Pin Trading: Green Lanyard

[Madi's Mom]

We just returned from a week in DW. My DD11 is an avid pin-trader and has been for about 5 years. This trip was the first time she experienced problems when trying to trade with cast members wearing green lanyards (which indicate they only trade with children up to age 12). Not once, not twice, and not even three times but six times she was questioned about her age by the cast members and on 4 occasions they actually accused her of being dishonest! She was shocked and didnt know what to say. At first when someone ask her she explained she was 11 and the first said - "well I dont believe you but what pin do you want". The second time it happened she explained that she is 11 and that her birthday is October 1999. They told her flat out she was lying and that they wouldnt trade with her. It got to the point by the second day of our trip after so many instances on day 1 that she didnt even bother trying because she didnt want more people calling her a liar - it really made her feel bad that they would automatically assume she was lying.

 

[dzorn]

So sorry that happened to your DD. I can see them asking but the should of course take her word for it.

I would send an e-mail to guest service you can use the contact on the web site so they can better inform the employees. When something like this happens I would have said something to the CM but I would also note his name, location and time to inform management. I also do this for emplooyees that go above and beyond also.

I would also talk that there is nothing wrong with sticking up for herself when she knows she is telling the truth. Explain to her she did nothing wrong, but the CM sure did. I would have done this day 1.

Denise in MI

 

[Madi's Mom]

I did say something to one of the cast members because after the 6th time, i could tell DD11 was getting upset. The subject just came up again because she informed me last night she doesnt even want to do pin-trading on our upcoming trip in August. She did stand up for herself politely which I was very proud of but when they still didnt believe her there was little she could do. I may indeed contact Disney just to let them know our experience - I noted alot of the cast members with green lanyards were also "earning their ears".

Just to be clear - I am not looking for anything here other than perhaps some corrective training

 

[Zhoen]

How sad for DD... I do hope this won't put her off forever. Our oldest always looked MUCH older than she was, and it didn't cause anything quite like you're mentioning, but probably because we knew to expect it and nipped it in the bud. Here's something sad, though... once I had to bring her to work with me, and coming through the security gate, the guard stopped us and told me "visitors over 15 need to be badged in!" I laughed and informed him "She's 12!" He apologized and let us through. Kind of sad that a guard at a secure compound was more reasonable than a pin-trader at Disney... If he really had gone there, I had a copy of her ID with a date-of-birth right on it... but most children don't have those, I know.


I'd honestly suggest bringing along something with a "proof of age" in August... If anyone else questions her, she can PROVE she's telling the truth. I understand that she shouldn't have to... but I think it would be good for her confidence. If anyone gave her a rough time, she could prove that she was right and they were wrong, and maybe she could get her joy back. I hate to think of it being gone forever.

 

[DaniB]

That is just flat out ridicelous! I knew the green lanyards are for trading with kids, but I never knew there was an age limit. Great.. wonderful - so limited to kids 12 and younger? My daughter is tall for her age so I guess it's lucky that no one ever questioned her last year. Looks like I'll be bringing a photocopy of her birth certificate with me this year. But really - that totally sucks! Whether the child is 12, 13, 14 -they are a kid! For heaven's sake - just trade with the child!

 

[Capt. Barbosa]

The CM's shouldn't have been like that towards your daughter after she explained to them how old she was. I hope she decides to start trading again on your next trip. My sons 12 and 9 enjoy trading and interacting with the CM's. I'm not even sure they look for the green lanyards any longer.

 

[Madi's Mom]

Thanks - It really helps to hear that other find this to be an issue as well. I have 1 month, 3 weeks and 3 days to work on convincing her to keep pin trading I think she'll go back to it but would guess she will hesitate to trae with anyone with a green lanyard for fear of them questioning her.

 

[dzorn]

I did say something to one of the cast members because after the 6th time, i could tell DD11 was getting upset. The subject just came up again because she informed me last night she doesnt even want to do pin-trading on our upcoming trip in August. She did stand up for herself politely which I was very proud of but when they still didnt believe her there was little she could do. I may indeed contact Disney just to let them know our experience - I noted alot of the cast members with green lanyards were also "earning their ears".

Just to be clear - I am not looking for anything here other than perhaps some corrective training

Next time with you there tell her to ask for a manager or team leader. Explain the situation to them and request additional training for the CM and a apology. Let her know sticking up for herself you sometimes need to correct adults.

Denise in MI

 

[Aurora in blue]

Sorry to hear that about your daughter. Is this a well known policy? Is it visibly stated somewhere? I have been to Disney a dozen times and dont remember seeing anything about green lanyards. Last time we were there my kids were 10 and 11 so maybe that is why I didnt know. I hope your daughter can enjoy it again. I know my kids would have been devastated too.

 

[MYD714]

Whether the child is 12, 13, 14 -they are a kid! For heaven's sake - just trade with the child!

I agree. They shouldn't have treated her this way. I hope she decides to continue pin trading. It would be such a shame for her to lose her love of it because of this. I was a shy 11 yo and it would have taken all my courage to even ask for someone to trade pins with me; it would have devastated me to have someone say no and call me a liar.

I don't understand the reasoning behind making a cut off age. If they have to make a cut off, why cut it at 11? I'd think that kids who love to pin trade would continue to love it into their early teen years, especially tweens who may babysit and have their own money to buy pins.

 

[spacemountainmom]

Wow - that's really sad and I am so sorry your daughter was treated that way. Calling her a liar is really uncalled for. My kids never have gotten into pin trading and I think I am glad about that. My DS just turned 12 and is quite tall for his age so he might have been questioned as well.

I would email them and bring this up. They really should know that kids are being treated like this.

The sad thing is, people are probably abusing the under 12 guide and that's why cm's might get crabby. However, I still don't believe they should be treating kids like that.

 

[stargazertechie]

I honestly don't see the big deal- why can't you just avoid the issue by trading with CMs with the black lanyards. I've never experienced a shortage of CMs willing to trade.

I agree that the CMs overreacted and were rude, but there are plenty of other trading opportunities in the park.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Sorry to hear that about your daughter. Is this a well known policy? Is it visibly stated somewhere? I have been to Disney a dozen times and dont remember seeing anything about green lanyards. Last time we were there my kids were 10 and 11 so maybe that is why I didnt know. I hope your daughter can enjoy it again. I know my kids would have been devastated too.

Yes there is a policy and here are the exact words about it from the Official Disney Pin Trading web site.
http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/page?id=getStarted#green

WHY ARE SOME CAST MEMBERS WEARING GREEN/TEAL LANYARDS?
Disney Pin Trading is fun for people of all ages. However, kids, ages 3-12, get an extra trading treat. Look for Kids Only lanyards - Disneyland® Resort uses "teal" lanyards and Walt Disney World® Resort uses "green" lanyards. This means that Kids are the only Guests allowed to trade from these special lanyards. Kids can also trade from Cast Members wearing blue lanyards.

 

[bumbershoot]

"ages 3-12"...which to me means that turning 13 is the actual end-date for trading with green-lanyard-wearing CMs. Unless they are saying that *between* 3 and 12 are the ages, meaning 4-11. But.....

Kid-priced tickets are for those ages 3-9, right? So 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 year olds get kid-priced tickets...

Only makes sense that the rules of 3-12 mean that 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 year olds get to trade with them.


She might want to just avoid the whole thing and just trade with regular-lanyard CMs, or just collect (as we do) instead of trade.

 

[jettyspagetti]

I have an 11 yr old that is frequently mistaken for much older due to his height. We don't engage in much pin trading and never traded with the CMs with kid's only lanyards. We do however deal with the aftermath of people thinking he is lying about his age or telling him he's too "old" for certain activities. We usually remind him that there is a tradeoff for everything in life. He may not like the assumption that he is older or lying about his age but he also doesn't have to deal with feeling "small" for his age like some of his friends that haven't hit their growth spurt. I personally wouldn't keep trying to trade with the green lanyard CMs. There are so many other trading posibilities in the parks. Maybe you can encourage her to look for other opportunities.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

How awful for your sweet DD! Poor thing. There was no reason for that kind of reaction. I'd have called over someone if that CM questioned my DD's age like that to her face.

For what it's worth, I didn't realize there were certain colored lanyards indicating trading ONLY with kids 12 and under. It was our first time, our first pin trading experience and my DD gave me one of her pins to trade. I approached the CM and she just kept shaking her head angrily at me and telling me she won't trade. I was soooo confused! Not until I came home and searched here did I realize why. I felt pretty foolish but honestly, I didn't know!

 

[Jonell]

I would email Disney right away about this. CM should never accuse your child of lying . On our last trip I was questioned about my son's age when using the DP. He is 9 years old but tall for his age. I also got comments like "Wow, he's a big boy to only be 9 yrs old". If the hostess or any CM would have told my son he was lying then security would probably been involved

 

[NOLA_Tink]

That's really awful for your daughter! As an adult, having someone call my a liar really hurts my feelings, so I can't even imagine how your poor dd coped with it.

I'm appalled by all of the people that lie about their child's age to get them into the park for free, but the CMs don't seem to handle that nearly as seriously as trading from those darn green lanyards. On many occasions, I've just wanted to LOOK at a green lanyard b/c I'm interested in seeing different pins, and the lanyard wearing CM was very inappropriately ugly toward me. When we were staying at the Poly last November, I went to the gift shop & I was politely glancing and the meanie wearing the lanyard behind the cash register rudely yelled at me and told me that her lanyard was only for kids. I explained that I just wanted to see the pins that were on it out of pure curiosity and she loathingly snarled and uncooperatively agreed in the most contemptible manner. Her high & mighty "I have something that you can't have" attitude really made my blood boil.

 

[Poohbear Family]

Whether the child is 12, 13, 14 -they are a kid! For heaven's sake - just trade with the child!

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this. (I also hand out Halloween candy to kids that come to my door and are much taller than me too.)

Disney isn't running a "Guess your age" booth where if they guess wrong, the person gets a prize. It's a kid trying to trade a pin one for one.

Accusing a child of lying doesn't feel like a such a magical experience and I'm sorry your DD had to go through that (apparently over and over again).

 

[Madi's Mom]

Thank you all for the support. I have spoken with my DD11 and she said it really hurt her feelings that they assumed she was lying but maturely she said after thinking about it more - she understands that not everyone is honest and they might be "used to being scammed". She said she might try trading again in August but will avoid green lanyards all together.