M.F.
My 2 yr old just had an adenoidectomy and it was a pretty decent experience. The ear tube will hardly be noticeable and is about a 1 minute procedure. The adenoid and tonsils might take 20 minutes or so. Our son was at the Pediatric Surgery Center in Plano. He wore his pajamas in. They didn't have to put him in a gown, so he kept the PJs on for the whole procedure. They brought us back to a waiting area where they're stocked with portable DVD players and a huge selection of DVDs for the kids to watch. The anesthesiologist came by first and a nurse gave him "goofy juice" so he started acting kind of drunk. Then the anesthesiologist came back after a while to get him. She just picked him up and carried him off (didn't put him on a bed or anything at this point). We were sent back out to the main waiting area.
About 20 min later they called for us and we met with the surgeon who told us how the procedure went, gave us an antibiotic prescription for him, and told us what to expect as far as pain, what he could eat, and about limiting his activity level, though he said he'd be self-limiting on the activity.
After talking to the doc we went to the recovery area and waited for our son to wake up, which took about 10 minutes.
He was a little disoriented and cried about the IV (tried to pull it out!), but they wouldn't take it out until he drank something or ate a popsicle. Someone from the surgery center had called us the day before to prep us and advised us to bring a sippy cup from home so it would be familiar. We brought his blanket too.
He was pretty upset, but after about 10 minutes of rocking/comforting he finally took a drink. As soon as that happened, they unhooked the IV, helped us gather up our things and walked us to the door. I don't think we were there much more than an hour and a half.
They said he'd have pain for 2 or 3 days. I think you can download info on what to expect after surgery at www.entforchildren.net
He was kind of grumpy the rest of that day, but woke up just fine the next day and ran all around the house like nothing was wrong. We figured he just had a quick recovery. What we didn't know, and what other parents told us later, is that the NEXT day (so, 2 days after surgery) is when the pain and fussiness sets in. So, we had that for a couple days, but it wasn't too bad. We kept him on children's motrin for those couple days after surgery, then stopped it and he seemed fine.
Good luck! Stock the fridge/freezer with popsicles and gatorade and she'll be fine :-)