Tag Archives: Disney Collectibles

What Disney Gifts did Santa Bring?

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IMG_2453We Disney fans have got to be, without a doubt, the easiest people in the World to buy gifts for – if it’s Disney, we love it!  So, the very best thing about having Christmas behind me?  I now get to enjoy the new Disney “toys” I found under our Christmas tree!

Confession time:  While I was shopping Disney for The Fam, I did (I hope I’m not the only one who does this) buy myself a little something.  Couldn’t help it – I love Mulan and the ornament was too cute to pass up.

My own purchase aside, I’ve got to say, I’m completely thrilled with the variety and thoughtfulness of this year’s Disney gifts.

Here are some of my most favorite:

IMG_2439The Haunted Mansion bottle stopper.  Perfect for me since I love wine almost as much as I love Disney – Thanks, Megan!

Tea and cookies, anyone?  If you happen to already have Mickey Mouse dinnerware and an “awning red” kitchen, then a tea-for-one set and matching cookie jar are perfect gifts, no?

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Raymond continued Megan’s theme with some additional Disney kitchen items (mixing bowls and salad plates).  Plus he booked a trip to Disney World for us all to take this spring – can’t wait!

IMG_2435I have been hinting for quite a while that it would be super cool to start collecting those new Disney shoe ornaments.  Have you heard about them?  The Disney Parks Blog as a great write-up about them with fab pics here.  Anyway, someone (sweet Megan) finally took pity on me and got my collection kicked off with a perfect shoe – Tink’s –   Check out the wings!

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Finally, my very wonderful and thoughtful friend, Phyllis, took the time to make me a Living a Disney Life scrapbook.  She wanted me to have a memento of how I turned my Disney obsession and a little free time into my very own blog.  Posts and pages printed and adorably embellished with colorful Disney bling.  Thanks, Philly!

What Disney gifts did Santa bring you?

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Disney Pin Trading – Getting Started

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General Dis Pics 11.13 094If you’ve not tried Disney pin trading – It’s a great big bunch of fun!  Disney pins make great (and affordable) souvenirs that don’t take up much room in your suitcase.  Once you get the hang of trading, pins take on a whole new meaning – they’re not just souvenirs anymore!  They become a vacation activity that allows you to meet new people, treasure hunt, and discover new and exciting things about Disney through the enormous variety of pins available. 

Once upon a time The Fam and I were new to pin trading and at first we were a little intimidated – especially at our first pin trading event – there are some very serious pin collectors out there!  If you’d like to give Disney pin trading a whirl, here are my top five tips on getting started: 

It doesn’t have to be expensive.  You’ll need some starter pins for trading, but you don’tIMG_2322 have to buy them at a Disney store.  There are several sellers on eBay and Amazon that offer pins in lots of 25, 50 and even 100 for very reasonable prices.  As with any online purchase, you’ll want to buy from well-rated, reputable sellers.  Pin purists may argue that you might end up with counterfeit, bootlegged, or “scrapper” pins, but there are plenty of authentic pins for sale on eBay and Amazon.  I have also found the Disney pin guides on eBay to be very helpful.  A great article here offers other tips for saving money on pins. 

Lanyards are optional.  A lanyard allows you to proudly show off some of your favorite pins and display pins you’re interested in trading.  For little ones, it’s great to purchase a pin trading starter set – a lanyard and pins sold together.  Wearing a lanyard is very convenient, but not General Dis Pics 11.13 091absolutely necessary to pin trading enjoyment.  Joseph’s a good example of someone who trades pins from time to time, but does not wear a lanyard.  He just carries a few pins in his pocket so when he sees a pin he really wants, he’s ready for trading action.

Cast Members have some of the best pins for trading!  If they are wearing a lanyard, it will have pins displayed that are all available for trading.  You may need to be a bit patient if the Cast Member is performing some important job – there may be a wait for a moment when the pin exchange can occur, but it’s worth it.  Cast Members often have unusual pins from other locations (like Disneyland Paris) that can add new variety to your pin collection.  As long as you have an official Disney pin to trade that is not already on their lanyard, the deal is good!  Disney World Cast Members wearing green lanyards only trade with children (age 12 and under) – take advantage of this if you have little ones!

Find and try out a pin trading event.  Even if you don’t want to trade any pins, it’s pretty cool to see the collections of pins people bring to these meet-ups for pin trading superfans.  You can find event locations, dates, and times at the Disney Parks Merchandise General Dis Pics 11.13 071website.

Trading is not just in the parks!  Pins available for trading can be found at Disney resorts – check with the resort’s main giftshop for information.  Disney Cruise ships  are also a fun place for pin trading and collecting – Cast Members have pins for trading, onboard pin events are scheduled, and the giftshops have pins to buy and for trading (ask at the counter).  Finally, you can ask your resort bus driver if he has any pins to trade – you might be surprised at the great stashes of pins some of the drivers keep! 

Resources:

General Dis Pics 12.26 003Here are some great Disney Pin Trading articles and tips from others you may find helpful:

Guidelines for pin trading straight from the folks at Disney Parks Merchandise.

Disney Insider has these Perfect Pointers for pin trading.

Disney Pins Blog – everything Disney Pins in one place!

Pin Trading Basics from Laughing Place

Pin Trading Tips from Disney Tourist Blog

Pin Trading Tips for Children at WDW Hints

 

 

 

Best Disney Christmas Gift for Little Girls

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IMG_2326My eyes are always scanning for cool Disney items in stores.  This year while Christmas shopping I’ve seen quite a few great Disney gift items out there.  Today, though, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks!

At our local toy store (major national chain) , Raymond and I were battling the crowds to score the last few items on our list…as we were making our way up and down the aisles, I spotted this little treasure on an end-cap.  Disney fans!!!  If you have a little girl on your shopping list age 1-and-a-half to 5, you just go out right now and get them this.  I’m not in that age category and I came this close to buying it for myself.

Fisher-Price Little People Cinderella’s Winter Carriage.  Get this:  When the wheels on the carriage turn, it not only makes awesome sound effects – wait for it – Fairy God Mother sings Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!  With the horse and carriage, you get Cinderella and The Prince!  C’mon!  Who could ask for a better gift than that?

Sorry the photo’s not better – Raymond was literally laughing and dragging me away from the toy display while I took the picture.  Happy Shopping!

Loving Disney Pin Trading!

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A page from our pin collection

Oh, Boy, can Disney devise devious ways to separate you from your money!  One of their most successful efforts has got to be Disney pin trading.  How can you not get swept away?  Even if you don’t actively trade them, those pin kiosks are everywhere and the pins make great souvenirs.  Princess pins, Disney Pixar character pins, park pins, vinylmation pins, Muppet pins, ear hat pins, pins to commemorate holidays and special occasions, pins for every year,  pins for everybody!

 

We started pin trading when we took Megan and Joe on their second visit to Disney World.  We bought lanyards, lanyard “charms”, and starter pin sets.  At first it was hard to part with freshly purchased pins, but once we got rolling…we were like sharks in a feeding frenzy.  We traded like crazy with Cast Members, bus drivers, other guests – at the parks, on boats, General Dis Pics 11.13 092trains and buses, at the hotel front desk, at pin trading events and then we even traded pins on Disney cruise ships.  This may be hard to believe, but we are not hard-core collectors who try to find rare or valuable pins or complete sets (with one exception).  I think if we took it to that level, it wouldn’t be as much fun for us.  We trade for pins we like or that have special meaning to us in particular.  On a couple of trips we didn’t do any pin trading at all (but still bought a few to add to our collection).  Last year our pin-trading love was rekindled simply by taking along a couple of friends who were just getting their Disney pin collections started.

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Meg and Ashli! Lanyards on, Pins ready!

 

Megan’s friend Ashli and Joseph’s friend Jason were able to join us on our trip to Disney World last May.  Ashli was celebrating her recent graduation from nursing school and Joseph and Jason were both celebrating finishing their junior year of high school – excited about becoming seniors in the fall.  Ashli and Jason got swept up in pin mania just like we had in the past- starting slow at first and then gaining momentum – finally trading with gusto!  Their enthusiasm was contagious!  I wanted to collect the Orange Bird pin set and that was my main focus.  Jason jumped right on in and started collecting his own Orange Birds  – we all worked together to help each other find the pins we wanted.  It added another layer of fun to an already great vacation!

Pin collecting and trading is fun!  Over the next few weeks I’ll post tips and advice forGeneral Dis Pics 11.13 095 making the most of this great Disney opportunity to part with your hard-earned money, while having a heck of a good time doing it.  If you have any questions or particular aspects of pin trading/collecting you’d like to know more about, please let me know.