Pin Trading

[DisneyDelirious]

Can anyone confirm if Pin Trading is taking place under the current operating conditions? I didn’t know if they have trading boards out but not doing individual person to person trading from lanyards. With meet and greets and autographs out, I wanted to check and see if this was still occurring in some fashion. They are all some of my wife’s favorite activities. She will be content to shop otherwise

 

[EvanAnderson]

It's along the lines of you picking two from a board, you placing the two you want to part with on a table, the CM makes the trade for you. I don't think they're doing lanyards.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

It's along the lines of you picking two from a board, you placing the two you want to part with on a table, the CM makes the trade for you. I don't think they're doing lanyards.

Thank you!

 

[MickeyCB]

In October they were using pin boards at a surprising amount of locations.
If you don't see them in the parks, check the hotel stores.
I know this because my husband is obsessed!

 

[MattC]

Tim Tracker has a couple of videos on YouTube showing the current pin trading process. Check them out if you want to see what is being done.

 

[JIMINYCR]

It was announced a while ago that one on one pin trading with CM's was being discontinued due to covid spacing and contact. Pin boards are taking the place of handing over pins which will be ensuring sanitary conditions and safety for everyone. I always travel with my pin bag full of pins to trade so I'm happy to see Disney hasnt completely abandoned one of the things I look forward to doing on my trip. It's unfortunate that the conversations I get to do with multiple CM's will be more limited.

 

[Bullseye1967]

I hope this helps

There are 8 pin boards at MK:

1. Emporium – Closest register to Casey’s Corner
2. Mickey’s Philharmagic Gift Shop
3. Momento Mori
4. Splash Mountain Gift Shop
5. Pirates Gift Shop
6. Space Mountain Gift Shop
7. Photo/Camera store at Town Square Theater
8. Fantasy Faire gift shop

There are 4 at AK:

1. Dinoland – Primeval Whirl Exit
2. Discovery Trading Post across from Island Mercantile
3. Kiosk to the right as you enter Africa after the bridge
4. Dinoland Gift Store

There are 2 locations at Epcot:

1. Gift shop at IG
2. Pin Trading Central (under Spaceship Earth)

There is only one location a HS:

1. 5&10 Store on Hollywood Boulevard

There is NO pin trading at Disney Springs

Every resort gift shop has a pin board.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

REALLY hoping that once DLR reopens that we will get the same thing here. I will miss the constant stopping and chatting with CM's wearing their lanyards - it's fun for them and me! - but at least the boards (filled with scrappers as they will be) are SOMETHING.

Still weird to think that a year and a week or so ago, I was happily trading with CM's from their lanyards (though I was starting to use hand sanitizer a bit more often after trading) and then a few days later, it all shut down...

 

[JIMINYCR]

I hope this helps

There are 8 pin boards at MK:

1. Emporium – Closest register to Casey’s Corner
2. Mickey’s Philharmagic Gift Shop
3. Momento Mori
4. Splash Mountain Gift Shop
5. Pirates Gift Shop
6. Space Mountain Gift Shop
7. Photo/Camera store at Town Square Theater
8. Fantasy Faire gift shop

There are 4 at AK:

1. Dinoland – Primeval Whirl Exit
2. Discovery Trading Post across from Island Mercantile
3. Kiosk to the right as you enter Africa after the bridge
4. Dinoland Gift Store

There are 2 locations at Epcot:

1. Gift shop at IG
2. Pin Trading Central (under Spaceship Earth)

There is only one location a HS:

1. 5&10 Store on Hollywood Boulevard

There is NO pin trading at Disney Springs

Every resort gift shop has a pin board.

Thanks sooo much for the list. You have saved me and others a lot of time having to search out the sites where the boards have been placed.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Thanks sooo much for the list. You have saved me and others a lot of time having to search out the sites where the boards have been placed.

I researched and found it bit by bit for our January trip so we didn't have to hunt for them.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

I hope this helps

There are 8 pin boards at MK:

1. Emporium – Closest register to Casey’s Corner
2. Mickey’s Philharmagic Gift Shop
3. Momento Mori
4. Splash Mountain Gift Shop
5. Pirates Gift Shop
6. Space Mountain Gift Shop
7. Photo/Camera store at Town Square Theater
8. Fantasy Faire gift shop

There are 4 at AK:

1. Dinoland – Primeval Whirl Exit
2. Discovery Trading Post across from Island Mercantile
3. Kiosk to the right as you enter Africa after the bridge
4. Dinoland Gift Store

There are 2 locations at Epcot:

1. Gift shop at IG
2. Pin Trading Central (under Spaceship Earth)

There is only one location a HS:

1. 5&10 Store on Hollywood Boulevard

There is NO pin trading at Disney Springs

Every resort gift shop has a pin board.

Thank you! I passed it along to the wife and she is quite happy she will be able to do some trading.

 

[winnie1421]

It's along the lines of you picking two from a board, you placing the two you want to part with on a table, the CM makes the trade for you. I don't think they're doing lanyards.

That's the way it was at EPCOT last summer. Some cast members will even let you trade more than two. It's not as fun as the lanyard search, but at least you can do some trading.

 

[JIMINYCR]

To those who have traded... Are the pin boards all full of the same scrapper pins from place to place or are there better sites to go to to find better pins? Have there been waits to scan the pin boards? I know over the past few years CM lanyards were pretty much full of the same scrap. Occasionally youd find a gem in the bunch to take home to a collection.

 

[Bullseye1967]

To those who have traded... Are the pin boards all full of the same scrapper pins from place to place or are there better sites to go to to find better pins? Have there been waits to scan the pin boards? I know over the past few years CM lanyards were pretty much full of the same scrap. Occasionally youd find a gem in the bunch to take home to a collection.

It is for the most part the same pins that were always on the cast lanyards. We did end up with several good ones. The better pins seemed to be on the boards at the resorts. Each board had 30 to 50 pins, but several times when we didn't see anything we liked on the boards a CM would pull out a box with 100s of pins and let us take a peek. They have to have a bunch of back up pins to restock the board since all the pins they take in are not used until a later date. We never had to wait for more than one person ahead of us and even this was rare. It was Jan/Feb when we were there last.

 

[JIMINYCR]

It is for the most part the same pins that were always on the cast lanyards. We did end up with several good ones. The better pins seemed to be on the boards at the resorts. Each board had 30 to 50 pins, but several times when we didn't see anything we liked on the boards a CM would pull out a box with 100s of pins and let us take a peek. They have to have a bunch of back up pins to restock the board since all the pins they take in are not used until a later date. We never had to wait for more than one person ahead of us and even this was rare. It was Jan/Feb when we were there last.

Thank you. Thats what I was expecting. Having a box of extra pins to look through might help finding something overlooked by others.

 

[DisneyDreamerxyz]

I have been wondering about pin trading, because Disney seemed to be phasing it out. I know when I worked at MK there was a pin trading window backstage and all CMs were required to have a certain number of pins to trade on their lanyard as a part of their costume, but those windows have been closed even before Covid.

I know alot of CMs have struggled with guests invading personal space and interrupting other guests when asking or looking at pins, and female CMs have often struggled with men using it as an excuse to get a little too....friendly.

I really hope they stick to pin boards in the future.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Pin trading isn't going anywhere. Do you know how much $$$ Disney makes from it?

 

[JIMINYCR]

Just to add to the discussion, we are in WDW now and I’ve been trading pins over a week and a half. In some spots like resorts and in some spots in the parks, the CM’s will place the pin board closer to you but behind a clear plastic shield as you scan them. If you wish to see a pin or have questions about what it is they will tell you about that one. When you make a trade you drop your pin into a container and keep the back. They place the pin you choose on the counter for you to collect it and add your back. There has been no boxes of extra pins for you to look through. There is still a two pin limit of pins to trade. In AK however there is a line you must stand on and the board is several feet away from you. It is hard to see what the pins are and the CM will not move the board closer so you can get a better look. They will tell you about any pin you have a question about. I have found some decent pins but I am certainly not making nearly as many pin trades as on prior trips. I am disappointed in the lack of pin trading spots that are available.
Most of the CM’ I’ve talked to believe pin trading will remain being done this way going forward even after covid restrictions are lifted.

 

[Giss Neric]

Do pin traders and CMs know how to spot fake ones from legit and can CMs not accept fake pins in case a guest who is not aware that it is fake trade them?

 

[Bullseye1967]

Do pin traders and CMs know how to spot fake ones from legit and can CMs not accept fake pins in case a guest who is not aware that it is fake trade them?

They will take and pin that:

1, Is metal
2. Is stamped @Disney
3. Is in reasonable shape
4. Has a Mickey rubber back

Fakes or scrappers are traded all the time.