Why should I pin trade?
It's a good souvenir idea. My favorite pins are the ones that have a memory behind them. My Animal Kingdom pin I bought because I worked there, my mushroom pin I found after playing Fantasia mini golf with my friends, the matching "I'll be your Minnie/I'll be your Mickey" pins my boyfriend and I wore on Dapper Day, and the Disneyland Diamond pins my friend bought for me after she went to Disneyland. Furthermore, it will help children build social skills. Plenty of parents teach their kids to say "may I see your pins, please?" and "thank you" when pin trading. It can help some kids overcome shyness because they have to go up and talk to people in order to trade.
BEWARE: Pin trading is addicting!
HOW TO PIN TRADE
1. Starting out
I recommend either a Starter Pack (Lanyard with pins) or a big mystery pin pack. This way you can keep the ones you like and trade away the ones you don't like.
TIP: The point is to trade, so it's okay to buy some pins you don't really like. You'll be trading them for pins you DO like.
Do NOT buy in bulk off of ebay. You may get fake pins. You will not be allowed to trade fake pins.
2. Trading
Look for Cast Members with a black lanyard or black pouch on their belts. Wait for a time to trade. If they are busy talking to another guest or ringing someone up at the cash register, wait. Ask to trade pins. The Cast Member will show you all of their pins. You may choose which ever one you want. The Cast Member cannot say "no" unless you are trading a fake pin.
Here are some of the rules for pin trading with Cast Members
Mystery pins
Sometimes a Cast Member may have a pin turned around backwards so that you cannot see what it is. These are mystery pins. You can trade for a mystery pin, but you will not know what you get. If you end up not liking it, you can always trade it again! Sometimes Cast Members will reveal to you what the mystery pin is - if you answer a Disney trivia question! An example of a question a Cast Member might ask you is "How many bricks is Cinderella's castle made of?" (Zero. It's all made of fiberglass!)
Pin board
Sometimes a gift shop might have a pin board. This is exactly what it sounds like - a bulletin board filled with different pins. These offer a lot more variety and choices. And sometimes Cast Members get very creative with their pin boards! The custodians have a pin trashcan, and the strollers in Animal Kingdom have a pin stroller. Theses are usually not on display, but you can always ask a Cast Member if they have a pin board.
Pin Treasure Chest
Trading with other guests
The rules are stricter when it comes to trading with other guests. You will have to make a bargain. Whereas with Cast Members you can give them any pin you want to and take any pin of theirs that you want to.
3. What pins do I trade for?
Anything that strikes your fancy! I've met a pin trader that only looked for Stitch pins and a pin trader that only looked for black-and-white colored pins. A friend of mine who is from California only collected Disneyland pins (yes, there are Disneyland pins in Disney World).
Collections
Sometimes pins come in collections. There is a collection of Mickey ears, the original Disneyland paper tickets, shoes decorated like various Disney characters
There are some pins that are not available to buy in stores. These are only given out to Cast Members to trade. You can recognize these by a tiny Mickey shape on the bottom of the pin.
Some of the Cast Member exclusive pins
4. Buying more pins
Disney sells a lot of single pins - pins that don't come in trading packs. You can still buy these and trade them if you so choose, but these are more expensive than buying packs. If you are trying to save money, I suggest only buying a few of your favorite single pins or buying one pin from every park. Each park has pins that are unique to the rides there. It was pretty common for a dad to buy his son a Mount Everest pin at the end of their day to commemorate the son's first time riding it.
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