Autograph books good idea or bad

[susykt4]

My kids are 5 and 3 and autographs were definitely the highlight of both of our family trips. We went in April '05 and were very surprised at how much both kids loved the characters. DD then 4 1/2 loved the autographs and DS then 2 1/2 loved the characters but didn't care about the autographs. We just got back from our second trip and DS now 3 HAD to have his own autograph book. We used books of spiral bound index cards that came in different colors. I then put the autographed index card below the picture of the kids and character in a photo album. A fun alternative if you're not into scrapbooking. I also make journal entries on these cards and insert them into the photo sleeves.

We did spend tons of time in character lines and even waiting around for characters to show up, but that's what the kids really wanted to do. We got more than 50 autographs and met around 60 different characters. The kids LOVE to look at their album.

 

[DisneyMom5]

[I didn't read the other responses, but here goes...LOL]
Your girls are just a bit older than my one dd. She did not get the concept of autographs at all, but did participate in a few pics with the characters. The rest she was afraid of. I think the books are best for older kids. My older 3 shared a book and then would all get their pic together with the character at hand.
There are a few characters who cannot sign autographs also, just so you know.
If you plan on going back to WDW in the future, save the books for then. (school age?)
They will appreciate the hunt much more, and won't have to worry about duplicates they got before they could remember.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

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

My thoughts exactly. Getting the book helped my older dd when she was 4, so we got one for our younger dd at 2.5, and for both, it was a way to interact with the characters without having to think of something to say or hug them too soon.

Just having the book didn't cause us to spend gobs of time in line waiting for autographs. My kids prefer rides to characters, just like their parents. The books were great for character meals and the odd character we saw without too long a line, but they won't cause you to fall into the mad quest for autographs trap, unless you want to.

 

[mel]

My girls already had 2 autograph books, so the last time we bought those big, puffy, white mickey gloves and markers and had them sign those and they are beautiful! My sister in law had them sign a soccer ball!

 

[bopper]

We have one book that my girls share. The autograph book sort of gives the kids a "script" to interact with the non-talking characters. They get an autograph, pose for the picture, and move on. If there is more interaction, great!
Now they make special autograph books that you can put pictures in, but we just used a standard Disney autograph book and when we got back we would paste the appropriate picture on the opposite page to the autograph. We use the same book for multiple trips. "Face" characters love to look through the book.

Make sure you put your name and address in the book...ours got left in a stroller, but was sent back to us!

Also, as the girls get older (9, 12) we just look for characters they don't already have in the book (more or less). If they want to bypass a certain character, we do.

 

[cheerbop]

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 used a sharpie pen in the normal autograph books sold in WDW and had no problems at all....they worked out great and the characters could see it on the paper through their costumes

 

[Goofy Rulz]

The autograph books are a great idea if you are attending a character meal. There is no waiting in line as they come to you and you can guarantee that all kids in your party will get the same characters to sign. All of the "Pooh" characters signed at Crystal Palace for our kids. It became stressful outside of the restaurants when the lines were super long for the characters and the kids didn't always get the autographs because the character's "time was up". They're great ideas if it is not a busy day when you visit.

 

[bedgraynexl]

I really agree with most of the previous posters. My DW and I had decided not to do the autograph books because we didn't think that DS6 and DD3 would be interested. First day at MK we met our heroes, Mickey and the Toy Story gang. The next day at AK DS noticed other kids getting books signed and asked me what they were doing. When I told him he thought that was just the neatest thing. He had to have a book and of course DD had to copy big brother. We got most of the characters, even doubling back to get Woody and Jessie. However we never got back to Mickey. Each time we saw him again there was either a mammoth line or we were dead tired and heading out of the park or to dinner. DS now 8 months later still says we need to go back so he can make sure Mickey signs his book.

 

[BankBunny]

DH and I have no children and I (30 yrs. old) have to get an autograph book for myself. It's that whole inner child thing.

 

[Mecha Figment]

the four Characters that come to mind that don't do autographs are....

Mike, sully, King Louie, and lady Dinosaur (from Dino Rama)


Like i said before. Bigger pieces of paper is better. It is hard to hold index cards and write well. I hate it when people give me little notebooks or cards to write on. It's near impossible to write on them while holding them. Do yourself and the characters a favor and use a larger sheet of paper and give them something hard to bare down on like a book backing. It's especialy difficult for characters like hook who only has one hand.

 

[Queen of 3 princess]

The autograph books are definetly worth it. I bought two books with pens on ebay for my two girls (5 and 7) before we left. This was a good idea because their were characters waiting as soon as we entered the park. We found it did take up alot of our time, though. We had planned to only go to the magic kingdom for one day but with the autographs we only got half way done with the park and had to go back an additional day. We did see a lot of characters though and it was very fun. This was one of the highlights of our girls trip.

 

[aterriq]

The other thing to get along with the book was a fanny pack. This is where are dd kept a bottle of water and their autograph book. Of course my girls were seven so wasn't too hard for them to use this.

 

[tiff211]

When we went last year, we had no idea about the books. So we went to the princess storybook breakfast without one. All those princesses and no book to sign!! The next day at animal kingdom, we figured out that a lot of kids were having books signed so we bought one for DD4. DD2 was afraid of all characters in costumes so we didn't get one for her. But this year I think we will get one for her.

 

[mom24kids2horses1hub]

I am a mom of 4 children (9-4) I one year we did the autograph books & the next year I went to our local disney store, bought all of the kids three own t-shirt that they chose at a much cheaper price than at disney world , bought a fine piont sharpie & thats what we used for the characters to sign, it was the best because now when they wear them the get excited !!
You must know that the characters are NOT allowed to sign clothing that you are wearing at that moment so just carry a small bag with your shirts & pen in it.
This year I think i am going to get just 1 item (maybe like a linen napkin or similar), to be signed by all characters we see & do a family photo at disney & when we get home I will have it framed & matted.

Be creative, have fun with it & definitely do some sort of autograph collecting. Also a fun thing is the penny press's

 

[mousiemom]

We bought a golden one w/the photos and a reg. blue one too. The gold one doesn't have that many pages(I think 20) I knew we would get more so I bought one more. We love getting the autographs and putting the pics next to it. During the weekdays @ MK the lines are not so bad.

 

[Tink n Poohbear]

We brought autograph books for the characters to sign in the parks, then we also brought oversized photo mats for the characters to sign at the meals (not at the parks - kind of a pain to carry around). Then when we got home, we put the kids pictures in frames with their signed mats - they a made a beautiful memoir of their trip.

 

[rrsafety]

I'm not a fan of the trek for more and more autographs.

I find that a photo will suffice...

 

[Kapp]

We have seen more parents yelling at their kids over these than anything! It takes so much time, slows you and others down and IMHO is a total waste of time. Would much rather snap a photo.

 

[Hunnybee]

My son turned 3 at WDW when we went. His favorite thing was seeing the characters (even though this was the boy that screamed bloody murder when Tony the Tiger character came up to him at Cereal City just a few months earlier!). He was the perfect age for it. He was too scared of most of the rides (anything dark) -- so we spent lots of time looking for characters. The interactions he had with the characters were priceless!!!!

I thought he would be scared, but he had no problems. I found a great tip on the boards before our trip. Rent (buy!) the movies Disneyland Fun, Mickey's Beach Party, and Mickey's Campout (not sure of the exact name of the last 2). They are movies that show "real" kids interacting with the characters. It gives the kids an idea of how big the characters are in relationship to children. Disneyland Fun is our favorite! I think it helped him.

A few tips for autographs:
1. Skip the really long lines unless it's someone you MUST have. They do shut down the lines with little or no warning! It's a bummer to wait a really long time and have nothing to show for it!
2. Buy a thick-barreled pen (easier for the characters to hang on to). We just bought ours when we bought the book at WDW.
3. When you get home, make copies of the picture of your child with each character and paste it on to the page next to their autograph. I think next time I will make sure the characters sign every other page so that I can have one page for the picture, one page with the autograph. This will make it easier for your girls to "read" the autographs. My son thought this was the best! Then he could tell whose signature was whose, even though he's not old enough to read. He is now 6 and it still brings back memories of that trip when he looks through the autograph book. It is definitely his favorite souvenir! (Also, the Disney ones were not that expensive -- believe it or not! When we went, I think they were only $6.00!)

I'm anxious to see how our next trip will be. We will be celebrating our DD's 3rd birthday at WDW in May. She's already saying she doesn't like "guys", just Minnie Mouse and Princesses. And, yes, that includes Mickey! Oh dear, I hope she changes her mind -- quick!!!!!

 

[tjmouse]

We have seen more parents yelling at their kids over these than anything! It takes so much time, slows you and others down and IMHO is a total waste of time. Would much rather snap a photo.

I have to agree - I dislike the whole autograph thing very much. However, once my dd figured out that the other kids were doing it, she wanted to do it too. I just couldn't say no. So, we did it. She was very good however. Had the page ready, the pen ready (and she's only 4!) and was quick to let me take a picture after the autograph.