Pin trading at Disneyland Paris: how to swap your pins

Pin trading means collecting and swapping Disney pins. A pin is a small enamel metal badge with a clasp on the back, featuring a character, a ride, a land or an event. New designs come out in the shops every month, often in limited quantities.

It’s simple: you buy a few pins, keep some for yourself and trade the others. Most trading happens with Cast Members (the park staff) who wear a lanyard covered in pins, but also between visitors. That way you build up your collection visit after visit.

The programme is officially called Disney Pin Trading. You’ll also see the name DisneyPINS on some signs and displays. The activity is the same, and most people simply call it "pin trading".

Organised pin trading started in the American Disney parks in the late 1990s, during the millennium celebrations. The idea was to bring visitors together, and closer to the staff, around a simple object to collect.

Above all, it’s about sharing: you swap a pin, you chat, you spot a lovely piece on a Cast Member’s lanyard, you help a child find the character they’re looking for. I find it a lovely way to pass the time in queues and strike up a conversation, without spending anything more once you’ve bought your first pins.

Kids love it too, because they can trade by themselves, at their own pace.

There are three ways to trade your pins at Disneyland Paris: with a Cast Member wearing a lanyard (the easiest and most common), on a trading board between visitors and at dedicated events, some of them paid. You can also trade informally with other visitors you meet in the park, as long as everyone agrees. Here are the details of each.

All over the park, some Cast Members wear a lanyard (a cord around the neck) covered in pins, there for trading. It’s the easiest way to get started. Here’s how to do it, step by step.

A few rules to know. A pin is traded for a pin, never for money. The pin you offer must be a real Disney metal pin, in good condition: a chipped or bent pin, or one without a clasp on the back, may be refused, and buttons or plastic badges aren’t accepted. Generally, the limit is 2 pins per day with the same Cast Member, but you can go to another one to trade more.

Also avoid offering a pin that’s already on their lanyard. A Cast Member will generally accept any real pin offered politely, unless they already have it on their lanyard.

The second way to trade is the trading board (sometimes just called the "board"): a panel full of pins, provided by the Pin Trading team for swaps between collectors, supervised by a Cast Member and with the same rules as for lanyards.

The main meeting point is the Pueblo Trading Post, in Frontierland, which stocks the month’s new pins and where tables are set up so visitors can lay out their collections and trade with each other. From what I’ve seen, these swaps mostly happen at the weekend, usually in the afternoon, and the board can move from one shop to another during the day. As the times aren’t fixed, the best thing is to ask on site on the day, at City Hall or directly in the shop.

Many shops also have a small board: if it isn’t on display, you can ask the team for it.

Disneyland Paris also holds pin trading events several times a year. Some are free, others are paid and need booking: they have a theme, sometimes a buffet and often one or more limited-edition pins reserved for participants. Places are limited and go fast.

For limited-edition pin releases, Disneyland Paris regularly uses an online booking system: you book a digital ticket in advance and show it on your device on the day.

Formats, prices and dates change from year to year, so I’d rather not quote a firm price. As a rough guide, allow a few dozen euros for a paid event. The best thing is to check the official programme at the time of your trip.

Not all pins are equal when it comes to rarity. Here are the main families you’ll come across. Good practice between collectors: the custom is to trade like for like (an open edition for an open edition, a limited edition for a limited edition).

Unofficial copies of Disney pins, known as "scrappers", turn up on lanyards and boards. To spot a real pin, look mainly at the enamel (smooth and shiny) and the back (Disney marking and © symbol clearly engraved). Here are the things to check.

Pin trading is one of many ways to go home with a souvenir. For the full picture, see which souvenirs to bring home from Disneyland Paris. And to find out where to buy your pins and other finds, browse all the shops in the park.