ANAHEIM, California — We started running when the gates opened, 8 a.m. sharp, past the train station entrance with the iconic Mickey Mouse carved in flowers, then down along Main Street with its timeless shops and Opera House and around the circle that abuts a small lake and curls into the stockade-like entrance to Frontierland.

We caught a glimpse of the Mark Twain Riverboat as we raced ahead, veering into New Orleans Square, with its balconies and iron lace railings. Then we darted up a ramp and ducked into a darkened boarding area, by an indoor river under a painted azure sky.

And just like that, we were on a small boat floating into the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, catching our breath and slapping each other’s shoulders, proud of how we had beaten the crowd and made it to perha

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