Character Autographs etiquette...I NEED DETAILS!!!!

[mom2rtk]

Actually, that's not true. It is fine to stand up at the table for the picture.

Yes, I decided a long time ago that I didn't like pictures with half-eaten plates of food in them. I always stand up, have my kids stand up, and take the pictures out in the aisle. It makes for FAR better pics!

 

[raider97]

I got a tip here on the DIS of how to get Sharpie marker out of clothing- dampen thoroughly with rubbing alcohol before washing. I got red Sharpie out of a brand new white T with this- it really works!!

Thanks Jenny!! Wish I had known this tip back in 2007. A 2 year old with a sharpie just wasn't a great idea. She was covered in pink sharpie. But I will put this in my laundry tips for future reference.

Thanks again!!

Stephanie

 

[TillyMarigold]

For example, DD has asked Snow White why her Prince doesnt have a first name, asked Aurora how the fairies decided to make her dress pink and at Ariel's grotto asked her how she got there since there is no water (Ariel is in mermaid form at the grotto). I love the character meet and greets!

DH has been dying to ask Mulan if she doesn't miss getting to wear men's clothes and go ride her horse instead of having to be all princessed up all the time for meet and greets. He hates that the "princess" theme has been taken to the point of taking away all the strength and independence and determination of the original character and forcing her to be what she was rebelling against. (It's his favorite Disney movie.)

I told him he's welcome to ask her that if he's nice about it, because I'll bet she'll have a great answer for him!

 

[Bongi22]

Actually, that's not true. It is fine to stand up at the table for the picture.

I think this kind of depends on which greet and where your seats are. I've always gotten nice at Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace and other places... the only one I would say fit the bill of staying seated was at restaurantasourous or whatever it was, we were stuck in a corner and it did make it worse by getting up... I'm not even sure if that one is still going, but it stunk in that way..

I've also noticed that some other tables have had issues with it as well at different locations, but MOST of the time I agree... standing up works well and is quite appropriate.

Keep in mind as well, I've always been a family of three... sometimes larger groups get shoehorned into a spot that really doesn't work well if larger characters come around and everyone gets up.

 

[Bongi22]

DH has been dying to ask Mulan if she doesn't miss getting to wear men's clothes and go ride her horse instead of having to be all princessed up all the time for meet and greets. He hates that the "princess" theme has been taken to the point of taking away all the strength and independence and determination of the original character and forcing her to be what she was rebelling against. (It's his favorite Disney movie.)

I told him he's welcome to ask her that if he's nice about it, because I'll bet she'll have a great answer for him!

It's kind of funny that you say that. My daughter ( being half Chinese ) went up to Mulan and said a few things in Chinese, but not her dialect. Mulan laughed and pointed out that even though she is a princess, the country was so large that not all the people speak the same language and apologized for not knowing Cantonese... then she spent a couple of minutes learning the phrase in Cantonese and taught my daughter it in Mandarin...
This was nice enough. But two or three days later my daughter started saying "Mulan" and pointing towards a group of Chinese people looking at one of the topiary arrangements. Being kind of burnt out on doing the character things for the day ( particularly one that we had seen already ) I just sort of told her that we weren't going back there and to pick a ride... she said no no, Thats Mulan and pointed at the group again. I glanced over and joked around saying, no... thats Mom's family on vacation, let's hide... With that one of the women in the group looked over and gave my daughter a little wave, then walked over and bent down and hugged her and said "Ni Hao, Mei Ling" and my daughter hugged her REALLY hard and said "Ni Hao, Mulan"... she then whispered to her that she shouldn't acknowledge who she was as she was in her peasant clothes and needs to remain hidden, then told my daughter her real name. My daughter turned to me and my wife and said " This is Siu-San " and winked at us ( or tried to anyhow ).

I kind of stood there like an idiot and couldn't believe she recognized her with all the people at Disney... My daughter asked if she remembers everyones name, to which she answered, "No, in China my closest friends name is Han Mei and in this country my closest friends name is also Mei.... Mei Ling" My daughters eyes lit up like she had been crowned a princess herself ( as I suppose any 6 year olds would ) she hugged her REALLLY tightly and Mulan said she must go. She returned to her group and we went on our way after a few more waves.

On the way home from the park, while I was still thinking my daughter met the real Mulan, out of nowhere, she said " When I grow up, I want to work her and be Mulan"

Amazingly enough, even though "Mulan" came up with that story ( which I later found out is the actual name of the girl in the story ) my daughter had her "these are just people PLAYING characters " moment... but she didn't care at all... she just realized that they are doing it to make kids happy...

Sorry for the long story... but you really brought up some vivid memories... hopefully the same "Mulan" is there when we go next week...

 

[mom2rtk]

Ariel made us stop and think one morning last year at Akershus. We had been to CRT for dinner the night before and my daughter had been wearing her Fairy Godmother costume. We had a lot of fun, but forgot about it the next morning at Epcot.

When Ariel came to our table she asked where the Fairy Godmother costume was. I had to scratch my head over that one, so I asked how she knew. She said she was good friends with Cinderella over at the castle. I was still shaking my head until we got home and I got a chance to look over our pictures. The CM playing Ariel that day had been Cinderella the night before! It was hard to tell since the hair was so different.

But it was a lot of fun figuring out the mystery!

 

[rndmr2]

It's kind of funny that you say that. My daughter ( being half Chinese ) went up to Mulan and said a few things in Chinese, but not her dialect. Mulan laughed and pointed out that even though she is a princess, the country was so large that not all the people speak the same language and apologized for not knowing Cantonese... then she spent a couple of minutes learning the phrase in Cantonese and taught my daughter it in Mandarin...
This was nice enough. But two or three days later my daughter started saying "Mulan" and pointing towards a group of Chinese people looking at one of the topiary arrangements. Being kind of burnt out on doing the character things for the day ( particularly one that we had seen already ) I just sort of told her that we weren't going back there and to pick a ride... she said no no, Thats Mulan and pointed at the group again. I glanced over and joked around saying, no... thats Mom's family on vacation, let's hide... With that one of the women in the group looked over and gave my daughter a little wave, then walked over and bent down and hugged her and said "Ni Hao, Mei Ling" and my daughter hugged her REALLY hard and said "Ni Hao, Mulan"... she then whispered to her that she shouldn't acknowledge who she was as she was in her peasant clothes and needs to remain hidden, then told my daughter her real name. My daughter turned to me and my wife and said " This is Siu-San " and winked at us ( or tried to anyhow ).

I kind of stood there like an idiot and couldn't believe she recognized her with all the people at Disney... My daughter asked if she remembers everyones name, to which she answered, "No, in China my closest friends name is Han Mei and in this country my closest friends name is also Mei.... Mei Ling" My daughters eyes lit up like she had been crowned a princess herself ( as I suppose any 6 year olds would ) she hugged her REALLLY tightly and Mulan said she must go. She returned to her group and we went on our way after a few more waves.

On the way home from the park, while I was still thinking my daughter met the real Mulan, out of nowhere, she said " When I grow up, I want to work her and be Mulan"

Amazingly enough, even though "Mulan" came up with that story ( which I later found out is the actual name of the girl in the story ) my daughter had her "these are just people PLAYING characters " moment... but she didn't care at all... she just realized that they are doing it to make kids happy...

Sorry for the long story... but you really brought up some vivid memories... hopefully the same "Mulan" is there when we go next week...

Great Story!

 

[Bongi22]

Ariel made us stop and think one morning last year at Akershus. We had been to CRT for dinner the night before and my daughter had been wearing her Fairy Godmother costume. We had a lot of fun, but forgot about it the next morning at Epcot.

When Ariel came to our table she asked where the Fairy Godmother costume was. I had to scratch my head over that one, so I asked how she knew. She said she was good friends with Cinderella over at the castle. I was still shaking my head until we got home and I got a chance to look over our pictures. The CM playing Ariel that day had been Cinderella the night before! It was hard to tell since the hair was so different.

But it was a lot of fun figuring out the mystery!

We had that happen with the "WaterCheck" plumbers over at DHS... my daughter went up to the cop that wanders around with the stick pony and said " hey, your the "WaterCheck" guy... he said no and then said his "cousin" is a plumber... with that the car came around with the plumbers and he stopped them and asked the guy on the back if knew if his "cousin" was with them... for a second the guy froze then said something about him being sick and back at the water works...

I find it amazing that they stay in character so well knowing that they switch around as frequently as they do.

 

[aimeeg]

Ariel made us stop and think one morning last year at Akershus. We had been to CRT for dinner the night before and my daughter had been wearing her Fairy Godmother costume. We had a lot of fun, but forgot about it the next morning at Epcot.

When Ariel came to our table she asked where the Fairy Godmother costume was. I had to scratch my head over that one, so I asked how she knew. She said she was good friends with Cinderella over at the castle. I was still shaking my head until we got home and I got a chance to look over our pictures. The CM playing Ariel that day had been Cinderella the night before! It was hard to tell since the hair was so different.

But it was a lot of fun figuring out the mystery!

A similar thing happened to us at Epcot. One day we met Belle in France. A few days later at the Princess lunch Sleeping Beauty commented on the girls outfits from the Belle day! I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[demonskrye]

It's been a while since I did autographs or was traveling with anyone who did. You're getting a lot of good advice. It might be a good idea to have an extra pen on hand, just in case the first one runs out. They sell both the the books and pens at the park, but if you're bringing your own, I'd suggest a pretty thick pen, as they seem to be easier for some characters to hold. I always had a regular ink pen, but a sharpie should be fine too, though I would try to test it on the book beforehand to make sure it won't bleed through to the next page.

If a character is out and interacting with guests, you should be able to at least ask for an autograph. I believe characters will do autographs at character meals too, but you may want to check with someone who has done it more recently, since it's been years since I tested that.

As a couple of other answers have noted, some characters use stamps and some just can't do autographs. And of course, there may be times when the character has to leave while you're still waiting in line. So make sure your daughter is prepared for either of these possibilities.

Characters will generally be happy to provide an autograph if you just hand them the book, but it certainly wouldn't hurt for you to teach your daughter how to ask politely. It's a good opportunity for her to practice good manners and I'm sure the characters will appreciate it.

Have a great time!

 

[MinniesYooHoo]

Excellent advice here. We just returned from our trip, so if I may give a suggestion? If you want something a little bit different than your typical autograph book, try scrapbooking paper. I took a pack of 8x8 cardstock in "bright" colors in an 8x8 hardbacked scrapbook (This kept the pages safe from being bent) with a retractable sharpie. Not only were the characters thankful for something substantial to press on when signing, but when I told them they had the entire page to work with, I got so much more than just a name. They had so much fun drawing little pictures and incorporating DD's name, that the pages are quite unique. This enabled me to have a picutre of DD with the character on one side of the page, then the autograph is on the other side. I have gotten more compliments on this book than I can say. I did embellish the pages with scrapbooking materials, but you could certainly just leave the pages plain, and it would have the same original effect. It's quite a keepsake for DD. BTW, I agree with another poster about standing up with the character when dining. We did, it gets plates of food out of the pics. No charcters had any problem with this. Have fun!!!!!!

 

[tjknitz]

Excellent advice here. We just returned from our trip, so if I may give a suggestion? If you want something a little bit different than your typical autograph book, try scrapbooking paper. I took a pack of 8x8 cardstock in "bright" colors in an 8x8 hardbacked scrapbook (This kept the pages safe from being bent) with a retractable sharpie. Not only were the characters thankful for something substantial to press on when signing, but when I told them they had the entire page to work with, I got so much more than just a name. They had so much fun drawing little pictures and incorporating DD's name, that the pages are quite unique. This enabled me to have a picutre of DD with the character on one side of the page, then the autograph is on the other side. I have gotten more compliments on this book than I can say. I did embellish the pages with scrapbooking materials, but you could certainly just leave the pages plain, and it would have the same original effect. It's quite a keepsake for DD. BTW, I agree with another poster about standing up with the character when dining. We did, it gets plates of food out of the pics. No charcters had any problem with this. Have fun!!!!!!

This book that you made sounds very creative and yet simple to do. Do you have pictures of the book? I'm not very creative myself so something visual for me really helps!
Great tips!

 

[locolala]

When we went down, we used a regular autograph book and used washable markers for the pens! That way I could have different characters sign in different colors. It ended up being really cute that way.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I just want to add to what the others have said about interacting with the characters. I've done the stand there and smile thing a few times, but I have a lot more fun and more special memories from interacting with the characters as opposed to standing and smiling.

When I told Sully at DCA that I had visited Pixar once, he started following me in an attempt to scare me and had me do the first meet and greet photos of the day with him. He even did a special scary monster pose for me that he doesn't do for all guests.

The key to having a fun interaction is knowing something about the character and the movie/cartoons he or she appears in. The CMs study those shorts and films a lot, so they know who they're supposed to be. I've had a lot of fun meeting characters on many solo trips to Disneyland.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Does anyone remember a few years ago when that teenager i think pulled Tiggers tail and I think Tigger like jokely hit him and the family was sueing?

 

[Joanna71985]

Does anyone remember a few years ago when that teenager i think pulled Tiggers tail and I think Tigger like jokely hit him and the family was sueing?

Yes, I remember that. And that's not what happened. Tigger did not jokenly (sp) hit the teen. The teen was choking him, and Tigger was trying to get away. That's when he hit him. The teen was totally in the wrong, and it was no fault of Tigger's.

 

[PolyAddict]

I have been meaning to ask this question...

DD8 has a number of autographs collected.

I was thinking of doing something different this trip, like a pillow case or something.

Is this an acceptable thing and if so, how do you go about having them sign something like that?

 

[Raevyn_Wolfe]

I have been meaning to ask this question...

DD8 has a number of autographs collected.

I was thinking of doing something different this trip, like a pillow case or something.

Is this an acceptable thing and if so, how do you go about having them sign something like that?

I have had characters' sign pillowcases, and shirts before.

To make it simpler, quicker, and easier for the character this is what I have done:

You know those embrodiery circles? Those kind that you stretch the fabric in to do cross stitch and the like?
Put your fabric in that where and how you want the autograph, and you're set.
It makes the fabric MUCH easier for the character to sign!

 

[redrosesix]

When researching for my first kids trip in 2007 I found out that a lot of people suggested the retractable sharpies... we took two of them for my dd... then 2 almost 3 and 4 almost 5. It was a mistake for us... they ended up getting them on their new clothes the first day and it was impossible to get out of them. We bought a fat pen in the gift shop and used that from then on with great success!!

Stephanie

Ok, it could be just the WDW line that they're supposed to give, but apparently the pens available in the gift shops are MUCH preferred by the characters ie. was told by several CM's that there was a reason they were chosen (including the fact that some people are very sensitive to sharpies -- including some of the characters)

And we also use the regular autograph books available in the gift shops -- it's the first errand on every trip, great for arrival night. Although some people like to get everything in advance, the price tag is very reasonable at the resort gift shops (I think $6.95 and $8.95)

Ditto on the getting the camera ready in advance. And, my etiquette advice: please don't try to shoot a whole video, talking up an introduction, etc. while somebody else's kid is getting their turn. Until it's your turn, you shouldn't be taking up prime photo shoot space -- leave this to those parents and the photopass photographers.

BTW, we always get the photopass photographers to take a pic when we're there -- they always come out great because they know exactly when to press the button.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

We always buy an autograph pen for the characters to use.

I don't know if this has been mentioned but have your autograph book opened to the page you want signed and hand it to the character.