Oh! I didn’t know that. My apologies for the misunderstanding. 
I had originally planned on adding what “E” tickets were (which was why there was an * after it in my original post), but I forgot in my tiredness and didn’t feel it warranted another post.
Since you have all the time in the world go see Mr. Lincoln (they still have him right?) I finally saw him on my last trip to DL and it really was amazing. (and nice and cool)
Check out the movie theatre and watch all the really old Mickey Mouse cartoons.
When you make you reservation at the Blue Bayou ask for a table near the water.
Tom Sawyer Island is a great to run around and behave like a ten year old. Go to the fort and you can blast away at the people on the river boat.
Check out the chick who plays Alice in Wonderland. She’s a total babe!
Ride the skyway! Oh wait you can’t do that no more.
Ride Captain Nemo’s Sub! Oh wait that’s gone too.
Do not ride the tea-cups with a maniac. I did this once 15 years ago and I still break into a cold sweat thinking about it.
Not only is Lincoln still there but they have just finished a rehab of the show. They have altered show elements and added a new sound technology (you where headseats now that present the sound binaurally). The reviews are mixed, you’ll either like it or hate it (duh!) and it seems to me that the reception pretty much depends on how much the person liked the previous show.
There is now only one office in the Walt Disney Story area. The other office was shipped to Orlando.
You know, you’re all great. It’s a rare group of people that can respond to childlike enthusiasm with childlike enthusiasm and good advice. I’m making a list of your tips, and studying it.
A question that occurs to me is… should I take a camera? I’ve got both a digital camera and a tough 35mm, but I don’t know if I should just relax and enjoy instead of trying to snap pictures of everything.
The friend I’m going with is probably going to bring his; he takes incredibly beautiful pictures of Disneyland, in black and white, which make the place look haunted, surreal, and sadly wistful.
I’m going to be there the afternoon of the 9th, all day the 10th, and until late afternoon on the 11th. And I’d certainly be interested in meeting some Dopers there, if you want to show up. Where and when? (Meeting Esprix would, I think, cause me to swoon like an early sixties teenage girl in the front row at a Beatles concert.)
I would take a camera for sure. You may want to consider the fact that the camera may get wet during your trip. My digital camera’s instructions tell me to not even say the word water to the camera so if it were me I’d take the 35mm. And I would take color photos to get all the great colors of the park but the idea of B&W photos intrigue me now.
I think the main thing is to have a great time and don’t worry about looking like a tourist or acting like a little kid. Wear mouse ears or Donald hat if you want. Drink with a crazy straw. Live it up!
Okay. It’s tomorrow. And I just know I’m not gonna sleep tonight. Arrgh!
I’ve got film, camera, bag packed, cool little travel-sized toiletries, and I’m going! I’ll be there in 12 hours!
How the heck am I ever going to get to sleep?
If you like, I’ll report back on the whole odyssey.
Whee!
report, we want a report!
I went to Disneyworld twice in 2000 and let me tell you I was just as excited as you both times. There’s two pieces of advice I think will help you out.
Don’t try to do everything. Don’t rush yourself to see everything and be sure to take the time to enjoy the things you are seeing. Your trip should be enjoyable and not a death march to see all Mickey has to offer.
Eat off campus. I don’t know how applicable this is to Disneyland. But I found the fancy places at Disneyworld generally weren’t very good for the price I was paying.
Enjoy yourself, it really is the happiest place on Earth. And I’m not even a Disney freak.
Marc
There is a vast conspiracy afoot. A conspiracy that affects people in all walks of life, throughout the country and possibly the world. A conspiracy so powerful it can affect huge masses of people, the weather, and even time itself. A conspiracy which, oddly enough, seems hellbent on making damned sure that I had a great vacation.
It started out a little iffy. My travelling companion for this adventure was the inestimable R. He actually has more letters in his name, but that one was the only one he could spare at the moment. As it turns out, it suits him well, as his favorite ride was Pirates of the Caribbean. (Five times in three days. Yo ho!) But Rob works the night shift, and I had to pick him up at 8:30 a.m. I call, no answer. I drive over. I get to his apartment, and I knock.
Nothing.
I wait a bit, observe the cat on the nearby balcony, who is a dead ringer for the Cheshire cat, but much more introspective. I knock again.
The cat looks on bemused.
I check the parking lot. His car is there, his roommate’s car is there. Cat still bemused.
I thump the door.
This continues, gaining in frequency and intensity, for over ten minutes, during which I’ve conjured up all sorts of possible explanations for R’s absence, all of which are unlikely. But, all for nought, because he eventually answers the door.
He says that his door was vibrating, and that woke him up. He was referring to his bedroom door. Which is past the kitchen and the living room, and down the hall from the front door. I knocked hard.
So, we proceed back to my place, and my Mom gives us a ride to the airport, and the plane leaves on time, and the flight is pleasant and we arrive in LAX and there’s a bus to Disneyland right outside and we get on it and it takes us to our hotel and we check in and drop off our stuff and we walk to the park. Just like that.
Then we spent the next three days going on rides. Let me list the ones we missed.
Dumbo (R:“It just goes around and around and up and down.” MrV: “Oh. Hey, there’s Rafiki!”)
Rockets (R: “It’s the same as Dumbo” MrV: “Oh, okay. Hey, is that Mary Poppins?”)
Teacups (R: “Spinning things make me hurl” MrV:“Oh. Okay.”)
Canoe Ride (R: “That’s like… work.” MrV: “Nope, no work. Look, something shiny!”)
Everything else we went on. Some, many times. Pirates of the Caribbean was the record, at five times through. I can now pillage a town with the best of them. I can also sing the Pirate Song. And I will, too, without provocation, at random moments throughout the next few weeks.
Indiana Jones we hit three times. Thank you, oh great Dopers, for recommending we use the FastPass system; we almost never waited more than half an hour in line. And Indy was worth going on multiple times. The first time they let me drive. I don’t think I did a great job, though. Mostly it wasn’t my fault; those shocks were shot. I sat in the back after that.
R even bought a leather Indy hat. It looks damned good on him.
I was truly bothered by Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. (Spoiler!!!) It ended up in Hell. Then the doors opened, and we were out, but… had we ever left Hell? Are we still there? That, and the darned ghosts we picked up after two times through the Haunted Mansion are enough to creep me out even still.
And, of course, the rite of passage. That horror, that blight upon the soul, that devastating mind-numbing freak-out, “it’s a small world after all”. Just typing the words sends me into spasms. That song is engraved in my forebrain, and I will never lose that memory until I am mercifully allowed to die. I can even hear the ducks singing it. All I know is, I’m never ever leaving the States. The rest of the world is just too damned cute.
The steamboat ride was great, but also slightly disturbing. Just the part with the abandoned canoes, surrounded by mean-looking animatronic ducks. There are only two explanations that R and I could come up with; a) “To heck with paddling! Let’s swim!” or b) “Aaaaaaaa! Duck!”
Matterhorn twice, both sides. The Peter Pan ride really got to me, too… beautiful. (Thanks, Mauvaise) Monorail, train, even the darned “Honey, I Bored the Audience”. Star Tours. Space Mountain (Twice. Once before breakfast).
Speaking of food, that place is heaven for a glutton like myself. Chocolate filled croissants (thanks honkytonkwillie). Huge chili dogs, great churros, amazing salads. Carnation for Breakfast (great food (thanks Obfuscatrist) and Oscar came out and greeted us personally. Nice fella.) We did the Blue Bayou for lunch on Friday, and it was as great as everybody says; incredible place. Try the crab cakes.
Friday afternoon, the park started getting insanely crowded, and we had discovered that the FlexPasses we had worked for DCA as well. So, we went over to Disneyland California, and romped about there until it was time for Fantasmic.
The roller coaster at DCA kicks serious butt. Whee! The river rafting ride is a long wait, but worth it. MuppetVision3D is like worshipping at a shrine for me; that theatre is an exact recreation of the one from the show. Way too cool. And the burgers at the Taste Pilots’ Cafe (who named that thing?) are huge. But it seemed rather generic next to the kind of character that Disneyland is steeped in.
So, back to the real thing for Fantasmic (what’s the big deal? It looks just like the back of a lot of people’s heads…) and the fireworks show. I loved the fireworks show. Don’t tell R, but I almost cried. I’m a sap. It was great. There’s Magic In The Stars. (Powered by Compaq. Appropriate… it was pretty, and it blew up.)
Sometime in there, it ended up being midnight on Friday night. R and I wandered back to the hotel, and I remembered that, having forgotten a comb, my hair looked like an interesting crafts project by an ambitious toddler. So, I went to the front desk, where the security guard not only had a comb for me, but also opened up the hot tub. For an hour. Way past the time when the whole pool area was supposed to be closed for the night. After a day and a half of walking and standing in lines, it was unbelievably good to soak in the high-powered ultra-hot jets of water. Thank you, security guard, wherever you are.
Saturday morning, and we hit a couple of rides, and then did a combination of Intrepid Disney Photo Tour and Commercial Immersion Experience. Wandered about, bought things, and took pictures all morning. When the film gets back, I’ll put any shots I didn’t screw up on a web page, if anybody can stand me after this lengthy diatribe, and you can see what we shot. And maybe me, or R, if any of those worked out. And then… I scored.
Not literally. Though that would have been nice. Disneyland has an astonishing proportion of insanely beautiful humans. No, I scored an item that I knew would make my Mom most happy. See, my Mom has character. Style. I remember that a long time ago, she mentioned that when her friends had all been talking about being Snow White, my Mom was thinking about how glamorous and beautiful the Wicked Queen was. So, in Fantasyland, I found a Wicked Queen doll.
And then, it was time. A few last pictures, a couple of trinkets, a sad passage under the archway and out the gate. Pick up the packages, go to the bus, get to the airport, get on the plane, plane arrives early, Mom’s already waiting, give Mom the doll (I think she liked it), drop R off, and back home to my waiting puppies. Who seem not to have noticed my absence.
Once again, I thank you all for your help, your tips, and your encouragement. It was a much better trip because of you. And now that I’m back in RealityLand, I have some things to take care of. Please make sure you have your seatbelts fastened, keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times, and enjoy your trip through the Magic Kingdom.
Beautiful. Beautiful. Look, you went and made me cry. And I don’t cry easily. Maybe it is because it is so late, but I don’t think so. I am so glad you had a wonderful time. I hope I get to go soon.
::sobbing::
Ditto. But I hope you have a really good time, MrVisible.
Ooops, little late.
You should have said, “The horror! The horror!” 
Well that’s because I love the film and I remember riding it when I was small with my dad and [sniff] and [sniff]
well you get the idea.
Glad you had a great time.
What about the Haunted Mansion?
At least you still have a “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride”. They replaced it in DisneyWorld with “The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”. I miss the fluorescent cardboards cutouts (tacky but fun, just like the ‘bright plastic fish on a string’ at 20K Leagues Under the Sea). Anyone whose been there, do they have the nude woman picture in the bar scene, like they did here at DW?
“Nope, no work. Look, something shiny” - I have now adopted this as my life’s motto.
Ten hours of sleep, a three-hour nap and another eight hours of sleep later, I’m back at work and wondering if it happened at all. Hard to reconcile the Happiest Place on Earth with the Land of Disfunctional State Employees.
The Haunted Mansion, Zebra, was great. R even bought one of the Stretching Room paintings for his sister at the Disney Gallery. I’m just creeped out because, according to the narration, I still have a hitchhiking ghost with me 'till I return.
And, I’ve decided, I will return sometime. I don’t know if it can ever be quite as perfect as it was this last time, but if it’s even close, it’ll be worth it.