The arrest of the 32 protesters, many of whom wore costumes representing famous Disney characters, came at the end of an hour-long march to Disneyland's gates from one of three Disney-owned hotels at the center of a labor dispute.

Those who were arrested sat in a circle on a busy intersection outside the park holding hands until they were placed in plastic handcuffs and led to two police vans while hundreds of hotel workers cheered and chanted.

The protesters were arrested on a misdemeanor count of failure to obey a police officer and two traffic infractions, and were expected to be booked and released later Thursday, said Sgt. Rick Martinez of the Anaheim police.

Bewildered tourists in Disney T-shirts and caps, some pushing strollers, filed past the commotion and gawked at the costumed picketers getting hauled away. The protest shut down a major thoroughfare outside Disneyland and California Adventure for nearly an hour.

"It's changing my opinion of Disneyland," said tourist Amanda Kosato, who was visiting from north of Melbourne, Australia. "Taking away entitlements stinks."

The dispute involves about 2,300 maids, bell hops, cooks and dishwashers at three Disney-owned hotels: the Paradise Pier, the Grand Californian and the Disneyland Hotel.

The workers' contract expired in February and their union says Disney's latest proposal makes health care unaffordable for hundreds of employees and creates an unfair two-tier wage system. The union also says Disney wants to create a new category of part-time employees who would receive greatly reduced benefits.

"The other hotels around the area all have health care that is provided by the boss and have been able to get wage increases," said Ava Briceno, president of Unite Here Local 681, which represents the workers.

"At the other hotels in the same classification, for the same work, the workers get paid $2 to $3 an hour more."

Disney spokeswoman Lisa Haines said that Disney and the union are in negotiations and nothing has been finalized. She said workers have protested 14 times but sat down to negotiate only 11 times in the past six months.

"Clearly we're disappointed that Unite Here Local 681 has spent more time protesting," she said. "Publicity stunts are not productive and are extremely disruptive to the resort district."

Before the arrests, the picketers marched and chanted outside Paradise Pier, holding signs that read, "Disney is unfaithful," and "Mickey, shame on you." They were joined by community activists and religious leaders from local churches.

Luz Vasquez, who works in the bakery at Disneyland Hotel, said she can't afford to lose many of her benefits. She said it's already hard to care for her three grandchildren and aging mother while earning $14.32 an hour.

"Disneyland is being unfair with us because we're fighting for our health care and they're trying to take it away," said Vasquez, 45. "They're trying to cut our hours and take away our seniority."

Co-worker Diane Dominguez, 50, said she was worried about losing health care because of the heavy labor involved in lifting mattresses, moving furniture and making dozens of beds a day. She also said rising prices and the cost of gas were eating into her salary of $11.11 an hour.

"The most important is health care. We need that and they want to take it away," she said.

At the heart of the issue is a free health care plan that has been provided to Disney hotel workers through a trust fund that Disney and other unionized hotels in the area pay into.

Briceno said that in exchange for the free medical plan, union members agreed in previous contracts to a lower wage for hotel workers in the first three years of their employment.

But Disney now wants to eliminate the free health plan for new hires and wants to create a new class of workers who put in less than 30 hours a week, said Briceno. Those part-time workers would receive no sick or vacation pay and not be given holidays, she said.

The company also wants to increase the number of hours full-time employees must work before qualifying for the health plan, she said.

"At the end of the day what it means is that workers are going to be priced out of health care," she said.

Haines said the majority of other employees at Disneyland pay for a share of their health plan, even though the resort shoulders about 75 percent of the overall cost. She said it's important to negotiate a contract that's fair to those other unions, too.

Enter my friend Sandra. She's well aware of my quirky obsessions, but having never experienced me in full Disney mode, she actually requested that we make a pilgrimage to Anaheim so she could see me in full Mickey glory. Who am I to say no? I even took it so far as to suggest that we turn ourselves into Disney Princesses for 24 hours. But just so she didn't get the wrong impression of my maturity level, I decided we should split our princess time two ways: first as adults, then as kids.

The Adult Way:

The Disneyland Resort is only about a 45-minute drive outside of Los Angeles (on a good, no-traffic day), but even so I feel it necessary to fully immerse myself in the Disney experience by spending the night in Anaheim the day before our theme park excursion, ensuring we'd be there for rope drop the next morning (this is when they play Walt Disney's opening speech on Main Street, then drop the rope that sections off the park to visitors until they're ready to roll for the day.) So to start our Disney odyssey, Sandra and I checked in at the Grand Californian Hotel. The Grand Californian is situated on the Downtown Disney strip, just a short walk away from the parks themselves... and if you're lucky, your room will overlook Disney's California Adventure. The hotel really is amazing, built with a California craftsman aesthetic that carries through from the dramatic lobby area - complete with cozy couches and a centerpiece fireplace perfect for bedtime stories - all the way up to your room.

Sandra and I stayed just long enough to drop off our bags and took off for the AMC Theatres for a showing of Sex and the City. We'd assumed that in the throes of the movie's release that chances were the least occupied theatre would be in Downtown Disney. And we were right. We shared the theatre with a handful of die-hards and paid homage to Carrie and the girls with bottled water and a bag of popcorn, then spilled out into the California sunshine to let our wallets do the walking through the shopping district. We sniffed all the candles in Illuminations, tested body lotions in Basin, snooped through stylish offerings at Vault 28, and drooled over jewelry at Something Silver.

Finally, we had an appetite for dinner at Napa Rose. Napa Rose makes its home in the Grand Californian and continues the Californian theme through its menu, focusing on locally-sourced cuisine and wines from the Napa Valley. Master sommelier Michael Jordan chose the perfect wines to go with our meal starting with Portobello Mushroom Bisque "Cappuccino" and Brandied Thyme "Froth" alongside Winter Endive & Duck Confit Salad, followed by our mains: Roasted Breast of Pheasant on a Ragù of Butternut Squash, Wild Mushrooms, Parsnip and Pecans, and Braised Short Rib of Angus Beef with Pumpkin Risotto, Baby Brussel Sprouts and a Rich Zinfandel Wine Sauce. Everything was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

As if that weren't enough, the icing on the cake came in the form of a visit to the Mandara Spa. After showering down and unwinding in the steam room, I partook in one of the best hot stone massages I've ever experienced, while Sandra detoxed with an Elemis Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap - made with freeze-dried seaweed - that left her glowing by treatment's end. It was the perfect way to wind down our adult princess day.

The Kid Way:

By 7am the next morning Sandra and I were ready to be kids. We leapt out of bed and hurriedly dressed and primped so we could take advantage of early entry, a treat offered to Disney hotel guests that grants them access to Disneyland a full hour before regular guests. It's the perfect opportunity to knock out all those attractions that have never-ending lines, like the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland, or Peter Pan's Flight in Fantasyland. We were able to ride many of the attractions that get overloaded during busy park days, then made our way to the Carnation Café for a quickie breakfast. The bakery has a multitude of delicious offerings ranging from healthy muffins to not so healthy but oh so delicious cinnamon buns. It was the perfect fuel we needed to work our way through Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin... you name it, we rode it - and squealed with girlish glee as we did.

By lunchtime Sandra and I decided to make our way over to Disney's California Adventure, where we hunkered down at the Farmer's Market for lunch. The meal of choice? Smoked turkey legs so large they beg you to wear a Viking helmet while you eat them. They were perfect for on-the-fly eating, as we didn't want to waste precious riding time, and the refreshment stand had fresh fruit, veggie sticks, pickles and more - a great alternative to the burger-rama style of eating. After tearing through Tower of Terror, California Screamin', Grizzly River Rapids and more, we made our way back over to Disneyland for pot roast and salads at the Plaza Inn - the perfect spot to dine and peek through the trees at the passing parade.

Our grand finale moment as kid princesses came in the form of VIP seating for Fantasmic!, Disneyland's mixture of live action, animation and fireworks that takes place on Tom Sawyer's Island. The show is so popular that purists set up camp on the Rivers of America hours before the show starts, but VIP seating gives you the best view in the house without having to stake your claim. With a fabulous unobstructed view of all the action, we clapped and cheered along with the crowd as Mickey took us on a journey through his imagination. The crowd cleared after the show, and continued to thin the closer we got to closing time - making it easy to walk on many of the best rides in the park. As the clock struck 12, Sandra and I begrudgingly - and exhaustedly - headed for Main Street toward the exits, our inner children properly satiated.

Then he and his companion, Donna Broder, watched a magnificent tiger splash playfully in the moat of an absolutely convincing but totally fake Indian temple ruin. They were entranced, and they were right to be.

Here we go.

Epcot

Everyone knows about the country pavilions. If you squint a little, you can almost talk yourself into thinking you actually are in Marrakech — unless of course you've actually been there, in which case you know it's way too orderly. And so it is with almost all the international stops in Epcot.

Exceptions to the unrealism: The market space that's part of the China Pavilion is an absolute ringer for some of the country's traditional tourist-centric "friendship" stores; the same pavilion's exhibit of the Terra Cotta Army, though scaled down, is astonishingly accurate; the same pavilion's acrobats are just like (and, of course, probably are) Shanghai's; and the pub part of the Rose & Crown in the United Kingdom Pavilion is perfect. All of which, except maybe the acrobats, will bore children, also perfect.

It's possible for grown-ups to eat and/or drink their way around the world without leaving the World Showcase or waiting for a table.

Within a couple of hours, I sampled and mostly enjoyed, in order: guacamole (Mexico; $2.95), lefse (Norway; $1.99), pot stickers (China; $4.99), a fat pretzel ($3.29) and a Beck's beer ($7; both at Germany), a cannoli (Italy; $3.99), miso soup (Japan; $2.29), mint tea (Morocco, $2) and a Boddington ale (England; $3.95).

A couple of good rides (and yes, there are rides at Epcot), including one adults absolutely should not miss:

Mission: SPACE puts you at the controls, sort of, of a space vehicle under the leadership of Gary Sinise.

Soarin' — the unmissable — is absolutely wonderful. It's all euphoria. It's also low-impact, for the ride-wary and bad-of-back. People who have problems with heights might hesitate to do this, but they should just grab somebody's hand and hang on. That's all I'm going to tell you. Trust me.

Hollywood Studios

This was formerly Disney-MGM Studios, which in fact looked (and looks) like a Mickey Mouse version of Universal Orlando's Hollywood layout.

There are two major thrill rides: the Rockin' Roller Coaster and, at the end of mock Sunset Boulevard, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Didn't ride this roller coaster, but Jeff Hoover, 46, a coaster buff from Minneapolis, did. "Once is enough," he said.

But don't miss the Tower of Terror. If you've ever wondered how it would feel to be the ice in a martini shaker (and who hasn't?), you'll get your answer here.

Indiana Jones' Epic Stunt Spectacular isn't quite epic but is a fun little show and a good excuse to get off your feet for a bit and watch things explode. If you have any problems at all with motion sickness, avoid the Star Wars flight simulator.

Downtown Disney and Boardwalk

Boardwalk, a Disney resort complex, is linked with Downtown Disney here because 1) it has a couple of grown-up magnets: an ESPN Club sports bar (what you'd expect) and the recommendable Flying Fish Cafe (mostly seafood, as you'd expect); 2) it has the Atlantic Dance Hall, if you like to shake your whatevers; and 3) I don't know where else to put it.

Downtown Disney opened late 1997, created just for us adults as an opportunity to get a rest from both Disney-ness and from all those baby strollers, and as a place to drop yet more cash. It has, among other stuff, a House of Blues, a Planet Hollywood, Cuban, Italian and seafood restaurants (try the too-good and too-expensive-for-kiddies $15 crab cake starter at Fulton's Crab House), a Wolfgang Puck all-purpose food court and — as adult as you can get at a Disney property — a cigar store.

And there's La Nouba, a Cirque du Soleil production that celebrates its 10th birthday in December. Kids may sleep through it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing except that tickets start at $55; grown-ups will pay more and be enthralled. This is a good one.

Finally, linked to Downtown Disney by bridges, there's Pleasure Island, named for the island in Pinocchio where bad little boys who overindulged turned themselves into jackasses. It isn't that — but it also isn't what it used to be.

"This place used to have an ambience," said Brian, 42, a veteran Pleasure Islander. "People would just walk through and it was a party. It's not even close to that anymore."

But you'd better hurry if you want dance-the-night-away fun at Pleasure Island. On Sept. 27, the six clubs — 8Trax, Mannequin Dance Palace, BET Soundstage Club, Motion, a Comedy Warehouse and Adventurers Club — will close. During the next couple years, Disney will re-imagine the party district. To make it more "family friendly."

Golf

Of the 6 zillion courses in Central Florida, four are on Disney property: Osprey Ridge, Lake Buena Vista, Palm and Magnolia. Most popular: the last two, particularly Magnolia.

"It's the fan favorite," says Rodney Green, the two courses' manager and director of instruction, "for the simple reason it's the course that Tiger Woods plays."

His own favorite: Osprey Ridge, a Tom Fazio-designed course.

The Mickey Hole, No. 6 on Magnolia, is a par 3 with a sand bunker shaped like those ears guarding the green.

"That," says Green, "makes it about as Disney as you can get."

Animal Kingdom

In a very true-life way, it's almost the anti-Epcot. Animal Kingdom's mini-Mombasa isn't sanitized (like Epcot's Marrakech) but appears age- and weather-worn, exactly like the colonial-era remnant towns that dot East Africa.

Grown-ups who have done the real thing, and those who haven't but are curious about the real thing, should not miss Kilimanjaro Safari. The way the open-sided trucks bounce along the dirt roads, and the sense of excitement in rounding a bend and seeing zebras and wildebeests, and cheetahs and gazelles, and elephants, sure gives you a strong hint of what it's like.

As for Expedition Everest — it's a marvelously entertaining roller coaster that's set up by a marvelously entertaining series of Yeti-themed bits.

In sum: Better for grown-ups than it is for kids, who will nonetheless have a non-whining good time if you keep them watered.

The Magic Kingdom

Unless you have a bad back, Space Mountain is a pretty good roller coaster, mostly in the dark, with dips and tight turns and sudden jolts. Mickey's PhilharMagic is a 3-D movie (plus other surprise effects) mainly starring Donald Duck at his most manic, and it's very funny — like a great Warner Bros. cartoon (sorry, Walt) and far too good for children.

I never miss going on Peter Pan's Flight. Personal fetish. You don't have to.

A dining note: First hotel on the monorail from the Magic Kingdom is Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, which is very expensive (from $385) primarily because it's the first hotel on the monorail from the Magic Kingdom. It's home to Victoria & Albert's, the hotel's gourmet experience mentioned before that, as of this year (and at long last), bans children younger than 10.

Incredibly, until the ban there were people who would bring 4-year-olds here and pay the required $125 prix fixe for the little dickenses. ("Now, Cornelius, eat your chanterelles or no creme brulee! Cornelius, stop playing with your chard this minute!")

Not anymore — and everybody wins. "No kid," said a server, "wants to sit for three hours." It's a great res

If you go

Walt Disney World

Pupils and staff at Ysgol yr Eos staged their annual two-night summer concert at the Soar Centre to bring a close to the school year.

The concert was called, Walt's Wonderful World of Music and featured the school children performing songs, dances and gymnastics to a range of music from Walt Disney films.

Each of the concerts began with a "fanfare" from the school's brass band which brought the curtain up on an evening's entertainment.

The musical numbers were followed by narration from pupils about the relevant films.

Some of the films featured in the children's performances were: Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Aladdin, The Lion King and the more recent High School Musical.

Among the show's many highlights were the school's year one children as the seven dwarfs performing the song "Heigh Ho!", and the children of year three, dressed as fish and crustaceans, singing and dancing to the song, Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid.

Ebony Denton put in a great performance, singing I've Got No Strings, from Pinocchio while Kelsey Bassett, Caitlin Thomas, Kyle Barratt and Joseph Roberts took the part of puppets and puppet masters respectively.

For the finale, the school choir performed Can You Feel the Love, from The Lion King and pupils from Class 6B sang We're All in This Together from High School Musical.

Irwyn Wilcox, headteacher at Ysgol yr Eos, said he was very proud of the children's efforts, in this, the last school concert he would attend before leaving for a Fishguard primary school in September.

He said: "I would like to thank the parents for their all-round support of the concert and its preparations.

"And the entire staff for all of the extra time and hard work they put in towards making the show a success."

Special guest at the performance was RCT Mayor Margaret Davies – a welcome supporter of many of the school's events during the past year.

At the end of the second performance, Mr Wilcox introduced his successor Marilyn Borland.

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Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Currently available in more than 95 million U.S. homes and to millions of other viewers on 27 Disney Channels around the world, Disney Channel is part of the Disney-ABC Television Group.