Autograph books good idea or bad

[Twinprincesses]

I was considering getting these for my girls for our trip in April, but was wondering if they tend to be more stressful tahn they are worth??

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

we got a 50th anniverary autograph book at it was well worth it. never had a problem. we just love it. kids might forget but us older kids ( ) we love them. just remember you get to get the autographs and pictures too.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Hi! My kids have discovered that part of the fun at Disney World is searching for characters and getting those autographs!!!

On my first trip with children, I had no clue about the autograph thing, and therefore, we had no autograph book. My son had just turned four, and caught on, very quickly, that other children were getting autographs. So, we did miss those first few autographs, but found an autograph book for him very soon.

Even tonight, my daughter was looking back through her autograph book to remember who we had seen and making a mental list of those we must find in October.

I see that your girls just turned 3, so you may get away with not needing them. I would just be prepared to get one if they realize what they are missing out on. My little guy will have just turned 3 when we go, but since he has older siblings, he will have his own book. There is no way he would miss out on something his brother and sister will be doing.

I really don't find it to be stressful or a hassle. I enjoy "character hunting" too

 

[annie1995]

Our kids really loved them! It became a challenge on seeing how many new ones we could find everyday! It makes a great keepsake for later. We saved ours and took it back with us when we went in September and kind of picked up where we left off!

 

[Darth Sidious]

The autograph books are so worth it. Every kid has to have one in my mind. It's a little extra magic for them to bring home. They can go to their friends and say, "Look at what I have! Mickey Mouse signed my book!!" and they can get all excited and whatnot. It's alot of fun too. I've had a book ever since I was 2 1/2. I still get autographs and im 18, I still find it fun.

 

[CastMemberDWA]

I saw one cute idea for autographs while working at DAK...this one lady had acid-free card stock (different colors) cut out about 4x6 size and bundled together with one of those industrial (black) clips. She would have the characters each sign a different card. This way she would be able to match up the different autographs with her photos in her scrapbook at home later. I thought this was really clever. I once took a Creative Memories Scrapbook myself and had them sign the pages..but it was difficult to work around the autographs later. I think the card stock makes them super easy to manipulate!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I saw one cute idea for autographs while working at DAK...this one lady had acid-free card stock (different colors) cut out about 4x6 size and bundled together with one of those industrial (black) clips. She would have the characters each sign a different card. This way she would be able to match up the different autographs with her photos in her scrapbook at home later. I thought this was really clever. I once took a Creative Memories Scrapbook myself and had them sign the pages..but it was difficult to work around the autographs later. I think the card stock makes them super easy to manipulate!

I did something similar last time, made my own autograph book out of cardstock, not only did it work out better than the disney autograph books (thin paper), but I got alot of comments from handlers and "face charecters" complimenting me on it. For me getting autographs is one of the best things to do at WDW so I would say get/make a book and see how your children takes to it. Depending on thier age and personalities they might love it or might think its a pain, but if you are going to stand in line for charector pictures it only takes a few seconds to get an autograph, too. And sometimes the autographs sessions get silly or sweet from the charectors and make better photo ops.

 

[Mecha Figment]

If you do go and get an autograph book, please oh please don't get the ones with the gold pens. they don't work half the time and as characters they can not see the gold lettering on the blue paper. Also please use a dark and bold pen and you you will get a much better autograph.

 

[DisneyTarheel]

It's a little extra magic for them to bring home.

My kids are still too young, but oldest is getting close so I have been thinking about this more lately. I'm all for getting a "little" extra magic, but my big fear is that the quest for character autographs will end up consuming gobs of time. I've seen some of those lines and started twitching at the thought (sorry - - - I do this for parades, too, and fully realize it is my deficiency, not the parade. My DW and DS3 and DS2 love them). Do you find you are able to work in it to your routine without much impact?

 

[bjkj]

Originally, we were NOT going to do the autograph thing, but my friend made both of my kids one DD9 and DS6. It turned out to be one of the funnest things on our trip. I'll never forget Woody playing "keep away" with my son and him laughing and my daughter bear hugging Mickey! Each night, my kids would write down a little bit about the day day. Kind of turning it into a journal. It brought back all of the fun we had. It's great seeing the fun through your kids eyes! Do it! If the lines too long, skip it and try again. You'll be surprised at how many times you just run into a character and don't have to stand in line.

 

[indigoxtreme]

For our DGD age 4 we did this as it broke the ice around the large characters. For little ones who have not seen the characters in life they are large in size. It gave her a reason for going up to the character and she felt safe as the first thing they did was take the book and the sharpie and sign her book. She felt wonderful and was ready to give them a hug at that point or to slap their hand in a clap. It was and is wonderful. I still remember my own DD and DS doing this when they were little, now DD is 28 and DS is 22

 

[LiteBrite]

My kids are still too young, but oldest is getting close so I have been thinking about this more lately. I'm all for getting a "little" extra magic, but my big fear is that the quest for character autographs will end up consuming gobs of time. I've seen some of those lines and started twitching at the thought (sorry - - - I do this for parades, too, and fully realize it is my deficiency, not the parade. My DW and DS3 and DS2 love them). Do you find you are able to work in it to your routine without much impact?

Well, the bad news is that yes, it probably will take gobs of time. The good news is that your kids will have a great time getting the autographs, and then have a wonderful keepsake that's completely unique to them.

My DD is 18 now, but I remember those autograph book years fondly, particularly our ongoing quest for DD's favorite, the ever-elusive Daisy Duck. The autograph years were followed by the pin trading years, which were just as expensive in terms of time, and much more so in terms of money! Pin trading eventually gave way to thrill riding, which led to its adjunct, the bringing along of friends on trips - you get the picture. They grow up fast, and you'll enjoy each stage in a different way.

Have fun being autograph hounds while it lasts!

 

[cheerbop]

Do the Autographs....AND, an easier way to get them is to have a Character Meal....you don't have to stand in line, THEY come to YOU!
You have to eat anyways....
We did get quite a few from other characters not at the meals, but the meals are a great way to get them!
Have Fun!

 

[disneymom727]

Do the books come with the pens or do you have to buy those separately? Would a sharpie pen run through to the next page? We've never done autographs before but are planning to on this trip. Please advise.

 

[The Sweetness]

Not at all stressfull, just fun! My dd always took great pride in finding new characters to add. She'll be 15 next time around, and as well as the pressed coins, I bet she'll be helping lil A start her autograph collection (and stickers too... Its a good thing I figured on budgeting at least $100 each for souvies )

 

[kmkja1]

My kids DD10, DS8 & DD7 just loved doing the autographs! It is a must do for kids.

 

[Darth Sidious]

but my big fear is that the quest for character autographs will end up consuming gobs of time.

it doesn't take up gobs of time at all. If you know that your looking for a certain character then just simply ask a cast member where to find him or her. Or if you randomly come across a character and you want then stop and get his/her picture autograph. Or check the times guide and they will tell you where some of the characters are. Alot of the characters appear randomly through out the park, while others are mentioned on the times guide

 

[TikiGoddess]

I thought the autograph books would take a lot of time and they do take some time, but they are totally worth it. We went in Oct. w/our boys 2&4 and they loved getting the autographs. The lines actually move pretty quick and it was fun to see who all we could get. The littlest was afraid of some characters and they were so great about getting him to warm up to him. Tinkerbell is his girlfriend, but he definitely fell in love with Jesse. Also Abby Mallard was priceless. Yes, we could've rode more and seen more attractions without the autographs, but I think each trip you take is different depending on the age of your kids and this and probably the next will be our "autograph" trips. I'm sure when they're teens we'll long for the days of autograph lines

 

[mom2riceboys]

You definitely need an autograph book. We've been three times and each time, my boys took their books. They have spent so much time at home looking at the books and comparing autographs from year to year. As my DS5 put it "getting autographs is just about the bestest thing in Disney!"

 

[indigoxtreme]

Do the books come with the pens or do you have to buy those separately? Would a sharpie pen run through to the next page? We've never done autographs before but are planning to on this trip. Please advise.

We bought the normal autograph book at WDW I think 7.99 and I brought 3 different colored Sharpies with me. They did not bleed through the pages. There are new Sharpies that have the push button on them to take the marker up and down, a few of the characters had these themselves and really liked them.