Another New Member from Texas
Eh, depends on where in Houston you’re driving from. Houston is huge. It takes us about 4 hours to drive from Houston to Dallas from where we are located. It was longer driving from CA to Texas! That was a 24 hour drive and I’ve made that trip 3 times. We make frequent day trips to Waco and Dallas from Houston. When we lived in SoCal we made frequent trips to Las Vegas to visit family so a 4 hour drive is normal to us. I’d rather drive from Anaheim to Las Vegas any day over Anaheim to Los Angeles.
People complain here all the time about traffic on 59 in Houston and I politely respond with, “you’ve clearly never been stuck in traffic in Los Angeles.” At least when there’s traffic here in Texas it is still moving generally. Traffic in LA is either stop and go or completely stand still.
Woo! Another hockey fan in Texas! And Dak is a beast! I agree with the baseball games not being the same. We see the Astros play the Angels whenever we can here at Minute Maid Park and then I’ll go back to Angel Stadium and it’ll be night and day. Minute Maid is fantastic but there’s something nostalgic about being at the stadium you grew up going to. My wife and I grew up in OC so we root for the Angels but the rest of our families grew up in LA so they’re all Dodgers fans. I’ll let it slide that you’re a Dodgers fan. As long as you’re not a Kings fan we can play nice.
Many of the cast members are wearing lanyards. What is considered good pin etiquette is really just common sense manners: don't reach for the lanyard or stare at it, but instead ask the cast member if you can see his/her pins. And of course, never grab a pin off the lanyard; ask to trade (or politely decline) and hand your pin to the cast member with the back on (unless otherwise requested). It's really very easy and most cast members will be more than happy to help you along the way.
The pin boards usually are either on the counter or behind it. If you ask nicely, most cast members will be more than happy to bring them out for you. They also might be found in the gift shops and behind the registration desks at the hotels. Sometimes they might have pin books in addition to or instead of pin boards. The same trading principles generally apply - no more than two trades per guest per day.
Hi and Welcome!
Of course you can continue to ask questions, that's the best way to learn. In general, I would say that the pin boards and books do tend to have the same pins as you will find on lanyards. And unfortunately, the same risk of scrappers/fakes (which are not the same thing, by the way) does apply.OH! Good info - if I may continue to ask questions... do the pin boards basically have the same pins as on lanyards? Same risk of scrappers/fakes? I’ll be the lurker hovering around CMs trying to covertly spy as they trade with guests... Thank you for the info!
I just had a new idea. Y'all send me the ice cream and I will send you pins. Like if I send you a $50 pin, y'all go to HEB and get me a bunch of blue bell. Oh could trade for jardine's seasoning. Lol.
Blue bell is out if their mind. They want big bucks to send that gold to California.
Thank you! And why can not one other place duplicate a cheeseburger without the burger?? I’ll always be an INO loyalist, but still...
Five Guys does! It's on their regular menu. And you can add all the veggies you want.
We're nowhere near Texas but I'm married to a Southern CA transplant. Every time we go back to visit his family, he tolerates the traffic less and less. And we always get In and Out.
Of course you can continue to ask questions, that's the best way to learn. In general, I would say that the pin boards and books do tend to have the same pins as you will find on lanyards. And unfortunately, the same risk of scrappers/fakes (which are not the same thing, by the way) does apply.
But here's the thing about trading with CMs: the pins a CM is wearing aren't his/her own. Those pins 'belong to Mickey' and as such, that CM has to trade according to 'Mickey's rules.' Basically, a pin just has to be 'official,' meaning it has to have the Disney back stamp(s), and the CM can't already have that particular pin on his/her lanyard. That rule might get softened a little for trading from the pin boards and books. I believe, depending upon size of pin boards, CMs may or may not accept duplicate pins on a pin board. When trading from a book, generally, the pin you're trading just shouldn't be on that particular page. It has been a while since I have traded in the parks and I don't know how strictly the CMs are enforcing these rules; they may be enforcing them strictly or not at all.
When it comes to scrappers/fakes (and this is one of the hard parts of pin trading), CMs have to accept them because, according to the limited rules, they meet the criteria for 'legit' Disney trading pins. The thing is, very few CMs know (or care) whether the pins actually are legit because they aren't actually pin collectors/traders. They're just wearing and trading 'Mickey's pins.' You hand them a pin, they hand you a pin, you both go about your day. All they know about pins is that they're shiny pieces of metal with pointy backs attached that make otherwise intelligent people go stark staring bonkers. A few pin-knowledgable CMs will recognize a scrapper/fake pin and after accepting it in a trade, set it aside to be taken out of circulation (destroyed), but I'm finding that those CMs are few and far between. The best way to avoid scrappers/fakes is to educate yourself, try to avoid trading for them, and accept that no matter what, you're probably going to accidentally trade for a few anyway.
You're so welcome. CMs are very friendly and easy to talk to. Just go up and politely ask to see their pins. If you see something you like, make the trade. If not, politely decline. They don't own the pins and they won't take offense one way or the other. But it's all about the most important thing: having fun. Pins are supposed to be fun and make you happy: never forget that.Interesting info, I wondered if the CMs had company pins or their own. Makes sense. They probably only needed to load up the lanyard once and now just trade all day, every day, and always have the same amount, no need to stock up with new ones. I’ll be extra careful (and it’ll probably take me until day 3 before I decide to actually do a single trade) (classic introvert). New-to-me info on not allowing dupes on their lanyards, good to know. Thank you for all of this!!
I just had a new idea. Y'all send me the ice cream and I will send you pins. Like if I send you a $50 pin, y'all go to HEB and get me a bunch of blue bell. Oh could trade for jardine's seasoning. Lol.
Blue bell is out if their mind. They want big bucks to send that gold to California.
Y'all are crazy. Whataburger is also fresh meat and so much more of it. In and out has ok flavor, but I hate that I have to get a 3x3. It's kinda be if crazy that people think a 2oz patty is ok. That's 1/8 lb. even McDonalds has fresh 1/4lb burger now. Lol. I wish I could post the little old lady asking... Where is the beef??