Disney Pin Collecting and Trading is a great way to have mementos of your favorite things at Disney.
But there are dangers out there… sharks are out again… but than again… they’re always out. They lay in wait in two places… Epcot by the Pin Station on the umbrella tables… and Downtown Disney beside the Pin Station. but lets start at the beginning.
THE UPSIDE: Trading and collecting Pins at Disney is a huge… more than huge. There are books showing the 20,000 plus pins that Disney has made over the past ten years. It all started with a little set of commemorative pins that were given out for the celebration of the new millennium in 2000. Everyone enjoyed the pins and traded with others to get their favorite ones… and from those humble beginnings we now have a limitless supply of pins to buy, trade and collect little bits of memories that reflect our interests in our favorite rides, attractions, characters, or places in the World of Disney. Disney makes sure that there is always new pins in every shape and form. There’s your basic pins numbering in the thousands that you can buy at any one of the perhaps 100 plus locations across Disney World. There are special pin collections sold in sets, special sets sold on special lanyards, special limited edition pins, special commemorative pins, Mystery pins, special lanyards to hold your pins, lanyard medallions ( giant pins at hang at the bottom of your lanyard), special showcase pins, and I’m sure several more special sets that even I can not recall. What ever your favorite character, attraction, or place… there’s a collectible pin for it… and it’s usually not alone. Each character has numerous pins… for instance… Tinkerbell probably has no less than 100 different pins currently being sold that show your favorite character in any possible theme you can imagine, and than some. Disney further perpetuates the pin collection and trading frenzy by having mostly all cast members carry pins to trade with guests. The more you see, the more you want, the more you want, the more you buy to get pins you want by trading. Disney cast members will trade you pins… one for one… your choice… whatever you want to give for whatever one you want to get. Works out perfect! Simple and easy… and all in the favor of the guest. Disney insures that the trading continues hot and heavy by giving cast members very special pins call “cast lanyard pins” that can not be bought anywhere, but only traded via a cast member. Cast lanyards are usually always made in sets of 4-8 per set… so you have the extra incentive to trade for all the pins in the set. All in all, a very nice way to have a ever expanding collection of little collectibles… each providing it’s own unique memory of a Disney experience… all for the simple basic price of a mere $6.95 each. Some are lower priced if bought in sets, and some higher for more elaborate or special pins… $8.95 - $12.95. As you can imagine collecting can get out of hand if you don’t control the impulse to collect more and more of your favorites. But it can be a lot of fun… especially the trading… finding little treasures through trading is a lot of fun! It’s like going on a treasure hunt and you are sure to find lots that you like. So Happy Collecting! I won’t say how many pins we have… I don’t really want to think about it.
THE DOWNSIDE: So, back to the sharks. I call them “Pin Sharks”. They are not Disney employees… they are outside people that Disney allows on property to enhance the guests experience and promote additional trading and the ultimate sale of pins needed to have pins to trade. Sounds good in theory. IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY! Unlike the normal trading practices that you get from cast members (guests are in control), the “Pin Sharks” are in complete control and have a hidden agenda… they are there to take advantage of the guests… they are there to make money. They only trade pins with you if it is to their advantage… you are going to always come out on the short end of the stick… that’s assuming they are willing to make a trade at all. Usually you will not have anything they want for what you are interested in trading for… so they won’t make a trade. They will however give you a list of 2-3 pins that you can go and buy for them in order for them to make the trade for the one pin you want. Pin trading is suppose to be fun… one for one… being taken advantage of takes all the fun out of it. So for your own benefit… it is a wise decision to stay away from the Pin Sharks. I’m not really even sure why Disney even lets them operate on Disney property since their main practice is to take advantage of guests.
So… enjoy pin trading with Disney Cast Members… just stay away from the Pin Sharks.
More info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_pin_trading
