DLR Any word on 2015 DLR hidden mickeys?...has anyone seen what they will be?
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DLR Any word on 2015 DLR hidden mickeys?...has anyone seen what they will be?
- Thread starter dis22
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Again, I think this was a result of the west coast port slowdown. And I expect the pins were stuck on a ship they didn't know when would be unloaded. They knew they needed to do something and so they flip- flopped the pins.
Cheshirecat26
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well the port slowdown should start getting better in the next week. It will probably take over a month to get back to normal.
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My experience has been they are super stingy with the current wave. Then when a new wave gets released, they get stingy with that one, and flood the lanyards with the previous wave, meaning they have a lot of stock left. At least that's how it's been at WDW. So I don't think it's surprising they have Wave B pins to swap.
PinFanatic
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The reason each coast recently received the other coasts Wave B set from last year is due to Guests specifically asking to be able to trade for pins from the other coast. It is a test to see if Guests truly do like having this opportunity. New HM pins will be available for WDW, and also DLR, at the end of March/beginning of April.
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PinFanatic
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Also keep in mind they hold back on stock and so forth in order to use them in the 2-pin mystery bags that are sold beginning around the same time that the new HM pins come out.
PinFanatic
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I see it more as them caring a lot about the pin traders. Most traders do not have the opportunity to trade for HM pins from the other coast, unless they want scrappers. Disney is trying to make each set accessible on both coasts to appeal to traders.
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There already were sets of hidden mickeys that were available at both parks. By releasing ones unique to each coast it was intended so we could all trade with each other to get the ones we needed. By making all hidden mickeys available at all parks, it's simply another step to eliminating trading as a hobby for people outside of the parks. It's not a good thing.
ETA: I also do think it's far more likely due to new hidden mickeys not being ready - either due to production or shipping issues - than anything to do with "guest feedback" no matter what the CMs are being told/are saying.
ETA: I also do think it's far more likely due to new hidden mickeys not being ready - either due to production or shipping issues - than anything to do with "guest feedback" no matter what the CMs are being told/are saying.
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Romancing_Train
EVERYPONY calm the buck down!
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Dude really? I highly doubt they're out to just kill trading as a hobby.
I will probably never get to go to WDW so buying online is probably my only option, and i'm not the only one. Families save up for a lifetime to go. If they really want the DLR HMs what would be a better way for them to get them?
bookhugger
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It sure is taking a long time for the 2015 hidden mickeys to come out. Has it always taken this long?
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Dude, yes really. It's an old merchandise line with a trading aspect that's a hassle to keep going via cast members getting nothing but fakes in return.
By not previewing hidden mickeys last September at the event as they've done for years, it was a strong indication they were pulling back on them altogether. Steven Miller has said he's seen the artwork and they're "in production". So at this point it's unlikely we'll see more than one wave of hidden mickeys this year. Without hidden mickeys the cast lanyards are filled with 90%+ scrappers. Without real pins to trade for, the lanyard trading dies and the lanyards go away (I suspected that would happen this year with the lack of info on new hidden mickeys, but maybe they'll wait till next year.) Without lanyards in the parks, trading in the parks stops. Without trading in the parks, trading as a whole stops (see: vinylmations and how quickly they disappear). Although I'd argue that trading has greatly slowed and it's far more a buying/selling hobby these days anyway.
For many years when people "really wanted the DLR HMs" and weren't at DL, they TRADED for them online. With other pins they could get for trade through sources that no longer sell pins (i.e. DA, DS, etc.). That was a way to encourage intercontinental and international trading. And it was done intentionally to encourage such trading amongst non-locals. But everything now is cutting back on encouraging trading - from only one wave of new hidden mickeys, to cutting back the amount of pins you can bring to events, to charging for formerly free PTNs, etc.
You might not like the signs, but they're all there, taken in context in the larger view of how the hobby used to be vs. how it is treated today.
My friend is hoping that the HM for DLR may be related to the 60th anniversary. Does anyone recall if HMs have be related to any type of anniversary or big park event that happened that particular year?
I haven't been HM trading long, only this family trip I took so I could share the pin magic with my nieces and we did really well with pins from both Wave A and B from 2014. One cast member's lanyard was only 2014 Wave B pins, it was fantastic but it tough to deal with the 2 pin limit. I wanted her entire lanyard :lol:
I haven't been HM trading long, only this family trip I took so I could share the pin magic with my nieces and we did really well with pins from both Wave A and B from 2014. One cast member's lanyard was only 2014 Wave B pins, it was fantastic but it tough to deal with the 2 pin limit. I wanted her entire lanyard :lol:
I like that they are allowing people on both coasts to trade for the pins. If you like or collect the HM series at DLR but live closer to WDW, or not near a park at all, how are you supposed to get them ? While in the past the answer may have been trade, very few people these days are willing to trade hidden mickeys due to the low value/shipping costs, causing us to resort to purchasing them somewhere, wondering if we got fakes, or the person traded fakes to sell them for profit etc....
Maybe this is the business side of me, but i see it as a.) a way to respond to guest feedback, b.) a way to cut costs if disney were to produce one set of pins to be used at both parks instead of having to create 2 unique groups each year c.) way to perhaps cut down on some of the resale value. More supply of a set means less people resorting to purchasing them and thus less of an incentive to get the latest set and sell if guests can just trade for it later themselves.
It would be great if I could trade them cross coast, but that just doesn't happen as much I find.
Also, I checked the boards before I left for disney this year, and the first post I found from last year of someone saying they spotted the new HMs was in late march/April. So we're getting close...
Maybe this is the business side of me, but i see it as a.) a way to respond to guest feedback, b.) a way to cut costs if disney were to produce one set of pins to be used at both parks instead of having to create 2 unique groups each year c.) way to perhaps cut down on some of the resale value. More supply of a set means less people resorting to purchasing them and thus less of an incentive to get the latest set and sell if guests can just trade for it later themselves.
It would be great if I could trade them cross coast, but that just doesn't happen as much I find.
Also, I checked the boards before I left for disney this year, and the first post I found from last year of someone saying they spotted the new HMs was in late march/April. So we're getting close...
This thread is seriously stressing me out. It was 100% the Port of Los Angeles strike that kept the pins from being release on schedule. I hate when people start bashing Disney about lies and inncorrect rumors. Disney is supports pins and pin traders more than ever right now. They are trying to reinstate Pin trading nights on a regular basis. They just made a deal today with a Canadian port to avoid LA in the future. The new HMs are on the way as of today.
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Wishing for a thing doesn't make it so.
Are there dedicated pin cruises? Daily instructional Pin Talks at MK by Scoop where he gives away pins to attendees? Free monthly (I think WDW even had bi-weekly) PTNs with announced-in-advance pin releases and trade boards? Multiple pin events at multiple WDW parks held multiple times a year? Pin-only events (not "merchandise" events) for DL with pin games, constantly refreshed pin boards filled with tons of AP and LE pins, and large amounts of great themed pins for sale? Unlimited board trading at pin events? Ability to bring as many pins as you want to events for trade? Free public trading days held concurrently with the EPCOT pin events so there's an even bigger pool of people to trade with? Monthly hidden mickey releases previewed months ahead of time? Advanced information provided timely on all upcoming retail park pin releases (other than surprise pins) and kept updated on odpt.com? High quality, low edition pins for sale on a daily or weekly basis to anyone, no matter where you live, via Disney Auctions or DisneyShopping.com? Pins available via catalog sales? In Gallery stores? During cast pin parties? CM lanyards filled with authentic Disney pins? Dedicated CM "Pinbassadors" for each park to guide the pin programs for each coast?
And on and on of what we used to have, but no longer do - and that's all an incredible loss - and I miss it all so much. But the high point of support for the hobby was sadly many years ago. What we have left are remnants. Enough remnants to keep it going for some still hanging in there or for those who don't know the history of what was truly offered during the heyday of pins. (It's such a shame that DizPins, which held all of that history for us as a community, is gone.) There was SO MUCH happening in the pin world back in the day, that nobody cared what happened daily or weekly or monthly at DSF unless it was a release they collected. Marquee pins wound up in the $3 sales bins after months sitting on the racks and would be used to trade onto boards or CM lanyards since they were just cheap pins nobody wanted. Now, people seem to think DSF is the only game in town. So sad when you think about the DA pins that would sell for $20 or $30 retail that are unbelievably better in quality and were available to everyone online, with BTs only the palest imitation of what DA pins were.
If I was starting out now, I wouldn't choose pin trading as a hobby - the market is filled with too many fakes, the best older pins have long since been in "forever" collections and the market has bubbled on anything "new" and "hot". I might still collect pins - directly purchased from visits to the park - as the wonderful souvenirs and little pieces of art that they are. But as a hobby, it's way too mature and oversaturated and there is no counteracting that. We won't go back to the days of daily, weekly and monthly free support of the hobby to keep up the enthusiasm. It'll just be these last ditch attempts to keep it going until even charging for entry to PTNs is not cost-effective and they give that up again too.
You can blame the lack of new hidden mickeys on the current port problem - but it doesn't explain why the concept art wasn't even previewed six months ago at the September pin event as it had been in years prior.
It's sad and it's upsetting both to say and to see, but it is a very different pin world than what it used to be back when there was so much more offered.
With all that said, I'm still holding on. I started pins because they were part of my larger Wonderland collection until they came to largely define my Wonderland collection. I'm too close to complete after 16 years of collecting to stop now. But I was lucky and started when pins started with just a small break in the early years (which is when the pins I'm still missing are from!). I got to see so much of the best of what was offered even if I couldn't afford to go to all the events - I had enough of a taste of everything to have known the highlights. It's just sad you all didn't get to see what it was like during that time because it was a pretty amazing experience to live through - when it was all just so... magical.
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Wishing for a thing doesn't make it so.
Are there dedicated pin cruises? Daily instructional Pin Talks at MK by Scoop where he gives away pins to attendees? Free monthly (I think WDW even had bi-weekly) PTNs with announced-in-advance pin releases and trade boards? Multiple pin events at multiple WDW parks held multiple times a year? Pin-only events (not "merchandise" events) for DL with pin games, constantly refreshed pin boards filled with tons of AP and LE pins, and large amounts of great themed pins for sale? Unlimited board trading at pin events? Ability to bring as many pins as you want to events for trade? Free public trading days held concurrently with the EPCOT pin events so there's an even bigger pool of people to trade with? Monthly hidden mickey releases previewed months ahead of time? Advanced information provided timely on all upcoming retail park pin releases (other than surprise pins) and kept updated on odpt.com? High quality, low edition pins for sale on a daily or weekly basis to anyone, no matter where you live, via Disney Auctions or DisneyShopping.com? Pins available via catalog sales? In Gallery stores? During cast pin parties? CM lanyards filled with authentic Disney pins? Dedicated CM "Pinbassadors" for each park to guide the pin programs for each coast?
And on and on of what we used to have, but no longer do - and that's all an incredible loss - and I miss it all so much. But the high point of support for the hobby was sadly many years ago. What we have left are remnants. Enough remnants to keep it going for some still hanging in there or for those who don't know the history of what was truly offered during the heyday of pins. (It's such a shame that DizPins, which held all of that history for us as a community, is gone.) There was SO MUCH happening in the pin world back in the day, that nobody cared what happened daily or weekly or monthly at DSF unless it was a release they collected. Marquee pins wound up in the $3 sales bins after months sitting on the racks and would be used to trade onto boards or CM lanyards since they were just cheap pins nobody wanted. Now, people seem to think DSF is the only game in town. So sad when you think about the DA pins that would sell for $20 or $30 retail that are unbelievably better in quality and were available to everyone online, with BTs only the palest imitation of what DA pins were.
If I was starting out now, I wouldn't choose pin trading as a hobby - the market is filled with too many fakes, the best older pins have long since been in "forever" collections and the market has bubbled on anything "new" and "hot". I might still collect pins - directly purchased from visits to the park - as the wonderful souvenirs and little pieces of art that they are. But as a hobby, it's way too mature and oversaturated and there is no counteracting that. We won't go back to the days of daily, weekly and monthly free support of the hobby to keep up the enthusiasm. It'll just be these last ditch attempts to keep it going until even charging for entry to PTNs is not cost-effective and they give that up again too.
You can blame the lack of new hidden mickeys on the current port problem - but it doesn't explain why the concept art wasn't even previewed six months ago at the September pin event as it had been in years prior.
It's sad and it's upsetting both to say and to see, but it is a very different pin world than what it used to be back when there was so much more offered.
With all that said, I'm still holding on. I started pins because they were part of my larger Wonderland collection until they came to largely define my Wonderland collection. I'm too close to complete after 16 years of collecting to stop now. But I was lucky and started when pins started with just a small break in the early years (which is when the pins I'm still missing are from!). I got to see so much of the best of what was offered even if I couldn't afford to go to all the events - I had enough of a taste of everything to have known the highlights. It's just sad you all didn't get to see what it was like during that time because it was a pretty amazing experience to live through - when it was all just so... magical.
This is not directed at anyone in particular, only my thoughts on what I see going on, first hand at WDW....
I don't agree that pin trading is going away, but everything mentioned above, that is now gone, was caused by the pin traders lack of self control. While I'd like to point a finger at a 'few' bad apples, I can't. It's more than a few.. Over the years (the last 15). I have watched the pin traders complain at every event, complain on-line about pretty much anything and everything Disney did with pins and the greediness of invited guests of CMs at Cast sales (the cast parties ended because at the very last one, a certain group had a huge mountain of pins and left little of anything good, for anyone else, who had been standing in a very long and hot line..and yes, I was there, I saw it. There was fighting and arguing over said huge mound of pins.) Why would Disney want to continue with such bad behavior from the guests???
While some of it was in the very beginning, I could understand, as it was a learning curve for Disney and the new frenzy they created. But after attending countless events, free to the hard ticket events, I have heard the complaints (and saw the mayhem at the Elsa PTN--I was so ashamed of the actions of the pin traders) grow to where I'm surprised WDW (I can't speak for Disneyland) would even hold the $10 PTN they did last week. I enjoyed it and was happy they decided to continue.
The fakes are a whole other ballgame. I constantly see the 'regulars' weather locals, CMs off the clock, or out of staters who go regularly, bring tons of fakes and trade them to the CMs for the CM's best authentic pins. Again, I see this first hand, weekly. Some of these people I see week after week at the parks, at PTNs, at the trading tables and trading on social media, and don't seem to have any problem trading fakes to CMs, when they see me standing there. I know some of them know me!! I'm not new to this hobby. It's horrible to watch. And I won't make excuses for newbies or people who 'just don't know'. If you get a new $400 Coach purse for $25, you KNOW it's fake...or very, very hot. What makes $.50 pins any different?? I can count on one hand how many authentic pins I see people put back on CM lanyards, in a month's time...maybe.... That's pretty bad stats.
Just a suggestion, if the community wants to see improvements, it will have to come from us. When visiting WDW, bring the real deal to trade to CMs (pay it forward...start a new trend), thank the CMs for wearing a lanyard, thank Guest Services for continuing to offer pin trading at whatever level (if you don't live here, write a letter, email..). Thank them for allowing Scoop to at least continue to trade pins with guests, and super good pins at that.
And most of all...mind your manners. Kindness goes a long way!
Ditto to the above-
Now days all disney hears is the whining and complaining- Complain there isn't new mickey pins, complains they don't like them, complains they cant find them even when they don't like them,complains of all the fakes yet dropping fakes (yes it happens) complains there isn't a trade night, complains when its not a night they like, complains when it doesn't fit their vision of events, complains it was to crowded, complained if there was a pin they didn't get, complains if there isn't a pin etc etc to the point I can see Dis sitting there going, they will complain if we don't have trade nights, they'll complain if we do so why we bothering to spend the money to host them when all we will hear is complaints...
It seems to me that now days I'd estimate 70-90% of all the trades FOR mickeys are with fakes which then are flipped to the secondary market for $$ or nicer pins- I could see why disney doesnt feel the need to support them as much as that means the cast lanyards are going to be 'junkier' faster than usual and so its a vicious circle...
Now days all disney hears is the whining and complaining- Complain there isn't new mickey pins, complains they don't like them, complains they cant find them even when they don't like them,complains of all the fakes yet dropping fakes (yes it happens) complains there isn't a trade night, complains when its not a night they like, complains when it doesn't fit their vision of events, complains it was to crowded, complained if there was a pin they didn't get, complains if there isn't a pin etc etc to the point I can see Dis sitting there going, they will complain if we don't have trade nights, they'll complain if we do so why we bothering to spend the money to host them when all we will hear is complaints...
It seems to me that now days I'd estimate 70-90% of all the trades FOR mickeys are with fakes which then are flipped to the secondary market for $$ or nicer pins- I could see why disney doesnt feel the need to support them as much as that means the cast lanyards are going to be 'junkier' faster than usual and so its a vicious circle...
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