Pin trading?

[emmakatbaby]

Is pin trading allowed right now with the COVID restrictions? I have older kids and they really enjoy this.

 

[jlstwinmommy]

There is pin trading at the parks. My older son loves trading too so he went in search of where to trade. It is only being done in certain places and it is a board where you can select the one you want, the cast member will put the pin on the counter and you put yours in a bucket they have there. They sanitize those pins from time to time before putting them on a board for trade.
In MK, there was 1 store in each land. A very nice CM gave him a map and circled which stores had the board. You have to ask to see the board at the designated counter. Pirates and splash stores both had boards as well as space mountain.
In Epcot there was only one board and it’s only out during certain times of the day. It is at the pin store to the right of spaceship earth.
In AK there were a few, 1 near Everest, 1 near the entrance to Pandora, and 1 near the stores in the front of the park.
In HS, I know there was 1 in the 2 smaller kiosk type stores in the front of the park and I believe there was 1 in another store further up the street. I don’t recall there being any in the various lands there.
Enjoy trading. My son got a few cool new ones while there in January.

 

[Lizgistix]

And the same is being done at pin trading boards at the resorts as well. I only have experience with Wilderness Lodge and when I was there, it was located at Reunion Station which is on the other side of Geyser Point.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

My 5 year old got his first pins and lanyard in DEC. When we saw the Pin Board at AK we stopped to look and he traded one of his pins. Trading is out there, just not as easy as before.

side note: I always wear a few pins. I have a Baggalini with a great shoulder strap for pins. I had a teenager approach me asking if I traded. I smiled, and just said "sorry, I really love all my pins and don't trade". He was so gracious. Trading Pins doesn't seem to be the "IT" thing it was but it doesn't stop me from showing them off or buying more.

 

[pindecisive]

Trading Pins doesn't seem to be the "IT" thing it was but it doesn't stop me from showing them off or buying more.

I so so wish Disney would sell ITA bags. They're bags with plastic windows in them to showcase your pins. I have a mini one meant for a toddler I bought from someone who designs her own pins. I use it to hold the Disney pins I mean to trade and showcase a few cute ones in the front. It has two pockets so I can keep the ones I trade and the ones I trade for separate and easy to reach.

Every few years there's a bit of a resurgence of interest in pin trading, but I expect with COVID19 it's going to go into a bit of a lull. Sadly the mid 2010's was a significant low (due in part to vinylmation), so I think as long as Disney doesn't try to replace pin trading with anything else, it will likely have another resurgence in a few years.

 

[jlstwinmommy]

When we were there in January, AK had a pin backpack kind of bag that had multiple felt like pages for pins and a pocket for traders and you could pin some to the outside. Several people were looking at them. They looked cute but my kids prefer the lanyards

 

[becd]

My son who is really into pin trading likes the messenger bags but they were nowhere to be found in February. I was told they sold out of last year's version and were expecting a new one for 2021, they just did not know when. It was a huge bummer for him.