POP but someone called BWI and they don't have them out yet so I'll stay tuned and hope you respond with good news!!!! HAPPY PACKING!