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What Will Disney Characters Autograph? 20+ Creative Ideas

Are you bored with the traditional Character Autograph book that ends up sitting on a bookshelf after the vacation collecting dust?

These 20+ Creative ideas for collecting Disney Character Autographs will give you plenty of options for remembering your special visit with your favorite characters!

Looking to find all the Disney Princesses? Check out my guide on where to find them all!

Many times I have mentioned that meeting characters is one of my favorite experiences at Disney World. For years I just met with characters and interacted with them. Then about a year ago I decided to start getting autographs from the characters.

Since the parks are always getting new characters and sometimes retiring others I wanted a way to remember the moment with something other than a picture. Then I got thinking, What Will Disney Characters Autograph? I did some research and asked plenty of cast members and I am going to share with you lots of ideas so you can find the option that is perfect for your family!

What Will Disney Characters Autograph?

T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Jackets, Hats. You can’t be wearing the item but you can bring one. Make sure to also bring a piece of cardboard or a clipboard so the character has something sturdy to sign on.

Pillowcases

Disney Junior Encyclopedia of Animated Characters. Have the character sign on their page. you can have brand new characters sign in the back.

Disney’s Who’s Who Character Book. Just a tip while using this book, be careful sharing the facts from this book with the characters, lol. The character attendant while I was visiting with Russell just started reading the book and the book mentions Russell’s Dad and that he doesn’t spend much time with Russell. This made Russell cry! Russell did love seeing pictures of Kevin and Dug though! This book elicits so many fun character interactions!

Plates. I did this plate for my birthday breakfast at Akershus!

Ornaments. I use see-through plastic ones.

Disney Golden Books. Take your child’s favorite childhood books and add the autographs of their favorite characters. Even if the character is not in the book, pick out something in the book that reminds you of the character. In the Mother Goose book, my friend Julie had Rapunzel sign near a horse that reminded her of Maximus.

Hats

Backpacks – Use a light-colored or white backpack.

Tree Skirts– This is a project I am working on. Once filled I am going to embroider over the signatures.

Stockings- Great for remembering a Christmas Vacation spent at Disney!

Halloween Candy Buckets- This is great for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party when there are more villains out.

Large White Mickey Vinylmation

A 3 ring Binder. Have the characters sign the outside and inside. Great for students and teachers!

Quilting squares- After the trip, combine the autograph squares with cute Disney material to make a blanket that will be cherished forever!

3×5 or 5×7 index cards to scrapbook with the photos.  Characters who don’t sign autographs usually hand out cards.

Coffee Mugs

PhotoBooks – I used Mixbook to make my book. Read my Mixbook review to find out more.

Park Maps, especially the high-quality ones you order from Disney

Big Mickey Gloves, they have them available in the parks.

Aprons, blank light-colored ones. I love this cute White Ruffled Apron from Flirty Aprons, it is perfect!

Handmade Autograph Books – No need to spend so much on an autograph book. Making the book can be part of the countdown activities you have planned prior to the trip.

Lunchboxes

A baseball, basketball, soccer ball, football

Tips for Collecting Disney Character Autographs:

Keep Things Big. Please keep in mind that it is hard for costumed characters like Mickey and Pluto to see your items to have signed. Don’t pick items that are too small or they will have a hard time signing it.

Clickable Sharpies. Permanent markers work best on cloth, canvas, autograph books, and plastic. Easy-to-open clickable Sharpies are what the characters and their handlers prefer.

Label Your Book. If you do have a traditional autograph book or a book I mentioned above, write your address in it. If you lose or forget it, Disney will mail it back to you for free!

Protect the Autograph. For anything plastic like ornaments, lunchboxes, etc. cover the autograph with modpodge or clear nail polish to prevent it rubbing off. For plain white ceramics like plates and coffee cups (get from the Dollar Tree) bake at 350 degrees. Put the item in the oven before the preheat time and remove once completely cool.

Try a Character Meal. Consider booking character dining experiences where you can meet multiple characters in one place without waiting in long lines.

Use Genie+. If available, use Genie+ reservations for popular character meet-and-greet experiences to skip the lines and maximize your time. These do not need to be priority choices and can be selected later in the day.

Be Prepared. Have your item and pen/marker ready to go. I like to get them out of my bag while waiting in line.

Check the Schedule. Check the park’s schedule on MyDisneyExperience for character meet-and-greet times and locations.

What are you going to use to collect character autographs for your next trip? Let me know in the comments!

Share your character autographs in the Disney Vacations: Tips & Tricks Facebook Group!

Consider planning and booking your next Walt Disney World vacation with a Concierge Vacation Planner like Favorite Grampy’s Travels. I’ll take away the stress of planning a Disney vacation and help you get the best price! Let’s Start Planning Now!

Thank You for Spreading the Pixie Dust!

Evette

Monday 21st of August 2023

My daughter is turning 4 so I’ve been gathering birthday cards with characters we are likely to see on them. Dollar Tree carries quite a few.

April

Wednesday 23rd of August 2023

That is a great idea!

Meagan

Friday 2nd of November 2018

I love these ideas, thank you! Will characters sign more than one item? We will be traveling as a family of three and I'd like to take both the Disney Who's Who and a photo mat. Thanks! It will be our first trip :) :) :)

April

Friday 2nd of November 2018

Thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment! Yes, characters will sign more than one item, the book and a photo mat are great options Have an amazing trip!

Rosie

Thursday 10th of November 2016

I had Elsa sign my MagicBand. The decision was mostly because I wasn't prepared at all, but I like the decision a lot. She and Ana were the only characters I saw, and it was very important to me to meet Elsa on the trip. I'm really glad I did it, because it made my otherwise plain MagicBand into a great souvenir. At the same time, I wouldn't recommend this tactic with kids - anything wet will cause the autograph to run until you can cover it with nail polish.

Tracy Taylor

Wednesday 21st of September 2016

We are going to take 8x10 hard canvases and once we get home we are going to arrange them into an art piece on our wall

Divya

Wednesday 3rd of October 2018

That's what we plan to do also. Did you preserve the signatures with anything? How did they do over the years?

Ashley Grisham

Monday 12th of September 2016

I had them sign my grad cap

Pixie Dust Savings

Tuesday 13th of September 2016

That is a really special way to make your cap a very special memento! Love it!