Trip to Disneyland, Part I – wide-eyed consumer

My family and I went to Disneyland for the first time this summer, and we were pleasantly surprised how much fun we had. My wife and I were braced for it to be a lot of fun for the kids but not so much for us. Turns out, it was great for everyone. The Disney folks really know how to create an amazing experience for the whole family. The main adult highlight was watching our kids having an awesome time, but we had a good time in our own right. Key highlights:

• Disney taps into our collective unconscious. I'm not a particularly huge disney fan, but you walk into the place surreounded by mythic characters like Micky, Pluto, etc... and it's hard not to feel the history and place in American culture these guys occupy.
• Disney runs a tight show. The park is magical in it's cleanliness and that everything works. You leave the park at 10pm and they must have hordes of minions working the late shift keeping everything running because it all works smoothly. No closed rides, no broken animatronic characters = no disappointed urchins because the Winnie the Pooh ride broke down.
• Disney fills your kids with awe. My 7 year old son - now hitting the too-cool-for-this-stuff was completely charmed by the characters at the breakfasts we attended. He got to meet Alice, Snow White, Goofy, Minnie, and Lilo and Stitch at the breakfasts and they all really charmed him. He sort of realized that they were guys in suits, but only sort of. That's to say nothing of the after-dark parade of lights, the disney character parade, or the absolutely stunning fireworks show (don't just watch from your hotel - you need the audio in the park to really appreciate it). It was really moving to watch their faces throughout.
• They have line management down. If you do things right, you spend amazingly little time in line there, which is amazing considering the vast throngs. The new fast passes are great - instead of waiting in line, you sign up to go later (say, between 1:00 and 1:40) and then you totally zip past the entire line and get straight on.
• Best rides in our opinions: Buzz lightyear, Star tours, Cartopia, the train around the park, Splash mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Muppetvision 3d, dumbo, Pinocchio, a bug's land (for little kids).

My top tips:

• We stayed at the Camalot hotel outside the park - nice, relatively inexpensive, and two room suites with kitchens. Recommended.
• Get the multiday passes that enable one day of early admission. You get into the park when it's much less crowded and there are basically no lines.
• Go early, have fun until 10 or 11, then go home and miss the crowds and heat until 2 or 3. Then play until 9 or 10.
• Don't miss the fireworks. Really, go and go into the park.
• The two parades per day are really fun.
• The character meals are awesome with kids. Take it from a cheapskate - it's expensive, but easily worth it. Amazingly so.
• Make sure you go to the california adventure park, even with little ones. The bug's life park is fun, Muppet 3D is amazingly good, and walking around is memorable. Go see "It's Tough to be a Bug", but beware - it's a bit on the scary side for wee ones.
• Go to the Innoventions ride, if for no other reason than to see the Zune ;)