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Pin Trading is one of the things that my kids find the most fun about a Disney trip. If your aren’t familiar with Disney Pin Trading, you are allowed to trade pins with any Disney cast member that is wearing a lanyard. You simply ask to see their pins, and the will bring their lanyard closer for you to view. If you see a pin you want, you may trade one of your pins for one of theirs. There are some guidelines to pin trading that Disney has posted:
- The main criteria to judge whether a pin is tradable or not is that it must be a metal pin bearing a “©Disney”mark on the back that represents a Disney Event, Place or Location, Character or Icon.
- Pins should be in good, undamaged, tradable condition.
- For a safe trading experience, please trade one pin at a time, hand to hand with pin backs attached.
- Guests may trade a maximum of two (2) pins per Cast Member, per day.
- Please refrain from touching a Cast Member’s or Guest’s pins or lanyard. If you need a closer look, kindly ask the Cast Member or Guest wearing the lanyard if she or he can bring it into clearer view for you.
- Monies, gifts or receipts may not be exchanged or used in trade for a pin.
- When trading with a Cast Member, Guests should offer a pin that is not currently displayed on the Cast Member’s lanyard.
- Pins from other business units of The Walt Disney Company (i.e.ABC, ESPN) are accepted for trade.
- Operating participant pins that show a Disney, Disneyland®Resort, or Walt Disney World®Resort affiliation are accepted for trading.
- Plastic pins, rubber pins or other non-metal pins are not accepted for trading.
- “Personalized Name”pins are not accepted for trade.
- “Broche style”or “clasp pins”are not accepted for trade.
- Disney Service Award pins, Spirit of Disneyland®Resort pins, Partners in Excellence pins or Cast Member costume pins (i.e. Host/Hostess Badges, Disney Trainer) are not tradable.
The Disney pins can be very expensive. The individual pins can range in price from $6.95 – $19.95. Wow! Can you imagine paying $19.95 for a pin? Here are some pointers to help you get started pin trading (on a budget).
- You can buy starter sets at the Disney theme parks, the starter sets are priced at $24.95, they contain a lanyard and 4 pins. This is a great value compared to buying everything individually.
- You can buy mystery grab bags of pins at a discounted price, the pins in these are usually less desirable, but that way it makes it easy to trade. The kids don’t want to hold onto them.
- You can find pins marked down online at the Disney Store. Remember, you don’t have to buy pins you like, because the plan is to trade them anyway. To save even more of your own money, redeem your SwagBucks for a disneystore.com gift card and get them for FREE.
- If you book your vacation through a travel company (like Costco or Getaway Today), you will receive a lanyard and 1 pin for FREE. This is a great way to get started without any extra money up front.
- My best (and cheapest) advice for pin trading is to check out ebay. You can buy misc. pins in lots for very cheap. We found that we could get some great deals, by buying pins off of Ebay. To find reputable seller, consult this thread over at the DisBoards.
Now, all of my kids are starting out with pins to trade for our trip to Disney world, and it won’t be costing an arm an a leg. They are thrilled (and so is Mom)!
If you want to learn all there is to know about Disney pin trading visit their official pin trading site. Do you kids love the pin trading experience too? I would love to hear your thoughts, and any money saving tips you may have.
