Originally Posted By cantwait4disneyland We are taking our 3 kids (11, 8, 4) in May 20-24 to Disneyland for the 1st time, staying at the Grand Californian. We are so excited and I have been obsessing over all the details. So, one question I have is... should I buy autograph books before we leave. On ebay they are going for about $8-$10. Is that a good deal? Can I buy them at Disneyland and are they cheaper/more there? TIA! Any other 1st timer tips would be greatly appreciated!
Originally Posted By friendofdd I can only guess on this one. Anything with a Disney logo will cost you more. So you can save money by getting them at home. They do sell some with photo holder pages so you can insert your photo of the character right next to the autograph. One year, my grandchildren bought Mickey gloves and had the characters autograph them. When they got home, they hung their gloves on a bedroom wall. It was a great way to do it.
Originally Posted By minniefan The autograph books are available everywhere around the parks. I can't recall the exact prices, however. For us, we have one in hand before we enter Disneyland. We always see characters when we first pass through the turnstiles, so we never want to miss an opportunity to get an autograph. Since it's the first visit, I would have them before I walked in the gates. Just my opinion....
Originally Posted By momofbuzzfan We have never done the autograph thing at DL, but if you bought them ahead of time it would be one less thing to think about. When you arrive at the park, there may be lines and then a wait while getting a locker (if you do that). If you have your autograph books already you won't have to wait in another line to purchase them....and you can start collecting autographs right away!
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Congratulations on your upcoming trip. I can just hear the excitement in your post! I love that! For something like autograph books, I would get all that stuff before I go also. And we always leave the left page blank so we can put a picture there later. Have you checked out the LP store for autograph books? The prices aren't too far off the $8-10 mark you mention and you know it's reputable and that you'd be supporting a great site. <a href="http://www.laughingplacestore.com/Category-RC-520.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplacestore. com/Category-RC-520.asp</a> <a href="http://www.laughingplacestore.com/SearchResults.asp?P=1" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplacestore. com/SearchResults.asp?P=1</a> Have fun and I hope you think about maybe posting a trip report when you come back! First time with kids has so much potential for magic!
Originally Posted By godalejunior We bought ours off ebay for $3 as I wanted it ready to go when we got there. You can purchase them in a hotel gift shop as well.
Originally Posted By joeysmommy Hi You sound just like me at this time last year. We took our two sons for their first trip last Sept. I also obsessed over every little detail, driving my DH insane. But rest assured that your obsessing will make for a much better trip. Lots of planning is required when you travel with little ones. On the autograph books I wanted mine ahead of time, didn't want to wait in any more lines than I had to. I did check out ebay, but I got a great idea from someone on these boards and mouseforless. I made my own with the spiral bound 6x6 album from Michael's. They are much easier for characters to handle and you can flip to the exact page you want them to sign. I'm a scrapbooker, so I already had lots of different Disney paper and stickers. I spray mounted the paper to the front and back covers of the book and then let the kids choose which character stickers they wanted on them. You could also check ebay for Disneyland stickers or buy them at World of Disney (DTD) when you get there. I lucked out, and a fellow scrapbooker shared her extra DL stickers with me. I will post my email address under user profile info and you can email me if you need any other advice or ideas. I learned so much from my fellow LPers and am very grateful.
Originally Posted By bobiascastle I just bought a normal size one that didn't have a place for pictures for $6.50. Right inside the gates. One year my mom made my kids one each. She scanned & used pics off the internet & each character we might see had a page (then some blank in the back) the princesses especially liked them (probably cause they are the only ones that can talk) I remember Cinderella going through most of the book with my 2 year old talking to her about the other characters. They like to see new things & not the same old books over & over again. Have fun! )
Originally Posted By dlkozy The one thing that is helpful to the characters are BIG FAT pens for them to sign with. These can be found at Target and Walmart-why pay Disney prices for a pen!
Originally Posted By lynnet1 one other thing to remember is not to get a cheap "dollar store" book as their pages fall out easily. That happened to us - they fell out after the trip but it did wreck a nice trip book. Great idea about putting the pictures bedide the autograph - when you look at them later you can have some really good memories.
Originally Posted By sdlovesmickey We always like to go to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping the night before our trip into the park after we have checked into our hotel. That is when we visit the Disney Store there and purchase our pens and autograph books. That way we bought them on property, but have them ready first thing in the morning when we get to the park (there is usually several characters in the entrance at opening times and my DD always made a beeline straight for them).
Originally Posted By cantwait4disneyland You all are AWESOME! I didn't expect such a response and so many tips/advice. Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to hanging out on this board and learning a ton from you guys!!
Originally Posted By nemopoppins I'd go with Joeysmommy and make one. My middle daughter did that once. She made her own (her own idea) before we went. I liked it much better than our younger daughter's book that her big brother bought for her AT DISNEYLAND and the pages all keep falling out (it's not just the cheap ones, lynnet1). My oldest daughter bought a 50th anniversary version at Disneyland for herself and that one seems to be staying together.
Originally Posted By ssturgeo The one thing, besides the autograph book that you should get is a big, thick, pen! They sell them at the park, but sure you can find them online also. It is much easier for the characters to use...the only kind some of them can use.
Originally Posted By joeysmommy I used a retractable Sharpie pen. Great for the characters, no lost caps... not good for my sons' clothing. : (
Originally Posted By chickendumpling I *love* those retractable Sharpie pens too, but... I've had characters wave them off in favor of a ballpoint. I guess they're just as bad for their outfits as they are for your son's clothes joeysmommy. lol. The tried and true for me now are those big ol' fat BIC clicky ballpoints they sell at Walmart. I guess they're called XXL's. Here they are, fyi. <a href="http://www.bicworld.com/inter_en/bdd/product_writing.asp?product_id=178" target="_blank">http://www.bicworld.com/inter_ en/bdd/product_writing.asp?product_id=178</a>
Originally Posted By atigger2 I just got back from Disneyland on Monday and we bought our kids autograph books at the World of Disney. My son wanted the Pirates of the Caribbean and it cost us $10.00. My daughter wanted the princess one with slots for photos and it cost $14.00. The downside for the princess one was a bigdown side as she ran out of spaces for anyone to autograph on and wanted us to buy her another one. We didn't as we were pretty much finished with getting autographs. The smaller autograph books worked the best because for my son he could carry it in the back and lowest pocket of his backpack, which I carried on my back. Plus it comes with lots of pages. Have fun. We also stayed at the Grand California. It was the best. I'm starting my trip report tonight.
Originally Posted By cantwait4disneyland Thanks! I can't wait to hear your trip report! I'm so glad to hear you loved the Grand Californian! We are so excited to go!
