Hidden Mickey, Exposed Wallets
In what has to be one of the most controversial decisions made in Disney merchandising, they will now actually be selling Hidden Mickey pins to the public. For those of you who are not aware, Hidden Mickey pins (formerly known as Cast Lanyard Pins) were only available by trade from a WDW Cast Member off of their lanyard, until now. These pins, which have been appearing in some form for over seven years, are now being exploited for cash. Here is the official Disney information release:
Starting May 4, 2008, Guests will have two ways to start or complete their Hidden Mickey pin collections:
- TRADING with Disney Cast Members and Guests or
- PURCHASING a new Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch
At participating locations, select Hidden Mickey pins will be released in colorful mystery pouches for $10.00 each (plus tax)*. Each pouch will contain two (2) randomly assorted pins from a particular Hidden Mickey pin series.
- Magic Kingdom® Park – Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch – Rubber Ducks
- Epcot® – Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch – Disney Villains
- Disney’s Hollywood StudiosTM – Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch – Muppets Characters
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park – Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch – Disney Bears
- Downtown Disney® Marketplace – Hidden Mickey Mystery Pouch – Disney Princesses
As many of you know, we usually do not take a negative stance towards anything done by the Walt Disney Company, but this is one of those cases where we feel Disney needs to hear our opinions. While pin trading has always been an expensive hobby, why would you hurt the one part of the pin trading experience that was not available on a rack for sale? Hopefully this is only a temporary promotion and Hidden Mickey pins will return to being exclusive to trading, not to selling.