Disney Pin Trading

We discovered Pin Trading within a few minutes of checking into our hotel at Disney World and quickly concluded that it was going to the perfect souvenir/activity for the Blair kids.

Here's how it goes: you can buy pins at locations all over Disney World. From what we could tell, there are hundreds, probably thousands, of pin variations. You can attach them to a lanyard and wear it around your neck. You can wear them on your clothes. You can pin them to a backpack. Then, if you see a "cast member" — which means any Disney World employee — wearing a collection of pins, you can approach them and trade pins with them.



Why we liked it:

1) The kids felt comfortable striking up conversations with anyone wearing a pin, which meant they met lots of interesting people throughout our trip. And not just Disney employees. They also traded pins with other kids. Olive made 3 pin trades before we actually made it into a Disney park.

2) A typical pin isn't too expensive — about $6. We let the kids each pick out two, and this kept souvenir expenses to under $15 per kid.

3) We don't have anything big or bulky or overly precious to transport home and store, but the kids still have something special for show-and-tell.