UPDATE MARCH 2015:  Since these posts are still live on my blog, I thought I should let you know that DSF has done a remarkably better job with their pin releases in general.  They have also raised their LE on many of their pins which has been useful.  The popularity of DSF (now DSS or GSF) pins continues to exceed supply, but to the credit of the Disney Studio Store, they have really attempted many different ways to improve the situation.  Read about the new Disney Studio Store pin releases here in my blog post!

In the last blog post, I shared a pin trading event experience that wasn’t the best.  This time, we’ll read about a better pin trading event experience that I think you’ll enjoy…if you can get in the doors – Disney Soda Fountain (DSF) events.  The DSF events have gotten more and more crazy just in the past year, so I can’t vouch for them currently and would appreciate any feedback, but as it’s become increasingly more difficult to get in the door, the folks at DSF have been trying to be proactive with it and because they do run a good event.  Just read up on their Facebook page about what’s going on to see if it’s even worth trying to get in.  From the comments section, there are a LOT of unhappy people which is too bad because the event itself is great.  I believe that even if you don’t get to purchase any of the new pins, you are still able to attend and participate in the pin trading and other things they have going on.  It’s too bad that pin trading at DSF has become so negative because the pins are beautiful, often feature hard to find characters, and the sundaes are top-notch.

Pin Trading Events at Disney Soda Fountain

Having only been to one of these, I have to admit that it might be a LOT worse as lately pin buying at DSF has become a virtual nightmare.  To the credit of the DSF folks, they have really moved forward in making improvements to their pin releases to make it more fair and easier for more people to participate.  I really credit the fact they listen to their customers and try to accommodate them. Now when will they raise their LE (Limited Edition) size from 300?  That’s anybody’s guess.  But if you are able to attend one of these pin trading events and can get in the door, there are lots of goodies to be had.  On top of the pins that are being released that day (again, still a nightmare to get these), you can also get a pin traders sundae pin with the purchase of a sundae – and at 7am you may only want to actually eat one.  The funny thing is that the pin trader sundae pins will often sell out at these events as people will buy multiple sundaes and ask them to hold the sundae.  Seriously.  I’ve done it too.  The one time I went last year, they ran out of whatever pin was being released with the sundae and had to move on to their next pin which was a beautiful Jessica pin which also ran out immediately.  But the event itself was fun.  You can pin trade with fellow traders; DSF offers door prizes (free); they have pin boards for trading; and they even had a mystery pin bag with a guaranteed LE pin (usually not a great one)!  You had to trade a LE for a LE but I found out only after I had traded mine, that they considered Hidden Mickey pins as LE.  Good to know for future trips.

In a nutshell, these events are great if you can get in the door and better if you can get some of the new pins.  THAT has become a much bigger problem over the past 12 to 18 months and they haven’t figured out yet how to resolve it.  I’m hoping that DSF will raise their LE size, reduce the number of pins per person to one, and find a better distribution system (lottery or something) that doesn’t force people to line up three different times.  Having said that, they are the only ones releasing Marvel pins and the only ones producing good Jessica, Tangled, Stitch (outside of Aulani), Alice, and UP pins.  The prices for these pins on eBay are so high now that it’s at least a 300% to 400% mark-up even before they are released.  That’s just ridiculous.  But if you want to read about an AWESOME pin trading event, make sure to be here for the next post!