This year’s annual pin event was held at the Epcot pavilion
from September 9 through September 11. This year’s theme was The Happiest
Pin Celebration on Earth! to coincide with the Disneyland’s 50th Celebration.
A large Tinker Bell welcomes guests to this year’s pin event. Photo by
Cathy Scala.
The event was sold out by July and even the wait list was closed in August.
This year was the first year that guests who signed up before June 5th
could get a special “early registration” Tinkerbell pin. The
event cost $75 to register for and with that, guests received two vouchers
for lunch. The locations for where the vouchers could be used were different
than last year, mainly covering some of the different counter service
restaurants throughout Epcot.
Early event registration began at noon on September 8 at the Yacht and
Beach Club. By 5 p.m. that night, the line was at least 100 people deep,
though some people reported even longer lines earlier in the day. It was
like a reunion with people in front of us recognizing people who came
in later. At one point, it seemed as if all 1,200 people came to early
registration. There were at least 10 to 15 cast members set up at various
tables, calling guests over and then retrieving their Random Selection
Process (RSP) merchandise. Every pin, figure, and framed set was opened
for inspection and reviewed carefully. Some guests had several large bags
of merchandise and inspected every last pin!
Once inside the event Friday morning, guests were greeted with an open
room of elegantly decorated gold tables, chairs, and place settings.
Beautiful gold tables and place settings greet guests inside the pavilion.
Photo by Cathy Scala.
Upon closer inspection, this was the area set up to display the auction
items. Pin sets, posters, and framed sets were elegantly displayed in
acrylic boxes all intertwined with the gold tables surrounding them.
Deeper inside the pavilion, there were games of chance, as well as mystery
pin trading, speed pin trading and the usual pin trading boards. Areas
were nicely themed with a Villains section, a Princess section and a Mickey
Mouse section. The lines were long for the boards, though the games moved
quickly through. Guests got four game tickets in their registration packets
and you could trade one in for a chance to play a game and win a free
pin.
Throwing thimbles into the basket is one of the games of chance that wins
guests a free pin. Photo by Cathy Scala.
This year, cast members did a good job at “refreshing” the
pin boards on a regular basis. It seemed timed, every hour or so, that
the pin boards would be taken down and new ones put up with the new lanyard
pins that everyone was scouring for.
There are many new cast lanyard pins available for the eager trader. Photo
by Cathy Scala.
Of course there was the occasional grumpy fan who sensed that a refresh
was near and refused to take their turn at the board, but most people
accepted the hands of fate and took a chance that they would be lucky
enough to be first in line when a refresh happened. But when that magical
moment came, it was sometimes filled with the pressure of looking at every
pin and trying to find the newest lanyards, a surprise release or at least
something good enough to trade with. Cast members at working the pin boards
had a stop watch and guests had 60 seconds to choose up to two pins. At
the speed pin trading, only 30 seconds was allotted to make a decision.
Sometimes, standing in line at the pin boards could be more productive
than waiting to find a pin on the boards. By striking up conversations
with other people in line and checking out their lanyards, it was possible
to complete whole collections by trading with other guests in line. We
met some interesting people, including Lisa from California who has an
annual pass to both Disneyland AND Disney World Phil, the real estate
agent who has sold two houses to people he’s met at pin events, and Bill,
who works for the airlines and collects Tinker Bell pins—and everyone
had great knowledge and a passion for their “sport.” They can
tell you what park or event a pin is from, if it’s a limited edition pin,
or a cast member lanyard, all with a glance. Everyone has their personal
favorites that they collect, but they also aimed for the cast lanyards
as they offered the most valuable trades.
This was the first year I encountered guests attending due to an event
“sponsorship.” Guests posted ads on a Disney fan pin Web site
asking for people to sponsor their entry fee to the event. If someone
can’t make it to the event, it’s a great way to get all the RSP pins and
event giveaways without even attending. For the person who’s sponsored,
it’s a great way to get some of the new pins found on the boards and trade
for the event pins they didn’t get. People are definitely creative when
it comes to pin trading.
Among the elaborately themed areas at the event was the kid’s area where
children could play while adults were busy trading. As in past years,
there was even their own pin board and the entire area was colorfully
decorated in a Figment theme. Children could burn off extra energy while
waiting patiently for mom and dad.
The event includes a Figment-themed kids area. Photo by Cathy Scala.
The Fab Five characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto) came
out at various points over the weekend, and played and posed with the
crowds. Saturday’s highlight was the cake cutting ceremony where the characters
helped to cut a large cake on stage, after which large trays of cake were
brought out and served to guests. It was a little bit of a letdown after
last year’s big dessert party where there was cake, ice cream and drinks.
This year there was only the cake, and a few empty water coolers.
Saturday’s auction seemed relatively quieter than past years with only
30 items up for auction, and another 20 available for bid via a silent
auction. The prices seemed pretty reasonable, ranging from a Festival
of the Lion King pin for $50 to a set of 22 pins displaying Epcot’s World
Showcase for $350. Even while bidding was fast and furious during a 2003
Star Wars lot of 10 pins, it eventually only topped out at $325. There
was a little confusion with some of the lot numbers and descriptions,
but the auctioneer was quick-witted and kept things moving. The highest
priced item at the live auction was a set of three artist proof jumbo
pins from 2004 Pin Trading event, which went for $875. Saturday wrapped
up right after the live auction, and Sunday’s events were open to the
public.
Auction items are displayed within the gold tables. Photo by Cathy Scala.
I need to admit that I’m a pin sucker—when I hear someone talking
about how they only need a certain pin to complete their series or collection,
and I happen to have the perfect pin, I will always trade them. I remember
my first pin event and the utter disappointment when I was refused a trade.
This year, my elusive pin was the new Belle lanyard and while few people
seemed to have one, those who did wouldn’t give it up. It seems counter-intuitive
to the entire philosophy of pin trading that when someone has the
pin you want, but they won’t trade because they need something better
than what they’re giving up.
One guest traded a little girl a Donald cast lanyard pin that she needed
to complete her collection, and she went running to her father with complete
joy and pride. At the end of the event, the girl said hello to the woman
and she offered another lanyard pin ? one the girl didn’t get all weekend
but unfortunately she had nothing left to trade for it. Her parents told
her to say thank you, but decline because she couldn’t give her fellow
trader anything in return. But that’s when the woman told her she didn’t
need to trade, she could just add it to her collection. She was ecstatic.
Her parents tried to decline again, but the way her eyes lit up was too
much for anyone to fight.
In the end seeing a little girl hug a complete stranger who just gave
her a lanyard pin she hadn’t gotten all weekend, with nothing in exchange,
summed up the whole event for me. That’s what it’s really all about!
