I did it. I ran a 5K even though I hate running. This is what happens when you love Disney Theme Parks and want to experience all they have to offer. At the beginning of this year my friend Caleb convinced me to do a 5K during runDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend - he ran the half marathon. We booked our hotels in February by renting DVC points. Because we were splitting the room we splurged on the Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for one night and Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows for three nights.
I was recently introduced to Day Owl, a sustainable company that makes bags out of recycled plastic bottles and other landfill-bound materials. In each product description you can see what sustainable materials were used to create it. Christian has been really into backpacks lately, researching pros and cons for hours, so he was excited to be able to test this out as well!
They sent me "The Backpack" which is made from waxed canvas made from 25 recycled post-consumer plastic bottles, plus 100% recycled polyester lining and trim, algae based foam, water repellent neoprene, and conflict-free metal YKK zippers. It has 18L of space, can fit up to a 16in laptop and a 750mL water bottle in a side pocket. There's even a pocket on top where you can store your phone or keys for easy access. (They also have a Slim Backpack if you want a smaller option.) Day Owl also sent over their Pouch for storing cords, electronic accessories and other small items. You can buy The Backpack + The Pouch together for only $156.40!
 |
| Packed with some room to spare for a couple souvenirs |
Let's use the Day Owl backpack and see what we can pack for a weekend at Walt Disney World! The bag is technically a little big to use as an Avelo personal item measurement-wise, but I may risk it! I read they don't always check the size as long as it looks like it will fit under the seat. It will definitely work for Southwest, which we fly with pretty frequently.
It fit everything I need to bring with me for our 4 days (5 if you count our departure day.) My plane outfit is jeans, a tee, sandals and a sweater that I probably won't even need. I always like to have a sweater in case the evenings get cold. I packed pretty light - 3 tees (I may buy one there,) 2 pairs of shorts, another pair of sandals and my small Mickey bag to carry around the parks. I also fit in my toiletries, makeup, other necessities and packed up The Pouch with my various charging accessories, small portable charger and airpods.
 |
| Packing for a long weekend at Disney in a backpack [Mickey tie-dye shirt, Sword in the Stone Tee, EPCOT Food & Wine 2022 Tee] |
 |
| Bottle Pocket - using for an extra pair of sandals |
 |
| Flat Front Pocket. Putting my toiletries in for easy access at security. |
 |
| The Pouch |
 |
| The Pouch full of phone and watch accessories. Still room to spare! |
 |
| Two more things to add, easy fit! |
There is a space for a laptop in the back but, since this is such a short trip, I won't be bringing mine. As seen above, I used the water bottle pocket on the side for my extra pair of shoes since I won't need a water bottle. Pretty handy! I also won't be using the luggage strap this trip, but that is another super handy feature!
 |
| Spill-Resistant Bottle Pocket lined with water-repellent neoprene (this is an 18oz Yeti Rambler) |
 |
| “it’s big enough for a wine bottle and strong enough for a wet umbrella.” |
 |
| Padded Laptop Pocket (fits up to 16" laptop) |
 |
| Luggage Strap |
A few more detail shots showing off other features of the backpack. Lots of handy nooks and crannies to use!
 |
| Organized Interior |
 |
| Cord Straps |
 |
| Various sleeves for organization |
 |
| Grab handles with button closure for easy pickup |
 |
| Floating Top Pocket for glasses, chapstick, etc! (my slim sunglasses storage case) |
*I was gifted the backpack & pouch but was not required to post about it. Purchases made through links in this post will earn me a small commission. My opinions are my own. *
Now that I've shared my few quick tips for a Disneyland trip, here are all the tasty treats and meals we had on our trip! Since we only had 2 days and 3 nights we had to be very strategic about where we ate. While I would have loved to do 3 sit-down meals a day to try as much food as possible we also wanted to prioritize all the rides that we don't have over in Disney World.
Disneyland Eats
Disneyland Popcorn Carts
Mickey Beignets
 |
| My Ratatouille Dooney & Bourke bag featuring Remy & Emile was ready for tasty food! |
 |
| Mint Julep |
 |
| Battered & Fried Monte Cristo - Sliced Turkey, Ham and Swiss with Seasonal Preserves and choice of Pommes Frites or Petite Salad |
 |
| Roasted Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, Citron-Orange Salad and Coq Au Vin Jus |
Ronto Roasters - Galaxy's Edge
Café Daisy - ToonTown
WE had a super quick snack/lunch at Cafe Daisy on day 1 when my friend Caleb joined us. Christian and I shared the Pepperoni Pizza Flop-Over (Pepperoni, Mozzarella, Provolone with Tomato Sauce) and I stole a Daisy's Goody-Goody Donuts (House-made Mini-Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar) from Caleb. (didn't snag a picture because we ate super fast, ha ha.
Downtown Disney Eats
Naples Ristorante e Bar
Disney California Adventure Eats
Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums - Pixar Pier
One of our favorite eats of the trip was the famous Jack-Jack Cookie Num Num which is a very large chocolate chip cookie served nice and warm. They have these at Disney World as well but we hadn't gotten around to buying one yet. Next trip to Hollywood Studios we'll be grabbing one to see if they're just as good.
Mickey Pretzels
Can't go to Disneyland without getting something Mickey shaped so I needed a Mickey pretzel! Yes, I know I had Mickey beignets too, shh! I got mine at Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. in Pacific Wharf (soon to be San Fransokyo) next to Pixar Pier.
Corn Dog Castle - Paradise Gardens Park
We were told we had to have an Original Corn Dog (dipped in Corn Batter and fried to a golden Brown served with Cuties® Mandarin or Small Bag of Chips) so we grabbed one for breakfast on day 2 of the trip. Meal times don't matter at Disney, ha ha!
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
We're spoiled by EPCOT's food festivals so both of us were a little disappointed in the DCA Food & Wine Festival. I don't like cheese and almost everything on the menus had cheese, so the only thing I got was the Celebration Chocolate Fudge Brownie (Gooey Chocolate Brownie with
Pecans, topped with Chocolate Pecan Glaze and finished with Chocolate
Pearls and Silver Stars.) Christian got the Carbonara-Garlic Mac & Cheese with Nueske’s Peppered Bacon from the Garlic Kissed booth and loved it. Sadly he was disappointed by the Kenny’s Family Cheesecake topped with mixed berry compote from the Berry Patch booth.
Lamplight Lounge - Pixar Pier
I was very excited to eat at Lamplight Lounge but ended up disappointed.The restaurant is full of Pixar memorabilia on the inside and the outside has a beautiful view of Pixar Pier. Unfortunately we got seated at a shared raised rectangular table in the middle of the patio with a view of the people across the table from us. If we had known we would have asked to wait for a single table. The way we were seated, all next to one another, made it impossible to talk while eating, someone was always left out. The service was also pretty slow.
However, Christian and Caleb did enjoy their meals. They got the Kung Pao Bao and Al Pastor Pork Chop, respectively as well as the Donuts, a special cookies & cream version for the Food & Wine Festival. My Roasted Chicken wasn't as satisfactory, especially after the roast chicken I had the previous evening at Cafe Orleans. It lacked flavor even though it looked like it would be loaded with it. I would maybe try eating here again but request a normal table and try the pork.
 |
| Al Pastor Pork Chop - Marinated Al Pastor Bone-in Pork Chop, Oaxaca Cheese Polenta, Pineapple Relish, Charred Onions, Roasted Red Chili Butter and Green Chili Sauce |
 |
| Kung Pao-glazed crispy Pork Belly, soft Bao Bun, Red Peppers, toasted Peanuts and Green Onions |
 |
| Ale and Citrus-brined, Dry-rubbed Half Chicken with Seasoned Couscous, Pickled Red Cabbage and Smoked Almond Romesco |
 | |
| Warm fluffy Donuts with cookies & cream dipping sauce |
Finally getting around to doing some posts on our California trip in April! Let's start with something I've been looking forward to for a long time - Disneyland! While I have been to Disney World many times since my first trip in 2011 I had never been to Disneyland, or California for that matter. The parks may both be Disney but they're so different. Different rules, different rides, different sizes. It's a whole new ballgame. Having said that, it was still fairly easy for us to make the most of our trip, even though we were newbies.
My friend Caleb lives in CA now, so he was able to give us all the locals tips that helped in addition to my own Disney knowledge. (We also got to make use of his Magic Key discount for my souvenir shopping & food, ha ha.) Since we had a large list of to-do's on my first trip to California we only did two days at Disneyland & Disney California Adventure so we had a LOT to pack in to those days.
Our last Disney hotel recap was Pop Century Resort so it's only fitting that it's sister resort, Art of Animation, be next! AoA is another Value resort but it is on the higher end price-wise vs the other four. Art of Animation offers normal rooms as well as Family Suites, which can sleep up to 6 people versus 4 for standard rooms. Family suites are a great option for families with more than 2 kiddos, but they'll cost you upwards of $400 a night even with a deal.
This is my favorite of the value resorts but we often choose Pop Century because it's at least $20 cheaper a night. I'd rather more fun food than a slightly better hotel, ha ha! The theming is pure Disney nostalgia with Little Mermaid and Lion King sections as well as Finding Nemo and Cars.
The lobby is super fun and full of color, artist sketches and storyboards. Even if you don't stay here it's fun to come check out. In the lobby building "Animation Hall" you will find an arcade, gift shop and a very large food court, Landscape of Flavors, for all your meal needs. You can mobile order to go if you want to eat in your room. There is also a pool bar called The Drop Off near the main (Finding Nemo) pool.
As I already mentioned for Pop Century, the biggest perk of staying at Art of Animation is access to Disney's Skyliner in addition to buses. The Skyliner station is shared with Pop Century and will take you to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or the other hotels on the Skyliner Route - Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resort.
 |
| View of the hotel from the Disney Skyliner |
We always stay in the Little Mermaid section because that's where the standard rooms are. The rest of the buildings are family suites. One day I'd love to stay in a Lion King family suite, they look so fun!
A quick video tour!
More photos:
