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Pin Trading at WDW

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Pin Trading at WDW
speedwaystar1

speedwaystar1

UK Disney Fan
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Hello All
I'm going to be visiting WDW for two weeks in March(9-23rd)
Is it worth me bringing all my traders ? I've heard the cast lanyards are a wasteland of scrapper pins and whilst I don't mind losing a booster pin or two I've got a few LE pins which I'd be looking to trade with other traders . I do plan to see plenty of the parks so my actual trading time would be limited . Is there a specific park and day where the traders gather ?
 
I had a friend who went last weekend and had a lot of success in finding old rack pins. She told me that there are a lot of pin trading boards out and about in random spots, and those are always fun to stumble upon. That being said, brush up on your scrapper identification. I wouldn't bring all your traders. For a two-week stay, I'd say try to carry around bags of 10-15 pins (depending on their size) in your pocket. Depending on how many traders you have will dictate how many bags you bring, but I don't think you'll need more than 50. (However, this is all up to you.)
 
I have around 40-50 which aren't exactly high demand (booster pins etc) for CM trading and maybe another 20-30 better quality (LE or recent DLP releases) which will probably stay behind . I suppose if I do run out I can always pick up a few mystery packs to bolster my numbers .
 
Hi there are a lot of scrappers on there lanyards but there is also the hidden Mickey pins that are real but some are fake I managed to get all the up ballon hidden mickeys which I found to be very easy also take your UK limited edtion pins as I sat my pin book down on the epcot tables and got some of my wants from there some of them I got was podm lady and the tramp and princess and the frog pins that I've been looking for for awhile what you do is lay your book down and people will come over to have a look and ask to look at there pins if there is a pin they want but some times there was traders already there so I would just go over and look at there pins rather than putting my pins down on a table I found them there on a weekend in the afternoons but you can still get people there during the week but not as many hope this helps and have a lovely holiday
 
Also go to the character premiere store in the premium outlets at bothe ends of international drive as they do disney merchandise in there that is last years stock and is marked down loads and you can get pins there really cheap and it's an official disney store I brought the frozen summer of fun pin in there for $2.99 they also had starter packs and star wars pins and flower and garden pins there also hope this helps
 
I always bring them all, especially if I'm going that long. However, I don't bring my LE traders. I tend to just bring hidden mickeys and cast lanyard, or buy a pack when I'm down there to trade. I've gotten a few old rack pins and some LE's when I'm down there. You really have to know what's a scrapper, though. You can ask them to test it on the magnet thing to take off security strips, and they'll let you analyze them too. :) Good luck, and have an amazing vacation!
 
I'd probably take all your 40-50 CM pins. Maybe bring 1 or 2 LE's in case you run into another collector, but honestly if you run into another collector if you just give them your info you'll probably have a better chance of making a good trade that way.

That being said, here is the complicated way that I organize my traders while I'm in the parks:

(Note: This my style of park trading. It might not work for you specifically, but I figure I'll give a shot in explaining it anyway. Granted, I have never stayed at WDW for more than five days, but this is how I stay organized when I bring about 30-50 traders.)

If you have 40 traders do the following:

1. Put pins into groups of 10 based on their value. Put each group into a zip-lock bag.

2. Label the bags 1-4, with 1 being the "these pins aren't worth anything to me" pins, and 5 being "I might want to hang onto these" pins.

3. Bring bags 1 and 2 with you into the park. Maybe keep one in your pocket and one in your bag. (So you have about 20 pins on you at all times.) These will be your traders.

4. When trading, keep a third ziplock bag for the pins you've traded for.

5. If you have time, that night go through the pins you've traded for and deem if they are: A) Definite keepers, or B) I may trade these again.
(If you can't do this every night, try to do it as often as you can.)

6A. If they are keepers, put them into a special bag/box named "keepers".
6B. If they are trade agains, put them into bag 1-4 depending on their value.

7. Once you run out of pins in bags 1&2, if you have the time go through bags 3 and 4 for more traders. If you don't have the time, just grab bags 3 and 4 to take with you, and just be conscious of what pins you're taking out.

Or, if they're all just "yeah I don't care about these pins" pins, then just grab whatever bags you want and keep your trades separate! Then, once you go through all the pins you brought, go over the ones you've traded for and organize those as stated in steps 5 and 6. Keep going until you run out of pins!

Sorry if that was complicated or if that was unwanted advice. ;-; The real important thing to remember is have fun. And I hope you have a wonderful vacation!
 
I'm going soon too! I can't wait! Hopefully you can find some cool older rack pins like others mentioned earlier.

Last time I went to WDW, I actually posted up a thread calling all FL traders to see if they wanted to meet up with me for a bit and do some pin trading. I met some really awesome / great people & did some really good trades that I still have in my collection. IDK if it's something you want to do, but just a suggestion.
 
I was there early in December and there were 3 or 4 traders in Epcot by the fountains Thurs and Friday. Check with guest services at all the parks and the conceriges at all the hotels.
 
I've just read that only a few shops sell limited edition pins at WDW .
I know it's Pin Traders at DTD , can anyone tell me which the shops are in each of the parks please ?
 
There's a pin store in

Magic Kingdom in frontier land

hollywood studios on sunset boulevard

animal Kingdom they only have a cart there

epcot there's a big pin store behind the epcot ball and this place is the place to put your book down on there tables you don't have to ask to do this and this store has the most pins

pin traders down town disney is the biggest pin store

hope this helps
 
Damiens pins said:
There's a pin store in

Magic Kingdom in frontier land

hollywood studios on sunset boulevard

animal Kingdom they only have a cart there

epcot there's a big pin store behind the epcot ball and this place is the place to put your book down on there tables you don't have to ask to do this and this store has the most pins

pin traders down town disney is the biggest pin store

hope this helps
Click to expand...

Awesome thanks :D
 
Great information ! It depends on what you are looking for. It's definitely worth keeping some traders on you, though, because cast members all over the parks at different places have lanyards and you will pick up some pins if you are just having fun! Wearing a lanyard with a few of your traders is fine, and the zip lock bag idea is a way to be sure you have enough at any given place, since it is never convenient to go back to the room. Other than Epcot (when weekends offer the best selection), it's not necessary to schedule a time to trade, since CM's have their lanyards all the time, for the most part. I just have fun and watch for pins that I might want whenever the opportunity arises.
 
Damiens pins said:
There's a pin store in

Magic Kingdom in frontier land

hollywood studios on sunset boulevard

animal Kingdom they only have a cart there

epcot there's a big pin store behind the epcot ball and this place is the place to put your book down on there tables you don't have to ask to do this and this store has the most pins

pin traders down town disney is the biggest pin store

hope this helps
Click to expand...

The pin cart at Animal Kingdom is at Island Mercantile.

Don't forget the gift shop at the Contemporary. That shop seems to have limited edition pins longer than the other places.

Also, at EPCOT, the festival center also has Flower & Garden pins!
 
Some further information!
There is a pin book at every single Guest Services location in the parks.
Pin Boards:
DTD: Pin Traders last time I checked opens at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Just remember that the Marketplace is a pain in the butt to get to from any available parking destination.
Epcot: Pin Stroller at Stroller rentals, Pin Spaceship Earth at the shop adjacent to the entrance to Spaceship Earth.
Magic Kingdom: Stroller at Stroller rentals under the train station, pin duffy at the Frontierland Trading Post.
Hollywood Studios: Package pickup to the right of the entrance to the park, Camera shop.
Animal Kingdom: Two pin trees outside the shop to the left of the tree of life.

There may be more so don't hesitate to ask in any shop you go into. They're also constantly changing their location, but that's where everything was as of two weeks ago.
 
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While there is only a cart at Animal Kingdom, I found some AWESOME pins there! It's typically parked on the right hand side on the way to Mount Everest.
 
Oh, and I also had a ton of luck in the big circus tent gift shop near Dumbo in Magic Kingdom.
 
I agree about the Contemporary- If you are already going to the Magic Kingdom, it is worth the Monorail ride over there to check out what they have at the Fantasia gift shop on the 4th floor.
 
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