How to Pin Trade at Walt Disney World with Safety Measures
Pin Trading at Disney Parks is a twenty-year-old tradition, loved by many. With physical distancing being a necessity right now, one might think that Disney Pin Trading would be on pause, except it’s not. The days of Cast Members and Managers wearing pin lanyards are over, but you can still have some fun if you’re into pin trading. Here’s how.
Limited Pin Trading Stations
It is a nice surprise to see that Disney Pin Trading is still around during the COVID-19 era, but the locations are limited. This is understandable considering the extra precautions that are being taken. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom I spotted three pin trading locations. At EPCOT there’s only one, the Pin Trading Central store underneath Spaceship Earth, but hours are limited. International Gateway has the World Traveler shop and some folks have indicated they’ve see pin trading there.
Disney has not released a list of official locations, but based on observations from myself and others here’s the current pin trading locations. Just keep in mind this is subject to change and subject to limited hours. Additional locations may be added over time.
Magic Kingdom Pin Trading Locations
- Main Street Emporium
- Town Square Theater
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic Merchandise Shop
- Memento Mori (near The Haunted Mansion)
- Briar Patch (Splash Mountain Merchandise Shop)
- Pirates Bazaar
- Space Mountain Merchandise Shop
EPCOT Pin Trading Locations
- World Traveler at International Gateway (unconfirmed)
- Pin Trading Central Store (afternoons only)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Pin Trading Locations
- 5 & 10 Store on Hollywood Boulevard
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Pin Trading Locations
- Garden Gate Gifts (on the right after you enter the park)
- Discovery Trading Post across from Island Mercantile
- Kiosk to the right after entering Harambe Village from bridge (Africa)
How to Pin Trade
- View the Pin Trading Board from a safe distance
- Select which pins of yours you wish to trade and place them in the provided bowl
- Point to the pins on the Pin Trading Board that you wish to trade (limit 2 per guest)
- The Cast Member will remove the pins and place them on the table for you to retrieve
- The pins given from each guest are sanitized before being placed on the board for trading
Are you an avid Disney pin trader? Will you trade some pins on your next visit to Walt Disney World?
You May Also Like...
-
Although nuiMOs may have taken the spotlight for some, Wishables continue to be a popular mini plush at Walt Disney World.…
-
We love being in the parks, and enjoy bringing you along with us through our social media posts. With so much…
-
Brian is back with something a little different--using aerial photos from the astounding eye in the sky @bioreconstruct, Brian is covering…
-
We’re here with a series of quick posts, “Disney in a Minute,” bite-sized nuggets of information that can better help you…
Hi, I have a question about pin trading at Disney World. My 12-year-old daughter and my wife and I will be spending 5 days at Disney this May. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for our family and we won’t be returning in the foreseeable future, so is it worth it to do pin trading — or is pin trading more for people who return to Disney World on a more regular basis? Your articles have been very helpful, but I don’t see this question addressed anywhere. What do you think?
HI Stephen, has your daughter shown interest in any similar activity, such as card trading or other similar hobby? If she has then pin trading may interest her. If not, it probably is not worth the time and money for your family. Consider showing her this post and the pictures to see if it interests her. Indicate that it would take some time away from the attractions, but not a whole lot. It can also be a fun way to help your daughter learn decision making skills and how to manage her resources. Hopefully this helps, thanks for reading!
Do you know which resorts pin trade and if there is still pin trading at disney springs?
Hi Kim, it seems that Universal sells pins, but does not currently have an active trading program. Thanks for the question!
Is there pin trading at Universal Studios Orlando?
Went to Animal Kingdom today, December 28th, and they only had two locations.
First the bad news….
The place to the right right after the park entrance was NOT there. And there was NOT one near the Discovery Trading Post.
Now for the good news…
There was a pin trading spot near the entrance to Africa after you cross the bridge, but you have to take the right as if you were to head to Asia. It is between Mahindi Popcorn Stand (right on the corner) and a few of the kiosks.
There was another one directly across from the Finding Nemo Theater.
Yes, they do seem to be changing the locations quite a bit. Thanks for sharing your experience. Hope you had a great time!
In Animal Kingdom there is also a spot in Pandora as you exit the shop!
We stayed at art of animation. No pin board there but they did have one across the water at pop century resort. Just a note, some of the park pinboards are only out for select hours. We went to the one at Epcot around 7:30 and they said the only
Hours you are guaranteed to see the board is between 3:00-4:00. Otherwise they periodically put it away.
I found a pretty decent sized pin board at Hollywood Studios in Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind shop, right in the front of the park. There are also 2 pin trading opportunities in Kidani Village Animal Kingdom Lodge, one in the gift shop and the other in the community room. Hope this information is helpful!
Have any boards been spotted in the hotel gift shops?
Hey Alan, not that our team has seen.
Are there any pin trading locations at Disney Springs?
Thanks for the details on this, was heading down in September and pin trading is always one of my activities.