Let's Just Go

In this episode of Let’s Just Go, Kayla shares about her last year of using Frontier’s Go Wild Pass, including what it is, who it works for, and the trip that nearly went wrong.

In this episode:

• How the Go Wild Pass works, including same-day and next-day booking
• What Kayla paid: $299 for 18 months, purchased during a September 2025 sale
• Blackout dates throughout 2026, month by month
• Real examples: Philadelphia to Charlotte, multiple Orlando trips, and a Philadelphia to LAX booking
• The D23 trip flight change that led to a $500 same-day American Airlines booking
• Why backup flights matter, including a story about her friend Sam
• Why earlier flights have better odds of actually departing
• Why Kayla will not renew the pass for 2027

Curious if a pass like this fits your travel style? Contact Kayla at kaylareneetravel.com or @KaylaReneeTravel.

In this episode of Let’s Just Go, Kayla recaps a fast turnaround trip to see Miley Cyrus at the Hollywood Bowl with her friend Jazmine, followed by a solo day at Disneyland before flying home.

In this episode:

• Getting Hollywood Bowl tickets in the presale for under $100 each
• A wildfire-related road closure that delayed Jazmine’s drive from San Diego
• Missing the start of the show, including Miley’s Dolly Parton tribute and “Jolene”
• Pre-ordering merch through a mobile QR code before reaching their seats
• Thoughts on the show itself, including vocal range changes and crowd participation
• A same-trip solo day at Disneyland in smoky, 90-degree weather
• A quiet, early-morning LAX international terminal experience
• Why Kayla is considering mobile recording gear for future travel episodes

Planning a concert or theme park trip of your own? Contact Kayla at kaylareneetravel.com or @KaylaReneeTravel.

In this episode of Let’s Just Go, Kayla shares her recent stay at the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, a non-Disney-owned property within the Walt Disney World Resort. She stayed there with her friend Sam the night before attending Halloween Horror Nights.

In this episode:

• What Bonnet Creek is and where it sits relative to Disney property
• A nightly award certificate upgrade to a two-bedroom corner suite
• Room features, including in-room bathtubs and a Toto bidet toilet
• Personalized service touches, including a care package for Halloween Horror Nights
• The breakfast spread and dining experience
• Pool, spa, and resort amenities
• How pricing compares to Disney deluxe resorts
• Who this hotel is a good fit for

Planning a Walt Disney World trip and want to explore off-property options? Contact Kayla at kaylareneetravel.com or @KaylaReneeTravel.

In this episode of Let's Just Go, Kayla shares her first experience at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. Kayla describes herself as easily scared.

In this episode:

• Tips for first-timers who do not like being scared
• What the Jack and Oddfellow: Chaos and Control haunted house was like
• Scare zones throughout the park, including Downtown Clown Town and Fortnightmares
• Rockin' Stranger Things Rewind and Nightmare Fuel: Blood Noir shows
• Food and drinks at the event and at the Dead Coconut Club
• Meeting the Death Eaters in the Wizarding World
• Express Pass and RIP Tour options
• Early house access for day-ticket and annual pass holders

Planning a Universal Orlando trip? Contact Kayla at kaylareneetravel.com or @KaylaReneeTravel.

In this episode of Let's Just Go, Kayla recaps her first ever D23 Expo, held in August. She traveled with her mom and friends Reggie and Rhonda, staying at Pixar Place Hotel.

In this episode:

• Getting a D23 Gold membership and why it was worth it
• Ticket costs for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, including Honda Center seats
• Staying at Pixar Place Hotel in a one-bedroom suite
• A last-minute flight change from Frontier to American Airlines
• Shopping at Mickey's of Glendale, Pandora, and the Disney Store
• The Walt Disney Archives Uncrated exhibit
• The Disney Legends Ceremony at the Honda Center, hosted by Ryan Seacrest
• Hey Jonas Live, with a surprise appearance from Jesse McCartney
• Using a Magic Key for park days before and after D23
• What to expect if D23 returns in 2028

Thinking about attending the next D23 Expo? Contact Kayla at kaylareneetravel.com or @KaylaReneeTravel.

In this episode of Let's Just Go, Kayla shares her first time attending Oogie Boogie Bash, the Halloween party at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort. She went on August 18 during a trip for D23 Expo.

In this episode:

• What Oogie Boogie Bash is and when it runs
• Why there is no Halloween parade this year, and what replaced it
• Madame Leota's Swinging Wake, including the three places it stops
• How treat trails work and how they differ from Mickey's Not So Scary
• Characters seen this year, including Oogie Boogie, Yzma (new this year), Maleficent, Hades, Syndrome, and Agatha Harkness
• The Magic Key treat trail and photo op
• Costumes, PhotoPass, and merchandise
• Cars Land overlays, Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark, and Villains Grove
• Ticket prices, party hours, and event days
• Why Kayla stayed at the Grand Californian for the party night
• What to know now if you want to attend in 2027

Planning a Disneyland trip? Contact Kayla at kaylareneetravel.com or @KaylaReneeTravel on socials.

This is the wrap-up episode for my full Europe series — Dublin, Venice, Verona, Lake Garda, Rome, nine nights on the Disney Dream through the Greek Isles and Malta, Dubrovnik, and back to Rome. Three weeks, four countries, a wedding, a cruise, and a septum piercing.

I do this for a living and I still missed the VAT refund, got a hotel room with a dumpster view, and arrived in Corfu on a Sunday when everything was closed. Here is the honest version of everything I learned.

In this episode I am covering:

• Premium economy on the transatlantic flight — when the upgrade is worth it and how to find it
• Packing light for a multi-city summer Europe trip — the carry-on roller and backpack system, what to pack, and why I am begging you not to bring denim
• Getting around — Italian trains, premium class, private transfers, and why Venice boat transfers are a James Bond experience
• Money — always carry cash, always decline the conversion, have multiple cards from different networks, and the VAT refund situation I handled badly and how you can do better
• The cruise — the WhatsApp group, the Rainforest Room, port day planning, tendering, and a quick honest note on DCL for European adult itineraries
• Things nobody tells you: Sunday closures, smoking on patios, allergies in Italy, the Venice tourist fee, and why European pharmacies are excellent
• Personal reflections — what surprised me, what I would do differently, and the human moments that actually stayed
• The case for working with a travel advisor on a trip like this — not what you think it means, and why it costs less than you think

If any part of this series has made you want to go to Europe, reach out. That is exactly what I am here for.

Next up: Colombia.

Find me at kaylareneetravel.com and across all socials at Kayla Renee Travel.

Until next time — let's just go.

Rome bookended the cruise portion of this trip — one night before getting on the Disney Dream, and two days after getting off. Two completely different experiences in the same city, and both were exactly right.

In this episode I am covering:

• The train from Verona to Rome and the moment it changed directions in Florence
• Night one: cacio e pepe, carbonara, and a midnight walk to the Colosseum when the temperature finally dropped into the 70s
• Coming back to Rome post-cruise and staying near the Pantheon — a completely different neighborhood from the train station area
• The taxi ride through what appeared to be sidewalks, which confirmed that driving in Italy is not for me
• Granita Caffè con Panna — an espresso Italian ice with whipped cream that I am making mandatory for every Rome visitor
• A food tour: Roman pizza, pasta, porchetta, cheese, gelato, and the revelation that Italian Peroni and American Peroni are not the same product
• A spontaneous riverside festival after the food tour
• Getting sick on the last day, the European pharmacy experience (throat spray and dissolving anti-inflammatory powder), and wandering gently near the Pantheon
• An old shopping mall with a more fashionable Uniqlo than the US version and a great bookstore
• Not going to the Vatican, the Spanish Steps, or inside the Colosseum because it was nearly 100 degrees during a European heat wave and I was sick
• Getting home: Rome to Lisbon, Lisbon to Newark, train to Philadelphia, Lyft with three rolling suitcases and two backpacks

Next episode: the full Europe trip wrap-up — logistics, lessons, what I would do differently, and why you should not plan a trip like this alone.

Find me at kaylareneetravel.com and across all socials at Kayla Renee Travel.

Until next time — let's just go.

We docked in Dubrovnik and spent the day on the Pelješac Peninsula instead. It was the best tour of three weeks in Europe, and I started googling yacht charters on the drive back.

In this episode I am covering:

• Why we skipped Dubrovnik Old Town entirely and why it was the right call
• Dubrovnik Food Story — the husband-and-wife operation booked through Viator that ran our tour, and why I am recommending them to every client heading to Croatia
• The oyster farm: going out on a boat, watching oysters harvested from a sheltered inlet, eating them fresh from the water (Brian loved them, I had one and was done, the grappa-style liqueur was better)
• Ston: one of the oldest functioning saltworks in Europe, buying fresh sea salt straight from the flats, and the Walls of Ston — the second-largest fortification system in the world after the Great Wall of China (also a Game of Thrones filming location)
• Winery Milos: a beautiful hillside property, regional red wines from grapes that only grow in this specific microclimate on this specific peninsula, and a straight sip of olive oil that was a lot
• Vinarija Križ: a family winery hundreds of years old, about the size of a bedroom, where the wife cooked a full meal from scratch while we drank wine and talked with the husband — lentil soup, fresh bread, charcuterie, wild boar ragù with homemade gnocchi from boar he hunted himself, local fruit cake
• The drive back along the Croatian coast, a stop at the guide's uncle's winery, and me googling yacht charters before we were back on the ship

I need to go back to Croatia. This was my first time and it will not be my last.

Next episode: the full Europe trip wrap-up — logistics, lessons, what I would do differently, and why you should not plan a trip like this alone.

Find me at kaylareneetravel.com and across all socials at Kayla Renee Travel.

Until next time — let's just go.

Malta was not a destination I had strong feelings about going in. By the time we left, I was already thinking about going back.

In this episode I am covering:

• Getting from the Disney Dream into Valletta — the 15-minute walk, the one-euro glass lift, and why getting off the ship early matters
• Why English is more widely spoken in Malta than the native Maltese language
• Filipino food in a Maltese food court — more logical than it sounds given how diverse the country is
• A women-owned co-op housing 15 to 20 small local businesses — clothing, skincare, accessories, and a woman who knew Philadelphia surprisingly well
• Hollywood: a two-story store where everything is made in Malta by local artisans, a former shop cat who has since been adopted (I was very sad), and the hot sauce worth buying
• Café Society: drinks on steps overlooking the harbor, two rounds, and a bird that deposited directly onto my leg and nearly into my drink
• Dinner at an authentic Maltese restaurant — pizza, pasta, a peach spritz, leftovers brought back to the ship
• Getting back to the cabin to find no shower curtain, waiting for one to be delivered, and finally showering

Next episode: Dubrovnik, Croatia — an oyster farm on the water, the Walls of Ston (second largest fortification system in the world after the Great Wall of China), two wineries, and a home-cooked wild boar ragù with homemade gnocchi at a family winery on the Pelješac Peninsula.

Find me at kaylareneetravel.com and across all socials at Kayla Renee Travel.

Until next time — let's just go.