What’s the polite amount of time to spend with characters?

[AngiTN]

I think I need a clarification on if you mean adults in family groups or adults in general.

With the "do something else" comment I can't imagine PP is talking about anything else but adults only groups. Parents won't be going to do something else while their kids meet a character.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I've never understood the multiple autograph books. What are you going to do with two copies of them? Why not just have one "family" one. Less time wasted and environmentally sound. Win-Win

I have more than one child.
Sometimes we split up and I take one child to a meet and greet and my husband takes the other child to meet another character. My daughter may want to wait in a long line to meet someone my son does not care about and visa versa. It is really nice for them to have their own book so they can meet different characters.

My sister and I still have our own autograph books from our trips in the 80s & 90s. I am so happy we have our own and my kids love looking at the autographs and photos from when I was a kid.

When we all go to meet and greets together, my son and daughter each get their own autograph in their own book so they each have all the autographs they wanted. They have 2 books anyway so they don’t have to be together for every meet and greet.

I have waited in hundreds of Disney meet and greet lines and have never felt inconvenienced by other people’s children getting their own autographs. I can’t imagine caring about this.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

With the "do something else" comment I can't imagine PP is talking about anything else but adults only groups. Parents won't be going to do something else while their kids meet a character.

I can't either, but I'm going to give him a chance to clarify that.

 

[AngiTN]

Right? I 2nd book takes what, 30 more seconds, at most! Seriously someone is worried about loosing 30 sec in a line? At Disney? Sorry. That is something that should not be a concern.

 

[SaintsManiac]

My rule of thumb is that if there's a line, the adults do NOT need their own non-kid pictures. Don't wait in line by yourselves- do something else so the kids have a shorter wait. And if you're escorting your kids, by all means jump into a photo. But don't get one of just you and the character.

LOL sometimes my kid doesn't even want a picture and it's just me all by myself!

 

[only hope]

10 minutes?! Kind of feeling badly for the characters and friends there.

But since no one else was in line, they would have been just standing around doing nothing if that family hadn't stayed. If I was a character, I'd much rather spend 10 minutes with someone who is clearly enjoying themselves instead of standing there doing nothing. Doing nothing is quite boring.

My rule of thumb is that if there's a line, the adults do NOT need their own non-kid pictures. Don't wait in line by yourselves- do something else so the kids have a shorter wait. And if you're escorting your kids, by all means jump into a photo. But don't get one of just you and the character.

Characters are not just for the kids, just like almost everything at Disney. Kids just have to wait their turn, like the adults. It's one way for them to learn patience. Some adults appreciate meeting characters more than some kids. Kids get to play and pretend every day...how often do adults have that chance? Not often enough. A character m&g is one way to let loose and enjoy yourself. Also, kids have just begun to like the characters...adults have decades of having watched the movies, tv shows, seeing the Broadway shows, reading the books, of developing a fondness of and familiarity with that character (for the ones that have been around awhile anyways).

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Autograph books: each child has one and they have their pictures next to the autographs. They take them out over and over and relive their experiences. They also enyoy comparing themselves in previous books when they were babies or toddlers
My son is now 36 and still has every one of his autograph books.
Adults: We took my sister in law last year for her once in a lifetime trip. The highlight of her entire Disney World visit was meeting Chewbacca. That even beat out meeting the dwarfs. (She's 4'9")
The best time we ever had (and the girls still talk about) was around 3 years ago we met Pocahontas and Meeko. She was in a different location then, down at this dock area. They walked our family down and the characters proceeded to play hide and seek, peek a boo, etc with the kids. We were down there a long time and afterward they took a break. I was just glad we couldn't see the line, but it sure was a magical moment.
ETA: Pocahontas and Meeko initiated the play, not us. We just obliged and had fun. As we were all leaving, Pocahontas and Meeko were holding hands, skipping along. They had had fun too.

 

[Feberin]

My four kids will each have their own autograph books because last time we went it served as a ice breaker for them with the characters. I also don't understand how if they waited in line they are less entitled to individual time with a character than an only child.

 

[kylenne]

I can't either, but I'm going to give him a chance to clarify that.

There is definitely a vocal subset of folks who get upset about childless adults in character lines and feel that we’re somehow stealing time from their children. Not accusing the PP of it but I’ve seen it in the parks once in a while as a Childless Millennial (tm). Truth is, we all paid to be there and there’s no rule stating that M&Gs are only for children, no matter how much some folks think it should be the case. And yes me and my gf have both gotten emotional with certain characters. We don’t especially care lol. The Magic is for everyone.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm not the person who mentioned this but.... I have 3 kids, and 2 of them (ages 5 & 3) wanted their own autograph books for our upcoming trip. My answer was No, absolutely not. Yes, I told them that it takes up more time and that wasn't fair to all the people waiting behind us. They understood and that was the end of that. I told my 3 year old it was "his" book to have after the trip because his sister got the one from our last trip. But honestly? Its not like they re-read their autograph books- they sit on their bookshelf and take up space and maybe they occasionally glance through them.

If they chose to have a meltdown when they get there because I told them No and other kids have individual ones, that's no skin off my back... they are kids who need to know that sometimes (often) the answer is No.

I never did one autograph book because i was worried about a meltdown. We always did two because it just never occurred to me to do one autograph book for both of my kids. I never knew it was a thing. To each their own. My kids, at 19 and 13, still reminisce from time to time with their own personalized autograph books from their youth.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I have more than one child.
Sometimes we split up and I take one child to a meet and greet and my husband takes the other child to meet another character. My daughter may want to wait in a long line to meet someone my son does not care about and visa versa. It is really nice for them to have their own book so they can meet different characters.

My sister and I still have our own autograph books from our trips in the 80s & 90s. I am so happy we have our own and my kids love looking at the autographs and photos from when I was a kid.

When we all go to meet and greets together, my son and daughter each get their own autograph in their own book so they each have all the autographs they wanted. They have 2 books anyway so they don’t have to be together for every meet and greet.

I have waited in hundreds of Disney meet and greet lines and have never felt inconvenienced by other people’s children getting their own autographs. I can’t imagine caring about this.

Great point. We used to split up at times too.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

There is definitely a vocal subset of folks who get upset about childless adults in character lines and feel that we’re somehow stealing time from their children. Not accusing the PP of it but I’ve seen it in the parks once in a while as a Childless Millennial (tm). Truth is, we all paid to be there and there’s no rule stating that M&Gs are only for children, no matter how much some folks think it should be the case. And yes me and my gf have both gotten emotional with certain characters. We don’t especially care lol. The Magic is for everyone.

Last time we took the kids there were a couple of young adults (kids to me) meeting Stitch. They were so happy and excited I just enjoyed watching them. I'm smiling right now at the memory. Disney is for everybody. My grandkids also keep memorabilia (such as their CRT wishing star or their bookmark from Story time with Belle) in theirs.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I always just take the cue from character. If it's clear that they were just going to sign, hug and pose quickly, that's what we went along with. If they seem playful, we play along. DH and I took our first adult only trip a few years ago and we happened to walk by Peter Pan, who we've never had a pic with before. I was going to just hop in line for a quick pic. Pan wasn't having that. He interacted with me more than any character ever did with my kids. He was so magical, that I just played along. I have amazing pics of that time and it holds a special memory in my heart. I never get upset if someone takes a long time with characters. You never know what that moment may mean to them.

 

[xipotec]

I really can't fathom getting annoyed because some group took their time instead of whatever someone else thinks is appropriate. Just who thinks their rules should apply to all? Really do not understand that concept, that the time YOU feel is appropriate is appropriate for all guests. Like that guest is going to seriously impact your day because they took longer than you allot for yourself. You aren't talking about 30 min or anything. It's 2, 3 min more, tops.

I've encountered this situation a number of times myself. I can't fathom a situation where a family would say no, they can't go in front of us.

Like you, I enjoy watching other groups interact with the characters too.

Goto a pharmacy and watch it in action every day.
Folks will complain about the line, and because someone is asking a question or had an issue, then when its their turn, they do the exact same thing.....it human nature unfortunatly.

LOL

 

[Melissa55]

I have never done Disney with a kid. My last trip I was pregnant and we will be taking my son on his first trip soon. But I am a character-obsessed adult, and my internal rule is 1 minute per person (note: I would never impose this on anyone outside of my family!). If I go up alone, I try to keep it quick, but I also usually wear Disney clothing and the characters will comment (or gesture if they’re not a face character). And there have been times when it takes longer. Like once I was waiting in line for Donald in AK. They cut off the line right before me but I really didn’t mind. I waited the 5-10 minutes for the line to start back up again. When Donald arrived, he came and linked arms with me and started skipping away waving goodbye to my husband. It was hilarious and adorable. Then Donald did several different poses with me before waving my husband over to join. All in, it probably took 5 minutes but the other people in line were laughing so hopefully they weren’t internally annoyed.

I have seen families with children take a lot longer and it has never bothered me. When I was a kid, my sister and I had lots of identical things because we each wanted our own. I think that’s fairly normal. If a family with 4 kids has 4 autograph books, not a problem!

 

[GeneralTso]

The characters need to perfect the art of the Love & Shove.

 

[GeneralTso]

The characters need to perfect the art of the Love & Shove.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I'm not the person who mentioned this but.... I have 3 kids, and 2 of them (ages 5 & 3) wanted their own autograph books for our upcoming trip. My answer was No, absolutely not. Yes, I told them that it takes up more time and that wasn't fair to all the people waiting behind us. They understood and that was the end of that. I told my 3 year old it was "his" book to have after the trip because his sister got the one from our last trip. But honestly? Its not like they re-read their autograph books- they sit on their bookshelf and take up space and maybe they occasionally glance through them.

If they chose to have a meltdown when they get there because I told them No and other kids have individual ones, that's no skin off my back... they are kids who need to know that sometimes (often) the answer is No.

Exactly. It’s just wasteful when I look at it. You could still fill one book with everyone’s collective collected autographs, pictures with the characters and make a full family keepsake. Everything doesn’t have to be individual or personalized. “I’m afraid of a meltdown?” Ha yeah no, not this parent. Feel free to meltdown kiddo it’s still a no, you will live. Luckily, I only have one and she’s never seen the fascination with an autograph , just interaction and picture. And she learned pretty early that a meltdown will get her left right where she is.

 

[Sleepy425]

I've encountered this situation a number of times myself. I can't fathom a situation where a family would say no, they can't go in front of us.

I was the behind the family that would have been next in line for LaunchPad, when a MAW family came. The attendant asked the family that was next if they minded if the MAW family went next instead, and they refused. Everyone in line, and the attendant, all had the same "are you friggin serious??" face on. I'm still flabbergasted that people would say no to a MAW family.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

NVM who wouldn’t let a make a wish kiddo go. Yes, please go in front of me. Take your time kiddo.