Pen for Autograph Books

[Buttercup]

My son has a brand new autograph book he's bringing to WDW this year that we bought on Ebay. And I have a mini-Sharpie marker that goes on a keychain. I've attached it to the spiral spine of the autograph book.
But I've heard that they don't like the characters using Sharpies, and more specifically the mini-Sharpies because they muck up the gloves of the costumes. I'm guessing I probably shouldn't use it, even though it's super-convenient attached right to the book.

So I'm wondering what you guys use for autographs? I'm guessing a large pen is the best bet, but I sort-of prefer markers.
Does Disney sell some kind of pen or marker that's good for this?

[KineGirl]

those big fat oversized pens are what the characters prefer. You can easily pick them up anywhere on property. We bought many years ago and still use it whenever we go to the World.

Sorry to say they def would not like your mini sharpy for the reasons that you yourself stated. Ive seen them refuse those and borrow a more suitable one either from their escort or someone else in line. Also some characters (Like MICKEY) wear those big gloves and it makes it next to impossible to hold those little pens - even the reg sized skinny ones.

[Mickey'sGirl]

What about a washable Crayola marker? They are quite thick and are a good size.....

We mostly use the big Mickey Mouse pens from the parks. We have found that even if one breaks or stops working, the cart staff are always willing to exchange it for a new one. :thumbsup:

[thumperbug]

Stick to the big Mickey Ballpoint. Characters can hold them better and see them better.

[Hayden's Dad]

We have never had an issue with the regular sized Sharpies. In fact most of the characters like using them. Easier to hold and they show up better. The mini sharpies could be a problem with the size. Just be careful using a green Sharpie some of the characters cannot use it (it stains the gloves or fur).

[Darbylew]

We have always bought the book and pen at
the parks. They work real well. :mickey:
BEEN THERE DONE THAT AND GOING BACK!
FIRST TRIP 1972
LAST TRIP APRIL 2008
NEXT TRIP OCT. 2008 :D
AND MANY TRIPS IN BETWEEN

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We've always used the Mickey pens you can buy at WDW.

The nice thing about them is that if they don't work, any store will exchange them for you, no issues at all (this happened to us in MGM). We've also enjoyed using them as a souvenier when back home.

This time, since we have a couple of autograph books already, we're planning to ask the characters to autograph their picture in the "Disney's Junior Encyclopedia of Animated Characters", so we're bringing along a couple of the thick Sharpies...so the autographs can be seen on the pages. We figure that the markers are thick enough to be held by the characters, still have a fine point for signing, and we're just bringing black, so they don't have to worry about the colours staining.

[Mickey91]

We use the big fat Mickey Pen!:mickey:

[wedway fan]

following a tip from this site we used clickable sharpie markers- they were skinny but the characters seemed to do OK with them. because the point is fine, the autographs came out great and didn't bleed. plus, the convenience of being "clickable" made it easier for the characters, their handlers, and the kids all to get the pens ready to sign without the hassle of a cap.

still didn't prevent my 3yo from getting black ink all over her pink aurora dress, but that was more her issue than the pen!

(i got a 3 pack -one each red, blue and black- from staples for about 3 or 4 bucks)

[Tinksmom]

:thumbsup:I second the post above. The clickable Sharpies are the way to go! We've used them the past 2 years and the characters and their helpers seem to love them.
We've had good luck finding them at office supply stores where they come in a ton of different colors. (I like coordinating the ink color with the character to some extent. Red for Mickey, Blue for Donald, Pink for Princesses, etc.)

[Von-Drake]

We usually buy a new book and Mickey pen on each trip, because we forget to pack the one(s) from previous trip. This year we remembered to pack the one from the latest trip.... went to Magic Kingdom the first day of the trip and left it in the hotel room. So, now we just plan to forget packing previous ones and add a new tradition to our trips. Probably for the best, because our son would still want to see the characters and get their autographs anyway. On this trip though, our Micky pen exploded just while at character dinning at Hollywood Studios. We just threw it away and went to our backup pen we had in the stroller. However when June (Little Einsteins) saw our pen busted, she didn't pause and pointed to a crayon on the table and used it, our son thought that was so cool.

[Young@Heart]

We usually use the big pens, but last trip, DS had a Mickey glove for the characters to sign (Mickey himself LOVED this!!!! :mickey:)-anyway, the only thing that would work for that was a sharpie, so he used the clickable black sharpie. He had tons of character sign the glove, and none of them refused to use the sharpie. :thumbsup:

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We only use clickable Sharpies.:thumbsup:

The characters never had a problem with them and neither did the CM's.

[elmjimmlm]

Our kids had gold ink pens that we bought at DTD...It made the autographs look great...:thumbsup: