I learned about Disney Pins on my last visit to Disney World, which was a few years before Drake was born. While at the Magic Kingdom, I struck up a conversation with a random cast member when I noticed a lanyard around their neck covered with all kinds of pins. I was curious and asked and learned how the Disney Pinning tradition was born.

The tradition started in October of 1999 when Disney was celebrating its Millennial Celebration, and has taken off since then as hobby for the young and the old. Disney sells pins with their characters and different Disney themes (rides, parks, characters, etc.) and you can trade pins in parks with cast members, as well as other guests who are pin collecting. There are a myriad of pins out there as well sites with information, pictures of all the pins, places to meet others to trade and buy, etc. I’ve heard Disney hosts some pin trading events in their parks once in a while, and individuals also host events for traders all over the world.

I found a ton of informational websites on Pin trading including:

I think this might be a cute activity for Drake to trade and find pins he likes. Cast members accept all trades regardless of the value of the pins being traded, which is nice since I know pins like any collectible can range in prices. Disney also has certain cast members only trade with children (green lanyards), so that adult collectors can’t take all the good pins.

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Since we will be trading away our pins to receive other ones, I found this ebay seller who sells pins for $1 each (plus free shipping!) and got a few for Drake as a starter set. Amazon also sells larger lots of pins if you want a bigger starting set. I also purchased a lanyard for him to wear his pins when we go into the park (he choose this Stitch one). This is a lot cheaper to do than going into the parks and purchasing pins at their regular sale prices, especially when you will be giving these pins up to receive other ones.

I’m hoping Drake will enjoy this activity as I think it’s a great way to interact with cast members, let him pick pins of his liking, and be a neat and inexpensive souvenir to take home with us. If he really likes it, I might let him buy a special pin at Disney as well to commemorate his first trip. Maybe it will be something we can continue to do as he grows.


Drake’s pins for trading