disney pin trading questions

[JillandFamily]

We are going in April and my dd 10 would like to start the pin trading thing. Do I need to get the pins before we go or when we get there? Oh where do we start? Thanks for your help.
Jill

 

[*~WDW 2006~*]

Pin Trading:

Lanyard
Pin(s)

You can buy a lanyard with pins already on them but they are directed towards a certain movie or theme. (EXAMPLE: Disney Princess Pins)

 

[torinsmom]

Or you can buy a "lot" of pins off Ebay. I bought a few lots for my son before we went. I think I spent $30 for 10 pins. Most are $6.95 and up per pin at Disney. Then he traded with the CM's and we bought a few. Now he has ones he really likes.

Marsha

 

[byoung]

I agree with ebay.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Just be carefull when purchasing from ebay. There are pins from Spain called Sedesma pins that you can get for cheap. Currently Disney is allowing these to be traded, but they have gone back and forth on these in the past and occasionally you will get a cast member who won't trade them. You can push the issue with the cast member, but who wants to do that on vacation.

Also, not sure if this is still happening, but last year someone was selling boatloads of year 2000 pins. They sold them real cheap in lots of like 50 and 100 pins. Well, one rule of pin trading is that you cannot trade the CM a pin that they already have. When we were there in August all of the cast members had one and sometimes two or three of these pins on their lanyards. Therefore anyone who had these pins to trade were kinda out of luck. The one cast member we talked to said they would feel sorry for some of the kids and that is why they would end up with more than one.

I am not sure if they are still selling the year 2000 pins, but watch out for them and any other "duplicate" pin lots.

Pin trading is fun though.

 

[torinsmom]

Yes, I look for lots of 4 or 5 and usually pay around $12 shipped. I only buy from people who state they have Disney on the back, and most will show the picture of the back as well.

Marsha

 

[stanax]

(and me too)... I found another post on DIS that mentioned MOUSEPINSONLINE as a site to look. I was able to get a decent variety of pins in the $1.75 - $2.50 range. I think they had better value than the ebay sellers I could find.

 

[PinCrazed]

It always seems that we never have enough pins when we go to WDW. I would definately buy pins from e-bay in whatever lot size you want/can afford. Make sure you get the cheapest pins possible, but must say in the description that the pins are 100% tradeable with Disney cast members.

We have never had any issues trading any of the pins we have bought this way.

You should average around $1.50 per pin without shipping charges. This is a tremendous money saver in the parks. With the money you save you can purchase the limited edition pins you can not find on the lanyards.

 

[dsnymomof4]

The fist time I bought my kids 5 pins each to trade - they needed more by the end of the first day! I also look on ebay for the bigger lots for no more than $2/pin. I've also purchased from mousepinsonline.com. Why pay $6-8/pin at Disney when they're only going to trade them away? Of course, you can buy specific ones for your collection. We always like to get a pin of the resort we're staying at each trip. Have fun pin-trading!

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Here is a link to the official Disney pin trading website. http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/index

I suggest that you begin with "Get Started" towards the top of the page. This explains a lot, including the different lanyards worn by CM's (if your daughter spots a CM wearing a green lanyard, that CM will only pin trade with children 6-12 years old; no adults!).

Theres some other good, basic information you can find there as well. And since this will be your daughter's first time pin trading, perhaps it might not hurt to print out a page or two of specific information you don't want to forget.

 

[WeLuvDiznee]

My DD's trade as well,I bought them pins at the Disney outlet for $1.99 and we trade those. It's very addicting,so I have them choose their favorite character and stick with collecting those. I only trade for Tinkerbell,one DD trades for Ariel,and the other trades for Snow White. Otherwise,you end up wanting them all!

 

[Dragonfly0521]

My DS 10, along with DS 7 and DD 4 by end of trip, loved and I mean loved the pin trading. Being our first trip, I had read about this, but didn't understand it enough and spent an absolute fortune on pins. We started with on "family" lanyard and eventually had 4!

I read a tip somewhere that the kids should look for the CM's in suits. I will second that tip! We only found a few and while they were usually busy, my sons would wait quietly and patiently for them to finish their work/conversation and then ask to see their pins. The CM's were so awesome about it, it sometimes brought tears to my eyes (okay... may seem sappy, but to see these busy people stop everything and treat your kids request like it's the most important job they have IS a beautiful thing!). Anyway, these CM's had the most amazing pins! Usually with moving parts. My son got a Beauty and the Beast pin with the "Be Our Guest" scene on it. The plates and goblets rotate on a wheel around Belle and the other characters! So be on the lookout. After this trip I feel my son has a future in the CIA... or maybe just a creepy stalker! LOL. But it really added a whole layer of magic for a kid his age!

Do the ebay thing and have at least 15 pins to trade! I will be doing that on our upcoming trip. Have fun!

 

[libinatorsmom]

This sounds so fun... Do you think a 4 year old will be old enough to do the trade thing... I might have to get on ebay and see what I can find... where do you get the lanyard?????

 

[Dragonfly0521]

My DD-4 eventually got into it. We bought her the Princess starter set. Problem is, she didn't understand the trade part. She didn't want to part with any! So we had to buy a starter set in addition to the princess ones that she was okay trading. We had to look for just Princess or Tinkerbell pins though!

 

[Miz Diz]

I let my dd2 make her first trade on our last trip. She picked one out and carried it around. I couldn't believe she actually kept up with it. I went to the bathroom, came out and DH was talking to 2 castmembers. She was crying and kept saying something (She JUST turned 2 & we can't understand 75% of what she says). DH couldn't figure it out. He took her pin out of her hand and traded it with one of the CMs. So I told them that was the problem. The CM gave her the pin back and all was fine.

I also bought her a tshirt that says "Pin Trader in training" off Cafepress and the back says "Earning my ears." I had so many people comment about that shirt.

If you can stop at the outlets, do. The pins are sometimes a good deal and sometimes an OK deal. We have gotten them for as little as 1.99, but the last time we were there, the cheapest they had were 4.99. They do have lanyard sets that are much cheaper than in the parks - lanyard with a few pins. And some of them were the same that they were selling in the parks, but at least 5 dollars cheaper and one set was even half as much.

 

[tnmomof4]

My kids love to trade pins too. They have gotten a couple from CM in suits that were only given to CM. I never knew you could get them off e-bay or at stores. I will have to look. They especially like getting special ones, like from our resort or Star Wars Weekend ones. My older boys are 10 and 8 and they don't like the lanyard that goes around your neck. The first year we went, I got them the lanyards and they said it was itchy and made them hot. I took them back and let them pick out a hat. They put their pins on their hats and have gotten lots of comments on their hats.

 

[disney.nut]

I got my daughter's from ebay.

 

[libinatorsmom]

My kids love to trade pins too. They have gotten a couple from CM in suits that were only given to CM. I never knew you could get them off e-bay or at stores. I will have to look. They especially like getting special ones, like from our resort or Star Wars Weekend ones. My older boys are 10 and 8 and they don't like the lanyard that goes around your neck. The first year we went, I got them the lanyards and they said it was itchy and made them hot. I took them back and let them pick out a hat. They put their pins on their hats and have gotten lots of comments on their hats.

I like the idea of a hat... I was thinking that my daughter wont like the lanyard thingy.... I was thinking of getting her a disney welcome basket in the room maybe a hat would be a nice thing to use and then put her pins on that