Age for first autograph book

[annie1995]

My DS will have just turned 2 when we go this August. What age is good for their first autograph book? I'm thinking 2 is still too young, maybe 3? Thanks for your imput!!

 

[~Kristina~]

Ayden had just turned 2.

 

[cjemscott]

I think it depends on how your child reacts to characters...we went to WDW in Jan and my DS is 2 - he was a little nervous at first when around characters, but by the end of the day, he was fine with them and enjoyed the autograph book - we take a Creative Memories Disney 8x8 album and have one signature per page and then add pic when we get home - my two sons loved it! But if he is too afraid of characters, I wouldn't want to "tortune" him anymore than needed...

 

[LoveMyDisneyCats]

With my second one, we let her do it at age 2 or so. We actually used it as a way for her to be "brave" and go see the characters. She LOVES the characters.....with a five foot rule in place! But once she got the book, she loved being able to walk right up to Belle or Minnie and meet them. It gave her a purpose and she enjoyed it. She'd then turn around, take a picture, etc. When she was done, she'd be so excited to tell us over and over how she talked to Belle (or whoever) and how Belle signed her book, then she'd have to show us....30 times...... It was a good age for her to do it!

 

[SantaClaus]

Learn to expect the unexpected with the little ones (like you didn't know that already!). DD was almost 3 and one day she'd love getting autographs and the next day not.

However, there were certain ones she would scream at (e.g. Rafiki) in fear if we encountered them by chance (even tho she rode the Barnstomer 7 times in a row with Dad!). Like someone else said, don't push it. Also, if there are characters she doesn't like, find out who you are going to meet when you queue up at places like ToonTown Fair.

The Characters are excellent at working with the kids. Two of our best photos are of Goofy sitting down with her at Toontown Fair and The Cat in Hat (at Universal) sitting on the back of a "motorcycle" she had retreated to. In both cases she was extremely reluctant to see them. Luckily we (and they) had time and the characters did a great job of respecting her hesitation while bringing her out of her shell.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

We have taken a different approach to character autographs. We buy a hooded, zip down sweatshirt and have characters autograph that with a black sharpie marker (we wash the shirt before we get signatures to get the sizing out). Retractable sharpies work well--no messing with the cap. Then iron the autographs with steam or a damp towel over top and they stay well even when it is washed repeatedly. Our 'autograph books' are wearable if we get cold, can be tied around our waist instead of having to carry them, and are a great conversation piece when you wear them later. We are taking my daughter in Sept (she will be 19 months old) and are buying her an adult size sweatshirt so she won't outgrow it. She can use it as a blanket for now. Then at each return trip, you can keep adding to it as you meet more characters (you could put little hash marks under the autographs for repeat visits with the same character if you wanted to see how many times you've met them). I think my Disneyland one has over 40 different autographs on it from assorted trips and my Disney World one has at least 25 from one trip. Many of the autographs are cool to look at.

You could also do a t-shirt that the child is not wearing. The policy is that they can't autograph clothing while it is being worn.

Just a thought...

 

[Mrs264]

My H was 3 1/2 last yr when we bought her first autograph book. She was so into it! We had to stand in every line to meet every character She was old enough to understand what was going on - and to this day, she still pages through it to reminisce!
Mrs 264

 

[goldenears]

Like PPs said, it really depneds on your child. My oldest DD turned 1 on her first trip to WDW and she LOVED the characters. We bought her one of the autograph books with spaces for autographs and pictures and had characters sign it. Now she is 2 and LOVES looking through the books at the autographs and the pictures of her with the characters.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I say when they know what they are doing and can do it themselves. We just went and DD was 2. I did not get her an autograph book because that would mean I would be doing most of the work. And she would want to write in it too.

I also don't stand in line for the characters most of the time. Unless the line is short and the kids REALLY want to see them. I do lots of character meals and you get lots of characters there!

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

We went just after my ds turned 2, and dd turned 4..and we got each one of them their own autograph book. He really enjoyed taking the book up to the character and watched them signed it...especially Goofy!!! He thinks it is so funny that Goofy puts the autograph on his nose to sign it....and we have quite a few autograph of Goofy.

 

[chip007]

We went for the first time with DD when she was 3, and did not do autographs -- just photos. We went again this February when she was 4 and got her an Ariel autograph book before we went (I actually bought two, just in case there was a problem) and it worked great. At 4 she was old enough to really enjoy getting the autographs, plus it was something new.

She also suggested (and we did) bringing her Peter Pan book to the park to have the characters sign that. It was a great idea. Captain Hook and Smee really hammed it up looking for the pages with their pictures to sign.

 

[everylastbreath]

When my kids were younger (they are now 27 & 25) they did not use autograph books, the character signed the placemats and I can still remember my poor husband was anxiously waiting for us to leave a character breakfast at Chef Mickeys, but the kids needed one more autograph and we had to sit and wait, I can still here his voice as he said to me "please just give me the placemat and I'll sign it!" Still laugh when we see the autograph books!!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Will your 8 yo have one? If your other children have one she will want one. Would they share? When my kids were 11 months, 3 & 4 1/2 the older 2 had books, when they were almost 2, almost 4 and 5 1/2 they each had one but on every trip since then they have shared. It is a lot quicker when they share.

 

[amyj1024]

I have read sites that suggest using the autograph books for younger kids, it gives them something to present to the characters, rather than just walking up to them. It might ease the anxiety of meeting the characters. We plan on using one for my 5 year old during her first trip in Oct. She is rather shy, so I know this will help her when she comes face to face with the characters.