Dana at Wishing On A Star Travel, LLC

16/08/2026

“Why would you take him- he’s too young, he won’t remember it?”

This was our last trip, in January 2020, before the world shut down. By the time Disney allowed us to hug characters again, my boy would no longer be a toddler. With every cell in my being, I am so glad we took this trip and I have this memory.

Always. Take. The. Trip.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed. 🦆

13/07/2026

July 3- Disneyland and a Ball Game!

My husband decided to stay back and rest in the AC, so my kids, my brother and his girlfriend and I set off to Disneyland. We didn’t take the monorail as we wanted to walk down Main Street USA, and we began by getting group photos with the castle as a backdrop. However- my little Dennis the Mennis hurt himself, so we got to see the inside of the Disneyland Urgent Care.

They took AMAZING care of my little guy, then grabbed some information from us and we were off! The injured little guy asked to do Buzz first, so that’s where we headed, followed by some other attractions in Tomorrowland, and the Disney Vacation Club lounge for some free soda and snacks. We then enjoyed Matterhorn, Mickey’s Toontown, and a few other Fantasyland attractions before splitting up. My boys and I headed to build a lightsaber at the exit of Star Tours (WAY cheaper than building at Savi’s Workshop which is over $200 per lightsaber), then grabbed the monorail to Downtown Disney.

We changed into our bathing suits and enjoyed an afternoon at the pool, including lunch from Tangaroa Terrace, the quick service at our hotel. I had a kids teriyaki salmon bowl which was AMAZING (pro tip: you can always order quick service kids meals- it often is plenty of food and comes with a small bottle of water or small fountain drink).

We then grabbed an Uber over to Angels stadium a few miles away. We enjoyed a really fun game, courtesy of my brother’s sweet girlfriend. She treated us to snacks and drinks at the game, too! We had a BLAST! The Angels lost, but the evening still concluded with fireworks over the OC in celebration of Independence Day. 🎆

11/07/2026

July 2- Today was our first park day!

Our plan was to arrive at Disney’s California Adventure around 7:30 for an 8am opening, but we did arrive a bit later- therefore we experienced our longest wait of the trip on Radiator Springs Racers, which was 35-40 minutes around 7:55am. I LOVED this one- similar to Test Track at Epcot but the theming is so much better!

Next we headed to Guardians of the Galaxy, which used to be Tower of Terror- love the theming of this one as well! Monsters Inc (it’s going away soon, I am BUMMED- I loved this one!) and Web Slingers were next, followed by Incredicoaster (my 8-year old’s first upside-down roller coaster!), then lunch. We finished our park morning with Soarin Across America, which had just opened today! I LOVED Soarin Around the World and wasn’t sure how I’d like this one, but I LOVED it!

After a nap, we headed back to Disneyland and did a couple of attractions before dinner at Blue Bayou, which is adjacent to Pirates of the Caribbean and looks out over the attraction. It was a special dinner as we shared memories of my oldest brother who passed away 2 years ago on this date. He always loved Pirates of the Caribbean. 💕

6 more attractions after dinner, then my oldest and I shopped around Main Street USA for a bit before finally calling it a night (Disneyland was open until midnight). Back to the parks tomorrow!

11/07/2026

We had the most amazing 4th of July week at Disneyland! The crowds were low, the SoCal weather was GORGEOUS, and the time spent with my big brother was so good for the soul! 🏰

09/07/2026

Our first full day in Cali!

Today we were picked up early for a tour of LA! We started off driving past a building from the movie ‘Rush Hour’, then a statue of… Bruce Lee? I think? I’m not a big movie person, especially if it isn’t a Disney movie.

We then drove to the Griffith Observatory where we had a great view of the Hollywood sign, spent some time enjoying the views and the museum, and then on to our next stop, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theater. My husband enjoys collecting magnets from various places we’ve traveled, so we stopped in a ‘junk shop’ after wandering around to grab some magnets, and then headed to our next stop, a Farmer’s Market for lunch.

After lunch we went to Beverly Hills and did some shopping on Rodeo Drive, then headed to Santa Monica to see the beach and the boardwalk. We also stopped at Venice Beach, but at that point we were pooped and didn’t explore too much.

We arrived back to our hotel after about an 11-hour day and met up with my brother for our first Disney dinner at Din Tai Fung. The fireworks were going off as we walked out of the restaurant after dinner, and we watched those then headed back to the hotel for the night. Great day!

08/07/2026

Last week my family headed to Southern California for a week of fun in the sun!

Our day began (not so bright, and) early as we headed to the airport for our 6am flight to Detroit. The quick flight was uneventful and we had some time to enjoy Chick-Fil-A for breakfast before catching our plane to Orange County.

Unfortunately there were some issues with our plane out to California and the air shut off while we were on the jetway- the Midwest heatwave had begun and that plane was HOT. My oldest son, my husband and myself had not yet slept since we had to leave our house around 3am, so we tried sleeping but the heat did make it difficult. Finally, the power came back on, we were able to take off, and the plane cooled down (it actually was FREEZING and I was wishing for the heat to be back).

Soon enough we had arrived- SNA airport is ridiculously easy to navigate, and we were quickly on our way to the Disneyland Hotel. The transportation I had booked for my family included a stop at In-N-Out Burger, so we grabbed burgers and fries to take to the resort, which we enjoyed in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel.

Our original plan was to do the pool today, but it was COOL- California was having an unseasonable cold snap. We talked to the front desk and though we were early, they were able to find a room for us and we all napped for a few hours. We then spent some time exploring the resort, and headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. Disneyland is so easy to navigate- the entrance to Downtown Disney is literal steps away from the Disneyland Hotel. We asked about walk-up availability at Naples, an Italian restaurant, and they were able to accommodate us (not knowing what our sleep schedule would look like, I didn’t want to make reservations for the first night). Despite the chill in the air, we sat outside as they had heaters going, and it was lovely! On our walk back we stopped in a few stores, grabbed a churro for dessert, then called it a night after a great first day in SoCal!

30/05/2026

Once again, the Cast of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa have retained their MICHELIN Star. This recognition is an incredible reflection of the passion and culinary excellence they bring to every guest experience. Congratulations, and thank you for continuing to raise the bar and create something truly special! ✨

02/05/2026

Effective immediately, Spirit Airlines is no longer in business.

I do not book my clients on Spirit so if I have booked your trip, there is no concern, but if you are not my client and have upcoming reservations on Spirit- you no longer do, you will need to rebook on another airline ASAP!

21/04/2026

20/04/2026

I did not choose the Disney life… the Disney life chose me 🎈🏰