Disney pin-trading nights are coming to an end at Walt Disney World hotels, and some collectors wonder if it's because of declining interest.
The Walt Disney Co. announced on its official pin-collecting Web site this month that weekly pin-trading sessions, staple activities in several Walt Disney World resort hotels for years, will end in the next couple of weeks.
The Web site, officialdisneypintrading.com, did not say why the sessions are ending. Nor did a Walt Disney World spokeswoman, except to say that the company is making room for future pin-trading opportunities, associated with the company's upcoming "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign that opens in October.
"It's part of the ongoing efforts to continually refresh the experiences," spokeswoman Kim Prunty said.
Disney lapel pins depict thousands of iconic Disney moments ranging from Snow White kissing Grumpy to Cars characters. Most retail for $6.95 to $12.95. In 2000, pin-trading popularity took off. And not long after that, pin-trading sessions began at the hotels.
But attendance at the hotel sessions has fallen recently, collectors said. Some wondered if Disney might have saturated the collectible pin market and deflated the craze, while others suggested that professional pin traders, known as "pin sharks," began to dominate small meetings and took the fun out of them.
"It definitely has slowed down," said Arlen Miller, president of the World Chapter of the National Fantasy Fan Club of Disneyana enthusiasts.
No one's expecting Disney pin trading to stop.
Disney still plans other pin-trading events, including the big, annual Pin Celebration 2006 at Epcot, Sept. 8-10, which requires a $90-per-person cover charge. Disney also still encourages trading throughout the parks, and at occasional Downtown Disney sessions. And Prunty insisted interest still is "strong and continues to grow."
Collections dealer Tom Tumbusch of Dayton, Ohio, publishes the Disneyana Guide to Pin Trading, which lists and prices more than 17,000 pins. Tumbusch, who also handles collectibles ranging from Broadway posters to Hot Wheels cars, said he's seen thinning crowds at recent hotel sessions and suggested it could be because there now are so many Disney pins that people may be losing interest.
"Disney has over-produced watches, and the collectors went away. . . . The saturation level, of just too many, is reached in every collectible area," Tumbusch said. "It becomes overwhelming. And people say, 'To heck with this,' when they try to sell stuff and they can't get their money back."
The Web site announced that the last official Walt Disney World hotel pin sessions will be at the All-Star Sports Resort from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday; the Contemporary Resort from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday; and the Pop Century Resort from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...disneypins2506jul25,0,4347615.story?track=rss
The Walt Disney Co. announced on its official pin-collecting Web site this month that weekly pin-trading sessions, staple activities in several Walt Disney World resort hotels for years, will end in the next couple of weeks.
The Web site, officialdisneypintrading.com, did not say why the sessions are ending. Nor did a Walt Disney World spokeswoman, except to say that the company is making room for future pin-trading opportunities, associated with the company's upcoming "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign that opens in October.
"It's part of the ongoing efforts to continually refresh the experiences," spokeswoman Kim Prunty said.
Disney lapel pins depict thousands of iconic Disney moments ranging from Snow White kissing Grumpy to Cars characters. Most retail for $6.95 to $12.95. In 2000, pin-trading popularity took off. And not long after that, pin-trading sessions began at the hotels.
But attendance at the hotel sessions has fallen recently, collectors said. Some wondered if Disney might have saturated the collectible pin market and deflated the craze, while others suggested that professional pin traders, known as "pin sharks," began to dominate small meetings and took the fun out of them.
"It definitely has slowed down," said Arlen Miller, president of the World Chapter of the National Fantasy Fan Club of Disneyana enthusiasts.
No one's expecting Disney pin trading to stop.
Disney still plans other pin-trading events, including the big, annual Pin Celebration 2006 at Epcot, Sept. 8-10, which requires a $90-per-person cover charge. Disney also still encourages trading throughout the parks, and at occasional Downtown Disney sessions. And Prunty insisted interest still is "strong and continues to grow."
Collections dealer Tom Tumbusch of Dayton, Ohio, publishes the Disneyana Guide to Pin Trading, which lists and prices more than 17,000 pins. Tumbusch, who also handles collectibles ranging from Broadway posters to Hot Wheels cars, said he's seen thinning crowds at recent hotel sessions and suggested it could be because there now are so many Disney pins that people may be losing interest.
"Disney has over-produced watches, and the collectors went away. . . . The saturation level, of just too many, is reached in every collectible area," Tumbusch said. "It becomes overwhelming. And people say, 'To heck with this,' when they try to sell stuff and they can't get their money back."
The Web site announced that the last official Walt Disney World hotel pin sessions will be at the All-Star Sports Resort from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday; the Contemporary Resort from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday; and the Pop Century Resort from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...disneypins2506jul25,0,4347615.story?track=rss
