karen

Cindy: I'm thinking specifically of the first week of Nov because my kids have several days off that week for teacher work days and conferences. They will end up missing only 3 days that week. When you say the weather is lovely, can you be more specific? All the rental homes with private pools have a charge to heat the pools (per day or per week) and I'm wondering if we'll need to heat them at that time of year! Any insight?

Jan

Definitely use Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide to WDW. It offers great tips and rates the rides for the kids. I believe it also gives you the height restrictions. Been to WDW many times. The last 2 times I went with the family, I rented a condo and then a house with a pool. Both were great for our needs at the time. The management company I used was Brightstar Resorts. They are located on Highway 192 in Kissimmee, Fl. Was very satisfied with them. They have a 800 number and a website of their own. Unfortunately, I do not know what it is now. I'm sure you can do a search online and you'll find it. Just a note, beware of some rental units because they could be a timeshare. The last thing you want is to be bothered by sales pitches from those timeshares. Brightstar is a rental management company and does not do timeshares. Hope this helps you.

Marnie

Karen, not to further confuse you, but my family has been to WDW twice in the past decade, and each time we found the book "Walt Disney World with Kids" to be an invaluable source of information. It offers advice for every ride, attraction, etc., geared to your child's age, including the height requirements, "scare" factor, etc. It also gives some sample itineraries for exploring the different parks. The woman who writes the book (it's updated every year, I think)is a Disney expert, has been there with her kids as babies through teenagers. She also gives excellent tips, again geared towards kids/families, and discusses restaurant menus, what's good for fussy eaters, etc. I don't think you can go wrong with this book!

karen

Thanks for all the tips about ride restrictions. However,for the time being I'm still so terribly overwhelmed just at the prospect of booking accomodations, I can't get past that. Every time I think I've narrowed it down, someone throws out another option. Jan, thanks for the tip on Brightstar. I'll be checking them out next. So far All Star Homes sounds the best as it's houses are new and they're only 3 miles from Disney but they're the most expensive and I'd like to get a better comparison...

Jan

Karen: I know all of this can be very overwhelming. Whether you use Brightstar or not, my best advice is: Make sure you're dealing with a rental management company and not a timeshare. Once you've narrowed down the rental company that you intend to use (there are hundreds out there), contact the Better Business Bureau of that city -- whether it be Kissimmee or Orlando and find out if the management company is a company in good standing and that any and all complaints were rectified by the management company. Good luck!

karen

Jan; I called Brightstar today and got good info although the rep I spoke with was a little short with me. The other company that sounds best (although more expensive) is All Star which is the one recommended by Deb (at wdwig.com). Part of me still wonders if I'm doing my children a disservice by not staying on site but I know the restaurant thing will become old before the week is out and I can't imagine being 3-4 miles away in a house would keep me from going back to the park at night. Here's a related question: do I have to pay for parking twice in one day if I come back to the same park that night?

Jan

I don't know anything about All Star. Just do some homework and research it out before you decide. We've been to WDW approx. 6 times throughout the years while my kids were growing up. Unless Disney's policies have changed, you only pay once for parking. You pay on that day and WDW gives you a receipt designated for that day only. If you leave the park, just make sure you don't lose that designated receipt because you need it to show proof that you were there that day to get back into the park. Our last visit was in summer of 2000. I don't policy the parking policy at WDW has changed since then.

Cindy

The weather in Nov was about low 80's. One day was rather warm and I wish I had worn shorts to the park that day. Otherwise, I was comfortable in long pants and tshirts.
We swam in the pool one day but I bet it was heated. It was ok swimming.