Explain Pin Trading to me....

[Disneynutbsv]

I ordered some pins for my kids when Disney Shopping was having that 50% off sale and my daughter bought a couple of them on our last trip, but we know nothing of trading pins?? Do we approach cms and trade , do they ask us?? LOL, I'm so confused My kids are all excited about trading pins, but I have this feeling they'll want to keep what I get them And that's ok too, I just really want to know how to approach the idea of trading a pin.
Thanks!!!

 

[Blythep]

Cast Members who wear a yellow Lanyard will trade pins with anyone, and those wearing green lanyards will trade with children 12 and younger. You can look at their pins and generally they will hold them out for you to see. If you find one that they have that you want and they don't have the pin you are willing to trade with they will trade with you. It is great. Our son really had a good time trading our last trip. My hubby found a lot of pins on ebay that he uses as traders, just have to make sure that they are Disney pins and not fakes. Have Fun!

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Great, thanks I never would have had any idea about yellow or green lanyards!!! I think my kids will have fun with it

 

[First-timer]

i got a coupon with my magical express coupons for a free pin..... my dd 9 was so excited to get something free..... we took it to our gift shop at AKL and i thought she would get to pick one for free...... well the lady at the desk brings out the ugliest ME bus pins...... but ........ then she told us..... to find a cm at any park and as long as they dont already have the pin you want to trade they cannot say no...... we joked and said all the cm's probably have the busses already...... but no........ the very first cm we walked up too traded with her so she ended up with a very cute tinkerbell pin...... now she was happy...... vicki

 

[Blythep]

We got the bus pin too... but my son wanted to collect all 5 of them, so before the end of our trip he had traded for all of them. He is excited to get them all. I have traded an collected the monorails, and a Winnie the Pooh train set. Pin Trading is a lot of fun.

 

[ncbyrne]

The cast members will not approach you - you must ask them. We started pin trading at the parks a few years ago. The kids were much too shy to go up to a CM and felt really embarrased the first time or two, so I had to be the one to initiate the trade. Once they saw how easy it was and how willing the CMs were to trade, they got the hang of it very quickly. We bought a bunch of pins on eBay and each child traded them all for a "theme". One traded for all Jessica Rabbit pins, the other picked Mickey Mouse w/any mode of transportation and the other chose Sorcerer Mickey. FUN, FUN, FUN! Pin trading added a lot to the trip and made for some great souvenirs with memories attached to each one.

 

[TXMommy]

Let me also add that it is ADDICTIVE! DD, DS, and I each have 2 full lanyards now.....

 

[Lizzybee]

My son really really enjoyed the social aspect of pin trading and the whole strategy of it. I don't think he'd trade any of the pins he currently has so the next time we go, I'll probably get him a starter kit in a gift shop. The kids get an allowance of spending money per day and my son usually picks a pin or two which is fine by me...easy to pack
Another tip we learned is that there are pins called Cast Member lanyard pins. They either have a hidden Mickey in the pin design or will state on the back they are lanyard pins. These pins are not for sale so the only way to get them to trade for them. My son LOVED this aspect. He also traded with other children (close to his age and with my supervision to make sure no one was being taken advantage of).
My best advice is buy the cheaper pins to start with then trade w/CMs for better pins, it's true they do have to trade, although sometimes you will find a CM with a pin on backwards and sometimes they won't trade that pin. If there are special pins that the child wants (my son HAD to have the spinning flag Epcot pin) make sure that they don't trade that on a whim.
There is a huge cool store in DTD that has only pins and accessories. Have fun!

 

[LadyZolt]

When my second DS was younger, he LOVED trading pins and still has a whole lot that he had gotten then. Now, though, all my kids are surly teens (LOL!), so last year when I happened to be in the "hot seat" on Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It! and I won some pins, I was happy to give one away to a little girl who was really into it. You can only get the pins by being in the "hot seat," so they're not for sale or anything. I was happy to be able to make her trip just a little more Magical.

I really think that many kids really enjoy the pin collecting and trading -- there are so many to look at, I could spend hours in the pin stores. Anyway, I hope your kids have tons of fun with it.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[SoleilLoca]

DH got EXTREMELY into pin trading on DCL (his first disney experience)..we bought a sailor goofy hat and both ears are loaded with pins. I also indulged when I went to DL CA.. Only problem is, we love all the pins we bought and don't want to part with any of them. But a previous poster had a good idea...load up on pins from ebay to take with us, then we can trade those for some other ones...hmm...very clever....

 

[Disneynutbsv]

It seems like quite a few people really enjoy this!!