Disney is asking guests to longer pin trade outside the Pin Traders gift shop in EPCOT.
EPCOT Pin Trading
It’s been a years-long tradition for guests to set up post outside Pin Traders with their pin books and bags open on the sidewalk. Since this area is close to the gift shop entrance, it made for an easy spot for guests to meet with each other and trade pins in an easily-accessible location.
However, a recent policy shift is no longer letting guests linger around Pin Traders with the goal of displaying their collections. Cast Members are now asking guests to move to the breezeway between Creations Shop and Connections Eatery.
When we arrived, we saw guests already trading in the breezeway with their pins displayed on the nearby tables.
The move might be in part due to space constraints, but Guest Relations told us there were also potential solicitation issues. Some guests outside Pin Traders would tell other guests to go inside the shop, purchase a specific pin, and then bring it back out to trade. This is against the rules of pin trading, which is not supposed to involve the “seller” sending their trading partner to purchase something specific in a store. With trading moved to the breezeway and farther from a shop selling pins, such solicitation will be more difficult.
Pin traders we spoke to said Cast Members told them they would be banned from the parks if they were caught trading outside Pin Traders. However, Guest Relations Cast Members said guests would not be banned, just asked to move.
Guests can still casually pin trade with each other and Cast Members throughout the park, they just can’t set up shop at the entrance to Pin Traders.
The move also comes as more pins are released at the pin kiosk in World Celebration Gardens and Disney Traders in World Showcase, though there is no confirmation the events are related.
What do you think of this new pin trading policy? Let us know in the comments.
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