What are some cool things to do in or around Anaheim, California?

Some help with a disney trip coming up! (Anaheim)?

• I am traveling to Disneyland (Anaheim) and California Adventure in April..We will be in the parks April 22nd and 23rd (2009) and I was wondering a)if there were any events that might be going on to make it more crowded (I've internet surfed but couldn't find any so far.) b) Anyone stay at Hotel Menage? Reviews! c) My Fiancee has a Southern California driver's license (I have a Utah license)..can he purchase the 2fer ticket for both of us? Can he purchase them at the ticket booth outside the parks or does it have to be online? d) some tips/secrets/fun facts/ new things to do if you have any.. Thanks! ( ) ( ) ( )

• Answer:

  a) It is the start of spring and it will be more crowded but since you are attending Wednesday and Thursday, it isn't quite as bad. The bad news is that the fireworks show is only on Fridays and Saturdays and it closes a bit early on a weekday. b) I haven't, but here is a review on it. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g29092-d75493-Reviews-Hotel_Menage-Anaheim_California.html Most of the hotels in the area are a bit old but most have been kept up to date, so it is a tossup. c) The answer is yes but are you talking about the 2 for 1 or the park hopper (2 parks in the same day)? There isn't as much there at California Adventure and it always closes earlier. If you get the hopper and got to that park first, then you can go over to the other park if you have seen enough or close the place. Those deals are only thru the ticket booth. There are other deals available often at the individual hotels, at a bargain ticket place on the east side of Harbor Blvd across from the resort parks, at AAA, Costco and even some of the Albertsons supermarkets.. The bargains are probably different so shop around. d) Someone already told you about the hidden mickeys so I will tell you about the stories behind the Pirates of the Carabean and Haunted Mansion. In Pirates, the old man you see in the rocking chair is a former pirate reminiscing about the past. When you go down the slides, you enter the scenes of how it is today, everyone is dead and what is left is their skeletons. When you go thru a dark tunnel, which has a neat update for the Pirates movie, you are really going back in time and you are seeing one of their final battles. In The Haunted Mansion, the plantation owner, William Gracey was a very successful businessman. One of his secrets is that he had the help of a fortune teller, Madam Leona who advised him in business and personal future. Well he was madly in love with this woman and was going to marry her and set up a huge party where anybody who is anybody in town was invited to attend. On their wedding day, she stood him up which caused him to go insane. She hid up in the attic which is where he found and killed her. He was angry that Madam Leona did not warn him of what was going to happen and he killed her by beheading her. You can see her floating head holding a seance. He killed some of the guests, those are found inside the building. All the others he buried alive, those you see in the graveyard. After all of that was done, he committed suicide by hanging himself. You see him in the room that stretches. If you have been to the Disney World Pirates, there is a difference in the room that stretches. At DL, you are actually in an elevator where you are lowered 1 floor down. At WDW, the ceiling is raised. At DL, when you are walking towards the Doom buggy, you are walking under the railroad tracks to another building, technically outside the park. At Pirates, you are doing the same thing. A few more notes. The woman who did the voice and face of Madam Leona also did the voice and pace of the "hurry back!' woman. There have been rumors that one of the men in the quartet harmonizing looks like Walt Disney, it isn't him. In the Indiana Jones ride, you seem to be walking quite a bit. What you are really doing is walking around the Jungle Cruise and alongside the Pirates back building to a huge building behind it. You can see the building from outside the park to the left of the entrance, it is decorated with "palm tree wallpaper".