Autograph books: 1 for each child or 1 "family" book

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I know there are probably more important things that I should be thinking about or planning for this trip but for some reason this crossed my mind today. My kiddos will be 2, 4, 9, and 9 on our trip and I wonder if it will be time consuming having each child trying to get an autograph from all the characters we encounter at the character meals and meet and greets as well as the chore of trying to keep up with the whereabouts of everyone's books (add this to the time needed for everyone to get their special hug or hi five from the characters and getting in position for photographs) . Do you think it would be more practical to just do one "family" autograph book instead of getting an autograph book for each child? I was thinking of having one special "family" autograph book for the characters to sign and when we get back home put that autograph book up along with our family scrapbooks and photo albums so it would be kept in good condition for us to always have to reminisce about our trip. It seems like kids getting autographs are a big part of the character encounters. Do you think this choice would spoil the experience for my kids?

 

[luckyfin]

Do you kids share their other things or do you need to get more than one? That might be a good indicator.

 

[DuckMom]

When we went in June, I got one for both of my boys, but after the first night, we ended up just doing one. For me, it was just easier than trying to get pics, get multiple autographs, etc. It is in the same place as our photos of the trip and both buys look at it/share it. My boys also normally are not good about sharing, but I was in charge of the book when it was not getting signed, so I think that made it less of a "mine, no mine" object.

 

[brymolmom]

Let me tell you first - we are NOT big character people. We see characters at meals and maybe wait for one or two on a trip. We use one book only. Esepcially at meals - it is hectic enough with one book (for my 2 kids).

No way I would consider doing one for each with 4 of them.

 

[Tiggeriffic79]

Maybe you could have 2, 1 for the younger ones (who might not be that bothered anyway) and one for the oldest two. Maybe if they all took turns in asking for the autograph? So they each have a 'oh I got that one' memory and maybe an individual photo of them asking as well as the group photo?

You could always buy more if you see that there is tension

edit: just another thought, you could have two and pair a younger sibling with an older sibling, this might give the younger ones more confidence with the characters and the older ones a sense of responsibility

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

It depends on how long you are going and how many characters you plan to see. I let each of my kids have their own, which turned into 4 each. We were there 6 days.

If you get the ones without the picture spots they hold a lot more autographs. The ones without photo spots are cheaper also. You could always get them one each of those and explain to them once it is filled up you will not get another one, so either have then alternate characters or get their favorites.

I think they should have their own, so they will always have it when they grow up. I would do the picture together of all of you kids since you have 4 and maybe and individual one if it is a child's favorite. I only have two kids and I did most of my pictures together.

 

[maurrybs]

We used to get 3 (one for each kid), but it just became too hectic at autograph time. The kids don't seem to mind. We just have the younger 2 take turns handing it to the characters And we just get the cheapest one they sell. We are autograph junkies!

 

[DCbride]

I love the family idea! As someone who sees almost all the characters, I thank you in advance

 

[DisneyFamily123]

One family book for autographs sounds good to me! The books can get in the way of getting some good photographs -- the action shots as the children approach the character, before poses.... that's why I like to hold back on the autograph book until pictures are done.

How about picking something else for the characters to sign? Last year, we bought tshirts with the characters and had them sign. This year, we bought pillow shams (photo below) and had them sign. We ended up with 2 pillow shams covered with signatures.
The cloth is pretty easy to sign. We either stretched it over a table or over the autograph book and held it for the character. Fabric markers work best because the ink doesn't spread when writing like sharpies can do some times.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

the autographed pillow shams is a neat idea

 

[KristinU]

I just want to add that not every child will be in to the character autograph thing. My DS is one that has never been interested and we've offered the opportunity every time. So OP, even if you got 4 books you could end up wasting one or more based on interest alone.

 

[MinnieGi]

I like your family autograph book idea!! We just have two kids and they do each have their own book, however that one book has been used for all their trips to Disney and they are each now 10 & 6 with quite a few trips under their belt. The only reason we really did two books was b/c DD already had one with a princess cover and by the time DS asked for one he wanted something other than Princesses!

Maybe you could give each child a "turn" to get the autograph that way everyone will feel they have contributed to the action.

 

[AlternateEgo]

I love the family book! I am now thinking that I want to have a photo book of some sort and have the characters sign and then place pictures in later.

 

[littlezar]

We did 1 photo/autograph book. My 4 yr old had the book, the 9 yr old held onto the retractable Sharpie, 13 yr old held the book after the character was finished and the 15 yr old got the group moving along after pics were done! (Gotta have a system with 4 boys!! )

 

[robinsegg]

We actually did 1 for each child . . . but took spiral-bound index cards instead of an actual book. When one of the kids lost one, it was not a huge deal. We still had the autographs from the other 2, so we'll scan and print out those. We're going to buy each of the kids a scrapbook to put all their photos, autograph cards & special items in.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

It depends on the children involved. Some might share without any problem. I think it might be easier to share if there are only 2. However if it were mine when they were younger I can just hear it now. It's my turn to get the autograph first. Not it's mine. Or as soon as they saw the character one would grab the book and run for the character. Someone would get hurt. If your kids are competative then I would seriously consider multiple books. If you have 4 then I might do 2 kids per book.