Outside of the Autograph Book
There are plenty of opportunities to meet and interact with characters on a Disney vacation. Most guests want their photo taken with the character. Some just want to get hugs and have a quick chat! Generally, you will see guests with their autograph book and pen in hand, eagerly waiting to capture the signature of the Disney superstar they are waiting to share moments with. All of these create fond memories of time spent with beloved Disney characters.
For our last few trips, I have purchased a $1.00 Disney themed journal/notebook found at The Dollar Tree, and I’ve turned it into an autograph book/photo book for my daughter. During the trips, she takes great pride in getting her book and pen ready to hand to each character that we happen upon. When we return home from our trip, I just use standard tape to secure the photo taken with the character next to the page with the corresponding autograph. This is a very cost effective way to have the autographs and photo memories all in one book! There are many options and ways of doing this, but for $1.00, I can’t think of a less expensive way to have all of her character interaction memories in one book!
Hold on a minute…what if we thought “outside of the autograph box”? More and more, we are discovering unique ways to hold on to those meet & greet memories! Prior to our most recent trip this past December, I got an idea of having characters sign wooden shapes/ornaments that we could hang on our Christmas tree! I went on the hunt and found some shape cutouts that had black chalk paint on them at a local craft store. I also purchased metallic Sharpie pens that the characters could use. Let me tell you, this was a HIT in the parks! Not only did the characters love this idea, it left us with some really unique ornaments and decorations that we can display a variety of ways! There are other methods that can be adapted from this idea…just get creative!
For our upcoming trip this summer, we are going to be “thinking INSIDE THE BOOK” for character autographs! We are going to bring along our copy of Disney’s Junior Encyclopedia of Animated Characters and will have the characters autograph the page that relates to them! We love reading this book at night and by doing this, it’ll bring back great character experiences when we see the autographs on each page after that trip! The book can be found inexpensively online at major book retailers.
Other ways of getting creative with Disney character autographs include having them sign:
*Shirts
*Photo mat for a picture frame
*Dishes/plates
*Canvas tote bag
*Canvas cooking apron
*Hats
*Canvas shoes
*Pillowcase
Don’t have the time or supplies to try out one of these? Hakuna Matata! No worries! You don’t have to look far and wide to find autograph books and pens on Disney property! They are easily found in resort gift shops and in plenty of stores located inside the parks!
Have you come up with a unique way to capture character autographs in the park? Do any of these ideas excite you? Let us know about it!
Adele Snook is a travel professional with 101 Dream Vacations, she lives in Virginia with her husband and daughter. They enjoy their quality time and making memories at Disney along with other destinations. Contact her today to start planning your next vacation.