autograph books

[tlcintheberry]

I know we can buy them there but do they come with a marker or do we buy it separate? If it does not come together then I can go to walmart and get retractable sharpies.

 

[lovedvc]

The are sold seperately. You can bring what ever pen you would like. I purchase the mickey head pen.

 

[Azure]

They are sold seperatly. Sharpies leak through paper i'm pretty sure so my best suggestion would be bring a pencil or a pen. But bring a sharpie and see!

Azure

 

[Harvestmooner]

Sharpies do leak through the paper, but they are nice to have if you want a hat or t-shirt signed by a character. We had my son's hat signed by Minnie-and he just loves to wear it!!
Also, try to have a pen you don't have to click in order for it to write-we had a click pen and Baloo didn't know to click it and my daughter didn't check it-so we had to go to the CM and have him resign the book. It was a pain for everyone!!!

 

[tlcintheberry]

Thanks for the info. your right the sharpie will leak.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Here's a tip a CM told me about pens. Try to bring or buy a fat pen or marker. Some of the characters wear big gloves (like MICKEY) and the fatter the pen the eaiser for them to hold.

 

[jj13]

I'm such a downer on the autograph thing so forgive my dissenting thought - I HATE THE AUTOGRAPH BOOKS.

I've never let my kids do them. I don't mind at the character meals and places where you are paying and there isn't really a question as to whether or not your kid will get to meet them....but when you see a line for a character your kid wants to meet (at least in the heat of July) and a CM tells you not to get in line because he'll be leaving soon and all the kids are standing there getting autographs it just irks me. It takes so much extra time. And there's always the pen with the cap stuck on, or the character can't hold so the parents are yelling around "does anybody have a bigger pen?" and in the meantime my kid could have gone up and had his picture snapped 5 times.....well it just irks me.

 

[CinRell]

I'm such a downer on the autograph thing so forgive my dissenting thought - I HATE THE AUTOGRAPH BOOKS.

I've never let my kids do them. I don't mind at the character meals and places where you are paying and there isn't really a question as to whether or not your kid will get to meet them....but when you see a line for a character your kid wants to meet (at least in the heat of July) and a CM tells you not to get in line because he'll be leaving soon and all the kids are standing there getting autographs it just irks me. It takes so much extra time. And there's always the pen with the cap stuck on, or the character can't hold so the parents are yelling around "does anybody have a bigger pen?" and in the meantime my kid could have gone up and had his picture snapped 5 times.....well it just irks me.

I couldn't agree more.. I know it's fun for children and when I take my niece I"ll probably get her one but just the other day, I was telling my mom that now kids get autographs.. she looked at me strange and said what?? why!?!?

What I *really* don't get is adults who have autograph books. I remember going to WDW when I ws little and there were no lines to meet characters.. you went up, snapped a pic, and the next person went. Now it's a whole process per person. Oh well.. like I said I'll prob get a book for my niece so.. whatever makes the kids happy. I just wish the whole fad never started LOL

 

[rosiejo]

Hi tlcintheberry - the books don't come with markers but you can buy some sharpies before you go - or when you get there.

I made my autograph book before I went on my last trip - using images of each of the characters so they had their own special page to sign- the characters loved it and I got a lot of extra interaction. Other DIsers have used my images and had similar pixie dust experiences - if you'd like to take a look there is a link in my sig.

I have to put in my 2 cents about adults and autographs too - I was 29 last trip and it was the first time I collected autographs, it was our wedding trip and DH and I had a lot of magical moments with the characters. WDW is meant to be a magical place for kids and adults alike so why can't we all see the characters?

If it's not your thing then that's fine but maybe you should try having your picture taken with a character sometime - I know that Woody stealing me away from my new hubbie and running across Frontierland with me was one of the highlights of my holiday

 

[CinRell]

Oh I get my pics taken all the time! And I do understand children getting autographs.. they dont' realize it's a college kid in an outfit.. I get my pics taken by statues too though...

I'm not trying to be mean.. when I get my photo taken with a character, I have someone snap it, and then leave... I just don't see taking time away from children in line who are in awe of meeting the "real" mickey mouse.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

I have made an autograph book for my DD for all of our trips and I have to disagree about it just being college kids in costumes

The reason Disney is so wonderful is the ability to suspend disbelief and be a child again believing in Disney Magic!! I made a scrapbook out of the autograph pages and now she has an awesome scrapbook with autographs to go with it - and the characters write really funny things - especially if you make your own pages!!

I don't understand why you would begrudge this of an adult?!?!? I know lots of people who have had wonderful character interaction as adults and cherish those memories and truth be told - having an autograph page can open up character interactions!!!

My daughter has a special "Belle" at WDW who has just taken to my little girl - they have ridden the tea cups together twice and Belle will always hold a special place in my heart for the love she has given my DD - the interaction with Belle grew b/c my DD had an autograph page that said "Celebrating my 3rd Birthday"

I used to be a skeptic too - but if you have never tried autograph books - you might want to give it a try once!!

It must be pretty popular since Disney has encouraged the autogrpah books and as a result increased the number of characters in the parks - when I went to WDW as a child - I don't even remember meeting any characters - they just weren't around like they are now!!!

 

[CinRell]

I know I sound so harsh. Maybe I worded it wrong.. I guess while disney is for everyone, I believe in taking as little time as possible doing soemthing like this when small children are in line waiting... they can take all the time they want, however.. I just feel bad for those waiting in the long lines there now.

When I was growing up I had a very different experience. We used to go annually to WDW in the mid 70s, early 80s and I remember characters being everywhere! In fact most of my pics from those days are me with characters.. characters I rarely even see now! I also remember characters getting more "into character".. I remember grumpy scared me half to death, stomping everywhere and shaking his fist at everyone.

 

[Tammi67]

IMO children have no concept time. They have no idea how long a half hour is. They just want to meet the character and they know they have to wait their turn to do it. It is us adults who put the negative spin on it. We are the ones that don't want to "stand around" when there is something else that we can be doing. Kids don't care! What difference does it make if they wait to meet a character or wait to ride Peter Pan? Or should adults not ride that because they make the line and wait longer for the children?

 

[jj13]

Lots of different and good opinions on the topic. I enjoy reading them all.

Just to re-state. I don't mind the autograph thing at places where the characters are there for unlimited period of time and we'll all get a turn...whether that be at a character meal or at Toon town. When I get miffed is at a place like MGM, where the characters come out sporadically and for short period of time (at least in the summer). You could be in an area where there are 8 characters your kid would like to get a photo with (and yes I often get my photo with the character too....I stand there..somebody shoots and I'm gone) - but in these circumstances the extra time it takes really does take away from the number of kids who get anything.

We were in MGM, by the Big Hat and the CM let us line to meet one of those green soldiers from Toy Story...my son really wanted his pic. with them...it was July heat and 2 people after us the CM wouldn't let anybody else in line. Almost every kid in front of us had an autograph book and 3 people in front of us the CM said "that's it - he has to go now, he'll be back later". My son was crushed. Typically I've seen the CM let all the folks in line meet the character no matter how long it took but I guess due to the heat the guy was watching his watch.

I know the books will not go away. As for adults, to each his own, but in all honesty I can't say I would personally find much value in an autograph from Cinderella who was our waitress 2 days later at Fulton's crab house. The real Winnie-the-pooh lives in my heart (and will always be the fat guy with the honey pot on his head). I remember meeting him and lots of other characters when I was a kid back in the 70's in Fantasyland.

 

[kc10family]

I couldn't agree more.. I know it's fun for children and when I take my niece I"ll probably get her one but just the other day, I was telling my mom that now kids get autographs.. she looked at me strange and said what?? why!?!?

What I *really* don't get is adults who have autograph books. I remember going to WDW when I ws little and there were no lines to meet characters.. you went up, snapped a pic, and the next person went. Now it's a whole process per person. Oh well.. like I said I'll prob get a book for my niece so.. whatever makes the kids happy. I just wish the whole fad never started LOL

How very interesting.

I believe it was Walt Disney who said the following:

Or heritage and ideals, our code and standards - the things we live by and teach our children - are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.

We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun- together.

You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.

Your dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.

 

[my3princes]

I think that adults should embrace collecting autographs as well as children. I look at it as a hunt to collect as many autographs as we can on each trip. It is fun to get home and see how many we got and then we add photos to the autograph books to make them a more personalized momento. I do not consider it any different than pin trading which many adults do and there is often lines to do that too. Disney wouldn't promote the autographs the way they do if it were just for children. My children will give up rides to meet a character and so will I. You pay to get in and have a set amount of time to spend in a park. It is an individual choice on how to spend those hours. My children know that they may not always get to meet a character if the line is too long, but most often they are out again so we come back or wait. It really is no different than children sitting outside of Rockin Roller Coaster waiting for the taller/older members of their parties to get off the ride or vice versa for parents waiting for their kids to get off the carosel. It is a choice and everyone should be encouraged to spend their theme park time however they want and not be judged for it.

Deb

 

[julia & nicks mom]

I would also like to point out that Cinderella will never be your waitress two nights later at Fulton's Crab house

they go through a lot of training

I have met a character out of character and when I see her in character - I am flabbergasted at how she becomes that character so beautifully!!! I don't ever look at her and think oh there's ***** - I think there's mary Poppins

 

[CinRell]

IMO children have no concept time. They have no idea how long a half hour is. They just want to meet the character and they know they have to wait their turn to do it. It is us adults who put the negative spin on it. We are the ones that don't want to "stand around" when there is something else that we can be doing. Kids don't care! What difference does it make if they wait to meet a character or wait to ride Peter Pan? Or should adults not ride that because they make the line and wait longer for the children?

Points all well taken. I'm sorry if I offended anyone.. by no means did I mean this.. but I wish my niece and little cousin had no concept of time.. They obviously aren't as patient as your little ones.. LOL.

Again sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.

 

[kc10family]

Points all well taken. I'm sorry if I offended anyone.. by no means did I mean this.. but I wish my niece and little cousin had no concept of time.. They obviously aren't as patient as your little ones.. LOL.

Again sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.

My DD’s don’t like to wait either, but when they sit on the lap of Cinderella or Belle….. They light up and the wait was worth every minute.

As a mom, I would wait for an hour to see them light up that way. It makes me cry with joy to know they have just met, sat with, got a kiss from, got an autograph from, got a hug from someone who to them is a dream come true.

It’s all about the joy Walt wanted us all to have.

 

[jj13]

Ummm.......never say never....I didn't make up the thing about Cinderella being our waitress at Fulton's 2 days later....she really was, back in 2004!

She asked my boys if they could keep a secret and they were facinated by the whole story (she could tell they weren't into the princess thing and wasn't trying to ruin anything).
In all honesty it was the coolest thing and she loved the boys and made such a fuss over them.

She was still at Fulton's last year and the boys were so excited to see her - but she said she wasn't doing Cinderella anymore since Fulton's paid better. She was just the nicest young woman.