In a post today on the Disney Merchandise Blog, Disney has announced a new Trade Night to be held at Walt Disney World on February 27th. Just one catch… you need to pre-register and pay a $10 registration fee. This Trade Night is one that would have previously been free. We brought this possibility up a few weeks ago on the Destination Vinylmation podcast. This is Disney basically asking us, “how badly do you desire a monthly trade night?” Here are the details from Disney:
Disney Trading Night at the Walt Disney World® Resort
February 27
Vera Cruz A, Disney’s Coronado Springs® Resort
Add to Your CalendarWe have been listening to your feedback and this year, we plan to host several Disney-sponsored trading opportunities at the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. These events, which will include a nominal registration fee, will give attendees plenty of opportunities to trade with other pin traders.
So if you are you looking to meet avid and novice traders, make friends, or share stories about your collections, then trading night is the place for you! Disney Trading Night will take place February 27, 2015 from 6 – 9 p.m. at Vera Cruz A in Disney’s Coronado Springs® Resort at the Walt Disney World® Resort. Reservations for the Trading Event are $10, per person. Limited to availability. No discount will be offered in conjunction with this package).
Here is the link to the article and the registration site.
Are you willing to put up $10 to have a place to trade with fellow collectors at an official Disney Trade Night?
Well you know it’s up to us the pin traders and passholders to take a stand. Disney is doing what it does because we don’t say anything or do anything about it just moan and groan on our official websites come up with a plan meet someplace off Disney property like a park have a bbq show them we can find other alternative places to trade thank you very much but you guys won’t you’ll complain and pay the $10.00 and next time Disney will be like hey they played let’s increase to oh I don’t know $15 or $20 let’s see how many respond to this post wake up people Disney doesn’t care about anybody but the rich executives and share holders screw us .
Disney has made their pins, their pin sets, they even made many numerous limited editions. None of this has made them collectible, that is up to the buyers and traders themselves. By adding a $10 fee onto the trading events they’re acting like we should be the ones thanking them for the pin collecting and trading, when it should be the other way around. Disney cannot control the value and sustain pin trading any more than the TY company could do so with their beanie babies. They need to wake up. I for one will not attend any events that require a fee for registration and will start saving all that money spent on pins: I think I’m due for a computer upgrade, hey, I have $10 being added to that fund right now.
I personally welcome the change for the following reasons:
The last PTN was atrocious. I wasn’t into trading so much as collecting back then, so it was a nightmare for me to arrive at 12 p.m. and not get any of the vinyls. I was there for the thing that really opened me up to trading with the Elsa PTN since I decided to collect the Anna pins. I mean I got her, about two hours into the event, but the mood was less than desirable. I had never been to a PTN, so that night really turned me off of it.
Then I attended the event in September, there was much fewer people disgruntled and the mood was overall better. I did not mind paying as much for an event, seeing as how I hated the atmosphere at the PTN I attended. I do think that the event was flawed, but the atmosphere was so much better than the PTN.
If they bring back pin boards, I see the PTN as totally worth it. I mean, you’re paying to get awesome pins and the ones on the pin boards.
I say let’s see where this goes before we all blame Disney for charging for something that should have been charged for in the first place. The second to last PTN at WDW had a brawl at it. A brawl. They’re just trying to limit the amount of people who can come to these events for liability reasons. We are to blame for this, so let’s accept the fault.
The last PTN was a poor representation of how wonderful PTN were for many years at the ballrooms. So you can’t judge based on that one night. If it weren’t for the people showing up early in the morning and camping out all day in the halls of the resort maybe none of this would have happened. So now if a family of four wants to pin trade for three hours they have to book in advance and pay $40, I think it will keep families away and just be for individual traders, sure seems to take the fun out of pin trading.
Maybe it will go back to those days. After all that’s just to get into the event. What’s to stop people from trading outside the room that don’t have tickets? You only have to pay to have access to the event, not the halls outside the event.
It’s just like Marcie said, what’s to make them stop at $10? Have you seen ticket prices to the park lately? I know it’s just a 5 dollar price hike here, a 10 dollar price hike there. But, now it is over $100 for a 1 day ticket! I do realize most people don’t buy just one day tickets, that’s beside the point. Disney is simply making their parks more and more inaccessible.
I don’t think it’s the prices that’s Disney’s problem. It’s the inundation crowds with lack of enough stuff to occupy the hordes of people, strollers & infants who parents drag along. I question if they’re charging enough! Count me one who wishes it was less like an overcrowded mall, and more like a memorable destination of activities worth doing.
Free makes it hard to figure out how many folks are going to come. A nominal fee creates a commitment. Ten dollars is a nominal fee.