pin swapping?

[mamarissa]

please let me know if this is in the wrong forum.....

we are taking our 9 and 5 (will be 6) year olds to disney for the 1st time in june and i have no clue about pin swapping/trading/collecting. is this something for young children? i'm wondering if my kids would "get it"?

where do i get pins? and who do you trade/swap with? cm or other park visitors that just approach you?

any information would be greatly appreciated!

thank you!!

 

[nickoftime]

I got mine in a grab bag lot on ebay (you'll pay between $1.50-$2.00 per pin and usually no shipping cost)

 

[Aliceacc]

I got a grab bag at www.mousepinsonline.com

My kids weren't at all into it last year, but my sister's kids loved it. I brought it up yesterday and my kids said they might want to give it a shot.

 

[hmacmahony]

My kids started pin tradding this last trip, they were 4, 6 and 7 (girls). They LOVED it, and really had fun doing it. We had bought them a bunch of pins to trade, and they really had fun looking for pins. We only traded with cast members. My 6 year old turned into quite a pin tradding shark, and actually collected some pretty valuable pins (everytime a cast member would look at her lanyard, they would tell us what ones to never trade!!!) She ended up with a whole series of special hidden mickey pins (she would only trade for the hidden mickey ones, which was so funny to watch!).
Also, if you are looking for a specific pen, city hall keeps a HUGE pin book, that you can look through and trade as well. We were able to complete a pin collection because city hall had the one pin we had spent days looking for.
I think pin tradding was the highlight of their trip, and they have talked a lot about it, and can't wait to go back and do it again.

 

[Faldred]

Also note that cast members wearing green lanyards will only trade with kids (12 and under, I think).

 

[Darcy03231]

I took my niece last October (she was a week shy of her 5th birthday). Pin trading was one of her favorite things to do! She had a great time. I bought a bunch of them on eBay before we left. Average was $1-$2/pin.

 

[DRS_Are_Best]

We bought pins for ourselves (dh and me) and also bought some for ds(3). He's probably not going to get "into it' this trip, but he might. And he will want to do whatever his Dad is doing.....he's a HUGE fan!!!!!!!

We don't expect much for him -- just having fun -- but it'll get him started. If he doesn't like to do it, eventually, either we'll inherit whatever pins he has or his brother and sister will when they get a little older, and noone will be harmed by the experiment.....

But he's already engaged in "trading" with both myself and dh. He's obsessed with "collections" after watching the collections episode of Blue's Clues recently (which is why we gave him the pins so early).......

 

[Faldred]

We bought pins for ourselves (dh and me) and also bought some for ds(3). He's probably not going to get "into it' this trip, but he might. And he will want to do whatever his Dad is doing.....he's a HUGE fan!!!!!!!

Hey... what so funny about him being a fan? It brings my total fan club size up to... ummm... 1, I think.

But he's already engaged in "trading" with both myself and dh. He's obsessed with "collections" after watching the collections episode of Blue's Clues recently (which is why we gave him the pins so early).......

He's actually managed to complete 7 pins out a set of 10 (the "lollipop" series) just by trading with us, so we'll try to help him get the last 3 if we can.

 

[damiel]

Be prepared to spend alot of time waiting for your children to decide on the pin to trade.
I agree with buying some starter pins on e-bay or at a Disney outlet store. The best value is usually a set. Don't worry if they are valuable or not, cast members can not refuse a trade.
We let our DS get a new pin each day in the park and one or two special holiday or resort pins. He now has close to 100 so we leave some at home. Our DS usually wears two lanyards, one to trade and one to show off his special treasures.
I suggest getting the screw on backs, the cute rubber Mickey head backs fall off, especially if they have been used much. My DS lost a YOMD pin last year that wasn't screwed on.
It can be a ton of fun if your children get into it.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

My DD did this for the first time last year - she was 6. She loved it and I have already bought some to take to trade again this year. She only traded with CMs though. i didn't want to get into the whole business of how much each one is "worth" when you trade with collectors. It was just for fun!