How to Get a BUNCH of Character Autographs on a Disney Cruise… Without Standing in a SINGLE LINE!

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news – but as of mid-August 2015, DCL is discontinuing their magical “Mickey Mail” service because it has become so popular the characters are having trouble keeping up with the demand. Understandable, but disappointing.

I’m thrilled with how many of you enjoyed my Disney Cruise review from our recent trip.  My head is literally spinning from all of the cool tips and tricks that we picked up throughout our travels and this post is one of my favorites.  A Disney vacation (cruise or parks, doesn’t matter) is a trip that I truly believe pays to do some research before you leave.  There is just so much to see, do and experience, that the more of a plan you have, the more you will get out of your valuable time.

I can’t count how many cumulative hours we have waited in lines for Lily to meet various characters over the years.  She loves getting to pose with them and a highlight is to see how many of their signatures she can get in her coveted autograph book.

When you go on a Disney Cruise you can actually drop off items for characters to sign (up to 2 per cabin though they will make exceptions if you have more than 2 children).  That’s right – the characters will sign whatever object(s) you drop off without you ever once having to wait in a line.

Simply take your objects to the Guest Services desk on your ship.  We literally walked on the ship and marched right over to Guest Services and handed over our items.  I made sure everything was labeled and all of our markers were returned to us, no problems.  You will fill out a form and specify which set of characters you’d like to sign… though it seems if you choose “Mickey and the Gang” you will get any or all characters on the ship.  If you choose “Princesses” you will ONLY get the princesses on your ship.

You can drop off anything to be signed, from pictures to shirts.  You do not need to drop off markers, although we did because I wanted to make our items as colorful as possible.  We also included a “thank you” treat (Starbursts!) in each bag because I read that while not at all expected or required, it is a very appreciated gesture.  We had a pillowcase and a photo mat signed.  I washed the pillowcase before we left home and we sent fabric markers instead of Sharpies in that bag because I wasn’t sure if the Sharpies would bleed through.

Here’s the final product (which Lily has slept on every night since we’ve been home):

We took an 8×10 white photo mat that was cut for a 5×7 print.   The plan was to take a picture of the kids during the cruise and use that in the mat.  It turned out we bought a print of the kids and Mickey from pirate night – it looks fantastic!

Two extremely unique souvenirs that didn’t cost us a second of our precious time on board.  (Unless you count the 5 minutes or so that we spent filling out the form at Guest Services!)

On the last night of your cruise, your autographed items are hand delivered right to your cabin.

Perfect!

2015 update – fresh off our 2nd Disney Cruise and I wanted to share our newly autographed souvenirs!!

This year we dropped off two items again.  We dropped off a personalized Disney photo matte and here is the final result, along with the picture that we are planning to frame with it.

Then I made this shirt for Lily using heat transfer vinyl cut by my Silhouette Portrait Machine.  I dropped it off at Guest Services with some colorful fabric markers and take a look at the end result!  I have to admit, I think I love it as much as she does!

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