Hi!! I’m Fiona, the oldest kid of Family Galavant. I love to shop and buy souvenirs on vacation, especially in Disney World.  I am 13 and wanted something cool and different (Disney charm bracelet and stuffed Disney babies were my favorite when I was younger).  I stumbled on Disney Pin Trading and thought that it sounded fun. My sister, brother and I all did Disney Pin Trading on our spring break trip and had so much fun collecting and trading Disney Pins.  This post tells you how to pin trade and my key tips & tricks.

How to Trade Disney Pins

1. Find a Cast Member with a lanyard, board, or purse with pins attached
2. Ask to trade for one of their pins in exchange for one of your pins. They will usually say yes if they don’t have your pin.
3. Boom, you just pin traded!

Disney Pin Trading Top 5 Tips & Tricks

1. Get a lanyard!! It is so much better having something around your neck than tons of holes in your backpacks or purses. I got my lanyard at Publix (grocery store) for around $2.95 compared to the $20 you pay for an official Disney lanyard & pouch. Honestly, there is no difference because they all just end up being covered in pins. We found the biggest selection of lanyards at the Fantasia in the Contemporary Resort.
2. Buy a starter pack of pins. It can be crazy expensive especially if you decide to only buy single pins. One pack of pins (6-7 pins) is around $30.00, compared to the $60-70 you’ll spend if you buy 6-7 single pins. But, don’t totally reject a single pin because they can be fun (I bought the Finding Dory Otters Cuddle Party Disney Pin that I love and didn’t want to trade).  The Disney Character Warehouse at the Orlando Premium Outlet sells pins that are cheap and good for trading.
3. Don’t buy a pack of pins in which you like every pin inside. I wish somebody had told me this tip. If you like every pin in the pack, you may not want to trade any of them which defeats the whole purpose of pin trading.
4. Don’t be too devastated if you can’t find the pin you’re looking for from a cast member. Most Cast Members have the same sets of pins so I suggest collecting one of their sets. My sister collected their Pennants pins. Also, most of their pins are parts of cast member exclusive sets, which are also known as Hidden Mickeys (they have mickey ears on the pins).
5. Look for the special pin trading spots where all Cast Members trade and they have a huge selection of pins. Their locations are below:

• Magic Kingdom-Frontier Pin Trading Post and Ursa’s Major Minor Mart (near Space Mountain)
• Epcot– Pin Central in Future World (near Mouse Gear)
• Hollywood Studios– Couldn’t find one! Leave suggestions below
• Animal Kingdom– Couldn’t find one! Leave suggestions below
• Typhoon Lagoon– Singapore Falls (giant gift shop near the wave pool)
• Blizzard Beach– Beach Haus(gift shop near the entrance)

 

What are your best Disney Pin Trading tips?

Fiona