MickeyPeace
Well-Known Member
Characters should stamp then send you off to the One Disney gift shop.
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Should all character "autographs" be a stamp to save time?
- Thread starter dcibrando
- Start date
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
You make some major assumptions that simply aren't true there. I certainly wouldn't have liked a stamp or a sticker more than the actual autographs. Stamps are impersonal and lame. I thought so when I was 5 and I still think so now.
I loved getting autographs when I was little. As others have mentioned, sometimes they are personalized, sometimes they have artwork, sometimes they are just the name, but at least it was more personal than "stamp now get out of the way for the next kid." I can't tell you how thrilled I was as a 5 year old to have Belle (my favorite princess) write Happy Birthday Princess Laura. That meant just as much to me as a Michael Jordan signature would have meant to a Bull's fan. Just because they are children, doesn't mean they don't mean as much..
A picture is nice but that silly little autograph book was something just for me. My mom and I even went out one afternoon just to get autographs from characters. And the characters with those dumb stamps were always my least favorite.
Also, kids get enough stickers. They get them at the dentist, the doctor, the grocery store...they get gobs of stickers. And then they get tossed in the trash. Why take away something so nice and unique for more of the same generic crap that is already invading the parks?
The pillowcase thing is nice for a cruise maybe but what is the point if getting that and not even getting to meet the characters? How is that fun? Part of the fun is meeting the "celebrity."
I'm sorry you have to wait for the characters but at the same time, sorry dude, suck it up, it's what everyone has to do. And perish the thought that in a 3 kid family, each individual child might want their own autograph keepsake. How horrible of those children! The horror, the horror!
...
I recently looked through my Disney autograph book from my childhood and it was awesome to see all the unique signatures and recall some moments I had. That was magical. It just wouldnt have been as special to see stamps. I hope my children will have the same experiences I had and will enjoy looking through them when they are older as I did.
Geez why are people becoming so rude on these message boards... I have no problem with kids wanting autographs for petes sake....whatever makes children happy I'm all for... believe me... I was just asking everyone's opinion on this. I still believe that children at the age of 5 would like as much if not more a stamp and a sticker rather than donald trying to find a way to scribble something in a book (sometimes even with a different hand than the character 15 minutes before them lol)
It sounds like some on here should be at guest relations complaining about the characters that today use a stamp??? I mean how dare they take away from the experience, it's just not the same
It sounds like some on here should be at guest relations complaining about the characters that today use a stamp??? I mean how dare they take away from the experience, it's just not the same
fair enough but how is a scribble on a piece of paper magical?
Minthorne
Well-Known Member
Magic is one of those things "I know it when I see it."
Your magical mileage may vary.
One kid's magic is another man's wasted time.
But I would rather err on the side of the kid...
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Because at least Donald Duck/Mickey Mouse/whatever character signed it. You have to remember that to these kids, the characters are often very real and even for those who know they aren't, at least there was a personal interaction there. They took the time to sign your book. They cared. They are often personalized. It wasnt a impersonal stamp. If you don't understand that it can be magical can you at least see how someone taking the time to sign something would trump a dumb stamp? And again, it's a generic thing that would be done to save time and money only, not to enhance guest experience... I guess your suggestion would make TDO happy.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Most seem fairly practiced at signing the names... I don't see major struggling often. Also, the characters come back every day. The character meet and greet times are listed, not to mention that characters are in multiple parks. If it really means that much, people can always return. Often times even within the same hour.
Minthorne
Well-Known Member
I'd feel bad for the person cleaning toilets and vomit, the guy scooping up the horse poop, and the Guest Service person dealing with all the complaints. I don't pity the characters who get the experience of making a kid smile or the excitement of a kid waiting to meet their "hero".
Do they have a character leave while people are still in line waiting? I'd guess they cut the line off and finsih the line rather than just say tough luck to the other people who had been waiting. Does anyone know?
Occasional Guest
Well-Known Member
Autographs are just part of the deal, as is being hot and sweaty in the costume. Mickey isn't going to appear headless just because we feel sorry for the character on a 90 degree day. As for the kids who can't get in line before the character leaves, not everyone gets a trophy in little league either. We do our best to get our kids pictures with characters but sometimes we just miss them. We say "ah gosh darn it, maybe next time" and we move on. The autographs are important because it is all part of the magic. If it went away would it be the end of magic? No. My little girl loves the castle so what if we just cut out main street so all the people standing in the way aren't there anymore and we can just get to the castle?
I would have to agree with those who think a stamp is a horrible idea. I have taken neices and nephews to the parks and most of the autographs had something special written in addition to the signature (it was Zach's birthday and most of the characters wrote something). If you believe that a stamp is the way to go so that everything is nice and efficient, then why not go all the way, just have the stamps set out for self service stamping at many locations around the park. As much as I peronally, including when I was young, could not care less about autograph books I know other kids who just love them and I would hate to see their experience cheapened in the name of saving time.
Occasional Guest
Well-Known Member
Story time with Belle? I love that experience! We did that the last time we were there.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
That would take even more time and be more limited in the number who could experience that... since you seem so concerned about the amount who get to experience the M&G. Look at Enchanted Tales with Belle. The wait is an hour long on an average day. And that's for a semi-personal experience. Reading a book to children, sure, nice, but for something like that to be remotely efficient, you'd have to put the character in at least a small auditorium, therefore removing the personal aspect of the M&G all together.
in case you've never been there... it's a lot more than just Belle "reading" a book to kids lol
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
The character's signature is about the most personal interaction that most of these characters can give. They can't speak (yet), their costumes can limit their range of motion, so doing more character-specific actions is not typically on the table. The signature is an autograph, and if I went to a basketball game as a kid and Isiah Thomas whipped out a stamp to put onto my program, I'd have been insulted.
When they sign their autograph, they typically try and get down to the child's level and personally interact with them. They are not posing for pictures and trying to find which one of the 10 cameras/phones pointed at them are the right ones to look at, ignoring the child to make the parents happy that they got the perfect picture. They are giving the child 1:1 time, and while doing so, giving the child something that they wrote themselves to take home to help remind them. I made my kids autograph books for our last trip and (thankfully), it's their favorite souvenir.
Personally, I kind of wish they would/could take more time to interact with each guest.
And remember, the more people sucked up in a line for a M&G, the less people are clogging the streetways or in line for your favorite attraction as well.
When they sign their autograph, they typically try and get down to the child's level and personally interact with them. They are not posing for pictures and trying to find which one of the 10 cameras/phones pointed at them are the right ones to look at, ignoring the child to make the parents happy that they got the perfect picture. They are giving the child 1:1 time, and while doing so, giving the child something that they wrote themselves to take home to help remind them. I made my kids autograph books for our last trip and (thankfully), it's their favorite souvenir.
Personally, I kind of wish they would/could take more time to interact with each guest.
And remember, the more people sucked up in a line for a M&G, the less people are clogging the streetways or in line for your favorite attraction as well.
