Disney World is more than just attractions, characters, and fun snacks — although the latter is one of our favorite parts about it.
Cinderella Castle
There are all kinds of magical extras around the parks, and many of them are free. From pirate scavenger hunts to pixie dustings, if you know where to look, you can find tons of experiences that can really add special memories to your trip. However, one of those extras that used to be a must-do for many has gotten a little lackluster lately.
Throughout Disney World, pin trading is alive and well-ish. This mostly free activity (you do have to bring a pin to trade if you want to get one in return) is located all across the parks, and at one point was a well-loved activity that could add another layer of fun to your park day. But lately, it isn’t quite the same as it once was.
Pin trading board
For one, pin trading used to be a much better way to connect with Cast Members. In the past, Cast Members would wear a lanyard full of pins that you could trade with, but after the COVID-19 closures of 2020, pin trading boards are used instead.
Haunted Mansion pin trading board
Typically, these pin trading boards — which are mostly Mickey-shaped — are located in retail locations across the four parks, Disney Springs, and at front desks at resorts. These boards are available for those who are still looking to pin trade, but it’s just not quite the same.
Pin trading board in Frontierland
However, even if you don’t mind the lack of lanyards, pin trading in Disney World is not as magical as it once was for one major reason — scrapper pins. These fakes (non-official Disney pins) have started to overtake the pin trading boards, so very few of the pins you’ll see are the real deal.
Selection of pins
Unfortunately, Disney used to sort through and get rid of these, but it seems that process has gone by the wayside. Now, even in the midst of all of these fakes, you can still find some gems here and there. And if you go into it knowing what to expect, you can still have a good time trying to find something worthwhile to you — just look at this simple Figment pin we found recently.
Figment pin!
But, we do miss this experience as it was a few years ago. If only Disney would sort through these scrapper pins again and bring back the lanyards! Still, if you’re lucky, you might spot some really fun ways that Cast Members are participating in pin trading. For instance, you might run into Pinelope!
Cast Members create magic in EPCOT
This pin-trading trash can was in EPCOT on one of our trips this year, and the Cast Members made it a really unique experience. They asked us some trivia about the park and when we got a question right, we got to see and trade with their best pins (which were hiding under post-it notes). That Ursula double-chin pin still ranks as one of our favorites!
Pinelope
So, keep an eye out for these types of extras and you might still get some fun pin-trading memories. In the meantime, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news.
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My son and I love pin trading whenever we go to Walt Disney World. He was really excited to complete a set of the Mickey & Gang Skull & Crossbone pins. We have even created a Disney Pin corkboard at home as decoration in our living room to display the special pins we have.
A question I have is how do I spot “scrapper” pins when I’m at a pin trading station? And I guess a sub-question to that is, if you like the pin, does it matter?
Hi Marcus! It’s getting harder and harder to spot the differences between the real and fake pins. A couple of things you could try is to see if the pin is magnetic or not, but some of the fake pins are magnetic as well now so that’s not always telling. You definitely want to look for the Disney seal on the back of the pin though and make sure the spacing doesn’t look weird. You can also test the enamel by running a finger over it to see if there are any dips indicating a cheap enamel that. The colors on the real pins are also more vibrant than a lot of the fakes which can look a little dull and sometimes the images on the fake pins may look a little distorted. You also want to see if there are two holes, one on each side of the post on the back of the pin. As for the question of if it matters as long as you like the pin, that’s going to vary by each individual. For me, personally, if I really loved a pin and I didn’t plan on using it for a trade, I wouldn’t mind if it was real or fake just to display it, but if I pick up a pin that I think I may want to trade eventually, the authenticity would be incredibly important to me.
I wonder, over the course of time, how many different pins have been made. 20,000 different pins? 25,000?