Disney trading pins?

[Karbase8]

Ok,
I don't really understand the whole trading pin thing. My DS is 11 and he is not really into even the characters. I did buy us lanyards and I am wondering should I buy him a few pins for our trip? I am not really interersted in trading pins with anyone and I don't want to seem selfish or anything like that. I just wanted to buy him 1 or 2 pins if any I just don't understand it. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[dunbarfamily]

Ok,
I don't really understand the whole trading pin thing. My DS is 11 and he is not really into even the characters. I did buy us lanyards and I am wondering should I buy him a few pins for our trip? I am not really interersted in trading pins with anyone and I don't want to seem selfish or anything like that. I just wanted to buy him 1 or 2 pins if any I just don't understand it. Any help would be appreciated!

Did you purchase the lanyards so that you have somewhere to keep tickets, photopasses, etc? I'm guessing that's the case since you don't want to trade. Its fine to wear the lanyards without any pins. My husband and grandma like the weight of the pins. Whatever.

You don't need to trade pins if you don't want. My husband and 83 year young grandma wear lanyards with pins they bought at WDW and have never been asked by anyone to trade. I don't wear a lanyard as I don't like things around my neck. Just a personal quirk. I'm fine with necklace, but that's it!

As for children, my kids like to trade, but my oldest is 9.5, a little younger than your son. Best bet is to purchase a few on Ebay. You can get them quite cheap, often $1-2/pin, especially if you're fine with "mystery pins" where the seller choses which pins you receive.

 

[jillgunter]

My DD loves to trade pins, altho she is only 5. There is a seller on ebay that we like to buy Disney pins from, usually a grab bag of 20 for $20. They are great for trading, and normally we get some pretty good ones too. We usually just trade with cast members. She has only traded with one person that wasnt a cast member. He was I think maybe 8 or 9. They were looking at each others pins and he told her if she wanted one they could trade, he was so sweet Its fun. I have pins but I dont trade. If you decide to do pins, buy the locks for them on ebay, they fall off easily. We lock on ones we dont want to trade.

 

[reelmom]

I buy pins but I don't trade. I buy them for memories, like when my kids ride a new ride or we go to a special event. I put them on a corkboard in my office at home. It reminds me of great times everytime I look at them. My kids like to trade with the CM's. We have gotten some really great pins that way. But be careful. It is additive and expensive.

 

[dunbarfamily]

I buy pins but I don't trade. I buy them for memories, like when my kids ride a new ride or we go to a special event. I put them on a corkboard in my office at home. It reminds me of great times everytime I look at them. My kids like to trade with the CM's. We have gotten some really great pins that way. But be careful. It is additive and expensive.

This is what my husband and grandma do as well. Each trip, my husband will get one that he uses to commemorate the birth of our newest baby (he has lots of baby Mickey and Minnie pins!) or the pregnancy. He'll also get one from whatever special event we're attending, like F&W festival or Flower and Garden, or holiday. Its fun to go back and look at them!

 

[Tink14]

You definitely dont have to trade. I have traded once or twice and both times I approached the cast member myself. If your child is not into the characters, there are many other pins that dont have characters on them. Hope this helped

 

[cjstarr]

We trade pin's at all the parks with the CM's also. One thing we have learned is that most of if not all of the stores have books full of pins that you can look through. We have completed a lot of pin sets this way.

 

[Grimley]

My kids buy them for souvenirs. They're fun, relatively inexpensive and easy to transport so it's a win-win for us!

 

[ShelliRenee]

My DS is 12 and has done the trading pins now for 4 years. When we go, I get some ebay pins and he goes through them and decides what he wants to keep and what he wants to trade (most of them he wants to trade) He gets to know lots of CMs and actually gets some royal treatment. One year we were even chosen for the Dreams come true marshal all because he traded pin with a CM. We get him enough pins so that he can make a fun set for himself and then he has some left over that he can come home and give them as gifts to other people.

On a side note it is nice for me as a parent because the entire trip doesn't seemed to be as rushed to get from one ride to the next.

Also, if you do choose to do pin trading, make sure to stop into guest services. They have a HUGE book full of pins.

 

[Karbase8]

Thank you everyone, I have already spent so much money on this trip LOL but I winded up getting two pins each for us through the Disney Store. In the future I will look at ebay