Pin Trading: Fun for kids?

[reelmom]

Do many people come up to young children to trade or is it the child who initiates the trade? I think DS5 would enjoy but I'm not sure he would trade. I didn't know if it would be a problem if people kept coming up to him.

 

[t_catt11]

Kids typically LOVE pin trading. When we started, my son was five or six, my daughter was seven or eight.

Cast members will ALWAYS trade with you (if they aren't too busy doing something else) - whether you are a child or adult (unless they are wearing a green lanyard, in which case they only trade with children). The only rules are :

1. The pins you are offering MUST be official Disney pins
2. They cannot take a pin from you if they already have it.
3. They may only trade two pins with you at a given time.

For a great guide to pin trading, check out this link:

http://www.wdwinsiders.com/view_article.php?articleid=23

Cast members never initiate trades, though perceptive ones may ask a child if they want to trade if they notice the child eyeing their pins. Other guests seldom initiate trades unless you are hanging around a big pin hotspot (like the pin station at Epcot) and making it obvious that you wish to trade. However, people will occasionally make a point of looking at your child's pins, especially if he/she has a nice collection.

It is a terrifcally fun activity, but yes, it can get expensive.

Our whole family loves pin trading... if you have questions, post them here or PM me... I'm glad to help!

 

[t_catt11]

Ebay can be a great place to get pins, but remember... buyer beware.

Check to see if the person has a lot of positive feedback - see if they have good feedback specifically about pins.

Check to see if they are selling multiples of the same pin. If they are, chances are very good that they are selling fakes.

Make sure that you are buying authentic Disney pins - if they don't have DISNEY stamped onthe back, you can't trade them at the parks.

 

[Nancyg56]

My DSIL gor ten pins for my DGD to trade when I took her at YO. Oh my goodness, talk about needing a quick learning curve for a Nana! She had a blast and I found myself looking for the box sets so that she could continue trading. That little girl came home with about 60 pins, not one the same as another. She saved her money and bought her own pins for the next trip and the one after that. She does not part with many that she acquired but has become very adept at trading to complete a set and knows what she is looking for. It can be a learning experience for shy children and can be an incentive to begin to learn to budget money for others. I think your children will love it.

 

[angiepangie8]

So does the child choose which one of their pins they want to trade and pick any one the CM has (unlesswhat the child is trading is a duplicate for the CM)?

 

[angeleigh]

I was thinking about getting some pins for pintrading for DS~8 and DD~5.

Are they at a good age to start this?

I was hoping people could share their children's positive or negative experiences with pin trading.


thanks!

Last year was the first year my kids pin traded. They were 8 and 11. They were watching everyone doing it and were very interested. They didn't have very many but traded over and over again. The only problem we had was when my dd traded away some she had and wanted them back to have a complete set and tried to trade with one of the traders in DTD. He wouldn't trade because she didn't have any hidden mickey ones. She was sad for a minute but then said I have an idea. She went into one of the stores, traded with a couple of CM's for hidden mickey pins and then went outside and traded for the ones she wanted. Problem solved.
My dh had a hard time watching the girls trading "good" pins for ones that he didn't think were so good so instead of getting stressed he bought a starter set and started trading himself
It was really alot of fun but it can get costly.

 

[t_catt11]

Cast Members will trade any pin for any pin, provided you are not giving them one they already have. You simply ask them to trade, let them know which pin of theirs you want, and give them any pin they don't already have.

Beware the traders at Downtown Disney... they frequently only want limited edition pins (such as hidden mickey), or will try to get you to give them more than one pin for only one in return.

I stay away from these people.

Sure, limited editions are nice, since they are harder to get, but what makes a "good" pin is if you like it.

 

[kty]

my 6,8,12 year olds loved it. it was a great thing to do while waiting for rides, eating snacks, etc. i almost bought myself some it can get addicting. they will truly enjoy it. they may be shy at first, but once they get the hang of it, watch out

 

[Minnie M6]

My kids will be 8 and 9 when we go in December (our first trip!) and they are way excited about pin trading. I got them each a pin from our local Disney store for Valentine's Day to get started. Then I ordered a grab bag from Mousepinsonline thinking I would save them for Easter, but DH got the mail and opened the package in front of the kids, so they got their pins early.

I was really happy with the selection from Mousepinsonline, especially considering the price (glad I saw this thread, I had forgotten the sale ends today).

We are faithfully sending out postcards hoping to win lanyards before our trip but if not, we'll pick them up on sale somewhere.

Have fun!

 

[tycopj]

My dh had a hard time watching the girls trading "good" pins for ones that he didn't think were so good so instead of getting stressed he bought a starter set and started trading himself
It was really alot of fun but it can get costly.

At first I was "hovering" over my kids' trades. I tried to stop DS5 from trading his good pins for the cuties. He really liked the cuties and focused a lot on those. I was concerned because somewhere I read that the cuties were bad because nobody would trade with you. Then I realized, he WANTED the cuties, so what did it matter? DUH! These were his pins, and he wanted cuties, so cuties are what he got. He did get a few others that aren't cuties that are pretty cool.

DD mostly traded for Tinker Bell pins.

I asked the kids if they wanted to trade any of their pins, nope, they want to keep what they have, so I've purchased some pins on ebay for trading.

My kids really enjoyed this and are looking forward to trading again. I am trying to find a different way of carrying the pins. My DS didn't really like to wear the lanyard, and it seemed a few of the backs fell off of some pins. I thought about a hat for DS, but I'm not sure yet. I also thought about the books, but they seem awfully big to carry around, especially since we won't have a ton of pins.

 

[Nancyg56]

So does the child choose which one of their pins they want to trade and pick any one the CM has (unlesswhat the child is trading is a duplicate for the CM)?

My DGD was always able to choose which pin she wanted to give up. I noticed that the CM's seem to enjoy this as much as the kids and they try to make the experience about the child. My DGD started by taking a pin off her lanyard and handing it to the CM but this past trip she has been imitating the CM's. She has her trading pins chosen ahead of time and leaves them on the lanyard, but she loves the mystery pins so she has one or two of them on her lanyard. The CM's picked up on this and generally choose her mystery pins so she tries to put "good" one face down.

 

[DisneyAprilFool]

We decided to get the kids pins and lanyards this last trip to WDW and I was surprised- they really did enjoy collecting them. Now, they weren't trading- because we were carefully picking out pins that meant something to them (Pop Century- where we stayed, certain rides they loved, etc), but we didn't use all of our table service meals from free dining and you were allowed to trade them in for a free pin/lanyard. The pins were UGLY.

BUUUUT- the kids traded their ugly pins for super cute ones from two different CMs. So it worked out great

 

[angiepangie8]

Cast Members will trade any pin for any pin, provided you are not giving them one they already have. You simply ask them to trade, let them know which pin of theirs you want, and give them any pin they don't already have.

Beware the traders at Downtown Disney... they frequently only want limited edition pins (such as hidden mickey), or will try to get you to give them more than one pin for only one in return.

I stay away from these people.

Sure, limited editions are nice, since they are harder to get, but what makes a "good" pin is if you like it.

Thank you! I think we will just stick with trading with CMs.

We are faithfully sending out postcards hoping to win lanyards before our trip but if not, we'll pick them up on sale somewhere.

Have fun!

What is this Minnie? I was just trying to figure out where to get Lanyards. I read on one older thread that someone bought some plain ones at Walmart for under a buck.

 

[Minnie M6]

Lanyards, pins, and Mickey ears (and some bigger prizes too I believe) are being given as prizes through the mail in The Year of a Million Dreams sweepstakes. You can send in one postcard per day per person which enters you for the sweepstakes. I will try and find the link and post it- it's from Disney's website under the YOMD rules.

My kids have enjoyed decorating their postcards- we got the ones that already have postage stamps on them from the post office for .28 apiece and for a while we sent them in daily. On the YOMD board there are several threads about it- that's how I found out!

 

[christa112]

I like the idea of the pins on the hat. My boys have the lanyards and they get sick of wearing them, then of course I have to dig them out of the bottom of my bag, when they want them etc.

I also buy them special pins they cannot trade like the the year we go, they cannot trade that but anything else they can. Last time we bought a starter kit set at the gift shop with some cheapy pins and the kids traded for better ones.

 

[t_catt11]

You can buy them at just about any place in the parks that sells pins. Naturally, you can get them on eBay and other online places, as well.

Lanyards come in quite a few varieties, from simple colors to themes with characters. You can also get lanyard "medals" - oversized medallions that hang on the end of the lanyard, and feature a certain character or emblem.

 

[rwrocksme]

Someone mentioned a DIS pin...how can I get one of those?