Everything I ever needed to know about investing I learned strolling through Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I learned that if you follow the crowds you wait in long lines. If you follow the travel expert time-saving tips on which attractions to ride first you find yourself in the same long lines with others who read the same thing. So momentum investing or financial guru worship only lead to a waste of time, and, given the fixed hours in a day, money. Take the time to dig a little for yourself and you will find that Fantasyland is empty at night and that catching the late parade in Frontierland gives you plenty more elbow room than anywhere on Main Street U.S.A. If that gets circulated around enough, do the exact opposite.

Check me on this, despite the excitement over <fill-in-the-blank> Mountain you will never see as many smiles as you see on people riding the Mad Tea Cups or Cinderella's Carousel. Yes, sometimes the old-fashioned, frowned-upon standards outperform the thrill rides. That's right, we are talking about the Foolish Four here as boring beaten-up blue chips, like a simple wooden horse or spinning tea cup, that have proven consistently to bring on wider smiles than speed on rails.

You can also earn an MBA (Mickey's Busy Attractions) from watching the loading of rides. Accounting cost method? You have LIFO (Last In First Out) at Tom Sawyer's rafts, FIFO (First In First Out) at most attractions, including Splash Mountain, and finally Average Cost at the shows like Carousel of Progress and The Lion King. Customer Service? Watch your temper as a foreigner cuts in line; make some noise if it's a local. Supply and Demand? Watch how prominent the yellow ponchos become at the stores when rain clouds form.

Ride names also offer Foolish subliminal lip service as Peter Pans and Snow Whitewashes. Global investors will be quick to note that It's a Small World while penny stock investors hop on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Haunted Mansion may have foreshadowed the recent rut in California real estate while Take Flight may have been the rallying cry behind the hot Initial Public Offerings market.

Have I revealed too much? Will your next trip to "The Happiest Place on Earth" be tainted now that you see hidden jester caps in some of the attractions? No, you will probably be quick to find that the quietest place in the park is right behind Liberty Square, find amusement in wagering with your friends how many patrons will walk out during the Tiki Birds Tropical Serenade, and while your love affair with Space Mountain may never waver you may finally appreciate the Mad Hatter and his spinning tea saucers as Foolishness... in the kindest sense of the word.

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