DCL character autograph "Mickey Mail" being discontinued in August

[jcarwash]

Has this news been posted already?

Scott on the Disney Cruise Line Blog is reporting that dropping off items for character autographs (pillow cases, photo mats, etc.) will be discontinued on all ships in August 2015.

Full story here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...ey-mail-character-autograph-service-in-august

 

[AcuraTL]

Wow, so glad our cruise is on 8/3/15, just made the cutoff date.

 

[genki3]

I just saw this too. We are on the Aug 10th Wonder sailing. I had been looking forward to getting more items signed.

"The ship by ship discontinuation is as follows:

• Disney Dream – August 7, 2015
• Disney Fantasy – August 8, 2015
• Disney Magic – August 10, 2015
• Disney Wonder – August 10, 2015"

 

[Ravenne]

I just saw this too. I'm so bummed. It was a great service.
It doesn't mean you can't bring something with you for the character to sign during a meet n greet though, right? They just won't do the drop off/delivery service any more.

 

[sambycat]

I'm sure this got way out of hand. Hope they can hold strong and not be yelled at by guests who read about being able to do it on the interwebs!

 

[gumbypee]

oh man! I idnt know about it on my first cruise and was so looking forward to it next may. I won't, but I guarantee they will get yelled at

 

[Quellman]

I'd rather curtail it to a single item per cabin, but even then the potential number of cabins requesting things would be a pain (as mentioned in the article). Not to mention there is always liability having stuff just delivered outside rooms to hang there. We had another persons items delivered to our room. We notified the attendant that it wasn't ours and they got it to the right room, but still, we could have just taken it and no one would have known.

 

[jcarwash]

I just saw this too. I'm so bummed. It was a great service.
It doesn't mean you can't bring something with you for the character to sign during a meet n greet though, right? They just won't do the drop off/delivery service any more.

Right, you can still get character autographs at meets.

 

[DisneyMom70]

Bummed. Meet and greets were so much more interesting and relaxing without having to worry about getting autographs for the kids. I think it gave the characters more time to be playful with the passengers. I also wish they were giving more notice as I had prepped stuff for our August cruise. There is no way I'm dragging the photo mats all over the ship. I do promise not to yell though.

 

[EvieBug]

I'm bummed out - we don't cruise until the end of next year and I had planned already to get a nice photo mat to get signed for the kids. I will probably still do it via having them sign during meet and greets, but it's not as nice as the drop off service.

(I would never yell though)

 

[Mickey4me!]

Great....I bought 4 Black/White Disney plates last fall when we were at WDW so I could get them signed on our B2B in Nov.

 

[undertheradar]

This is a perk that should remain for concierge. Since you would have a limited number of staterooms eligible to participate, the reduction in time allocated to sign the items would be minimal.

 

[genki3]

I know you can still get your things signed by the characters during the meet and greets and character appearances but I thought the only reason why they offered this at Guest Services was to cut down on the time between guests in line.

Also the quality of the signatures may suffer...

On my last DCL cruise, I did the Guest Services thing as well as had my little girl get her autograph book signed by each character she waited in line to see. I noticed that the signatures, although similar, tended to be messier in the autograph book. This makes sense because the characters can barely see behind thick masks what they are signing and they are rushing to take pictures to get through all the people in line.

For the amount of money we pay to go on DCL instead of a different line, I'm saddened that they are getting rid of this special service. That was one of the things I'd brag about to my friends who've never gone on DCL.

 

[Ravenne]

Bummed. Meet and greets were so much more interesting and relaxing without having to worry about getting autographs for the kids. I think it gave the characters more time to be playful with the passengers. I also wish they were giving more notice as I had prepped stuff for our August cruise. There is no way I'm dragging the photo mats all over the ship. I do promise not to yell though.

That's exactly what I thought about character meet n greets on the ship. It was so much nicer than in the parks, because it's more relaxing and laid back, plus shorter wait, and the characters really get into it and it's just so much more enjoyable. I really hope this doesn't end up affecting character interactions with guests too.

 

[Trera]

I'm sure this got way out of hand. Hope they can hold strong and not be yelled at by guests who read about being able to do it on the interwebs!

We heard from a couple of cast members that this did in fact get way out of hand.

It was something that a few people requested early on, years ago and then once it was posted here and on other boards...............it took off and Disney didnt know what had happened before it was too late.

 

[havaneselover]

Sad My kids are older so not a huge loss for us, but the signed pillow cases and photo mats would never have come out had we taken them to the meet and greets.

 

[mmouse37]

I know you can still get your things signed by the characters during the meet and greets and character appearances but I thought the only reason why they offered this at Guest Services was to cut down on the time between guests in line.

Also the quality of the signatures may suffer...

On my last DCL cruise, I did the Guest Services thing as well as had my little girl get her autograph book signed by each character she waited in line to see. I noticed that the signatures, although similar, tended to be messier in the autograph book. This makes sense because the characters can barely see behind thick masks what they are signing and they are rushing to take pictures to get through all the people in line.

For the amount of money we pay to go on DCL instead of a different line, I'm saddened that they are getting rid of this special service. That was one of the things I'd brag about to my friends who've never gone on DCL.

I can understand how you feel, but honestly, this started out as a very unofficial service. It was done for a guest who posted about it and then it took off, with many, many people each cruise doing it and it became bigger and bigger and must have taken too much time to do. I can totally see why they are eliminating it. It must have gotten totally out of hand for a service that really was not ever officially offered. Yes, they had to organize and it became a given that it was going to be done but I can see how it would take a ton of time.

On top of that I bet they were tired of getting flak if things were not done specifically as requested. There have been many reports on here of people being unhappy how their items came out.

MJ

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I can imagine it got way out of hand.

Personally I'd be happy to pay $25/item to get something signed this way still.

 

[beckylola]

I like the idea of paying something per item much better than just concierge being able to do it. I would especially hope that the money would go directly to the people who are doing the signing, not just into Disney coffers.

 

[Bee2u]

I just saw this too. I'm so bummed. It was a great service.
It doesn't mean you can't bring something with you for the character to sign during a meet n greet though, right? They just won't do the drop off/delivery service any more.

I'm bummed out - we don't cruise until the end of next year and I had planned already to get a nice photo mat to get signed for the kids. I will probably still do it via having them sign during meet and greets, but it's not as nice as the drop off service.
(I would never yell though)

A friend called DCL about this, and the characters will only be signing autograph books, not other items.