Disneyland changed its pin trading rules earlier this summer, which significantly impacted how trading works at the theme parks. Pin trading at the Disney Parks has become a popular practice with a culture of its own, where guests swap, collect, and search for rare designs.
As a result of that popularity, pin trading fans end up gathering in areas of the theme parks and lining up in large crowds to access the pin trading drops each week. Disneyland continues to navigate its recent rule changes while also introducing a new change to accessing pins to help reduce crowding. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including the worst Disney World hotels for kids and Disney World expanding a popular hotel perk to more guests.
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New Disneyland Pin Trading Rule Changes Experience
Earlier this summer, Disney updated its pin trading guidance with a new policy stating that: “Pins are not allowed to be displayed on benches, chairs, or tables.”
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This rule change also modified what guests may bring into the parks for trading, noting that “lanyards and small handheld pin-trading accessories are permitted, subject to Disneyland Resort rules; however, additional decorations or attachments (such as lights, signage, or display setups) are not allowed.”
These new rules effectively ended the practice of pin trading in the entrance of Frontierland, which was a popular gathering place for guests to trade using large pin trading binders and boards. Over the summer, that pin trading area was changed to an area for kids only as part of the Kids Rule Summer promotion.
Disney has not banned pin trading in Disneyland, as the rules now clearly state that guests are still welcome to participate in pin trading using a lanyard or other “small handheld pin trading” accessory in other areas of the resort. The rules further state that pin trading is prohibited from using “benches, chairs or tables” and “Pins are not allowed to be displayed on benches, chairs or tables. Benches and chairs are for seating purposes only.” The rules were likely put in place to address the issue of crowding, as large groups were congregating in the theme park to trade pins.
However, now that the pin traders cannot gather in the entrance of Frontierland anymore, this means that some guests have been trying to use different seating areas. A recent TikTok video shows a large group of pin traders who were told by cast members to stop using the additional seating for Galactic Grill as a space to trade pins. The text on the video reads “Why does Disneyland hate pin traders?” with the user showing the large group of pin traders instead having to congregate in the walkways.
This video was filmed during what is known as “Pin Drop Tuesday,” when Disney releases most of its new pin merchandise, including pin blind boxes. After the new pins are released, many pin traders like to stick around to trade the pins they receive in the blind boxes. This helps collectors try to get the pins they wanted since the blind boxes are often limited to two per person.
Pin Drop Tuesday has been growing in popularity with Disneyland switching to a virtual queue for the next drop.
Disneyland Using Virtual Queue for Upcoming “Pin Drop Tuesday”
Pin Drop Tuesdays have been drawing increasingly large crowds at Disney, with growing demand creating challenges for guests hoping to browse and trade collectibles. Disneyland has announced that they will be using a virtual queue for the upcoming pin release on November 3 for the Kingdom Hearts collection releasing at Disney’s Pin Traders in Downtown Disney.
Guests must join through the Disneyland app at 5 a.m., while within 60 miles of Downtown Disney. Each guest must use their own account, and there will be no standby line while the virtual queue is operating. Joining does not guarantee the featured pins will still be available when a guest is called.
Walt Disney World has faced similar challenges due to the popularity of pin trading. These popular merchandise drops were also a likely contributing factor behind the Disney Springs parking garage restrictions. These restrictions were implemented to discourage large groups from arriving hours before opening to line up for merchandise releases, including the popular Pin Drop Tuesday events.
However, Disney World still allows pin traders to gather in large groups in their theme parks. At EPCOT, the pin trading groups gather in the breezeway near Connections Café and Creations Shop. Disney pin traders are often gathered in this area and lay out large binders and boards full of pins along the tables and benches in this area.
Previously, pin traders at EPCOT used to gather directly outside Pin Traders and were then told to relocate by Disney in 2025. This is when the large groups moved into the breezeway near Connections Café and Creations Shop. Since then, there hasn’t been any official stance on where the pin traders should be located. This breezeway is a popular walking path since it is so close to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and many guests have complained about the crowds in this area.
However, some commenters on the video expressed gratitude for this spot in EPCOT, with one user saying, “Thank gosh for the breezeway at WDW. I think there would be a riot if they tried to shut it down like this.” Another user also commented, saying, “come pin trade at Epcot.”
I am personally surprised that the breezeway in EPCOT is still allowed to be used for such large gatherings of people. Especially since these groups end up using some of the only benches and seating in this shaded spot in the park.
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But it’s also clear that Disney should consider creating a space where pin traders can congregate to trade that is out of the way of other guests and walkways, especially since the practice has exploded in popularity. If the result of not being allowed to gather at tables means the pin traders end up standing in the walkways, then it’s clear they may need a space to occupy, at least on Pin Drop Tuesdays.
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