We, too, were totally surprised that DD would be into the autographs. Her first trip was just after her 3rd birthday. Even if I had known that character autographs were a "thing" before we got there, I would have never guessed that my busy toddler would care about it at all. But we made a quick evening trip to Epcot for dinner on the night we arrived, and DD saw 4 or 5 kids waiting in line to meet Chip & Dale outside of Character Spot. She made a beeline for it once she saw that they "give real hugs, mommy!" and was devastated not to have a pretty notebook and pen like the other kids. Their handler actually gave her a little paper for them to sign, and she was hooked. Since then, she's filled at least one full book on every trip, and she loves to pour over the autographs afterward. We now try to do something special with autographs each trip. Last fall we had a princess sweatshirt signed by all the princesses and a t shirt signed by everyone else. In Nov we're taking a bunch of small hardback Disney kids books to have the covers signed by their main characters, then she'll give them out as gifts. Plus we always do a regular autograph book that we use to make our scrapbook when we get home.
Seriously, I'd bet DD would say character meet & greets and character meals are the best part of WDW.
Seriously, I'd bet DD would say character meet & greets and character meals are the best part of WDW.