Pin trading

[ceiligh1]

I have been to DL and DW both but it has been 10 years since I went to DL. I think that my son would enjoy pin trading especially as a way to get him more interested in disney and as something to do at the parks. Is pin trading as popular in DL as it is in DW? THanks for your help

 

[Disney Dreams]

Pin trading is fun at Disneyland and there are CMs with lanyards, as well as pin trading locations. However, there are a LOT more CMs with lanyards at WDW than DL, just so you are prepared for it.

That said, I enjoy pin trading and slowly have built up a collection of over 300 Disney pins. - egad! -

If you have any other pin trading questions, feel free to ask.

- Dreams

 

[PinkBudgie]

When I was there earlier this week, there were lots of CMs with lanyards. Can't say more or less than WDW because I haven't been there, but finding them was not hard at all. Some CMs wore little squares on their belts that had pins instead of the lanyard. There were also many many visitors who had on pin lanyards. I don't pin trade but on the day we met my sister and her family there, her DH kept running off to check CM pins. There are also people who sit there for hours with giant books of pins open to trading, but I have heard that some of them can be quite serious and not always that friendly to kids so some parents only let their kids trade with CMs. Anyway, your son should have no problem finding CMs to trade with.

 

[ceiligh1]

THank you both for your replies. I was only going to let my son exchange pins with other kids or CM's as he is a very friendly almost 4 year old and I dont want to encourage him talking to random adults. I would like to pick up a bunch of pins before we go, is ebay the best option or are there other places to buy them?

 

[PinkBudgie]

You should go check the Collectors board. There is a lot of talk about pin collecting there and they also talk about pins on ebay, so that might help more. I only know what I've seen at the parks, I haven't bought pins off ebay.

 

[pixiewings71]

There are a lot of scrappers on eBay, scrappers are pins that were "scrapped" for some reason or another, basically they don't pass Disney QC and should be thrown away but people take them and sell them to people in the US who then sell them on eBay. As Pink Budgie mentioned there is a whole thread on the Collector Board with good and bad sellers, those of us who buy on eBay post there after we have experience with a certain seller. Have fun trading, we seem to have luck finding CM's with nice pins when we are at DL/DCA. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[pinkblush]

Bumping with a question - my son (turning 6 while we are at DLR in Aug) would like to try out pin trading, so I was wondering if any of you have suggestions of where to get a lanyard that's not too expensive?


I would like to get one before our trip, just so it's one less thing to worry about, but if you think it's better to just wait until we get there, then I will!



Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Bumping with a question - my son (turning 6 while we are at DLR in Aug) would like to try out pin trading, so I was wondering if any of you have suggestions of where to get a lanyard that's not too expensive?


I would like to get one before our trip, just so it's one less thing to worry about, but if you think it's better to just wait until we get there, then I will!



Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

Mickey and Friends

Princesses

 

[Sleepless Knight]

The advantage of waiting until you're in the parks is that they have a very large selection of starter lanyards(with pins) and regular lanyards (without). You may buy a lanyard before the trip only to find that there was one you liked a lot better in the parks.

 

[bumbershoot]

THank you both for your replies. I was only going to let my son exchange pins with other kids or CM's as he is a very friendly almost 4 year old and I dont want to encourage him talking to random adults. I would like to pick up a bunch of pins before we go, is ebay the best option or are there other places to buy them?

Since he's 4 (I skimmed your first post and saw the number 10 and misunderstood), I will give you an FYI since it happened with us. He might not totally get that he's trading that pin completely away forever. My guy didn't. He's still annoyed with us (a year later) that we let him trade a pin, and misses that pin and talks about it. He just didn't understand that it was going to be GONE.

 

[ceiligh1]

Bumbershoot, I will keep your son in mind when we start trading. I do not want his first and most abiding memory of Disneyland to be the pin that got away. I will have to give this further thought maybe a few practice runs with kids in the neighborhood before we try the park. Thank you everyone and I am off to check out the collectors thread.

 

[mom4princesses]

I would keep checking the local Disney Store for lanyards that are on sale. Last year we went and I bought all the girls one with 4 pins on it and it was only $2.99. Then also got some more pins that were on sale for $1-3. So that's were I would start.

 

[iheartdisney]

My kids are 5, 6, and 3, and we started trading when the oldest was 4. There are definately not as many CMs with pins as in WDW, but sometimes that is a good thing...our last trip to Epcot, I think we stopped every 10 feet!
If you live near a character warehouse, or plan to visit one on your trip, they are a great place to stock up on trading pins. Last week i went to the temporary one in Camarillo, and they had Hannah Montana and HSM booster packs for $8 each...thats $2 a pin!
My kids love pin trading, and both trade in different styles.DD6 will trade for keeps, while DS5's pins constantly rotate. And boy does he get mad when DD trades after him and gets one he already traded away! He doesn't understand how SHE can have HIS old pin!
But it is alot of fun, and definatly gives you something new to do between point A and point B in Disney.
Have fun!

 

[daneenm]

We bought our children grab bag pins from eBay to start them in trading. Our thinking was since they did not pick them , they would not have issues trading them away - also, they were MUCH cheaper than anything we found at DL and we have no outlet stores by us. That said, they still kept some of the grab bag pins, but there were plenty to trade still.

They were slightly older when we started them (10 and 6), but they had a blast doing it. We only let them trade with CMs.