They were out when we were there in Oct, too. We went back three days later (our last day) WITH our receipt form the Sorcerer's Hat Shop and our certificate and they were STILL out, so the CM wrote down our name and address and we received the pins in the mail about 4 weeks later! I hope they won't be out anymore...you'd think the'd get an idea of the demand by now. And yes, if you want the free pin, you must buy the interactive pin at that particular store. You get one free pin for each interactive pin you buy there, to a limit of I think four per person. We didn't go to Studios until the 3rd day, so we bought two interactive pins for the kids elsewhere (they are so worth having having for the fun during parades and fireworks) and bought our own at Studios. Have a great time!