Autograph books...new ideas?

[brandy_m]

We are lucky and get to visit about every 2 years. My mom and dad live close, so we don't spend a whole week at the parks, just a day or two.

We're leaving next Friday!! YAY!! All of us (Dh and me, DSs 8 and 7 and DD 4 and my mom and dad) will be visitng AK and MK. DH and I are doing EPCOT alone one day and staying over at POP that night.

I am a scrapbooker and make the kids autograph books every trip. They LOVE them while we're there, but once we come home, they're toast. Any other ideas, or just skip it?

DD 7 is way into Pirates and DD 4 is into the Princesses.

Thanks.

 

[myprincessgirlisa]

Id do it

i got DD a cool purse that fit her book in perfectly for her to carry...the strap was long enough to sling it !!

for the boy you might be able to find a cool carry pouch...like a mock pirate treasure bag

i kept the pens in the bags too

they made it home safe & undamamged

 

[MichelleinMaine]

It's a non-scrapping idea (though you could take pics for the album ) but when were there, I saw someone having all the characters autograph a plain ball cap with a sharpie. It looked really neat. The kids got the autographs, one less thing to carry, and actually useful when they get home.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfMyChild]

I am a faithful & addicted Creative Memories scrapbooker and this is what I do every summer WDW trip. I take my daughter's WDW autograph book (been using the same one each summer for 3 years), I cut triangles out of Creative Memories paper (several colors) and use adhesive to stick them to the pages of the autograph book before we leave for the trip. I have my DD be sure to have each character sign on the triangle and be sure to also get a photo of her with the same character(s). When we get back home, I take the triangles out of the autograph book and use adhesive to place them on the scrapbook page next to the photo of the her with the character. Works great, because all photos go into a 12x12 scrapbook and the colored triangles add a splash of color to each page!

She carries the small autograph (blue one with Mickey & the Gang on cover) and matching large Mickey pen in her small backpack to each park with her throughout out our trip!

Hope this idea helps! SCRAPBOOKERS UNITE!!!!

 

[BlueKangaroo]

I was planning on getting one of those small dry erase boards for the kids (5x7 maybe?) Then when they met the character, they could sign the board, pose for pics, then erase and be ready for the next character!

That way you have the autograph and pic in one place - because I have NO idea where my kids books are and neither do they!!

 

[mickeymaker2003]

We use zip down hooded sweatshirts as our autograph books. You can tie them around your waist so you don't have to carry them and you can wear them if it gets chilly (or you end up someplace overly air conditioned). Wash it before you use it, use Sharpie markers to write on it (the characters love the retractable ones), and iron it with lots of steam before you wash it. They hold up really well. If the autograph starts to fade, you can just re-trace it with fresh Sharpie.

When you get home, you can wear it as a reminder of your trip. We use the same sweatshirt each trip and just keep adding to it--I think I have about 40 signatures on my shirt from Disneyland.

My DD (14 months) is going on her first trip to WDW in Sept. We will buy her an adult size shirt to start collecting autographs on. She can use it as a blanket until she is big enough to wear it and she will not outgrow it.

Also--I believe characters will not sign something while you are wearing it.

 

[holly7347]

My 5 year old loves looking at photo albums. I found a cheapo photo album once and filled it with duplicates or pictues that I decided not to scrapbook and she still loves to look at it a couple years later. So for Disney I decided to get one of the autograph books that has a signature page on one side and a place for a photo on the other side of the page. Then when we get home I can put a picture of each character (hopefully posing with DD(s) next to their signature. I'm hoping that my girls will like that since they like looking at pictures.

 

[gottalovethem]

My 5 year old loves looking at photo albums. I found a cheapo photo album once and filled it with duplicates or pictues that I decided not to scrapbook and she still loves to look at it a couple years later. So for Disney I decided to get one of the autograph books that has a signature page on one side and a place for a photo on the other side of the page. Then when we get home I can put a picture of each character (hopefully posing with DD(s) next to their signature. I'm hoping that my girls will like that since they like looking at pictures.

We went through two of these books on our last trip and DD (and DS) love them! They are also great for Show and Tell

I like the triangle idea too -- I wonder if I make paper that will later be inserted into a side-by-side album (one of the small ones with the sig inserted on the left and photo on the right) how I would store those papers while we are touring.....

 

[Barb D]

My kids got tired of autograph books that just stayed on their bookshelves after they got home. They started using things like hats, fanny packs, etc. for autographs. We also have an autograph Cinderella pillowcase (bought at Walmart before the trip for $5) and a Mulan shoe signed by Mulan herself. The characters will autograph any article of clothing that is not currently being worn. Bring a stiff piece of cardboard to use as a hard surface if the article is soft like a T-shirt or pillowcase.

My personal favorite is DD8's autograph blankie, which I made for her when she was 2. It has a Minnie cotton print on one side and a soft fleece on the other. I sewed a pocket on one end so it can be folded into a pillow, and a fabric handle so that it can be attached to a stroller with those plastic link things. She used that for two trips to get autographs, and still treasures it.