21 Disney Character Autograph Ideas (You’ll Want to Keep Forever)
My favourite thing about visiting Disney parks is that it is a magical experience for all ages. And one of the highlights for children (and adults!) is collecting autographs of Disney characters. While the traditional autograph book is a keepsake to cherish, there are even more creative ways to capture special signatures. Make your memories last forever with these clever Disney character autograph ideas!
In this post you’ll find:
- Different types of autograph books and scrapbooks
- Character books
- Tote bags and backpacks
- Fabric items like homeware and clothing
- Photo accessories
- Toys, pet items and more unique ways to capture character autographs
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Traditional Disney Autograph Books
The most common way to collect signatures is with an autograph book. For good reason! They are small and easy to carry, and the pages are specially designed for character autographs.
Here are some ideas for your unique character autograph book.
1. Disney Autograph Books from the Parks
If you are already in the Disney parks, you can buy a character autograph book from one of the gift shops.
Or, check out nearby stores for less expensive options. In Orlando and Anaheim, the local Wal-Mart and Target had a wide selection of Disney autograph books. In Val d’Europe near Disneyland Paris is a Primark which has autograph books. And, next to Disneyland Paris in the train station, they also have Disney autograph books.
2. Disney Character Signature Books (Fast!)
Last-minute packing? Amazon has a 2024 Disney autograph book you can get tomorrow with Amazon Prime.
3. A Personalised Autograph Book
I love this custom autograph book for Disneyland Paris from Etsy, which can be made for Disneyland Paris, Disneyland California or Walt Disney World. You can even request it to have the boy or not!
Your custom Disney autograph book will look beautiful on your bookshelf for years to come.
Artsy Autograph Books
4. DIY Character Autograph Book
If you have a printer, you could DIY a character autograph book. Hip2save has templates for most Disney characters. Just print them out on thick paper and bind the pages with a pretty ribbon.
5. Scrapbooks (Customised By You!)
Are you creative? It would be really fun to make your own Disney autograph book scrapbook-style.
Start with a pretty scrapbook, then add stickers, glitter, washi tape, and coloured paper. Leave space for the signatures you are going to collect in the park.
💡 For an even more personal touch, add photos of meeting the Disney characters after your trip.
6. Ready-Made Scrapbooks
I love this incredible UP Adventure Scrapbook with stickers – it’s perfect for crafters! Collect character autographs on pieces of card stock if you don’t want to take the whole scrapbook to Disney. Then, when you get home, glue them into your book with photos and mementoes of your trip.
7. Sketchbook
This idea is perfect for artists! A spiral sketchbook with drawings of your favourite characters is an exceptional place to collect Disney autographs.
Disney Character Books
Any Disney book can be a cute place to collect signatures. It’s even more fun for kids if the picture of the character matches the character you’re meeting to get an autograph.
8. A Disney Character Encyclopedia
This idea is perfect for little ones, my 4-year-old also loved looking at pages from his Disney character book over and over when we got home.
9. A Disney Colouring Book
How fun to get a character to sign a picture your child has coloured! ✏️ PRO TIP Just make sure the colouring is only on one side of the paper as the marker may bleed through to the other side.
Here is one of our favourite Disney colouring books.
Bags and Backpacks
10. A Backpack or a Disney Backpack
This is an idea that a Disney PhotoPass Photographer suggested to us when we met Mickey Mouse – and it’s such a good one!
Get your Disney backpack signed by a character (or multiple characters). It makes a lovely memory that you can look at every time you use the backpack. We bought this one from the Lidl middle aisle. But here is a similar Mickey backpack.
11. A Canvas Tote Bag or Pencil Case
This is such a fun thing for tweens to do. They can use Sharpie pens to decorate a fabric bag or fabric pencil case/makeup bag before or after their trip.
Customise it by writing the dates, their name, doodles of snacks – anything they want! When you’re in the parks, ask the Disney characters for their autographs to complete the design.
✏️ PRO TIP When you get home, iron the canvas bag so the colours don’t wash out.
Cushion Covers and Pillowcases
12. Plain, Cotton Pillowcases
Signing pillowcases was always something we did as kids at slumber parties. Bring one with you to Disney and use it to collect character autographs.
✏️ PRO TIP Like the tote bag (above), make sure to iron it when you get home. This will seal in the permanent markers when washing the pillowcase.
13. Cushion Covers
If you like the idea of having a souvenir for your home, try collecting Disney autographs on a throw pillow. You don’t need to take the whole pillow, just the cushion cover and ask the characters to sign it. This idea works best if the material is cotton and not textured.
We tried this out on a square pillowcase from IKEA; it’s really cute in our kid’s bedroom now!
🤓 GOOD TO KNOW Don’t hold your Sharpie pen with the cap off in the same hand as your item to sign while you’re waiting. That’s why we have a random pen streak on our cushion! (My kid didn’t care though. As you can see in the photo above, this pillow is well-loved!)
Clothing, Hats and Mouse Ear Headbands
14. T-Shirts
Remember the last day of school when all your friends signed your T-shirt? This is a similar idea! Get Mickey and all your favourite characters to sign a shirt. Maybe even a Disney shirt.
🤓 GOOD TO KNOW Characters won’t sign anything you’re wearing, so be sure to bring the T-shirt separately.
15. Hats
Get a character to sign your hat! This idea works best on a white or very light-coloured cotton ball cap.
16. Mouse Ear Headbands
Make your mouse ears completely unique by getting them signed! This mouse ears signature headband on Etsy is designed just for that.
Photo Accessories
17. Photo Frame Mount
My favourite Disney souvenir hack is a photo frame with a mount for autographs (mine is pictured above). It’s lightweight and easy to carry. Collect signatures from the Disney characters, and when you get home, pop the signed mount in a frame with your favourite photo. It’s even better if your photo is with a character or in front of the castle.
✏️ PRO TIP You only need to take the mount with you, not the whole picture frame. We kept it in a large baggie to keep it clean. And we also put it on a clipboard to prevent the cardboard from bending. That also made it easier for the characters to sign it.
Toys and Objects
18. A Plush Toy (Like Mickey Mouse or a Soft Princess Doll)
We have a white fabric Mickey Mouse doll that is a treasured keepsake for my son even years and years later.
So if you have a Disney plush toy or doll, you could get your favourite character to sign it. You could ask a Princess to sign a princess doll, or a Marvel superhero to sign a soft toy, too. This Mickey Mouse doll is a great idea for characters to sign his shoes.
19. An Iconic Object
Sharpie pens can sign not only paper but wood, metal, glass and much more. So, this category is a little hard to define, but if you have a favourite character, bring an object that relates to them.
For example:
- Cinderella: you could bring your child’s Cinderella costume shoe
- Pooh Bear: a tag to tie on a jar of honey
- Stitch: a toy ukelele
- Pluto: a plastic container for dog biscuits
- Woody or Jesse: a Western-style bandana
- Minnie or Daisy: an over-sized hair bow
Use your imagination and see the delight when you show your character your object that relates to them!
Something For Your Furry Friend
20. Pet Accessories
Even pets can get in on the fun! Bring a pet-related accessory to sign. This works best if it is made from canvas or fabric.
If you are meeting Pluto, you could bring a canvas leash or collar to sign. Maybe Mickey could sign your pet’s blanket or special fabric squeaky toy. Even a dog t-shirt made of cotton with character signatures would make a fun souvenir!
Instant Pictures
21. Instax or Polaroids
Do you like retro photos? I do, too! Take your Instax Camera (or Polaroid), snap a photo with your favourite Disney character and get them to sign it. Truly a memory for a lifetime.
💡5 Top Tips for Character Autograph Books (To Make Them Look the Best Forever!)
No matter how you collect your Disney autographs, follow these tips:
1. Carry your signature book/object/t-shirt inside something safe. Unfortunately, we kept our fabric cushion cover in the same bag as a water bottle on our Orlando trip and the condensation made some of the pen marks bleed. My tip is to keep your book/object/fabric safe in a plastic Ziploc.
2. Use Sharpie pens. They dry quickly and last the longest. My kids liked to match the coloured Sharpies to their favourite characters. And we used gold metallic Sharpies for our Disney character encyclopaedia.
3. Take the cap off your pen before you hand it to the character. Their big furry hands really struggle to do the pen caps!
4. When you get home from Disney, iron anything that you plan to wash later (canvas bag, pillowcase, t-shirt etc). That will lock in the signatures.
5. Characters are not allowed to sign anything you’re wearing. So carry your t-shirt, hat or mouse ears separately.
Over to You…
I hope these ideas bring a unique twist to your Disney autograph collection, allowing you to create personalised keepsakes and memories that last forever.
Have you tried any of these creative Disney autograph options? If so, which is your favourite? Tell me in the comments below. 👇
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