"This is the BEST DAY EVER"A Dec'12 TR-A Princess's 5thBday and 3000 pics! UDx2 5/20

[brandihead2012]

Great updates keep em comming! Love the pics of Aoa!! The cars area is done so good!

 

[tinkgurl]

What a fun TR! I'm in!

 

[clynngibson]

Great updates keep em comming! Love the pics of Aoa!! The cars area is done so good!

Thank you! Yes, we love the Cars area!! I would love to stay here someday, but DH was so turned off by how small the rooms seem!

 

[clynngibson]

What a fun TR! I'm in!

Yay!!

I'm loving the comments. Keep them coming!!

 

[Valgoof]

Joining in from the Dec thread! Yay! Glad you had a great trip and looking forward to reading along. Love Olivia's balloons!

 

[nannye]

I am jumping n board! Subscribe! I love surprise trips! In July I did a surprise trip with my charge Victoria for her 5th birthday! I wish her reaction had been as great as your daughters when I taped it!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[AnnaMariaGirl]

I did take a couple photos right after we surprised Olivia! I almost cried when Olivia yelled “GRANDMA!” and the whole restaurant stopped! I did feel sorry for the guy eating the big mac that kept turning around when he heard me telling Olivia to turn around on the phone! haha

I can't post the pics until I have 10 replys. So, I'll be posting more evidentially! hahaha

 

[AnnaMariaGirl]

I felt the same way Christa did about the hotel. It wasn't the best place I've ever stayed but, it wasn't the worse either. It does need some repainting, updating, etc. The breakfast area and pool areas were very clean though. The bartender was very entertaining. Am I allowed to say that on a Disney thread? hahaha Let's face it, we were doing Disney on a budget and it was a good deal for us! DH did say when Carter turns 5 and we go back, he wants us all to stay on Disney property! I'm just happy he said that we were going back since he isnt an amusement park or crowd fan!

 

[obxlover]

Love your report and your surprise to your daughter!! We live in Lexington, NC, so I understand about your drive!!

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[clynngibson]

Joining in from the Dec thread! Yay! Glad you had a great trip and looking forward to reading along. Love Olivia's balloons!

Welcome and thanks for coming over!! I think we discussed this on my PTR, but GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[clynngibson]

I am jumping n board! Subscribe! I love surprise trips! In July I did a surprise trip with my charge Victoria for her 5th birthday! I wish her reaction had been as great as your daughters when I taped it!

Can't wait to read more!

Thank you! I had watched so many surprise videos and I hoped ours wasn't anticlimactic! LOL

 

[clynngibson]

Oh good!! I wish I would have gotten it on video, though!

 

[clynngibson]

I felt the same way Christa did about the hotel. It wasn't the best place I've ever stayed but, it wasn't the worse either. It does need some repainting, updating, etc. The breakfast area and pool areas were very clean though. The bartender was very entertaining. Am I allowed to say that on a Disney thread? hahaha Let's face it, we were doing Disney on a budget and it was a good deal for us! DH did say when Carter turns 5 and we go back, he wants us all to stay on Disney property! I'm just happy he said that we were going back since he isnt an amusement park or crowd fan!

Maybe if it's 3 against 1, O will agree to a Disney resort!!! We could rent DVC points and stay in a really nice DVC room!

 

[clynngibson]

Love your report and your surprise to your daughter!! We live in Lexington, NC, so I understand about your drive!!

Can't wait to read more!!

Thanks for reading!!! You're not far from us at all! I just bought my car from a dealership in Lexington (can't think of the name...right off of Hwy 8, I think.) Anyway, we ate at a bbq place right there and it was so good!!!

 

[nannye]

Thank you! I had watched so many surprise videos and I hoped ours wasn't anticlimactic! LOL

Ha ha, Mine kind of just giggled and that was it. I was totally disappointed. But in retrospect that is totally her. She doesn't make a big deal or get hugely excited over things.

 

[clynngibson]

Ha ha, Mine kind of just giggled and that was it. I was totally disappointed. But in retrospect that is totally her. She doesn't make a big deal or get hugely excited over things.

I assume that's her in your avatar. She's too cute!!!

 

[AnnaMariaGirl]

Hopefully, I'll be able to post photos after this #10 post!

 

[clynngibson]

The Boardwalk!

It took us a few minutes to find the Boardwalk. I dont know if we kept missing the signs or our GPS was wrong, but I think we turned around about 10 times before we found the right parking lot!! In the midst of being lost, my parents thought they lost us because I had to make an emergency stop for gas!

We took some time to check out the beautiful Christmas decorations at The Boardwalk Resort.

I walked over to ask Concierge how to get down to the boardwalk area. They were getting ready to go home and clearly did not want to answer my question. They did, anyway, and I brushed it off!

Where are we going?!

Somebody had Mickey waving from their balcony door!

UP NEXT: So, where were we headed for dinner?​

 

[clynngibson]

Big River Grille

I didnt want to make any ADRs for our arrival day just in case something went wrong and it took one of us longer to get into Orlando. So, I picked Big River Grille! I had heard mixed reviews, but I thought it would be a relaxing dinner for our first night. We were seated within probably 5-10 minutes.

Carter was entertaining himself.

Olivia picked mac & cheese, carrot sticks, and mashed potatoes

And chocolate cake for dessert.

My mom started off with a house salad with ranch dressing. She said it was very good!

She had the salmon for her entree. "Atlantic Salmon - Fillet flame-grilled and topped with dill butter. Served with garlic mashed potatoes and veggie of the day." Her veggie of the day was green beans, obviously!

I had the meatloaf! It also came with mashed potatoes and green beans. "Flame-Grilled Meat Loaf - Made with ground beef and Italian pork sausage. Topped with a rich, brown gravy and served over garlic mashed potatoes with veggie of the day." It was really good!! And HUGE!!! I ended up taking most of it back to the hotel and DH and I had meatloaf sandwiches a couple days later.

Hubby had the New York Strip. "New York Strip - USDA Choice New York Strip Steak, served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables."

DH and I both chose this beer. It was delish!!!

My dad had the NY Strip, too.

Carter is still entertaining himself! LOL And by entertaining himself, I mean stressing me out by making a MESS of the place!! (I did clean it up! lol)

And then he looks at me with a sweet face like this

I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant! Everything was really good. The portions were HUGE! I should have split a meal with DD, but oh well! DH and I ended up eating my leftovers later in the week. DS started opening up and was going stir crazy! (This would be a recurring theme throughout the week!!) I was so ready to get out of there and get some fresh air after a few minutes of that!

UP NEXT: A stroll on The Boardwalk.​

 

[clynngibson]

A Stroll Along The Boardwalk

Strolling along the boardwalk, we came across a magician. I dont know if he was supposed to be a bad one, or if he was just realllllly bad. LOL He was trying to make a ball of paper disappear and just threw it behind him. DD was like Ummmmm its right there! LOL

DD watching the magician...not impressed! lol

My parents went into Boardwalk Bakery. Here are a couple pics my mom snapped!

Up Next: Our stroll continues!
​