Been there done that with an extremely strong willed dd. I'm about to start potty training child #4 in a few weeks, as soon as school ends; I'm so not looking forward to it.
With dd, we went cold turkey, a few weeks before preschool started (she was 3y4m). I gave her full warning - starting Sunday there will be no more diapers, etc. Naked from the waist down. We went nowhere (except for the backyard with the plastic potty).
The first day, she managed to hold it all day long. At bedtime I put a diaper on her and she then peed and pooped. So, no more diapers at bedtime. It took about a week.
The downside of this approach when combined with very strong-willed dd was that the following week, a UTI turned up, from her holding it so long.
I used the same approach with my twin boys, though fortunately they weren't as strong-willed. It still took about a week of being naked (it was cold outside - hardwood floors were a good thing). I'm planning to use the same approach with ds who is about to turn 3.
