What Does Pin Trading Look Like Today?

[BrightMorningStar]

We have not been to WDW since 2019. When we were there, it seemed all CMs had were scrappers.

Has anything change?
Are there less CMs trading today than in year's past?
Is it even worth it to trade pins if you want to avoid scrappers?

I will also (reluctantly) add/ask....when we traded pins in 2019, many of the CMs were grumpy about. Had one CM have a meltdown because I touched his lanyard to untwist it. Had another one get her tail in a twist because I traded with her a few days before. Had another one tell me only children should be pin trading. Many were pleasant. Sadly, many were not.

 

[MoreTravels]

I did not see anyone doing it in a recent trip. The trading area is EPCOT is gone. No cast member at monorail station wears them anymore.

I am sure if you ask / look for them, they are still around but they are not everywhere like before.

 

[scrappinginontario]

There are pin boards. Not sure if CMs wear pins any longer.

 

[onegai]

I see cast members holding pin trading boards but not on themselves.

 

[Sea of Progress]

I was there in October and while there were a few pinboards in the parks we had better luck at the resort pinboards. Sadly the number of cast members and stores that do pin trading has really gone down post pandemic. Interestingly, we were at Disneyland in August of this year and we saw much more pin trading there and we had a lot of fun with it there.

 

[lovethattink]

Park maps tell you where there is pin trading! My son finds mostly scrappers, but he enjoys trading. Cm do not wear lanyards. You need to look for pin trading boards and mystery boxes. Often they are behind counters and you need to ask for them. Example, the store inside the Living Seas often hides it behind the check out counter and is not visible.

 

[akayek31]

How can you tell they are scrappers? I just get the ones I like and need to complete a set. I usually go for the hidden mickey ones

 

[bsmcneil]

We have not been to WDW since 2019. When we were there, it seemed all CMs had were scrappers.

Has anything change?
Are there less CMs trading today than in year's past?
Is it even worth it to trade pins if you want to avoid scrappers?

I will also (reluctantly) add/ask....when we traded pins in 2019, many of the CMs were grumpy about. Had one CM have a meltdown because I touched his lanyard to untwist it. Had another one get her tail in a twist because I traded with her a few days before. Had another one tell me only children should be pin trading. Many were pleasant. Sadly, many were not.

I had good experiences last year (Jan and May) but yep - definitely look for the pin boards. And, also, for what it's worth, when you wrote, "Had one CM have a meltdown because I touched his lanyard to untwist it", I physically cringed. Please don't touch people or things on people without their consent. It may have been difficult for the CM to communicate that on duty - but - yeah.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

How can you tell they are scrappers? I just get the ones I like and need to complete a set. I usually go for the hidden mickey ones

There are many webpages and blogs dedicated to this topic if you are interested in learning/searching. Probably 98% of the Hidden Mickey pins are scrappers. Those are the most faked.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

I had good experiences last year (Jan and May) but yep - definitely look for the pin boards. And, also, for what it's worth, when you wrote, "Had one CM have a meltdown because I touched his lanyard to untwist it", I physically cringed. Please don't touch people or things on people without their consent. It may have been difficult for the CM to communicate that on duty - but - yeah.

Well, he literally touched my shirt first, almost my boob, so whatever (about his meltdown for touching his lanyard).

 

[gharter]

I see cast members holding pin trading boards but not on themselves.

that was what we saw in April and October. Did not see any cast members wearing pins

 

[WEDWDW]

Cast Members recently were allowed to start wearing the Lanyards again.

 

[AJA]

We did not see any Cast Members wearing pins last week. There are several pin boards in each park though, 99% were scrappers.

We did see some pro collectors (general public, not staff) with their collections trading in Hollywood Studios two different days last week. They were at the photo store in the very front of the park. If you have nicer pins to trade check them out.