Epcot hosts return of popular pin trading event
Wednesday, October
22, 2003
by Nancy Scala, contributing writer
The 2003 Disney Pin Trading Event hosted by Epcot was held from Thursday,
September 18 to Sunday, September 22. The theme of this year's event was
“Journey Through Time,” showcasing “an exclusive tour of
yesterday, today and tomorrow with Mickey Mouse as your tour guide.”
Event Logo. Photo by Catherine Scala.
Registration through the Internet and phone lines opened in June, and the event was sold out by August. A beautiful, four-color, 37-page brochure was sent to attendees to pick their Random Selection Process (RSP) merchandise (pins, figurines, framed pin sets). Attendees had a chance to choose up to two of each item, though no guarantees were made that they would receive every request. Participants received another package about two weeks before the event, confirming requests and asking for any additional merchandise selection.
As participants checked in, they found all their requested merchandise
pre-bagged and waiting. There were also four gift pins—one each of
a “completer” for four different map sets—and one event
thank-you pin. Attendees also received event seminar reward coupons and
coupons to play carnival-type games. Games included an alligator mouth
ball toss and a bottle ring toss and for every play, contestants won a
pin—they were all the same pin but they were good for trading or
putting up on the boards.
Carnival Game Booth. Photo by Catherine Scala.
There was one seminar every afternoon, and the redeemable coupon after the presentation was turned in for a pin—a Pinocchio Past, Present, and the Future that made for a unique set.
Attendees who visited the World ShowPlace Pavilion at Epcot (located between Canada and England) had a chance to view auction items up close. Cast members were on hand to answer questions and hand out informative sheets about the items. Check-in and "pinformation" tables were set up across from the auction preview, in the front of the building.
Sample Auction Item. Photo by Catherine Scala.
Further into the conference center, a large stage was set up in the middle, with two large screens on either side and audience chairs set up directly in front. On the outside of the stage, there were booths — some had the carnival-type games, and others were pin trading boards. The boards were a great way for new collectors, or the less adventurous to get comfortable with pin trading. Lines formed in front of the boards, and collectors were allowed two minutes each to pick out two pins on the board.
Pin Trading Board. Photo by Catherine Scala.
There were ten different booths so traders could continually rotate through
and possibly find something new every time. Every few hours cast members
would come through and “refresh”the boards, taking off multiples
and putting up new or sought-after pins.
There were also Disney Pin Partners' booths set up along the back of the room, with cast members from Walt Disney World, Disneyland, the Disney Store catalog and Web site, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney, and Disney Auctions on eBay. They showcased some of the pins yet to debut in 2003, as well as a preview of 2004 pins.
Preview of New Pins. Photo by Catherine Scala.
Upcoming pin previews included Princess cameos, a bendable Mickey Mouse
pin, a Mickey icon pin with a frame in the middle, Nightmare before Xmas,
Ariel pins, Muppets, and Princess brides. Cast members answered questions
about the collections and gave out a free pin at each booth. All attendees
also had a sheet to fill up with stamps from each booth and once it was
filled with all six, was turned in for a beautiful five-pin set of Mickey
Mouse timepieces that came in a box signed by the artist, with a certificate
of authenticity.
Several people who attended last year's event commented that this year's was very organized and planned much better than last year's version. This was the first year that For example, Disney had the RSP merchandise on hand this year, while last year's lines approached a three- to five-hour wait for some event pins and merchandise. This year the weather was very warm so the complete enclosure in the air-conditioned World ShowPlace Pavilion was a welcome respite.
Traders of all ages and expertise levels were present, from beginners to seasoned professionals, from both Florida and as far away as Europe. Families, couples, both men and women were trading and collecting—wearing their pins on hats, lanyards, and vests. There was even a children's area to play in while mom and dad were busy trading.
As part of their price of admission, attendees enjoyed a huge lunch buffet on Saturday afternoon. The menu included hot dogs, chicken fingers, beverages, desserts, cookies, brownies.
Saturday's auction included over 40 different pin lots ranging in variation from one-pin sets to framed sets, and ranging in price from a 12-pin set of 75 Years of Mickey pin-of-the-month for $150, to a single $900 artist proof pin of the Time Traveler pin for the 2003 celebration.
All in all, there was a wide variety of pins for all collectors - Figment, Pinocchio, villains, attractions, princesses, Pooh, Toy Story, Chip 'n Dale, dogs, cats and plenty of framed sets. There were 35 individual pins, over 15 framed pin sets and a set of three different Artist Illustrations of The Past, The Present, and The Future to purchase.
Traders were there to the very end on Sunday, trying to get that last pin to complete their set or trading with a Cast Member. It was a successful event that proved to be well worth the $53 registration fee.
Official announcement from Disney (link):
The Pin Event of the Year
is coming this September 2003 to Epcot!
Join Mickey and Friends as we “Journey Through Time”
and celebrate the Past, Present and Future of Disney Magic!
All Disney Pin Traders, young and old, new and experienced,
will be gathering this September 19 - 21, 2003 at Epcot's World ShowPlace
Pavilion for the Disney Pin Trading experience of a lifetime! Here's just
a hint of what's in store:
“Event Exclusive”low edition themed pins and
guest experiences—live Auction, afternoon reception, Disney Artist
signings, unique gifts for all package guests and much more...
10 Trading Boards and several Pin Games with over 5000
pins for you to find that one pin missing from your collection!
Cast Lanyard Series #2 pins will debut at World ShowPlace
Pavilion for our package guests at Epcot on September 19! Visit our Event
page for a sneak peek of these cool, new pins!
All event items available for pre-order in advance, less
time in lines, more time pin trading!
Largest Disney Pin Trading lounge ever and enhanced lighting
for better pin trading!
Exciting and informative seminars by our Disney artists
with a free pin for attendees!
Our “Journey Through Time”Event Package includes:
- 2 Package Guest Exclusive Days (Friday and Saturday), plus a Package
Guest Exclusive early entrance on Public Day, Sunday September 21st.
(event credentials will be required)
- Unique Event gifts for all package guests.
- Package Guest Exclusive Live Auction and afternoon reception, featuring
rare and one-of-a-kind pins and pin sets.
- Exclusive Opportunity to order all Event Product prior to arriving
at event, plus a Package Guest Exclusive "last chance" for remaining
product at the event.
- 10 Trading Boards with thousands of pins to trade from. Find and trade
that one hard-to-find pin to complete your collection or maybe you'll
find a rare Artist Proof pin instead!
- Lots of Pin Trading Games with cool pin prizes all throughout each
day!
- Colorful merchandise catalog sent to you in advance detailing all
our “Event Exclusive” limited edition pins and pin sets, including
our fabulous pins saluting retired Disney attractions.
- Fun and informative Disney seminars presented by our creative team
of Disney Artists and Product Developers will take you through the process
of how a pin is designed and created! Each guest will receive a free
pin just for attending!
- Private Disney Artist pin signing opportunity.
- See the latest pins and events from our Disney Pin Partners from around
the World.
- Trade with our Cast Members as we debut our latest in the series of
Cast Lanyard pins (series #2) on Friday, September 19th at the World
ShowPlace Pavilion.
- Largest Pin Trading table area and increased lighting for our traders.
- Huge “Kids Only”Trading Zone filled with activities and
pin trading for our smaller pin traders!
- Enjoy air conditioned comfort inside our spacious World ShowPlace
Pavilion.
A special Disney's Pin Celebration room block is available at Disney's
Port Orleans Riverside Resort starting a very special rate for attendees
of only $109.16 per night including tax. Room availability at this
special rate is limited.
For questions regarding the event , please call 407.827.7600.
Theme park admission is NOT included, but is required for attendance.
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Nancy Scala lives in upstate NY with her 2 cats, Belle
and Nikoma. She was previously a cast member at The Disney Store for four
years, and has been to Walt Disney World over a dozen times. She has been
buying and selling Disneyana on eBay since 1997 and currently works for
AOL.
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