Autograph books, skip them or use them

[barbiegirl314]

Okay so DS 13 has seven autograph books from past Disney trips (6 are the park ones and one he made on his own) and DS 4 has two (one bought and one made).

I was considering skipping the autograpgh books on the next trip and just getting pictures with the characters, and was wondering what other folks have done who are frequent WDW visitors.

Do you use autograph books on every visit or do you get to a point where you figure you've gotten enough :mickey: signatures?

[GrmGrninGost]

Enough? NEVER! As a 46 year old, my wife and I will never give up the quest for autographs! We don't get everyone we see anymore, but we're always on the lookout for someone new! This past week we got Marie, Jane Porter, Tinker Bell, Fawn, Silvermist, Dug, Russell and Mr. Fredrickson. The quest will never be complete, but the fun is in looking for different characters! :mickey:

[Disney4us2]

We didn't get into the autograph books.

I have seen others that had plain Tshirts with a fabric marker to get autographs. I may do that on our next trip so my DD (maybe me too) could creat her own shirt.:mickey:

I have also seen other guests with pillow cases.

[tinksmom02]

DD7 only got a handful of autographs this time around. She didn't want to meet any charcaters :confused: This was her fifth trip and fourth autograph book...she told me she just "wanted to take a break" from characters this time around.

Blech.

[Mousefever]

DS is too busy looking at CM lanyards for Goofy pins to stop for autographs. Unless it's Goofy, himself. Then we just get a picture. DS got autographs on two trips, then we stopped.

Amy

[Suz36]

You might want to ask the kids how they feel. I asked mine just today if they were still interested in getting autographs, and it was 2 enthusiastic thumbs up! We use the Disney autograph books, have the characters sign just one side of the page, and then I put the matching picture of that character with the kids on the other side to create a scrapbook for each child. They are always looking at their autograph books!

[GoofyforFun]

last time we got a book from am online book store ?/ Called Disney junior Encyclopedia of Animated Characters.. It is a great keepaske for there future, We only used it once, I belive we are going to take it with us next time since we may have missed a few.
BB

[PrincessAriel514]

I would say get the autographs. You should NEVER miss autographs. I have about 8 to 9 books of Autographs practily with the same charctars in it. But, I have never thrown them out. So I would say don t miss out and get as many autographs. My AB has about 7to 8 books we love it DONT MISS OUT!!!!






243 more days to go WOOHOO:mickey::thumbsup::party:

[thejens]

I love seeing the character, but personally find the autograph hunt a huge waste of time. Nonetheless I follow the lead of the kids. My oldest absolutely LOVED getting all the Star Wars characters. I always remind them that we don't HAVE to get autographs... Sometimes they are in the mood for it and sometimes (thank goodness) they are more interested in rides.

[coneygoil]

It's a challenge for me to try to get as many autographs as I can on each trip. I have to try and break my record, you know ;) But it is so much fun to get an autograph and this is coming from a 27 year old! Even if it's some of the same characters you've seen, usually the handwriting is different. I've gotten Chip'n'Dale's auto' like 20 times, but there's always something unique about them. And you don't want to miss out on characters you haven't seen! I got to see Scrooge McDuck for the very first time last trip and was so excited to add him to my collection!

[5togetherWDW]

We always carry a book of some sort, but actually get signatures infrequently, these days. I like to have one along, so we have the option -- but find that my children rarely want the autographs, now. (From my experience, preteen / early teen "cool" allows for occasional posing, but not asking for autographs -- esp for boys. Generally, you have to be a little older to feel free to be young, again.)
We pull out the one shared book if we see someone special -- and do sometimes use it at character meals (giving us the chance to take the signing picture, as well as the posed ones.) Mostly, though, pictures are enough for us.

[CU Tiger]

As our DDs got older, we changed from autograph books to just getting pictures now and again with the characters. Their biggest focus now is pin trading.:mickey:

[phillydan]

As our DDs got older, we changed from autograph books to just getting pictures now and again with the characters. :

Ditto. We did buy a new book for DS7, but we only used it for Pluto in the parks (3 times!) and the Up characters at DHS. It was good to have the book with us for character meals - we now have Lady Tremaine and the Step Sisters. I did bring my DD12's old book with us, just in case. I was glad we did because we unexpectedly ran into the Queeen of Hearts and she did not get her last time around.

However, this will probably be the last trip for us where we wait in line for autographs. We actually got out of a few lines because DS was not interested.:(

[Imagineer1981]

What we've done in the past is use a signature board so that when we get home we can frame it with a pic with Mickey in the middle and the autographs all around!

[disneyfan328]

I love the pillow case idea and have also seen people with the mat for a picture frame. I think both of these are great ideas for a change for carrying the book around. pillow cases would definetly be lighter! and you could still use all the different sharpie colors.

[MNNHFLTX]

DS only had one autograph book when he was little and sometimes we would bring it along on our jaunts to WDW to see if we could find new characters. I will say that he was never into the autographs that much and after a while I think he just didn't like waiting in long lines for the characters when he could be on a ride. I would ask your sons what they want to do. If they already have that many autograph books they might favor just taking pictures with the characters, and you could put a scrapbook or something like that together with the pics after the trip.

[Giselle]

I can see how getting autographs can lose its thrill after many trips, but so far we're still getting them. DD is 5 and it is fun to see how they write and what they write, plus its a way to interact with the characters. It gives the meeting a purpose instead of just looking at them and walking off. However, for something new, we are going to do pin trading this trip. This is a brand new thing for her that should be fun. Too bad though. Autographs are FREE!

[SurferStitch]

I never really understood the whole obsession with character autographs. I think they severely slow down the character lines, and really reduce the number of people who can get a nice picture with them. Especially when you have a group of several characters, and a family with several kids, each with their own book, and then they need to take multiple pics with different kids in them, and......:bang:.

What happened to just getting a hug and a picture? Heck, almost all of the characters have Photopass photogs there, and you can add the signature to the photo.

I only have two autographs, Lilo and Stitch, and it wasn't even my idea. I had my plush Stitch backpack when we were getting our pic taken with them, and Lilo pulled out a Sharpie and motioned that she wanted to sign an ear on my Stitch backpack. I thought that was cool, so I let her and Stitch sign him. I will say, several years later, and people still comment on the sigs when they see my backpack.

Other than that, no autographs for us.

I would ask your kids, though, if they want to keep getting them. If they don't seem interested, I would just skip them. I can understand kids wanting autographs, but even after a couple doubles, why more? Photos are different....people change over time, and it's nice to document trips with photos. Plus, sometimes the characters have cute outfits on and such. Other than Stitch, if it's just a basic character in the traditional garb, I pass it up unless the line is almost nonexistent.

[WorldTraveler]

Like SurferStitch I also think the character autographs cut down on the fun small children could have interacting with the characters. Next time you are there, just stand back and watch the difference in how the characters interact with people with and without autograph books. It seems to me that the time it takes for them to sign eats up most of the time they can allot to each guest.

[tys_mommy]

For our next trip we plan to just take photos with the characters we see in the parks and for our 2 character meals at resorts on our non-park days I have purchased photo frames with large/chunky mats that I want to have the characters sign and then put a favorite photo in the frame to be displayed.

[pixiesmimi]

We, of course, get the autographs for DGKs when they go, but the last two times we have gone it has just been DH and I. I took my scrapbook pages with me with colored sharpies for autographs to go with our pictures. I even stood in line for over an hour to get the fairies. But after two times getting mostly the same autographs, I probably won't next time. Too time consuming. I'll still get the pictures though. I will carry the pages with me just in case we meet someone we haven't gotten before.

[SurferStitch]

For our next trip we plan to just take photos with the characters we see in the parks and for our 2 character meals at resorts on our non-park days I have purchased photo frames with large/chunky mats that I want to have the characters sign and then put a favorite photo in the frame to be displayed.

That's a great idea! :thumbsup:

[Meg's Mom]

Last year I bought my twelve year old daughter a baseball cap at the gift shop before we went to the Parks. We had brought along several bright colored sharpies from home knowing that this was the plan. She wore the cap and when she saw a character that she wanted to sign it, she just took it off and handed it to them with a bright sharpie. It made a great souvenier and it kept the sun out of her eyes too!

[barbiegirl314]

Last year I bought my twelve year old daughter a baseball cap at the gift shop before we went to the Parks. We had brought along several bright colored sharpies from home knowing that this was the plan. She wore the cap and when she saw a character that she wanted to sign it, she just took it off and handed it to them with a bright sharpie. It made a great souvenier and it kept the sun out of her eyes too!

I like this idea, and my boys always want to get baseball caps when we're there!

[gerald72]

Keep getting autographs.
If for no other reason than in the time it takes the character to sign an autograph, you can get an extra picture taken.

[Lakin]

I say, take the autograph book. You get two souvenirs in one wait in line! woot!

[beksy]

My sister and mom still get the autographs but I just get pictures. Even if we already have the character, they love to get the autograph again. For us, meeting the characters is a big part of the magic. :mickey:

[kemps@wdw]

If you're still into getting autographs, why not try something different. Have them sign a t-shirt or hat. My DMIL gave my DH a canvas tote bag w/clear pockets for pics that can also be signed on. My DH even has a pair of pink "Chucks" hat she had autographed. So, the possibilities are unlimited! :thumbsup: