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

[eecteacher82]

I gave up Diet Coke for Lent and I've only had a few since Easter. I think I've lost the taste for it But don't worry...I will be drinking plenty at WDW. Bottled water gets boring

To be honest, I usually drink Diet Sprite at home! The diet drink selection is just so pathetic at restaurants! Thankfully some of the WDW resorts have Sprite Zero as an option at the refill stations, but I need that caffeine! Water definitely gets boring!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

To be honest, I usually drink Diet Sprite at home! The diet drink selection is just so pathetic at restaurants! Thankfully some of the WDW resorts have Sprite Zero as an option at the refill stations, but I need that caffeine! Water definitely gets boring!

Sprite Zero you say? Good to know! Do you know if they have Coke Zero in the parks yet? I enjoy that as well.

 

[jc040404]

Your table at Teppan Edo sounds like ours'. No one said a word until the meal was over. It was so uncomfortable!

Love the birthday button stickers. We tried the same ones Olivia has on at Chef Mickey's a couple years ago but the letters kept falling off. I like how they're changing. Did you get multiple buttons or just switch 'em up?

Crazy about the guard telling you to just park there and go to MK! They do make that sound like an absolute no-no, your-car-WILL-be towed situation on here.

Totally craving breakfast pizza right now, btw!

 

[eecteacher82]

Sprite Zero you say? Good to know! Do you know if they have Coke Zero in the parks yet? I enjoy that as well.

I honestly don't remember! I just like that they have Sprite Zero at some resort fountains and lots of the bottled drink places have the light Minute Maid lemonade. I try to aviod the dark sodas if possible since they are worse for your kidneys and I have bad kidneys to begin with.... We are going back to WDW in the next couple of weeks, so I will make it a point to check on the Coke Zero!

 

[eecteacher82]

Your table at Teppan Edo sounds like ours'. No one said a word until the meal was over. It was so uncomfortable!

Love the birthday button stickers. We tried the same ones Olivia has on at Chef Mickey's a couple years ago but the letters kept falling off. I like how they're changing. Did you get multiple buttons or just switch 'em up?

Crazy about the guard telling you to just park there and go to MK! They do make that sound like an absolute no-no, your-car-WILL-be towed situation on here.

Totally craving breakfast pizza right now, btw!

I guess I just figure that if you are planning on eating at a place like Teppan Edo, you should be prepared to be at least a little bit social! I am by no means a social butterfly, but I can carry on polite conversation!

I had about 3 different buttons for that trip! I didn't know which of the stickers I had would work best or fit best, so I just made a few! One stayed on her winter coat, and the other were for her outfits each day. I let her pick each day and she usually picked the one that was more plain. Guess what? I actually got the idea to use the stickers from your first TR! I saw it and loved it! I went on a hunt for the stickers right away! I had a heck of a time finding them. I ended up having to buy a whole Disney scrapbook kit from Michael's just for the darn stickers!

I really couldn't believe that the guard told us to just park the car there and leave it for the day! We didn't even have the paper from POP in the windshield anymore since it was to hard to see from the glare, and never showed our room keys...I have to admit. I have parked at a resort for the day and gone to a park....When Olivia and I went for our girls trip last month I wanted breakfast at the POFQ food court, and since we were staying offsite that trip I just told them we were there for breakfast and they waived us in!

I was thinking that sausage and eggs sounded really good right now!

 

[Diegosmom]

Found your TR yesterday and just finished it. We are going in Jan with DS4 so loved reading your winter report with your DD.

Your report is making me question whether we can do it all...lol

I went when I was a kid some 20something years ago lol. I was the youngest and I think I was like 12 so I guess you can do so much more when the kids are older but we saw everything. 1 day at MK, 1 day at Epcot and 1 day at MGM and AK wasnt built yet. But I remember we went on every ride (no POTC because it was closed ) and I really just figured we could do that on our trip but I am starting to rethink that. Better make my list of must do's lol...Also back in the day the characters just walked around and there wasn't a 30 min wait to see one.

We were planning on doing QSD but all your meals make me what to do that option but I think for out first trip we'll stick with QSD and throw in a few TS.

We are going for my bday and I was thinking Ohana for dinner but I did have a question. Was the stuff sweet. Those wings look like they have a sweet sause on them. I am fine with that but hubby is super picky about food. He hates anything sweet. He says only dessert should be sweet. I know it will be my bday dinner so he would be fine with whatever I want but we will pay OP so it would stink if he didnt like it and we had to then get him another meal after paying for this one.

Loved all the pics. Hoping I can convince hubby to take all those PP cause I really want to buy the CD. Oh and do you have a list of the trick shots and where you can get them. Also you seem to know all the character spots. Do you have a list?

Can't wait to read your year long report...I am horrible at titles too...lol

Thanks for the great read.

 

[exwdwcm]

Great updates!

poor Olivia- doesn't it always happen that way, you are in line or ON the ride when they suddenly have to go? Poor thing. Like you said, at least she tried! Two years ago on our December trip, when Will was still in diapers, we were in line for the Great Movie Ride, we finally make it to the front, near the doors and Alan is holding him (it was EMH and very late) and suddenly, he is all wet. He peed through his diaper. Alan and him were both soaked. But it was time to board. NO way were we not riding after waiting all that time. So i got out another diaper, spread it out on Alan's leg and we held Will there on his lap and changed him after. LOL! Surprisingly, he didn't have one accident this last trip at all during the day. We are still struggling with nighttime, so we used pull ups at night anyhow to avoid having to wash the sheets every night!

wasn't that free popcorn at CC delicious? we had it too (and some other caramel goodies!). I can't wait to go back. It was packed the night we went in too, but worth the wait.

i hope they eventually add coke zero. I don't like diet coke. The only diet drinks i like are diet DP and diet sprite or diet mtn dew. I hate pepsi products. i end up drinking regular coke at WDW, which i would prefer not to do (don't get me wrong, i love it, just not the calories!). i have noticed coke zero offered more and more in places, so hopefully WDW will too!

I can't believe your TR is almost over- i am going to be so sad!!!!

 

[eecteacher82]

Duplicate Post

 

[eecteacher82]

After we had finished up our yummy breakfast at Chef Mickey's, we headed downstairs and outside...for more pictures of course! I had seen lots of TRs with pictures at the CR and the Mickey head, and knew I had to get a few pictures while we were there!

After we got all the pictures I wanted, we walked back to the car and headed towards Downtown Disney for a bit of fun before our lunch ADR.

We pretty much had one goal this morning. Olivia a very special request of one very special man....SANTA!!!

Waiting....and waiting...and waiting

We really did have a bit of a wait! Even though we arrived about 30 minutes before Santa was scheduled to come out, we were about 3/4 of the way back in the line. Part of the reason was that there was an ENTIRE preschool in line in front of us! Yep, a whole school-not just a class! There were about 40-50 kids and it was nuts!

Finally!

Olivia was so uninterested in pictures because she had one thing on her mind: asking Santa for her Cinderella Castle playset! She had been begging for this for months and I had just kept telling her that she should ask Santa for it and maybe if she was a good girl he might bring it. As soon as he started asking her questions she asked for the castle and said that she had been a good girl. She was so excited when she was done!

Up next, we wandered over towards guest relations-I had another mission. I wanted to check on the photopass picture location and see if they had a line, since I was hoping to get some cute pictures of Livy in her Christmas dress. Lucky for me, there was no line! WooHoo! I was determined to get as many pictures as possible on my PP card! The photographer who was working was AMAZING!!!! He got some of my favorite pictures of my little lady!

This first one we actually liked so much, we had it blown up to a 16x20 and it is hanging up in the living room.

One the way to the restroom to change out of her Christmas dress, Olivia found another fun picture spot!

I finally got Livy back in to regular clothes- SHORT SLEEVES!!!!, and we found even more fun picture spots on the way to lunch.

We started heading back towards the West Side, but made a quick pit stop on the way....I had to get a picture of this:

Next, we hit the World of Disney so I could get Olivia new sweatshirt (the white one she was wearing earlier in the day was from her first trip at 15 months old, so I think it served us well! We went for the pink one this time. It was $34.95, and with our AP discount and after tax it came to $33.49. Of course I had to snap a pic or two while we were around here.

Up Next: Our last meal at WDW...at my least favorite place-ever!

 

[blessedby3]

They have a photopass studio at DTD?? Is this open all year?? I have never heard of this before! I would love to get pics of my 4 kids there. Do you have to make an appt and is there a charge?
The pics of Olivia and Santa are so cute. I wish my dd3 would sit with him, but she is terrified. Maybe this winter

 

[eecteacher82]

When we finished up at World of Disney, we made our way to our lunch location:

I have to say, I really cannot stand this place! I think all of the movie memorabilia is really great to look at, but the food and atmosphere leaves much to be desired (to me at least). We had 2:00 ADRs and were seated a couple of minutes before 2:00.

This is where I realized what a difference Disney owning or running restaurant makes! It took about 10 minutes for our waiter to appear and when he did, he was not the friendliest of the bunch to say the least. He finally brought back our drinks and we placed our order: Spinach Dip for my appetizer and Toby got the potato skins for his. Toby got the New York Strip Steak - USDA choice 12 oz. strip steak chargrilled to order. Served with baked potato and fresh sautéed vegetables, and I was boring at got a turkey club - turkey breast, hickory smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on fresh artisan bread.

Toby said his meal was good, but this sums up how Olivia and I felt:

I'm sorry, the food just doesn't impress me. It didn't really taste fresh, and the unimpressive service didn't help either.

The high point of the meal was dessert:

It was a yummy chocolate cake with ice cream. Simple, but good.

The bill came to $74.44 (they even charged us for Olivia's drink, which Disney restaurants never had). We used up our last 2 meal credits and left a $9.00 tip (the service really was that bad). We made our way out and to the car. By this time it was about 3:15 and we had about a 2 hour drive home so we could make it to church in time for Olivia to be in the Christmas tree show.

Here are the last pictures of our trip; taken about 5 minutes after getting in the car:

So, there you have it. Our amazing 6 days in the World to celebrate our miracle baby's third birthday! I have one more post to wrap things up and give a final total of spending!

 

[eecteacher82]

Well, after already typing this whole post already only to have it disappear when I went to post it, I'll try again.

So, how much did our vacation REALLY cost us? I will find out with the rest of you as I do my Disney math!

Souvenirs:
We spent $294.87. This included, BBB, pick a pearl, face painting, Olivia's castle playset, stuffed animals, sweatshirt, and other various items.

I didn't think that was too bad at all!

Food:

So, the DxDP cost us $820.00 for our 5 nights
We spent $198.00 on tips
DxDP cost $820.00 + $198.00 on tips = $1018.00 as our OOP
Our meals (including tips) came out to $1291.55 if we had paid OOP
= a savings of $273.55

*To clarify (since I have gotten a few not so nice PM's), no, Olivia was not on the dining plan with us. When we booked in March, I wasn't even thinking and listed her age as 2 and never even thought about it again until about 1.5 weeks before we left and by that point we didn't have the funds to add her on to the DxDP since Toby had just got in a car accident and we had to pay for that. I'm actually glad she wasn't on the plan with us. She pretty much just ate off of our plates and I don't the DxDP would have been worth it with her on it.*

I have to say, even if we hadn't saved so much on the DxDP, I think I will always do a DP of one form or another! I really like knowing that pretty much all of our food is paid for before we leave. I don't know what we would have done this trip if we hadn't already paid for the DxDP. Toby was in the car accident just before we left and a good chunk of change went to getting our car fixed/paying the deductible, and I think we would have had to cancel the trip. We have now tried every DP, and I like them all for different reasons. The DxDP was awesome because we knew we didn't need to see everything and fill every single second with things to do. We were fine spending more time on meals and enjoying ourselves. I also really liked trying so many new restaurants! Out of our 14 meals, only 3 of them were places that we had previously been!

Overall cost:

$820.00 - DxDP for 5 nights

$198.00 - tips

$226.50 - 5 nights lodging at Pop Century w/ an AP rate

$100.00 - Photopass CD preorder

$294.87 - souvenirs

$0 - tickets (since we had our APs purchased in 9/09)

--------------------
$1639.37 Not too bad for 5 nights/6 days at WDW!


I guess this wraps up our TR- exactly 5 months to the day of our return home. If you have any other thoughts or questions feel free to post! I will have the link to our new, year long TR up in the next day or two!

Thank you to everyone who has hung in there this whole time!!

 

[Tinkermom76]

Great TR!!!

Was Olivia happy when she saw the castle playset on Christmas morning? My girls loved theirs!!!

When are you starting your year long TR and have you found a title yet?

 

[eecteacher82]

Found your TR yesterday and just finished it. We are going in Jan with DS4 so loved reading your winter report with your DD.

Your report is making me question whether we can do it all...lol

I went when I was a kid some 20something years ago lol. I was the youngest and I think I was like 12 so I guess you can do so much more when the kids are older but we saw everything. 1 day at MK, 1 day at Epcot and 1 day at MGM and AK wasnt built yet. But I remember we went on every ride (no POTC because it was closed ) and I really just figured we could do that on our trip but I am starting to rethink that. Better make my list of must do's lol...Also back in the day the characters just walked around and there wasn't a 30 min wait to see one.

We were planning on doing QSD but all your meals make me what to do that option but I think for out first trip we'll stick with QSD and throw in a few TS.

We are going for my bday and I was thinking Ohana for dinner but I did have a question. Was the stuff sweet. Those wings look like they have a sweet sause on them. I am fine with that but hubby is super picky about food. He hates anything sweet. He says only dessert should be sweet. I know it will be my bday dinner so he would be fine with whatever I want but we will pay OP so it would stink if he didnt like it and we had to then get him another meal after paying for this one.

Loved all the pics. Hoping I can convince hubby to take all those PP cause I really want to buy the CD. Oh and do you have a list of the trick shots and where you can get them. Also you seem to know all the character spots. Do you have a list?

Can't wait to read your year long report...I am horrible at titles too...lol

Thanks for the great read.

Welcome aboard (even though I am done now)! At least you got to finish it pretty quickly and weren't forced to wait around for me to update like everyone else!

We really like the QSDP! It is the one we have used more that any other! I like that you get the mug and the 2 snacks each day with it.

As for the food at Ohana. Some of it was a bit sweet, but not dessert like sweet at all. I think the wings were a honey corriander, but to me they weren't overwhelmingly sweet or anything. Allears.net has really good menus for all of the WDW restaurants and it will list exactly what is served!

I'm pretty sure I got all of the photopass magic shots here: http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

Great updates!

poor Olivia- doesn't it always happen that way, you are in line or ON the ride when they suddenly have to go? Poor thing. Like you said, at least she tried! Two years ago on our December trip, when Will was still in diapers, we were in line for the Great Movie Ride, we finally make it to the front, near the doors and Alan is holding him (it was EMH and very late) and suddenly, he is all wet. He peed through his diaper. Alan and him were both soaked. But it was time to board. NO way were we not riding after waiting all that time. So i got out another diaper, spread it out on Alan's leg and we held Will there on his lap and changed him after. LOL! Surprisingly, he didn't have one accident this last trip at all during the day. We are still struggling with nighttime, so we used pull ups at night anyhow to avoid having to wash the sheets every night!

wasn't that free popcorn at CC delicious? we had it too (and some other caramel goodies!). I can't wait to go back. It was packed the night we went in too, but worth the wait.

i hope they eventually add coke zero. I don't like diet coke. The only diet drinks i like are diet DP and diet sprite or diet mtn dew. I hate pepsi products. i end up drinking regular coke at WDW, which i would prefer not to do (don't get me wrong, i love it, just not the calories!). i have noticed coke zero offered more and more in places, so hopefully WDW will too!

I can't believe your TR is almost over- i am going to be so sad!!!!

It was at that time that I wished (for a brief second) that she was still in diapers..but then reading your comment, I'm glad we are out of diapers! We STILL are in pull-ups at night. There really is no rhyme or reason as to why she wakes up dry on the mornings she does, so I will just suck it up and use the pull-ups until she is dry more than the 3-4 nights a week that we are at now.

The caramel corn was SO good. I couldn't decide on what else I wanted so we left before I bought one of everything!

I can't believe my TR is over either! I can't believe it took me 5 months to finish! It was so fun to relive it! Almost every update I wrote I remembered something by looking at my notes, so it was fun for me to see what I had forgotten! I plan on starting my year long TR later this week, so be on the lookout for the link!

They have a photopass studio at DTD?? Is this open all year?? I have never heard of this before! I would love to get pics of my 4 kids there. Do you have to make an appt and is there a charge?
The pics of Olivia and Santa are so cute. I wish my dd3 would sit with him, but she is terrified. Maybe this winter

Yep! It is right in the guest relations office and it is pretty much only used by the little girls who have been to the BBB at World of Disney, but it is open to anyone-no appointment needed! There is no charge for the pictures. You can buy them there, but we just added them to our photopass card since we knew we were getting the disc. The Santa pictures really crack me up! She was so focused on her mission of asking for the castle, that she couldn't be bothered to smile nicely!

 

[eecteacher82]

Great TR!!!

Was Olivia happy when she saw the castle playset on Christmas morning? My girls loved theirs!!!

When are you starting your year long TR and have you found a title yet?

Olivia was quite happy to get her castle! She still plays with it everyday! Would you believe that we still have all of the parts...even the glass slipper!

I should be started the year long TR in the next day or so. I think I have title, but I may end up changing it before I even start!

 

[mermaid764]

I'm sad to see your TR coming to an end, but am happy to hear you're starting another one!

Great job, I enjoyed reading all about your awesome vacation

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

It's sad that one trip is over but I'm glad that you are doing a year long TR!!!!!!

 

[eecteacher82]

I went ahead and started our new, year long TR today! So far it is just our cast of characters, but I should have a "real" post up today or tomorrow! Come on over! The more the merrier!

2011 TR! (Keeping the title a secret...it's my way of getting you to go check it out!)

 

[eecteacher82]

I'm sad to see your TR coming to an end, but am happy to hear you're starting another one!

Great job, I enjoyed reading all about your awesome vacation

Thank you! I'm so glad you stuck with me through the long process! Can't wait to see you over on my new one-the link is posted!

It's sad that one trip is over but I'm glad that you are doing a year long TR!!!!!!

I'm sad it's over too, I was loving reliving it as I typed each chapter! Year long TR is started!

 

[jc040404]

Love the pics! I didn't know there was a pp place at DTD either. Those turned out great. I can see why you'd have one up now. All of her poses outside of the Contemporary were too adorable! I love how she's copying Mickey in them.

Not bad on that total at all! You did a lot of great dining in it, too! Are you going to keep track of the entire year? I gave up on that idea when the numbers started getting too high.

Jumping over to the new TR now!!