Do your kids trade pins?

[DisneyDW]

We haven't done the pin trading thing yet. I thought I would get DS5 and DD3 lanyards and a few pins to start with for our next trip and introduce them to it. I've seen some pins on EBay. Anything special about the pins other than, I guess, they should be Disney? There seems to be 1000's of them out there. I thought I would get a few favorites and a few non-favorites that they'll want to trade.

What makes this fun? Where to go in WDW to trade or just hit any CM with a lanyard?

 

[Aryn]

My DD5 loved pin trading. She only traded with Cast Members, but we saw them everywhere, and she must have trading 50 or more times. Everyone was very patient and nice to her, even when she took forever to pick what she wanted to trade. She got the best pins off of the suits.

Aryn

 

[shatzjsl]

It all depends on how you think your children will react to strangers (CMs). Maybe if they see you do it they will start to do it. My DD really enjoyed it last year. I don't think a CM went by that she didn't check out their lanyard.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

My DS4 really got into pin trading on our Christmas trip. He got his starter lanyard as a reward for being brave and going on Splash with us. He was so excited about it that I made a quick trip to one of the Character Outlets to get him more to trade. The only problem we had was that he decided every pin he got in a trade was a "special one" and didn't want to trade it again! He loved it though and had the best time talking to the CMs.

 

[DisneyDW]

Ok... where do you get the stuff from? Have to wait until we get there? I don't think I've seen those things at our Disney store. I would like to have it for them either on the way down to check out or waiting in the room.

 

[DisneyDW]

Lollipop Mom - I'm afraid my DD3 won't get the trading concept either! She's going to want to keep everyone of her's and want their's too!

 

[Madi100]

Our last trip I got my older DD a lanyard and a few pins. I bought about ten at the Disney Store for 75 cents each. If I had only known how expensive they are I would have bought them all. Anyway, she was six when we went. Her younger sister was 2, almost three. I didn't get her one. My six year old is very shy, and she did a very good job at going up to the CMs asking them to trade. I thought it was great for her to teach her to talk to strangers, when it's okay to talk to them. She has some issues about being polite, because of shyness.

One day on the bus we were the only ones on there. The bus driver was looking at her lanyard, and he gave her a pin and also gave my two year old (she was days away from being 3) a pin also. My six year old refused to get rid of that pin that the bus driver gave her. Even preparing for this trip she says she won't get rid of that pin. But, the pin that the bus driver gave my younger daughter got traded about twenty times. She LOVED trading.

The only thing I've heard to look out for are the Sedesma (sp?) pins. Some people say that they can't trade them. I haven't heard anything recently about them.

 

[anewvance]

Our girls started pin trading on one of our trips last year. I had been sick with my pregnancy and wanted to find pins and ran outta time and had these 3 GREAT people from these boards just sent the girls a number of pins, wanted nothing in return. I couldn't believe how sweet of them. The girls have had SOOO much fun in the 3 trips they were able to pin trade... they love talking to cm's and finding pins that had something to do with what they did that day. Only problem now is that they don't want to get rid of any more pins, they are in love with the ones they have. So before our April trip, I have to buy some more for them to trade. As long as they have the pin trading logo on the back, they are tradable. We've traded holiday pins when it was no where near the holiday and a few actually pretty old pins. The cm's don't give them a second look.

Girls and their pins:
<img src="http://www.beautybabies.net/disneysept04/day4girlstogether.jpg">

 

[DisneyDW]

I love the pic of he girls with their pins!

Ok... what does the pin trading logo look like? I've seen some on EBay that I think they would like but guess I need to make sure they are tradeable?

 

[DMRick]

It doesn't have to have a pin trading logo. Just has to be a Disney pin. Not one of the plastic ones.

We bought about 150 to trade a couple years ago, then came home and had a trading party with the grands. The one think we learned quick, when we took them back to Disney and they did their own trading, was to suck it in and keep our mouths shut, when they traded a really really good pin, for a junkie pin. It's their pins, and if they think the .75 pin from the Disney store (that I prop traded for last trip) was worth trading their puffed up baseball pin for, well then, so be it LOL. All that work to trade off and get rid of the Disney Store pins, and we came back with a bunch of them!

 

[tink90]

I started collecting pins a while ago, and love it! Once i forgot to bring my pins to disney and just "had to" buy like a million more to fill a new hat hehe!

 

[4kidsnus]

Whew! Where to start?

www.odpt.com (official site)
www.dizpins.com
www.pinpics.com

 

[swilshire]

I bought pins for the family to trade last year. The 5yo could care less about it. Some days the 10yo would want to trade, some days not. The one that really got into was DS16, who almost bankrupted me trading, but did well.

The real surprise was my DH, who is not even a Disney fan, but enjoyed trading for certain types of pins. He went for all the ones with a musical theme.

It really was a lot of fun, but expensive.

Sheila

 

[DisneyDW]

So what are the rules? If you see a CM w/a lanyard, the kids (or whoever) can trade anything? Or do they have to agree? Or do they have to be a certain type or value?

 

[lewdyan1]

Both of my kids would rather trade than ride. The rules for trading are as follows. CM must trade with anyone as long as the pin you are giving them they do not already have on their lanyards. CM wearing a green lanyard will only trade with children. Often times, they will have lanyard series pins. These are pins that are not available for purchase only through trading with a CM. It will say Lanyard Series on the back.

Also fun for the kids, the CM will sometimes offer a mystery pin, it will be turned around so you can't see it and the kids take a chance. The good part is if they don't like it...the just trade it away later.

Dyan

 

[YesI'mObsessed]

I didn't think my kids would get into the trading...boy was I wrong! Even DD at 2 1/2 got in on the act. All she had to do was bat her eyes and the CM's gave her a pin. Finally she got the whole trading thing down by the last day. Even 4 year old son loved trading with the CM's. They were always nice and traded, except one time a CM said he couldn't trade for one he already had. But then later in the day we saw another CM with two of the same pin and he said it was untrue. They were all SO nice. Even waiting for the monorail a CM noticed my dd's pins and said to her, " see anything you like?" She wasn't even thinking about it and he coaxed her into trading. It's alot of fun.

 

[DMRick]

. But then later in the day we saw another CM with two of the same pin and he said it was untrue. .

They're not suppose to trade if they already have a pin. It's listed in the Pin trading brochure I have, that they used to give you with the American Express check in.

 

[henrylovespooh]

I like the pins, but I think it could get expensive. For this trip, I went on Ebay and bought 8 pins for $29.00 (including shipping) so the kids will have some pins to start with. If they like them and don't want to trade, that's fine too. They're young but they may want to trade when they are older. I figure it's best to get some now while they're cheaper instead of paying $8 at the parks for them.

 

[LLagow]

My DD4 and DS4 love to pin trade, especially my DS- he will run up to any CM with pins. They do like to keep most of their pins- so I try to find duplicates of the pins they already have on ebay to trade on their next trip. You can sometimes get them pretty cheap on ebay especially at the disney direct page
LLagow

 

[mjmcca]

I have been collecting disney pins for years. Long before it became popular. I have some doubles from that time. I had done some trading of the multiples myself. I am now looking ot let my little ones do some pin trading when we go the next time with my " extras".