After Hours: Pirates of the Caribbean

Here's one Disneyland tip to remember: enter Pirates of the Caribbean one minute before closing. You just might get a boat to yourself (and have empty boats ahead and behind). Twenty minutes later, you'll exit into a strangely deserted and wonderfully dark, quiet incarnation of New Orleans Square, Frontierland and Adventureland.

The simple, quiet fun of seeing Disneyland after closing, if only for a wonderful few minutes, makes staying past midnight worthwhile despite aching feet and heavy eyelids.

The entry to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean is secretive and understated to begin with; after closing it's absolutely poker-faced. A first-timer could mistake the place for a shop or restaurant. Who would guess these simple doors lead to a moonlit bayou and the most epic-length theme park ride on Earth?

I think a lot of life-long Disney fans get hooked during quiet moments like this.