If you’ve been to any of the Disney parks, you’ve no doubt seen how big the Disney Pin Trading craze is. Disney Pin Trading actually began in 1999, although Disney has carried collectible pins for sometime. However, the advent Disney Pin Trading now allows guest to trade pins with Cast Members that are wearing special pin trading lanyards.
Once you find a Cast Member wearing a pin trading lanyard, you can ask to see what pins they have available which are pinned to the strap that holds their lanyard. See if you are interested in trading any of your pins for the cast members pins and if you find something you want, simply tell the cast member that you’d like to trade one of your pins for one of their pins and trade.
So, how do you keep your pins available for trading? Just like the Disney Cast Members, you can purchase a pin trading lanyard at any of the parks or at disneyshopping.com.
There are, of course, a few rules in place that keep guests from “hogging” pins and keeps the guest’s experience enjoyable.
- You may trade up to two pins with a Cast Member. Obviously, you cannot trade one of your pins for a cast member’s badge.
- Some Cast Members wear showcase pins that are unavailable for trading.
- If you’ve bought a Disney Name Pin, you cannot trade that pin for another pin. While this should be obvious, it’s still worth noting.
- When trading with a cast member, you should offer a pin that is not already featured on that cast member’s lanyard.
- While this would just seem like good etiquette, it still needs to be said: You shouldn’t simply go up to a cast member and begin touching their pins. If you’d like to see a certain pin closer, please ask the Cast Member to bring the pin closer to you.
- When trading, make sure you attach the back to your pin and hand it to the cast member.
There are also cast members who trade with only children age 3-12. These cast members will be wearing teal lanyard at the Disneyland Resort and a green lanyard at the Walt Disney World Resort. Of course, kids are also allowed to trade with cast members wearing the standard black lanyard as well.
There are also special pin trading events. These pin events cover both Disney World and Disneyland Resorts and the Disney Cruise Lines. These special events allow guests to purchase limited edition pins at regular price. For instance, in 2004, The Disney Cruise Line offered a “Villainous Voyage” pin trading event that allowed Disney Cruise Line guests to buy a number of pins featuring the Disney Villains with the year and name of the pin trading event.
Of course, you don’t have to trade at all. Many Disney guests simply collect the pins for themselves and take them home with them. I, myself, have given Disney pins as gifts. Each Disney pin is well made, shiny and is a true collectible. Many fans also trade or sell discontinued pins through eBay.
If you’d like to buy pins from home, you can purchase individual pins and lanyards at Disneyshopping.com or, if you’re looking for a specific pin, search through the many eBay sellers offering different pins by searching the terms, “disney pin.”