Downtown Fort Collins was used as a model for Main St. USA at Disneyland. What buildings remain in town that were copied to any recognizable degree?

Disneyland: The object of children's' dreams, invader of parents' pocketbooks, world champion athletes' victory speeches and Fort Collins downtown.

Say what?

In my humble opinion (or IMHO for you whippersnappers who refuse to speak English) one of the neatest things about Fort Collins: our connection with native son Harper Goff, who helped design Disneyland's Main Street USA. Goff, who died in 1993, said he drew inspiration from multiple Fort Collins buildings in sketching out Disney's vision. 

But are there exact replicas of buildings from Fort Collins in Disneyland? That's a bit unclear. Goff said he copied parts of buildings in Fort Collins that became Disney's courthouse, firehouse and bank building. The Disney firehouse, in our eyes, bears obvious similarities to the old Fort Collins firehouse, now Old Firehouse Books and Happy Lucky's Teahouse. But it's also smaller and shorter. The old courthouse (depicted here) was replaced in 1950, but looks pretty similar. The Avery building housed a bank which is said to have been the model for the bank on Main Street.

To help settle this question, I'm proposing a trip to Disneyland. My boss said he'll spring for it as soon as I win the Superbowl.

My daughter is teaching herself sign language. Any local resources to help her learn or practice it?

Good study and lots of practice are essential to learning any language. Having folks to learn from and practice with makes it all the better.

In Fort Collins, you may want to talk to the folks at Rhoan Can Sign. RCS offers classes to all ages on a drop-in basis at Cool Beans Playhouse. Join them Mondays at 10 a.m. for a suggested donation of $15. Check with Jennifer (970-443-8593) for more info.

Good luck! If you bump into me, make sure to say hello (in whatever language you want)!

If I think my teenager has a drug problem where should I go for help in Fort Collins?

Few tougher situations than that for parents to face. I'll spare you the usual quirky answer and get straight to it.

You might want to give the folks at Team Fort Collins a call. They focus on preventing drug and alcohol abuse and will probably have a number of good recommendations based on the type of drug or drugs involved. You can contact them through their website www.teamfortcollins.org or by phone at (970) 224-9931.

Good luck.

What is the Growth Management Area of Fort Collins? And how is it established and / or changed?

Get your Fort Collins BEFORE it becomes Fort Collins!

For those not in the know, the Growth Management Area (or what people like me call the GMA when we're going to refer to it more than once) covers the land Fort Collins expects to eventually annex into city limits. It's a fairly common practice for towns and cities making long-rang plans.

The only way to change the GMA is through an ordinance approved by City Council. Over recent years, the Fort Collins City Council policy has been to not expand the GMA.

There's a bit on all sides, with the most growth happening northwest of the city. But why all the talking when we could just look at it. The city has a map showing current city boundaries and the GMA: http://www.fcgov.com/fortfund/pdf/growth-management-map.pdf

Which locally-owned restaurant serves the best breakfast/coffee?

Breakfast. It's the first, most important meal of the day. Some folks just skip it. But you? You settle for nothing less than the best waffle in town. And who has time for anything less than the best coffee coming from a local? Not you, that's who.

I like your style.

Sadly, I can't say that I'm the definitive voice on breakfast. I put peanut butter on my pancakes and take my coffee as black as they can make it. I don't want to push my opinions on you. So I asked about 13,000 of my friends on Facebook for their take. About 240 took the time to write me back. Here's what they had to say...

Snooze, Doug's Day Diner and Lucille's had strong showings, but while their roots are in Colorado, they aren't Fort Collins originals. For a locally-owned breakfast place, Silver Grill Cafe was the hands down favorite.

For coffee, the picture is a bit less clear. My friends swore by The Human Bean, a locally-owned drive-thru franchise. For those who prefer to sit and sip on-site, Little Bird Cafe, Bean Cycle and Harbinger Coffee all made an impression.

This question has made me both hungry and thirsty. So much so that I think it'll be one I revisit again.

Enjoy the eats!