Is Disney Pin Trading on the decline?
It is. In the past it had been thriving, but because of so many fakes and scrappers and some unscrupulous pin traders, there are fewer opportunities and even less special events. Systematically, the theme parks on both coasts have withdrawn spaces for pin traders to gather, lifting all the designated spaces that used to exist, and even the famous Scoop Sanderson is no longer trading pins. But is it gone? By no means! There are still special releases, special events, and special pins to be had. If you’re looking for the best places to find those limited edition pins or just want to find the best selection, here are my latest tips on pin collecting.
Disneyland – At the Disneyland resort the best places to buy pins are Little Green Men Store in Tomorrowland, the Pin Trading Kiosk in Downtown Disney, and Westward Ho in Frontierland. There are other places around the resort that have pins, too, but these seem to have the best selection and most consistent variety. Also, these three stores (mostly Little Green Men) often receives the overflow from pin trading special events, so in the rare instances where there are pins available, this would be the place to have them. At times, Little Green Men Store and Westward Ho participate in the pin with purchase program (PWP – when you spend $30 or more you can buy a bonus pin) but I haven’t seen that in a long while.
Walt Disney World – Pin Central in EPCOT right smack in the middle of Future World and Disney Pin Traders in Downtown Disney are the best places to buy pins at Walt Disney World. Each park has at least one store with pins for sale, but these are the two best with both of these stores often receiving overflow from pin events. Pin Central used to be the only place left in WDW that had pin trading tables but now those are gone, too. There are more pin trading opportunities with cast members at WDW than Disneyland, but fewer cast members now participate. Also, while it’s not “in” the parks, Disney operates a couple of warehouse stores in the outlets nearby. If you have time or just want a break from theme parks, go check it out. They have some pins on very deep discounts including pins from recent pin trading events!
- Read about my encounter with Scoop right here on my blog!
- Read about Disney’s Character Warehouse in Orlando right here and learn about how great this place is.
Tokyo Disneyland Resort – Tokyo Disneyland has no active pin trading community and even fewer pins available. From my understanding, pin trading at TDL became so frenetic that it caused some instances of violence and they decided it was best to shut it down. But they do have some fun, exclusive pins you can “win” at Abu’s Bazaar in Tokyo Disney Sea. The pins are consolation prizes, but I was trying actively NOT to win. The pins are great and only about $5 each (after converting from dollars to yen). What a great consolation prize! Although not numbered, each one is limited in release and they continually put out new ones. You can find additional pins for purchase in each of the major shops on the way out of the park and at Bon Voyage at the entrance.
- To read more about my Tokyo Disneyland adventures read my series of blogs on them beginning with this one!
Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris – A great place for pin collectors, both HKDL and DLP have exclusive pins and special pin trading events. If you happen to be at either place make sure to keep this in mind and be on the look out for some potentially great finds!
There are other locations that sell authentic Disney approved pins but they are getting few and far between. You can still get great pins from places like Aulani, the Disney Studio Store Hollywood, and even on a Disney Cruise! Just keep your eyes peeled and you’re sure to find some great stuff.
If you liked this post, there are others in this series to give you good information about pin trading on my site. Look for these.
Disney Nerds 
DSF seems like a great place! Just make sure to eat that sundae before it melts completely! I am a huge fan of UP and the releases from DSF have been really phenomenal. Just really quality pins all around.
Hi, the last time I traded at Disneyland was 2013. I’m finally going to Disneyland on May 10th – 15th. I have a lot of old pins (on pin cards) to trade and thought this was the year I would bring a binder full of these old (mostly 2004-2009) pins to trade. According to your blog it sounds like there is no place to sit and trade anymore. Is that true? Should I just wander around the park and look for cast with lanyards like I usually do?
Thanks,
Nancy Johnson
There isn’t a formal place any longer at Disneyland, but some friends told me that you can sometimes find people sitting at the tables at Jolly Holiday Bakery for some informal trading. They simply took away all of the formal trading locations. I personally haven’t seen many traders around, but if you look on the pin boards, I’m sure they’ll respond!