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

[eecteacher82]

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

Thanks! I'm hoping we have a great time!

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!

I will definitely be on the lookout for the new mugs! I can't decide if I want POR to have them or not! That would just mean more money to spend that I wasn't planning on! But if they have them, I would of course want the new ones! I might not post on here, but FB for sure...as soon as we arrive!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I will definitely be on the lookout for the new mugs! I can't decide if I want POR to have them or not! That would just mean more money to spend that I wasn't planning on! But if they have them, I would of course want the new ones! I might not post on here, but FB for sure...as soon as we arrive!

Thanks Erin!! I will be on the look out for your FB post!!!! I asked my friend who's at Kidani right now and she said there aren't any mug stations at Kidani and they haven't been to Jambo to check out the CS there so she had no idea.. She just doesn't get the OCD of Disney Mugs like some of us

 

[Tinkermom76]

Have a great time!!!!!

 

[Nermel9]

Have a great trip!

 

[amyrella]

found your tr and i am all caught up!! your daughter is so cute!!

i am taking my 4 yr old the last week of may frist week of june and i cant wait. it will be her first visit an di have the bbb all planned for her!! i really hope she does not get that FGIT that olivia got!! thats a big bummer, especially for all the money you pay for that experience!!

I hope olivia is at that 40 inch mark!! my daughter is a peanut also and she is about an inch and half away!!!!! i was really hoping that she would hit a 4 yr old growth spurt and shoot up!! i know that in one month she did grow a 1/4 inch... ugh that elusive 40" mark!!!

anyway have a great trip this week!! i'm so jealous youa re an hour and half away from disney!

have funand cant wait to read more!

 

[kaylamag]

Dinner was really nice. I think next time I would make sure we made it in the main room so we could see all of the royal entrances. All of the food was excellent. The strawberry soup kind of reminded me of the strawberry sauce from the Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe, and was yummy!

I am glad they serve the Strawberry Soup at Dinner too.
We ate there for breakfast on our last trip and wanted to do dinner when we go in December, but didn't want to miss out on the strawberry soup!

 

[Katers]

Did anyone ever hear whether the new mugs are at POR yet?

 

[eecteacher82]

Hi guys! I just wanted to pop in really quickly and say that we are back and had an AMAZING time! I can't wait to tell you all about it! It was a much, much, much more relaxed trip then I have ever done, and I'm not complaining one bit! Some quick facts"

*We left on Sunday night and got lucky with a name your own price from Priceline and got a great Radisson to spend Sunday night.

*LOVED POR!!!!! Seriously, it was amazing!

*POR had the new mugs, and still lots of old ones being used (I'm guessing it is because the new ones are so new, lots of people checked in just before they came out so they still had the old ones). We went to POFQ for breakfast on Thursday and they had the new mugs and the old ones available to buy.

*Crowds were great! No real waits for anything!

*40 inches.....we missed it by about 1/16 of an inch...seriously! So let's just say, I am in the market for thicker soled shoes for my little princess!

*Weather was totally beautiful! It rained for a bit Tuesday morning, but other than that it was more that perfect!

That's it for now....you will have to wait until I get my hiney in gear and finish up this TR, so I can start one from this trip!

 

[Tinkermom76]

can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[MRNsMommy]

Loving your TR! Your DD is precious!
We went in December a couple of years ago and are trying to decide if we wanna do that again this year. The weather was great then...able to swim in the afternoons...not sure my DDs would like the cold that much.
Can't wait to read the rest of your TR!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Welcome back!

 

[eecteacher82]

Sorry for the delay guys! I am going to see how many chapters I can get through while Olivia is napping!

When I last left off a million eons ago, we had just finished up lunch at Hollywood & Vine with some Playhouse Disney friends!

After lunch we headed over to catch Beauty and the Beast. All of us really enjoy this show, show it is a must see for every single time we go to DHS. No matter how hard I try, we never manage to get to the show early enough to have Livy picked as the little girl who gets the rose at the end. Oh well, just a good reason to keep going back! Sorry, no pics! I never take pics here anymore!

After our time with Belle and the Beast, we headed out, and made our way to the front of the park and the exit. We were planning on heading back to POP and relaxing for a bit before heading back to the parks for the evening.

I had to make one stop on the way out. Can you guess what is was? What I had been dying to do at DHS? Give up?

A Butterfinger cupcake from Starring Rolls Cafe!! I had been hearing everyone rave about this creation here on the DIS, so I knew I had to at least try it! Let me say....SO YUMMY!!!!!!!!! I loved it! It was super sweet and even with Livy's help I couldn't finish it! We saved the rest for later though!

Of course Toby wanted a snack as well, and since he doesn't like chocolate (I know, I know, who doesn't like chocolate?), he opted for the strawberry parfait. *Sorry, no picture of this....it didn't survive the bus ride home quite as nicely as my cupcake!* The total was $7.19, but we just used snack credits.

After we had our goodies, we made our way to the buses and arrived back at POP at 2:15. Our first stop was the arcade to use the card that came with our package. Toby was really excited about this.....until he saw that most of the games cost at least 75 points! I thought it was hysterical! I knew the 100 points on the cards wouldn't go too far, but it was cute to see his excitement!

After our arcade time, we decided to do a bit of exploring since we really never had taken the time to before.

Olivia was super excited to be able to run around and look at all the huge icons! We took pictures with every. single. one. So, without further adieu, here is our photo tour of POP! (Can you spot Livy in all the pics?)

After our nice little tour, we filled up our mugs and headed back to the room for a bit before heading back out to dinner. We only had a bit of down time, but it was really nice to just relax for a little while. Soon, we packed back up and were heading to the bus stop to grab a bus to Epcot for our dinner!

Coming up: Another new restaurant! Where was it? Would we like it?

 

[eecteacher82]

When I left off, we had enjoyed a bit of downtime at POP and were heading back to Epcot for dinner.

We hopped on a bus at about 4:00 for the quick ride. We arrived at about 4:20 and headed to the Land pavilion to check in for our 4:55 dinner ADR at Garden Grill. We made a quick pit stop to ride the Seas with Nemo on the way, and checked in around 4:45 and were seated immediately. I was excited to try GG, since I had heard such mixed reviews.

*I just want to let everyone know ahead of time, Livy was in a very silly mood this evening....*

Before we even had drinks, the characters started to visit us! First up was the man himself: Farmer Mickey! He noticed Olivia's birthday pin and told her Happy Birthday (well "told" her in the can't speak kind of way), which she loved! Before he left, Mickey signed Olivia's menu and wrote Happy Birthday.

Up next, our favorite dog Pluto! Pluto of course followed his owners lead and signed Livy's menu as well.

Next to pay us a visit was Chip! He was of course a big copy cat and signed Olivia's menu and told her Happy Birthday as well. Olivia was in love with Chip and kept hugging him and they were just being silly together for the longest time! It was awesome character interaction!

After we said goodbye to Chip, the food started to come! First up was rolls and salad.

The rolls were super yummy, and the salad? Well, don't even get me started on the salad! It was SOOOO good! The three of us were just about fighting over it! Everything about it was delicious. From the lettuce to the dressing. I literally had to stop Olivia from licking the bowl! I'm drooling over the salad right now!

As we were inhaling the salad, Dale came by for a visit. We had lots of fun with him as well! He seemed to stay forever and he and Olivia had quite the time together!

Once all the characters came by, the food came! I appoligize that I was not my normal picture taking self!

Here is my plate (from left to right): Fish, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, chicken (from Olivia's plate), and then there was a whole plate of beef on the side for Toby since I don't eat beef.

Olivia's plate:Oven Roasted Chicken Drumstick, Baked Macaroni and Cheese,
Broccoli, Crispy Sweet Potato Sticks

After we had stuffed ourselves silly, this was my "princess":

Of course we weren't quite full enough to roll ourselves out of the Land yet, so they brought dessert!

Oh my goodness! It was beyond delicious!! Freshly Baked Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp with Hand-Whipped Vanilla Bean Cream! YUMMY!

Olivia's was Mickey "Mousse" Cookies and Cream. It was really good too! I nice break from cupcakes!

Our total came to $74.53 and we left a $14.00 tip.

Overall, I LOVED this restaurant! The food was really good and fresh tasting and the character interaction was the best we have ever had! It was really neat to always have a change of scenery since the restaurant itself rotates. I loved it so much, I tried to get a ressie for our recent trip, but I was unable to. So, I would definitely recommend Garden Grill for food, character and atmosphere!

Up next: Osbourne Lights!

 

[eecteacher82]

found your tr and i am all caught up!! your daughter is so cute!!

i am taking my 4 yr old the last week of may frist week of june and i cant wait. it will be her first visit an di have the bbb all planned for her!! i really hope she does not get that FGIT that olivia got!! thats a big bummer, especially for all the money you pay for that experience!!

I hope olivia is at that 40 inch mark!! my daughter is a peanut also and she is about an inch and half away!!!!! i was really hoping that she would hit a 4 yr old growth spurt and shoot up!! i know that in one month she did grow a 1/4 inch... ugh that elusive 40" mark!!!

anyway have a great trip this week!! i'm so jealous youa re an hour and half away from disney!

have funand cant wait to read more!

Welcome aboard! You and your DD are going to have a blast! I bet she will love the BBB! Olivia still talks about it and wants to dress as Belle this year for her birthday trip to BBB.

That darn 40 inch mark! She just missed it! Probably 1/16 of an inch or so! I'm in the market for some thicker soled shoes for sure!

can't wait to hear all about it!

I'm really trying to finish up this TR so I can start a new one! I'm thinking of maybe combining our whole year into one big TR... What do you think?

Loving your TR! Your DD is precious!
We went in December a couple of years ago and are trying to decide if we wanna do that again this year. The weather was great then...able to swim in the afternoons...not sure my DDs would like the cold that much.
Can't wait to read the rest of your TR!

Welcome! Glad you are joining us! I really generally like the December weather here. Every now and then we get some crazy stuff though! I have to say, the weather we had last week while we were there was totally perfect!

Welcome back!

Thank you! I'm trying really hard to get back into my quick updating! I promise!

 

[therussells08]

I'm back and I'm all caught up! I had one of the Butterfinger cupcakes on our trip and LOVED it! It was so delicious!

Your POP pics are great! What a beautiful day too! I love the big bright decorations with the blue sky behind them!

I have only eaten at Garden Grill once and it was in 2007, but I really enjoyed it! The food was yummy and the characters were great! We ended up seeing each character about five times though because it took us so long to eat!

 

[Nermel9]

Mmmm those Butterfinger cupcakes look SO good! I really have to try one sometime!

I love all of your POP pictures! It looks like such a fun resort!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

That Mickeys and Cream just made me drool (stupid WWs!!!! ) Garden Grill looks really good. I tried hard to vote for that for our next trip but I lost out

Good job exploring POP. We've stayed there 5-6 times and we still have never wandered further than the 60s

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great update! I love the POP pic with the soccer ball

I'm glad you like GG. I'm in the 'hater fan club' at this one too. We LOVED our character interaction there, hated the service, and thought the food was 'okay'. I will totally agree with you on the characters though! We saw ours twice around and Pluto noticed it was my bday, our server did nothing, so he brough out a candle for our dessert! This was a few years ago but it seems like already that there was an improvement from just even the food!

Are you going to do a TR from the trip you just took?! I hope so!

 

[mermaid764]

Welcome back

I'm glad you guys had a great vacation and was happy to see you had updated.

I love the pics from pop...especially the one of Olivia kicking the soccer ball too cute that it's about the same size she is

The Garden Grill looks amazing, this is definitely on my must do list for our next trip

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm back and I'm all caught up! I had one of the Butterfinger cupcakes on our trip and LOVED it! It was so delicious!

Your POP pics are great! What a beautiful day too! I love the big bright decorations with the blue sky behind them!

I have only eaten at Garden Grill once and it was in 2007, but I really enjoyed it! The food was yummy and the characters were great! We ended up seeing each character about five times though because it took us so long to eat!

I'm am so in love with the Butterfinger cupcake! Our our trip last week I got one as well...I couldn't help it!

The POP pics were so much fun to take! Livy loved every minute of our exploring there!

I'm glad someone else like GG! It seems to get lots of not so great reviews, but I really did enjoy it!

Mmmm those Butterfinger cupcakes look SO good! I really have to try one sometime!

I love all of your POP pictures! It looks like such a fun resort!

You HAVE to try the Butterfinger cupcake!!! It is just so good! It is huge and sweet, but really good!

POP is a super fun resort! If it was up to Olivia we would stay there every single trip!

That Mickeys and Cream just made me drool (stupid WWs!!!! ) Garden Grill looks really good. I tried hard to vote for that for our next trip but I lost out

Good job exploring POP. We've stayed there 5-6 times and we still have never wandered further than the 60s

The Mickey Mouse was so good! It was light and a really nice change from the cupcakes that she was getting at every single meal! That stinks that you got outvoted for GG! I think Livy and I should come up and the 3 of us can go while Ash and Randy do something else!

I have lost count how many times we have stayed at POP, but this stay was our 5th of the year and we had never explored anywhere!

great update! I love the POP pic with the soccer ball

I'm glad you like GG. I'm in the 'hater fan club' at this one too. We LOVED our character interaction there, hated the service, and thought the food was 'okay'. I will totally agree with you on the characters though! We saw ours twice around and Pluto noticed it was my bday, our server did nothing, so he brough out a candle for our dessert! This was a few years ago but it seems like already that there was an improvement from just even the food!

Are you going to do a TR from the trip you just took?! I hope so!

LOL! It seems like you are not a fan of any restaurants we picked! I'm hoping you just were unlucky in your timing, or maybe things have changed since you were there! I will say, there was one meal during our trip that we could have done without....but that is for a much later update!

I'm definitely going to do a TR from last weeks trip in one way or another. I'm thinking of maybe doing a year long TR since we have passes again, and then I could add in our day trips or just one night trips that we do a lot.... What do you think?

Welcome back

I'm glad you guys had a great vacation and was happy to see you had updated.

I love the pics from pop...especially the one of Olivia kicking the soccer ball too cute that it's about the same size she is

The Garden Grill looks amazing, this is definitely on my must do list for our next trip

Thank you! It's always nice to be home, but super sad to leave WDW!

I've been such a slacker with my TR lately, I'm trying to get back into it and update more frequently!

I love the soccer ball pic as well! She originally wanted me to take it so she could show it to her 12 year old cousin who plays soccer and she idolizes, but now Olivia likes it because she just started playing soccer as well!

GG was really, really good! I wish I could have the salad and fish (and, well, everything) daily!