As of 2008, trading pins are no longer sold in stores outside of those located at the theme parks, and are only available through ordering them at the online Disney Store. Disney Shopping has offered limited edition pins on their website since Disney Auctions was closed.

History
Pins have always been present at Disney parks, but it wasn’t until 1999 as part of the Millennium Celebration that Paul Pressler introduced Disney Pin Trading at the Disneyland Resort. The next year, the craze spread to the Walt Disney World Resort, which has become the home of most Pin Trading events. Since then, Pin Trading has spread to Disneyland Resort Paris, Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Lines with each location creating their own pins and traditions. Although the trading of pins has been suspended in Tokyo Disney Resort, pins are still offered as prizes at carnival games, and a relatively small amount of pins are available.

Pin Etiquette

• Have Fun! Disney Pin Trading can be a great way to interact with and meet Cast Members and other Guests.
• The main criteria to judge whether a pin is tradable or not is that it must be a metal pin that represents a Disney Event, Location, Character or Icon. Some pins from our Operating Participants are also tradable, but must represent the Operating Participant in a way that has aspecific Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort affiliation.
• Pins should in good, undamaged condition.
• Trade one pin at a time, hand to hand, with the backs attached.
• Guests may trade a maximum of two pins with each Cast Member.
• Guests may trade only one pin of the same style with a Cast Member.
• When trading with Cast Members, Guests should offer a pin that is not already displayed on the Cast Member’s lanyard (A strap worn around the neck to carry and display pins.).
• Please refrain from touching another person’s pins or lanyard. If you need a closer look, ask the person wearing the lanyard if they can bring it into clearer view for you.
• Disney name pins may not be traded with Cast Members.
• Monies or gifts may not be exchanged or used in trade for a pin.
• In addition to the 12 pins on Cast lanyards, some Cast Members may wear a “Showcase” pin. These “Showcase” pins are for demonstrations to our Guests and are not available for trade.

*Rules are subject to change without notice.

Current Pin Trading
In all Disney resorts, a large variety of pins are available for purchase and trade. Most merchandise cast members wear pins on lanyards around their necks, or on a pin display card or hip lanyard (a 4” by 5” piece of colored nylon fabric) clipped to their belt. Additional cast members may wear lanyards if pin trading does not distract from their responsibilities; some managers choose to wear lanyards, but ride operators are not permitted. Some cast members wear a teal colored lanyard at Disneyland and a green lanyard at Walt Disney World with pins only tradable to children (12 years or younger).

Each lanyard contains around a dozen unique pins, and cast members must trade with guests if they are presented with an acceptable pin. The cast members may not decline a particular trade based on preference or rarity of the pin, but may decline if the pin is not acceptable or pin trading rules are not being observed.

Each guest may only trade two pins with the same cast member in one day. If the cast member gives his or her lanyard to a different cast member, a guest may trade again with the new cast member even though the physical lanyard is the same.

The specifics of what make a pin acceptable for trading varies from park to park. At Disneyland and California Adventure parks, the cast members are instructed not to accept pins that have a clasp or brooch-type backing (as with jewelry). This limitation is new as of 2008, and notable because it bars cast members from accepting pins that Disney specifically designed and made in the 1980s. The new rule about the pin backing type is printed on brochures and certain informational boards.

In Disneyland Paris, the cast members are instructed not to accept pins with any of the following origins: EuroDisney, Kodak, Arthus Bertrand, DisneyStore, Spain (also called sedesma pins), or Germany (also called ProPins). This is a partial list of the Disneyland Paris cast member instructions; the full instructions are in French, and worn on the cast members’ trading lanyards.

Pin Collectors can customize displaying their pins because of the wide variety of pin products Disney produces. Lanyards are available in a wide variety of colors and designs as are lanyard medals. There are many ways to store and display a collector’s pins: pin bags, notebooks, frames and cork boards. Collectors can be very creative in displaying their pins and are often easy to spot in the parks with their pin-covered vests, hats, lanyards and fanny packs.

Plan Ahead
If you plan on getting involved of Pin Trading try this tip. Before your next trip take a look at the Disney Store purchase a set or a group of extra cheap pins that you will want to trade off to keep your overall costs down.

References: Wikipedia

Here at D23Magic we want to help you make the most of your Disney experience. We have come up with 10 great ways to help you save money on your next trip.

So here are 10 ways to save money on a Walt Disney World Vacation now.

1. Airfare – There are two services we would like to suggest when purchasing your airfare with two special features. The first is Bing located here: Bing.com. Bing offers a great tool that predicts the price if its time to buy or wait. The next is Orbitz Flights and their Price Assurance, If another Orbitz customer books your itinerary for less, Orbitz issue a cash refund for the difference. Amounts range from $5 to $250 per airline ticket or $5 to $500 per hotel booking.

2. Trip Length – Plan your trip to ideally be at least 6 days long. Disney World has set their pricing structure such that you get the greatest benefit at about 6 days. The tickets are the most expensive part of your trip and choosing 6 days will help you maximize your value for ticket purchases. If you take a look at the ticket prices you will notice that the first 4 days are the most expensive. Anything after the first 4 days ($225.00) is approximately $4.00 more each additional day. Also consider purchasing your tickets ahead of time at the Disney World website to offset any price changes in the future and break up the expense over time.

3. Special Offers – Continue to review the Disney Special Offers section located here: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/ some current offers are: Get a $750 Disney Gift Card great for dining, entertainment, recreation and shopping when you get a non-discounted 5-night/6-day room and ticket package at select Disney Deluxe Resorts and Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts for most nights now to 3/27/10, and 4/11-8/14/2010.

4. Magical Express – If you are flying, use the MCO airport and take advantage of the Magical Express service. This service can save you well over a hundred dollars or more by not needing to get a Car Rental or pay for a town car or shuttle. Their is nothing better then bringing your luggage to the airport and it ending up in your room like magic.

5. Magic Your Way Base Tickets – Buy 6-7 day Magic Your Way Base Tickets. Stick to the Base tickets and avoid the temptation to purchase the $50 per person Park Hopper add-on. This is a feature that you can do without. Although it certainly does have its benefits, if you do a good job of planning out your trip ahead of time, the Park Hopper is not necessary. Saving $50/person here and there can really add up over the course of a trip. Remember that with a Base Ticket you can still come and go to the same park multiple times during the same day.

6. Parks – Stick to the 4 main parks to avoid the “extra expenses”. There are more activities in the 4 main parks than you can do in one week’s time. In order to minimize costs, skip the Water Parks, Miniature Golf, Bicycle and Watercraft Rentals and all of the extra expense activities that you can do at Disney World. If you want to get beyond the parks visit the Boardwalk or Downtown Disney.

7. Disney Dining Plan – If you have young children under 9 most definitely consider one of the Disney Dining Plan options. The fee for children is one of the best deals that you can get at Disney World. If your children are older, but you are concerned about the expense of the regular Dining Plan, you can also consider the Quick Service Dining plan where you get 2 Counter Service Meals plus 2 snacks per day plus a refillable mug. You can also utilize your snack credits to buy breakfast items like muffins and danishes to further reduce your food expenditures. For up to date prices goto http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/benefits/disney-dining-plan/

8. Souvenirs – Set an allowance for souvenirs and impulse purchases ahead of time. Determine your budget for those types of items before your trip and make sure that you and the kids stick to it. Buy glow sticks, toys, fans and gifts before you go. You can purchase all kinds of disney products at Wal-Mart. Buy them on the cheap and give them to your kids when you are there they will never know the difference.

9. Drive – Gas prices have come down since the all time highs a couple of years ago. If you have 4 people in your group to fly could easily cost $1000.00. It might take a little longer then flying but the saving is considerable. If your car is not up to a trip like that Orbitz Car Rentals have some great prices with unlimited miles. Just make sure to check if there are any restrictions on where you can drive.

10. Subscribe to D23Magic for Free – Click Here to get automatically updated from Google Feedburner. If you like our tips we provided you will love the future of D23Magic. We are going to try and give you the most up to date information with lots of new features in the future.

Here are some easy steps to ensure good weather and less crowds on your magical vacation to Disney World!

Decide what kind of weather you would like.

If you want to get a tan and spend part of the day by the pool, avoid November through beginning of February.
If you want to stay warm but dread 100% humidity and unbearably hot days, avoid July and August.

Next, is it important to you to be apart of Holiday festivities? Even though it is gorgeous at Christmas, as the parks decorate to the max and parades and events are countless, expect heavy crowds and colder weather. My favorite time of the year.

Very Busy: (reminder the parks will close down if they are overfilled)

June – School’s out, it’s the middle of the year and vacation time begins being used
August – The last of the summer months… Again, kids are still off and people want to get in their last minute vacations
December – Tons of time off for both students and employees. Lots of attractions draw crowds and families are together for holidays.

Avoid Holiday Weekends:

January – New Years Eve/New Years Day
February – Presidents Day Weekend
May – Memorial Day Weekend
July – 4th of July
Sept – Labor Day Weekend
October – Columbus Day Weekend
November – Thanksgiving/Black Friday

Avoid Summer months if possible:

Disney Resorts have MANY specials going on August-September. To get more people in the parks, they offer discounted hotel stay and free meal plans to guest staying in their resorts. As it may look desirable to anyone on a budget, the lines are extremely long and the weather is extremely hot!

The Best Times to go:

January – 1 week AFTER New Years until the end of the month
February – Until week 3
April – Every week but the week of Easter (if it falls in April)
May – Until week 2
September – Last week
October/November – Until Thanksgiving

Calendar Guide: