Meeting characters at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure is a beloved Disney tradition. For some, it is a major reason to go to the parks. And why not? It’s such a cute (and free or almost free) souvenir!

For most people, getting a character’s autograph is easy – get in line, hand the character the item to be signed and a pen, get it all back once their done signing it. However, for the parents of neurodivergent children, it can cause anxiety and frustration.

As a fellow special needs parent, I get it. I 100% get it. Just standing in line is stressful with your kids – much less adding in juggling a book, pen, and being polite while corralling your kids. Phew… it’s a lot.

But never fear! I’m here to offer you my five tips and suggestions for getting Disney character autographs for your autistic children.

5 Tips for Getting Disney Character Autographs with Autistic Kids:

First a foremost, let me reassure you that asking characters to sign autographs for you and/or your special needs children is not an inconvenience. It is expected and a huge part Cast Member training at all Disney parks.

In addition to learning how to sign that character’s specific autograph (so that every single character in every single park every single day has the exact same signature), Cast Members are taught how to interact with ALL guests while signing autographs. That includes your neurodivergent child. So get in there and get those autographs!

Have your autograph book or item to be signed open and ready.

This just saves time. For you, for your kids, for the characters, for the Cast Members, and for everyone else waiting in the line.

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Here’s what I do – when we get to the front of the line and our turn is next, I get out our books and pens so we’re ready. I open each one to the appropriate page and lay them in our stroller (I generally tuck them inside the folds of our stroller/medical push chair sunshade. I also clip an individual Sharpie (I like these ones) to each open page of album.

Offering the character an already open book plus an individual Sharpie really saves time and makes the process smoother.

Bring a Sharpie (or use the fat autograph pens they sell in the parks).

Why? They are easier for the characters to grip. Many of the characters are wearing gloves (and some of those gloves have fat fingers – looking at you Mickey Mouse) and thin pens or pencils can be difficult for them to grip.

Be prepared to distract or entertain your child while the character is doing the actual signing.

Signing autographs can take a moment so I have them do autographs right before we leave so I can load kids up in the stroller/medical push chair or distract them with a fidget toy/snack; thus, giving the character the space and time to do their thing.

You can ask ANY Cast Member for an autograph.

Autographs aren’t just a character thing! Any Cast Member can and will (if there’s time) sign your book for you. They are often very flattered to be asked, because no one ever does, and will take the time to write a message or a note (whereas the characters only sign their names).

Be prepared for the non-autograph characters.

A couple of characters who do not have hands (i.e. Olaf and BB-8) will have special stickers or prints for you in lieu of signing your book. If your kid is a hardcore autograph junkie, then this could trigger big feelings. I make sure to let my kids know before we even get in the line that this character can’t sign their books and will be giving them a special picture instead – that way, they can opt out of the experience completely if they want.

If you can, try to research beforehand which characters do autographs and which ones offer options. To confirm, ask a Cast Member while in line if that character is physically signing that day. Whenever we’ve gone, a Cast Member has always proactively told us if a character is giving out stickers/prints in lieu of a signature. But, you know, better safe than sorry.

Some of my favorite memories from our family trips to Disneyland are reflected in my kids’ autograph albums from each trip. They are also really fun to flip through once we are home – the kids love matching the signatures up with the pictures of the characters that we have.