Autograph book alternatives

[Colinsmom]

We've avoided it on prior trips, but I think that there will be no escaping the character autograph collecting on this trip for our 5yo DS. But the book idea doesn't excite me - what else have you used to collect character autographs? I'm thinking that a baseball cap would be cute (and could be displayed in his room) - other thoughts?

TIA!!

 

[DisMom-2-SSS]

We did our own last year by decorating index card folders and getting the characters to sign the cards. then we took the cards and put them in an album next to the photo that was taken with that character.

But, I just recently learned of a great idea! There is a Jr. Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Characters that you can get on Amazon.com or book stores. The characters are in alphabetical order so all you have to do is flip to their page adn let them sign the book!
For those that are not animated (like Mary Poppins), they can sign in the front or back, etc.

ME FAMILY

 

[PudgetteD]

We let DS, then 5, wear a plain white T-shirt and had the characters autograph it with different colored sharpies. The only drawback was keeping him clean at meals I still have the shirt and it looks as good as it did 3 years ago, he bought a really big stuffed lion ( like 3 feet long) @ AK, and his lion wears the shirt.

 

[disneymarie]

Our daughter has a Autograph Pluto, dog . She loves it!!! I love when Tigger autographed across the butt, lol.
This was purchased from a vender Main st. Disney as we walked in.
dianne

PS Use a Sharpie writing marker.

 

[cissy]

I am pretty sure that characters will NOT sign autographs while they are on a persons body. To get a shirt signed, make sure it is pre-washed and then have a piece of cardboard under it to prevent the sharpie bleeding through.

 

[PudgetteD]

I am pretty sure that characters will NOT sign autographs while they are on a persons body. To get a shirt signed, make sure it is pre-washed and then have a piece of cardboard under it to prevent the sharpie bleeding through.

I had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM with this at all. Characters signed the sleeves and back only because I wanted to keep the front free for an iron on transfer made from one of DSs pictures. I got a Jerzees Tee and never had a problem with ink bleeding through to his skin.

 

[PudgetteD]

After reading how snippy my 2nd post sounded, I though I needed to add this. Cissy is correct in that characters MAY not sign shirts on a person's body. Maybe there's an age limit to this or maybe we just got really nice characters/CMs that day. Also, it was in 2004, so maybe the rules have changed. Then again, maybe the characters just didn't want to disappoint a little boy with braces on his legs and oxygen, who knows. I only offered my experience as a suggestion as to what worked well for us.

 

[PA Princess]

We just returned from our very first trip with kids and no autograph books, and I have to say it was quite liberating!!! Our older boys (no 12 and 13) and older daughter (7) all have several filled books and no interest in character autographs (though they all still love the characters) and the youngest at 2 had no idea about the autographs!

It did seem this trip that the autograph books in general were less emphasized by Disney...you saw them fewer places and you noticed less people even at character meals getting siggies. I know at the little one's EMH that autographs were no allowed and I wondered if perhaps Disney was moving towards emphasizing these less??

We have done books, shirts, hats, scrap papers, and a photo frame mat (great end result with a lovely family pic!).

 

[Honeymooner04]

Last May when we went I purchased books of the characters that we were going to see at character meals for them to sign. My daughter loves looking at the books and seeing where her favorite characters signed them. We ate at Hollywood and Vine and had a Little Einstein book and JoJo book. We're eating at Chef Mickey's this time and I'll have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book for the characters to sign. Have fun on your trip!

 

[LadyShea]

We just cut construction paper in half, "bound" it with yarn, and DNiece decorated the front with stickers. The characters had a lot of room to sign which seemed easier on them, then we pasted the autographs next to the photos of our niece with the characters on a big poster board, making a collage that hangs in her room at her Nana's house.

 

[luvdisneyalways]

We've used ballcaps, t-shirts and my favorite...pillowcases. My girls love to sleep on the autographed pillowcase!

 

[TnTWalter]

Thanks...

I was driving myself crazy trying to think of something else to create....
I've already made 5 iron on tshirts per person 7 total... 3 kids...

I'll have to go get some plain white pillowcases....easy to carry too...like the pluto idea but I don't want to carry 3 stuffed animals through all the parks!!

Woo Hoo...

Also love the matte idea...but I'd be afraid it wouldn't make it...

Trish

 

[dismom301930]

a photo frame mat (great end result with a lovely family pic

I second this! We did photo mats last year and had the characters sign with different colored Sharpies. Since I have three DDs, this allowed us to get autographs without having to have three books. Plus our mats look great in frames with pics from our trip!

Also love the matte idea...but I'd be afraid it wouldn't make it...

I was also a little afraid about how the picture mats would hold up. We had no problem. I bought thick mats and kept them in my backpack in a plastic bag. It worked out great!

 

[Colinsmom]

I second this! We did photo mats last year and had the characters sign with different colored Sharpies. Since I have three DDs, this allowed us to get autographs without having to have three books. Plus our mats look great in frames with pics from our trip!

I was also a little afraid about how the picture mats would hold up. We had no problem. I bought thick mats and kept them in my backpack in a plastic bag. It worked out great!

What size mats did you get? This is the idea that I'm leaning most towards.

Thanks to all!!

 

[PollyannaMom]

I did the photo mat, too! - I love it because it is on display and not tucked away somewhere. Ours was 8x10, with 2-2x3 openings, and came out like this:

But you could do one larger pic just as easily. - The key is a wide enough border for them to sign. Also, as someone else said, a thick mat is best so it holds up well to toting around (and I always put it in a large plastic ziploc inside our bag, so even if the bag got wet, it was extra-protected.)


P.S. - I love the pillowcase idea, too. - I think I'll tuck that one away for next time!

 

[Aliceacc]

How funny... I was just looking at books at amazon.com

This is the first time for my kids-- ages 10,8, and 5. I was thinking of the $2 books, small enough to put into the fanny packs they're getting for Christmas. If they choose not to use them, I'm not out lots of money.

What do you think?

 

[dismom301930]

What size mats did you get? This is the idea that I'm leaning most towards.

We used an 8x10 mat with a 4x6 opening. We actually brought four mats and had each character sign a certain mat: Mickey and friends, Pooh and friends, Princesses and then everyone else on the final one. It worked out great and they look fantastic hanging as a group in our playroom.

In my opinion, the most important things to consider when choosing a mat are thickness (so it doesn't get bent when you are in the parks) and overall size (to make sure it fits in the bag you will be using in the parks).

I found some great frames with mats that I was planning to use, but when I opened them up the mats were way too thin. I also considered using a larger mat but I wanted to be able to store it in the backpack so I went with 8x10.

 

[michella]

I love this idea. We are leaving in 2 days, I guess I'll be running to the store TONIGHT!!!

 

[nuzmom]

We made a wallhanging for each of our kids on our last vacation. They turned out great and are hanging in their rooms.

I chose plain cotton fabric that went with their rooms (blue/green) and even added a few iron ons of their favorite disney characters. I used a small clipboard to keep it on and ready for signatures. Moving it around to spread out the autographs.

You could probably do something similar with a pillow case if you didn't want to sew. But, if you're using it for a wall hanging, make sure you only have 1 side signed.