BAN autograph books!

[Figment]

I remember a time when characters used to be able to spend a little time with the kids, interacting, fooling around. I believe that autograph books have cut back considerably on character interaction.

In 2000, we brought our daughters to WDW for the 1st time. Our 1st night there, we went to Chef Mickey's for dinner. If we had to leave & go home immediately thereafter, I would have been satisfied with all of the $$$ I spent (long before I knew about codes, AP's & discounts). The characters played & interacted. They spent time with the kids. It was truly magical.

Anymore, the characters rush through, sign autographs & smile. The worst are Donald's Breakfastasaurus & The Princess Breakfast in Norway. Talking to a friend who is a face character, she agrees. Management has strict limits on the amount of time characters must speed through the room. Signing takes up the bulk of the time. this takes away the magic a bit, much like the absence of the mickey butter & straws & the package delivery to the room, etc...

When we go back, in August, we will be boycotting the books for the 1st time. I'd rather have my kids have time for the interaction. We love WDW & will still go 1-3 times a year. There is no better value for our dollar. This is also not meant to be a gripe & moan thread (we just got back after a WONDERFUL spring break trip) but, I would like to keep as much of the magic as possible.

 

[addicted2disney]

While I think that the breakfasts seem SO rushed.. and soooo expensive for Cinderella to make small talk for 30 seconds, I find that my kids DO get a lot of interaction with the characters at meet and greets. My kids have the autograph books too. Sometimes I feel bad that the characters are goofing around with the kids, taking off my daughters ears and doing silly things with them, and I feel we are taking up too much time and people behind me are getting mad. As long as the characters are initiating it then I just let them go.

 

[patsal]

I've never had poor character interaction with the exception of the ice cream social at the Land in Epcot. We go so often that sometimes teh kids get autographs and sometimes they just enjoy the meet and greet photo opportunity. I have rarely felt rushed or ignored. I hope your experiences were the exception not the rule. I must admit we eat at off times much of the time--either early or late compared to the traditonal dinner hour. Even on Easter Sunday we have had incredible interaction with characters in restaurants.

 

[mking624]

I've always found that the characters interact with children...even with autograph book in hand (and I've had the same interaction from my first trip back in 1989 to my most recent last June). But we also have to understand that there are thousands of children at the parks...as well as adults...who want some time with the characters. They can't spend a lot of time with each person. Banning autograph books isn't going to solve the problem of there being a gazillion people to only one character. Patience and understanding that the character only has so much time helps a lot. Don't forget, there's a real person under there.

 

[calena]

I would love to ban our kid's autograph books, but they really get a kick out of standing in line for the "stars" to sign these books... which are then put on a shelf, or in a box, until our next trip to Orlando.
I just cringe when I see a character with a lineup because my kids want to line up too and I think we should just enjoy the rides, but, this is where they are at and we stood in line ups and they have the autographs. The good thing is they don't want anyone twice!!!!! After two trips, that means we are doing better... the only problem is now DS,5, wants his own autograph book for the next trip! I told him he can share with his brother! We'll see!
We also have all these pictures of our kids with the characters... but anyway. I did love Chef Mickeys and for us that was great interaction. The best interaction was at Universal IOA where Spiderman just talked and talked to my son, 8. There was no one else in line, so it was great!

 

[Figment]

I've never had poor character interaction with the exception of the ice cream social at the Land in Epcot. We go so often that sometimes teh kids get autographs and sometimes they just enjoy the meet and greet photo opportunity. I have rarely felt rushed or ignored. I hope your experiences were the exception not the rule. I must admit we eat at off times much of the time--either early or late compared to the traditonal dinner hour. Even on Easter Sunday we have had incredible interaction with characters in restaurants.

It's not just my personal experience. We are at WDW at least 3 weeks every year...lots of time...from what i see, things HAVE changed, & not for the better in this department. It seems to be the rule. for example, the princess in epcot are expected to visit every table in only 5 minutes more than the princesses in the castle. There are far more people at epcot, but the timeframe is only a little more. As I said, characters are not happy about the rushed situation or the autographs. Believe me, it does not ruin our time, it just changes the overall feel of things.

 

[Figment]

I've always found that the characters interact with children...even with autograph book in hand (and I've had the same interaction from my first trip back in 1989 to my most recent last June). But we also have to understand that there are thousands of children at the parks...as well as adults...who want some time with the characters. They can't spend a lot of time with each person. Banning autograph books isn't going to solve the problem of there being a gazillion people to only one character. Patience and understanding that the character only has so much time helps a lot. Don't forget, there's a real person under there.

believe me, I'M the LAST person you need to tell this too. I understand all of the demands. But, the interaction HAS changed. The time limits are shorter & more strictly controlled. To say they things are the same...well, I'll just say that it is not the perception of the cast members or of me. Banning autograph books most certainly add to the actual time that characters can interact with the kids.

 

[ms.ojo]

We don't do autograph books. My kids really enjoy interacting w/ the chars at the meals....and they get GREAT time w/ them ...maybe b/c there is no book signing?? We avoid the meet & greets in the parks and have a nice leisurely day on the rides...and pool time. Works for us.

 

[PrincessTeddyBear]

believe me, I'M the LAST person you need to tell this too. I understand all of the demands. But, the interaction HAS changed. The time limits are shorter & more strictly controlled. To say they things are the same...well, I'll just say that it is not the perception of the cast members or of me. Banning autograph books most certainly add to the actual time that characters can interact with the kids.

I can see where you're coming from with the banning of the books but as a big kid at heart, I always find part of the fun of visiting WDW is getting the books signed. It's a thrill to have the books signed and to compare with other people who signed the book. Plus, I've also noticed in different trips that if I wasn't getting the book signed, the characters spent less time with us and moved on to other people. I don't think that by banning autograph books will help the time issue. They'll take the pictures and move onto the next person in line.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

We have autograph books, but I don't buy them in Disney. I go to our local craftstore and have bought a 4x6 size book and we decorate them. A couple of years ago, we did an ABC book. My DS's had such a fun time putting the stickers on and decorating the page. When we were in line waiting for a character they had to figure out what letter the character started with and have the page ready. I got so many compliments from the characters as well as CM's. In fact the Mad Hatter was upset that he did not have his own sticker and told us where to buy it. It was fun, plus the boys were learning at the same time. Last year we did not do alphabet pages, but we decorating most of the pages. I asked them this year if they wanted to do a book and they said, "yes". Half the fun is them making it and they enjoy when the characters make a comment about the book they put together.

 

[AmyBeth68]

We've stopped doing the autograph books ourselves...now my kids are into the pin trading. We do still visit with characters....get the great photos....and hit one character meal per visit. But we found the autograph books got to be too much.

However, for those going for the first time, it's a big thrill to collect autographs. I don't think that it will ever go away.

 

[Brianne]

We only do the autograph books at the breakfasts. We figure, if we're there to eat, a lot of interaction isn't our primary focus anyhow. Quite honestly, we've had better interaction at the meet & greet areas around the parks than we've had at the breakfasts. Not that I'd pass up on doing the breakfasts though---they're been special/fun in their own way.

I'm not crazy about doing the books anyhow. With 4 kids, it takes awhile, and can get pretty confusing. But the grandparents thought it'd be fun, so guess what each kid got in their stockings this past Christmas?

Hopefully what I just said makes sense.

 

[Took]

Since we've been to WDW several times and my DD has collected all of the autographs she wants, we've stopped taking the autograph book altogether. I agree, you get more real interaction with the characters--it seems, somehow, more "fun" and less "goal-oriented." However, I certainly can understand the thrill for first-timers (or anyone). I would suggest to those who've been before that you TRY a no autograph book trip. You may prefer it.

Took

 

[rockin_rep]

I agree! This has been a long time gripe of ours!

It takes an ENORMOUS amount of time away from everyone else who won't get the chance to be with the characters.

Getting rid of autographs will allow MORE people to actually see the characters, to pose for pics etc.

We too, just returned from our BEST spring break trip EVER. Its a good thing our kids chose not to pose for pics this time as only a very small portion of the lines actually got to be with the characters.

IMHO, Disney should allow only chatting and taking pics with the characters. Spread the joy -- give MORE people a chance at the joy of meeting their favorites!

 

[TLHB70]

Originally posted by mattandjakesmom : A couple of years ago, we did an ABC book. My DS's had such a fun time putting the stickers on and decorating the page. When we were in line waiting for a character they had to figure out what letter the character started with and have the page ready. I got so many compliments from the characters as well as CM's. In fact the Mad Hatter was upset that he did not have his own sticker and told us where to buy it. It was fun, plus the boys were learning at the same time.

This is a GREAT idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[WDSearcher]

believe me, I'M the LAST person you need to tell this too. I understand all of the demands. But, the interaction HAS changed. The time limits are shorter & more strictly controlled. To say they things are the same...well, I'll just say that it is not the perception of the cast members or of me. Banning autograph books most certainly add to the actual time that characters can interact with the kids.

While I'm sure that many of the characters -- particularly face characters -- are feeling rushed, I know that I have also heard many, many characters complain about standing in their meet & greet locations for entire sets with hardly anyone around, waiting for people to come and say hello. When someone does, that person is literally fawned over, because no one else is there. This is particularly true of DAK -- my family and I had Lilo & Stitch all to themselves for 20 minutes one afternoon at Pizzasaurus. No one else ever came in.

The character meals are the really stressful situations, because they're so much more popular than they used to be. It's a full house every time, and there are a lot of people to see. In addition, guests have gotten a lot more aggressive in demanding time with the characters -- particularly the princesses -- that it's hard to please everyone. Parents complain all the time that "Cinderella spent more time with the kids at the next table than they did with mine," and so instead of letting the characters control the "table time," it has to be done another way. And with strict time limits, at least you know it's fair. If a family decides that all of it's interaction time is going to be spent with autograph books, that's their choice. If they want to do "face time" instead ... their choice.

 

[luvmk]

We have done both. I made ds and dd an autograph book for one trip and they had a great time with it. We had several characters draw pictures on their page. We have a really cute picture with Donald Duck holding his page for a picture with the kids. We go a couple of times a year, so we don't usually stand in long lines for a character. The exception would be at mnsshp, because there are certain villains they wanted to get. The last trip we took, we didn't do the books, only pictures. I guess it never occurred to me to be upset because others were getting autographs. Many families only go once. If getting autographs of the characters help to enhance their vacation, then they should do that. They will have a cool souvenier to take home. Our vacation has never been effected because children were getting autographs.


Rachel

 

[Figment]

We have done both. I made ds and dd an autograph book for one trip and they had a great time with it. We had several characters draw pictures on their page. We have a really cute picture with Donald Duck holding his page for a picture with the kids. We go a couple of times a year, so we don't usually stand in long lines for a character. The exception would be at mnsshp, because there are certain villains they wanted to get. The last trip we took, we didn't do the books, only pictures. I guess it never occurred to me to be upset because others were getting autographs. Many families only go once. If getting autographs of the characters help to enhance their vacation, then they should do that. They will have a cool souvenier to take home. Our vacation has never been effected because children were getting autographs.


Rachel

Never said I was upset that people were getting autographs, I am suggesting that the practice of signing autographs should be ended. If it is ok w/ WDW, I am not going to be upset at people for doing it. I was making an observation about the way things have changed...for the negative in some ways.

 

[Aidensmom]

I don't think it is the autograph books per se that are the problem, but rather the formalization of meeting the characters. I remember when I was a child that meeting the characters meant that you happened to run into them in the park. They were no lines and time allotments. Now there is no thrill to "finding" the characters, and I just think it is not as special.

 

[Figment]

I don't think it is the autograph books per se that are the problem, but rather the formalization of meeting the characters. I remember when I was a child that meeting the characters meant that you happened to run into them in the park. They were no lines and time allotments. Now there is no thrill to "finding" the characters, and I just think it is not as special.

excellent point! we never wait in the lines to see the characters. it seems to take the fun & sponataeity from the whole thing.