What about trading pins at DL??

[thevirgens]

My family has never been to DL. I heard of pin trading... What is this and where do we get the pins??

 

[got2travel]

Prepare to become adicted..


You can buy pins at the parks, from disneyshopping.com, and sometimes the Disney Store in the mall. There are also online sources to get them, particularly ebay (just be careful of sedesma pins, they sometimes are not tradeable). Often times you will get a few pins if you book a package.

Many cast members and other guests wear their pins on lanyards around their neck. You can ask to see a person's pins and ask to trade one of yours for one of theirs. The cast members have to trade as long as you are offering a legitimate Disney pin and they don't already have that same one on their lanyard. If you are asking to trade with another guest, they can tell you no. Many times we will just ask if they are trading any when we ask to see their lanyard.

I held out for a long time and didn't even tell my son about it. I finally got him a few pins and now he's got over 300! We buy a bunch of cheap ones online that we don't necessarily like, then trade for ones we really like in the parks.

 

[Hambletfamily]

You can buy them @ disney.com, disney store, Disneyland, DCA or if you purchase a package you usually get 1 or 2 generic pins on your lanyard. We purchased through Disney Travel so we each got 2 on our Disney Lanyard. Keep in mind those are generic pins and almost everyone has them. So you have to trade those pins right away first thing because the cm can't accept the same pin twice. However we didn't have any trouble. We actually Traded for a 1989 Ariel pin. Happy in Trading

 

[abookworm]

I just found out about this too and since my son is the king of trading things I think he will love it. Sounds like a good way to get some great souveniers. I'm not really planning on doing it the first day since we'll be so overwhelmed but I think we will the second day.
There is a lot of great info on this forum here about it:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=37

 

[wendithepooh]

My DS12 started buying pins last june.He never traded them because we didn't know anything about it.When we went back in Dec my DD10 and I were coming off TOT and got the dream lanyard with 2 pins on them.It came with instructions on how to do it.My DH and DD5 decided to buy themselves lanyards to keep up with us.We went to the disney wharehouse and bought the cheapest pins they had and started with those.It was the most fun we had at DL-of course we were there for 7 days,so we had alot of time.We even ran into 2 of the dream team and talked for about 15 minutes with them.They were really nice.My DD5 forgot her lanyard once at the hotel and one CM gave one to her without a trade.She had been looking for that pin and I was too cheap to buy it now that I knew you could trade.lol.

You can also buy the pins in sets and it makes them much cheaper.It can be pretty expense but it was totally worth it.FUN FUN FUN!!!Can't wait to back this June.

Happy pin trading.

 

[M_I_C_K_E_Y]

My kids started pin trading 2-3 trips ago and LOVE it. I also go on ebay and buy inexpensive pins before getting to the park. A lot of times you can spend only $2- $3 a pin if you buy a few at a time. I normally do a "Disney Pin Lot" search and then it's cheaper than buying them one at a time. I get like a 'grab bag' since the designs don't matter - the kids are going to trade them anyway.

One thing I did learn though, for my kids, is not to give them all the pins I bought at once. I normally put about 2 new ones on each day we are there. By getting a few at a time, it keeps their lanyard with new pins to trade and they don't seem to bug me as much to buy at the Park. (Not to mention, they are not as heavy from day one) Then on the last day, I will normally buy them one nice pin from the park (like a special one - that might open, or 3D or light up - something cool). By the end of our trip, the lanyards are pretty full and it is always their favorit souvenier.

Buying the pins online is a huge money saver! But beware, like the previous poster said, and look for the disclaimer that says no sedesma, etc. I ordered some for our trip in 12 days and loved the person I ordered from. The pins were very nice and we even got some hidden mickey pins and cast lanyard pins. If you would like their ebay name, just pm me. (It is not me or anyone I know - I just liked what I received)

Sorry for being so long. Hope I could help!
Amy