Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I bet Becca has lots to contribute here.

In addition to food, I have questions regarding an inevitable trip to Disney.

How tall do kids have to be to ride most everything? Is there a weight consideraton? (for the kids not me.. )

I moved your topic Frank...seems to be better suited for your favorite topic...Travel!

Amy

Works for me...I thought the misc. was the catch all, travel is good...

Miscellaneous is a catch-all, but on most boards the category tends to become quite cluttered, so if a topic can live in another location easily, that's usually the better choice. This way, in the future, people will be better able to locate it.

Amy

Which Disney? California or Florida?

Height restrictions vary depending on the ride. I think the tallest are about 50-52 inches.

Most likely Florida. I have 7 & 8 year old daughters that I don't want ticked off at a mouse that says...NO!
Or me...

Edited to add...please don't ask me how tall they are...mom knows, were it not for the Outlook calendar I wouldn't know how old they are, or when their birthday is, or when I got married, or when my wife was born...sigh

We did pick the little buggers up two years ago yesterday!!!

4 foot tall will take care of almost everything at all the various theme parks. There may be just one or two rides that require 50 or 52" (or sometimes an accompanying parent will suffice).

Disney Florida is not just the Magic Kingdom - there are now 5 or 6 different theme parks on the property. No self respecting kids will let you get away without visiting several of them. That said, there are a lot of less expensive motels off site, but you really want to consider staying at one of the Disney properties. If you stay 'on property' you don't have to worry about getting around - just park at your hotel, and use the monorails during your stay. You'll save a lot in parking fees. Also, as a guest of the hotels, you will get first crack at reservations in the various themed eateries on the properties. I can only imagine the disappointment of an 8 year old who can't get reservations to the Princess lunch at Cinderella's Castle because it was all filled up with the hotel guests.

As far as restaurants at Epcot, the better ones book up very early. I'm pretty sure if you get a hotel package you can get reservations right from your hotel, as opposed to standing in line at Spaceship Earth for an hour, just to find out that there's not much left. Yes, DisneyWorld takes advance planning!

September/October is one of the best times to go. The kids are back in school, and it's not yet the holiday. Shorter lines. Cooler weather. Cheaper rates. June, July & August are freakin' HOT here - and humid.

(I go a lot - Florida residents get specials like free admission on your birthday and discounted annual passes.)

Keep in mind if you come to Disney World, that Universal Studios is right down the street. My guess is 2 little girls will want to visit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry while there here, so be sure to keep a day free in your plans for that.

I think some families take out a second mortgage to pay for the trip.

Make that a third...already have two houses, retired mother lives in one.

Is it cheaper during hurricanes??? Could help make "memories" and save $$

I grew in S. Cal. 60 minutes from Anaheim and lived at Disneyland more than I should have (that could be a clue to the rest of my life). However, Disneyworld is THE place to take your pre-teens ( ) If you are a good obsessive/compulsive and a dutiful parent it behooves you to spend more than a few hours with MouseSavers.com, [url]http://www.mousesavers.com/[/url]. Your overall experience will be 10x better and you will save a very large sum of money.

Not only have I married a perfectionist (I am one of her work projects ) we are both a little obsessed with things Disney. For instance, although we are small business owners we have attended many of Disney's behind-the-scenes business workshops (i.e., how do they do what they do), behind-the-scenes tours of how it all works (from a business perspective), and stayed at 3 of the more pricey hotels for extended stays. That's a short list...

Disney is a business that is after your very precious disposable dollars and they focus on that. MouseSavers will show you how to use their system to your greatest efficiency and have a great time. This is one of those projects that really rewards in-depth planning done early.

If I need to verify our accreditation I can probably scan photos of my wife and Mickey hugging on numerous occasions and show copies of his birthday cards he continues to send.... sigh. (We are a sick lot. Oh yeah, they have some fabulous restaurants...)