Pin trading for first timers question

[lorijohnhill]

How heavy are the lanyards with all the pins on them. I'm trying to figure out if my daughter (8) can handle walking with it around her neck all day.

 

[figment_jii]

I think it depends on whether it's full of small pins or large pins...I don't have a poundage estimate, but I do know that lanyards can get heavy if they're filled with large pins. If you limit it to a few pins, then it might be okay. My friend's daughter (5) wore a lanyard with about 6 small pins on it without much issue. The bigger issue was not getting the lanyard caught on things...

 

[SMD]

Most kids I see trading have a small book with a strap that they wear like a crossbody bag. You don't have to keep pins on a lanyard or only trade from your lanyard. Just put a few on and carry the rest in a baggy. If you really like a pin I'd suggest investing in the secure backs that they sell in the pin stores. I find several pins on the ground each year and the rubber Mickey head pin backs almost every day. Just the other day I found 3 pin backs in the Space queue alone. I expected to find a pin too, but maybe someone else already picked it up.

 

[Jaina]

This is a helpful thread; thanks! We did some pin trading for the first time on our last family trip (first trip with kids) and they loved it! I have to not break the lanyards out until halfway through day 2, or I get frustrated because I had a schedule to somewhat stick to the first few hours of the day usually, and I don't want to be frustrated if they want to stop and trade while we're trying to get in the shortest line for Peter Pan... ;-)

 

[JadeDarkstar]

we have two pin bags. One big one Mine I got for my b-day three or four years ago its Pirates. Then a small one we got my son. This is the one we carry in the park with us. I don't like the lanyards my self. My hubby wears his and i'm always worried he will lose a few. My son and I don't wear them any more we just use the book.

 

[figment_jii]

This is a helpful thread; thanks! We did some pin trading for the first time on our last family trip (first trip with kids) and they loved it! I have to not break the lanyards out until halfway through day 2, or I get frustrated because I had a schedule to somewhat stick to the first few hours of the day usually, and I don't want to be frustrated if they want to stop and trade while we're trying to get in the shortest line for Peter Pan... ;-)

It's interesting you should note that you are avoiding trading for the first few hours of each day because that's often when you'll find the best selection of pins. CMs can refresh their lanyards and the pin boards, and this often seems to happen in the morning.

 

[agamble]

I put 5 pins on my daughter's lanyard, I think she can handle that, but I guess we'll find out.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

They have a lot of lanyard/coin pouches on Amazon for about $6. I bought a Mickey and Minnie one. They're similar to this style. (link)

You could stick some pins in the coin pouch if the lanyard is getting too heavy. I think I'll keep most of the pins with me, and only put a few on the lanyard, and use the coin pouch for quarters and pennies to collect pressed pennies when we see machines.

 

[lorijohnhill]

We bought some of those for our trips and we love them! I put an ID contact card in the outside clear pouch on my daughter's lanyard pouch in case she gets lost. Inside the zippered pouch we carry our passes, a Chapstick, a little cash, any gift cards, etc so I don't have to carry a purse. We were able to adapt a different lanyard we picked up in the park to make a belt for it so, if she wants, my daughter can wear it around her waist.

 

[alisigns]

On our trip last November, I never thought that my family would be really into pin trading, but it was part of the Disney magic, so I spent like $30 on a lot of 75 Disney pins on ebay. These were all Disney trading pins, mostly ones from cast member lanyards, but definitely tradeable. I split them between the 6 of us. We even found some that were set aside as keepers.

And then the magic started. My 8 year-old niece went from hiding behind me when trying to look at a CM's pins to running right up to someone to ask if they have pins! And on day 2, she found a Mickey as part of the Nerds Rock set. She loved it and set out to collect the whole set of 7. By the last morning she only had 5. Scared that she wouldn't reach her goal, I did the crazy aunt thing and bought the whole set and covertly slipped the last 2 to CMs that she would come across so she could "trade" for them. The look on her face when she got the last one in the set is something I will NEVER forget! All of her pins are on a cork board in her room now and she can't wait until we go back next year and trade more.

Shop smartly, but I highly recommend ebay. It will be cheaper, give you more pins to trade with, and you don't have to worry that they will like the pins in the starter set so much that they won't trade at all.

 

[Jaina]

It's interesting you should note that you are avoiding trading for the first few hours of each day because that's often when you'll find the best selection of pins. CMs can refresh their lanyards and the pin boards, and this often seems to happen in the morning.

Haha, true. I actually thought about this when I read it somewhere and realized we should probably socialize more and see about trading a few before rope drop, on Main St., if possible. But after rope drop, you can see where our priorities lie. Our kids are excited about certain characters on the pins, or aout what they think looks cool, not about if a pin is "good" or "rare." Pin trading is just a fun activity to do at Disneyland for us, not any kind of focus. We can only afford to go once every 2-4 years, so we prioritize doing as many rides/shows as possible when the waits are as short as possible. Our kids LOVE the rides. The less we wait in line, the more positive experience everyone seems to have that day. We feel the same way about characters. They are icing on the cake, if the wait isn't too long (never over 10 minutes for a character is kind of our thought process) but they are not our priority. Our priorities will probably fluctuate as our kids have different interests and priorities themselves.

 

[RobertaMomof2]

We bought some of those for our trips and we love them! I put an ID contact card in the outside clear pouch on my daughter's lanyard pouch in case she gets lost. Inside the zippered pouch we carry our passes, a Chapstick, a little cash, any gift cards, etc so I don't have to carry a purse. We were able to adapt a different lanyard we picked up in the park to make a belt for it so, if she wants, my daughter can wear it around her waist.

Thank you so much! I just got these lanyards with the coin purses a few days ago for my kids (they picked Big Hero 6). Didn't think to put my contact info in the ID part in case they get lost, love it! Fantastic idea.

 

[lorijohnhill]

The contact info is really helpful. When we went in January, we were on Tom Sawyer's Island and my daughter got separated from us. I thought she was with her dad, and he thought she was with me. She has an anxiety disorder and is prone to panic attacks. A girl saw her crying hysterically and asked her mother to help. Lexi was able to just hand her the card (she was crying too hard to be able to talk at that point) and the mom was able to call me. Within about two minutes we were reunited. That little card is worth it's weight in gold.

I designed it so that it is two sided. One side has a picture of Olaf chasing his head and says "Lost? Don't lose your head..." or something to that effect. Then the back side has her name, our names, and our cell phone numbers. That way, the Olaf side shows through the clear panel, but people walking by don't see the contact info. Only those that need it will see it. If you'd like, I can post them tonight when I get home and they you can just add in your info. I print them out and then put the two pieces back to back and laminate them. (Wet rides and paper don't get along very well!)

 

[RobertaMomof2]

The contact info is really helpful. When we went in January, we were on Tom Sawyer's Island and my daughter got separated from us. I thought she was with her dad, and he thought she was with me. She has an anxiety disorder and is prone to panic attacks. A girl saw her crying hysterically and asked her mother to help. Lexi was able to just hand her the card (she was crying too hard to be able to talk at that point) and the mom was able to call me. Within about two minutes we were reunited. That little card is worth it's weight in gold.

I designed it so that it is two sided. One side has a picture of Olaf chasing his head and says "Lost? Don't lose your head..." or something to that effect. Then the back side has her name, our names, and our cell phone numbers. That way, the Olaf side shows through the clear panel, but people walking by don't see the contact info. Only those that need it will see it. If you'd like, I can post them tonight when I get home and they you can just add in your info. I print them out and then put the two pieces back to back and laminate them. (Wet rides and paper don't get along very well!)

Oh wow this is fantastic Lori! if you could post that would be awesome, thank you again!

 

[lorijohnhill]

Sure, no problem!

 

[Bubblegum1286]

I designed it so that it is two sided. One side has a picture of Olaf chasing his head and says "Lost? Don't lose your head..." or something to that effect. Then the back side has her name, our names, and our cell phone numbers. That way, the Olaf side shows through the clear panel, but people walking by don't see the contact info. Only those that need it will see it. If you'd like, I can post them tonight when I get home and they you can just add in your info. I print them out and then put the two pieces back to back and laminate them. (Wet rides and paper don't get along very well!)

I LOVE this idea!!!!!

On a separate note- Anyone have any suggestions for a water park? We're taking my kiddos to Schlitterbahn in a couple of weeks, and last year I lost sight of my son at one of the attractions and nearly had a heart attack. I had him in a BRIGHT Spiderman lifevest, but I still couldn't keep an eye on him the entire time and he took longer coming out of a tube than I anticipated and I was very worried. I've heard about writing your phone # on their arms and covering it with something so it won't wash away. Anyone familiar with this product I'm thinking of?

 

[RobertaMomof2]

Kat,

I have seen kids around our water parks with these:

http://store.safetytat.com/store/

They seem to work well and stay on. Hope this helps!

 

[lorijohnhill]

 

[lorijohnhill]

 

[lorijohnhill]