New Disney Pin Rules Remove Designated Trading Spot at Disneyland
Disney has new rules for pin trading via an update to the etiquette & location guidelines on the Disneyland website as well as handouts being distributed in Frontierland. We’ll share a rundown of the rule changes, followed by our on-the-ground experience today, tension between the interests of regular guests and pin traders, explosion of popularity in Tuesday Pin Drops, and more.
Let’s start with the big change, which is that Disneyland is eliminating the primary pin trading hub near Westward Ho Trading Co. in Frontierland. (Or rather, repositioning the space for the Kids Rule Summer special event.) This location has been controversial for years, with tension between regular guests and pin traders.
Recognizing this, Disney made a major rule change back in November 2023 that confined all in-park non-lanyard pin trading to Westward Ho, and banned pin trading from the benches. It also reduced the hours from park opening to 3 pm.
At the time, we recall that this was a welcome and overdue change. It freed up benches to use for actually sitting, as opposed to binders. It also seemed to reduce the density of trading, overall. Since then, the traders have been confined to tables near Westward Ho.
The situation has gradually worsened in the 3 years since, simply from the perspective of the proliferation of pin traders in this area. They’re not doing anything wrong, per se, or breaking any rules.
There are just often a lot of people standing around in this area, which is the main thoroughfare leading into Frontierland. When the park is busy (so almost always) this exacerbates congestion.
If you’ve never experienced this firsthand, here’s the crowd from today (May 12, 2026) to help contextualize it:
Along with this, Disney is distributing fliers to pin traders explaining new rules going forward. Here’s the latest on that:
Important Update for Pin Traders
Beginning Friday, May 22, 2026, the designated area for pin trading located near Westward Ho Trading Company in Frontierland will transition into a kids-only pin trading area as part of Kids Rule Summer.
To ensure appropriate guest flow and movement around kids-only trading areas, please be advised that effective Tuesday, May 19, 2026, guests will no longer be able to set up stationary pin trading spaces in front of Westward Ho Trading Company in Disneyland, or any other areas around the resort. Guests can continue pin trading using a lanyard or other small handheld pin trading accessory.
Trading must follow current Disney Pin Trading guidelines.
Here’s the updated pin trading etiquette and guidelines, which has already been updated on Disneyland’s online FAQ:
- Official Disney Pins – Only official Disney pins may be traded. The main criteria when judging whether a pin is tradable or not (although other factors may be considered) is that the metal pin needs to bear a “©Disney” mark on the back, representing an official Disney event, place, location, character or icon. A Disneyland Resort Cast Member has the sole discretion to determine whether or not a pin is tradable.
- Pin Condition – Pins should be in good, undamaged and tradable condition, with the pin backing attached.
- Safety – For a safe trading experience, please trade one pin at a time.
- Trading Maximum – Trade a maximum of 2 pins per Cast Member or trading board, per day. Each trade is limited to one pin for one pin.
- Ask First – Please refrain from touching the pin or lanyard of a Cast Member or Guest. If you need a closer look, kindly ask the Cast Member or Guest wearing the lanyard to give you a clearer view.
- Not Exchangeable for Trade – The following may not be exchanged or in any way used when making a trade for a pin:
- Monies
- Gifts
- Vouchers
- Receipts
- Multiple pins for one pin
- Pins That Are Okay to Trade with a Cast Member
- Any tradable pin that is not currently displayed on a Cast Member’s lanyard or trading board
- Pins from other business units of The Walt Disney Company (e.g., ABC and ESPN), when a Cast Member determines them to be tradable
- Operating participant pins that show a Disney, Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort affiliation, when a Cast Member determines them to be tradable
- Pins That Are Not Okay to Trade with a Cast Member
- Unauthorized pins, plastic pins, rubber pins or other nonmetal pins
- Personalized name pins
- Brooch-style or clasp pins
- Disney Service Award pins, Disney Legacy Award pins, Spirit of Disneyland Resort pins, Partners in Excellence pins or Cast Member costume pins (including Host/Hostess badges and Disney Trainer pins)
- Retail Locations
Shop for approved Disney pins at the following locations:- Disneyland Park
- 20th Century Music Company
- Emporium
- Westward Ho Trading Company
- TomorrowLanding
- Disney California Adventure
- Trolley Treats
- Pan-Pacific Pin Traders
- Radiator Springs Curios
- Downtown Disney District
- World of Disney
- Disney’s Pin Traders
- Disneyland Park
- Pin Trading Locations
Trade pins anywhere in the Disneyland Resort, using a lanyard and small handheld pin-trading accessories.
- Limit the Items You Bring
Lanyards and small handheld pin-trading accessories are allowed, subject to the Disneyland Resort rules, but no additional decorations or collateral (e.g., lights, signage, displays, etc.) are permitted.
- No Use of Benches, Chairs or Tables
Pins are not allowed to be displayed on benches, chairs or tables. Benches and chairs are for seating purposes only.
Valid Park admission and reservation required for Park entry. Disney Pin Trading guidelines are subject to change without notice. Guests suspected of abusing the guidelines may be subject to, among other things, removal from the Disneyland Resort premises.
I’m very much on board with this change. There’s a part of me that feels badly for the pin traders, but it’s just gotten out of hand. The status quo is unsustainable, and negatively impacts the overwhelming majority of guests who are not visiting Disneyland with binders of pins.
Clearly Disney agrees. Although this is being presented as a transformation of the space into a kids-only pin trading area for Kids Rule Summer, that’s merely a pretext so it doesn’t appear as harsh or heavy-handed to a niche audience that spends a lot of money on merchandise.
If Disney was okay with this type of pin trading with binders and displays, they could’ve simply relocated it to elsewhere at the resort. Instead, these type of stationary spaces are effectively banned everywhere, and only lanyards or other small handheld pin trading accessories are allowed.
I’m not a fan of the stationary displays and binders, and am glad Disneyland is taking further action here. I can appreciate that people want to pin trade, but that’ll still be possible, and without impeding crowd flow.
The current area reminds me of a Disneyana convention, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it is a very different thing versus an active theme park. It’s also very transactional, but without the ability to do business using actual money. There’s a time and a place for this sort of thing, and to me, it just doesn’t seem like a crowded walkway in one of the world’s busiest theme parks is it.
Maybe this is a situation where a few bad apples spoil things for the whole bunch, but my perception of this type of trading is not positive. Not only does the swap meet appearance cheapen the guest experience, but these traders are “professionals” who are not simply looking to have fun making trades with fellow fans based on favorite characters, etc.
This makes pin trading less approachable and overly commercial, and does not present a favorable first impression of the pin trading community. I would hazard a guess that nothing has done more to damage the opinion of pin trading in the eyes of more casual Disneyland fans than this Westward Ho Trading Co. location.
I know it’s not just me, either. The comments in Disneyland social media circles are brutal. We’ve read and heard so many reports about these traders being rude, territorial, unwelcoming, etc. I have no firsthand experience as I purposefully avoid all of this, but reminds me a bit of the old social clubs (remember those?!) that were cliquish and eventually became a problem once they got “too big.”
I’d take that a step further and argue that it’s scenarios like this that cause casual guests to paint with a broad brush and form negative opinions about all Disney fans. Wonder Why Do Childless Disney Adults Make Everyone So Angry? Well, stuff like this is unfortunately the answer. Or at least, part of it.
On a separate but tangentially related note, my anecdotal perception is that pin trading is enjoying a strong resurgence in popularity.
I’m out of the loop when it comes to most merchandise releases, but I am familiar with “Pin Drop Tuesdays.” I have noticed long lines at select merchandise locations early in the morning hours, and a seemingly ever-increasing number of guests participating at Disneyland, as well as Disney’s Hollywood Studios, when I’ve happened to be in the parks on recent Tuesdays to do rope drop field testing (today included).
From my perspective as an outsider, pin trading is bigger than ever. It seems to have made a huge comeback over the last few years, post-reopening. When we first got into the fandom as adults, it felt like pin trading was around the peak of its popularity. It dropped off after that, but has seemingly made a resurgence since. I’m not sure of timing, but it’s interesting to see.
It’s also cool to see! Although our pin trading days are over (for now–until our daughter is a little older, assuming she shows an interest), I still appreciate how multifaceted the fandom is, and there are niches within our niche. I have nothing against pin trading as a whole, just to be clear.
My issue is how the setup in Frontierland impedes crowd flow and exacerbates congestion in a busy area of a busy park. I also think that can present an unfavorable perception of pin traders, but I very much recognize that’s a very small subset of the community.
Ultimately, these changes should be a net positive for pin trading at Disneyland. Repositioning the area around Westward Ho Trading Co. as being for kids will introduce more children to the hobby, which is a fun one. That’ll be good for casual guests and even pin traders, as it’ll get more people into the fun at a young age.
Likewise, with Disneyland banning the behaviors that are most abrasive, pin trading will gain wider acceptance in the fandom. All of this may seem insignificant from the outside, but a little bit of etiquette would go a long way in cleaning up how the hobby is perceived! Kudos to Disney for these changes.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of Disney’s new pin trading etiquette and policy changes? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
This article stated the situation fairly and accurately.
As an avid pin collector for over 20 years, I was one of those who traded in Frontierland every Saturday. It is difficult to be lumped in with the “pin sharks”, who were often mercenary, unscrupulous and downright rude. I enjoyed trading, not to resell my pins, but to complete my collections and those of my fellow guests. I even kept a few boards full of “scrappers”, for those young traders who showed up with bulk pins from eBay. Every Saturday was a fun day of meeting other guests, completing their sets, and maybe getting a few keepers for myself. Pin karma is a real thing.
I’ll be wandering through the resort on Saturday, having fun and making the occasional trade.
Here goes disney taking the fun away again maybe you should worry about the prices in the park and its high ticket prices and more kids would feel welcome oh and 30 bucks for chicken nuggets and a coke is alright to. Stay home !
Having never been to Disneyland, I must say, I am glad they are doing this. I wish they would do this in WDW. Additionally, I really wish they would do something about scrappers/fakes. We have been buying pins for years but only in the past couple years have we started trading. We knew absolutely nothing about scrappers. We ended up trading pins that we spent real money on (mystery pins of course) for fake worthless scrappers that have no value and we had no idea. How can that possibly be fair? They want us to buy their pins and trade on their boards but they don’t make sure their boards have real pins on them? I too have seen cast members load boards up with fake pins but I have also seen them bring them out refreshed with real pins. I have also seen breezeway people wait for refreshed boards, run in, trade out all the new pins for fakes and run back out. There was a couple in front of me in line at a board in February who put up 3 real pins. As they were walking away and I was moving up to look at the board, the guy behind me in line, literally ran around me, snatched them off the board, quickly put fakes in their spots, and I kid you not, ran away. Cast member didn’t see it happen. As I was complaining to my husband about it the cast member asked what happened, I explained, and he kindly made it right.
But back to the topic at hand, those kinds of things most likely wouldn’t happen if Disney hadn’t made pin trading and reselling such a hot deal. They created the monster of the Frontierland People and the Breezeway People. (And the resellers. Yesterdays drop of the 11 pin Disneyland set with a price of $99 sold on ebay yesterday for $350, multiple times over. It’s sickening. I wanted just one for my collection but it sold out before I could get it. That is a 350% profit! It makes me sick!) It’s taken a while but I’m glad they are finally doing something about FP. Next should be BP. Actually, next needs to be fake pins. I’ve been told that’s too difficult because they’d have to train all the cast members which is too difficult and there are so many pins and so many fakes. Which is true. But at least stop letting them put up gumball machine pins, obvious fakes, and the like. If kids are trading for trading sake, knowingly trading fakes with their parents permission, then have a separate board JUST for the KIDS so the fakes don’t get mixed in with the real pins. I don’t like spending real money to get something fake in return.
Pin trading is fun. Disney has allowed the Frontierland People and Breezeway People to take the fun out of it. It’s about time they are doing something about it. Now they need to cut off the other parts of the monster that are sucking out the pin trading fun.
That’s not how math works.
sorry, fat fingers, the profit is about 250% not 350%.
I’ve been pin trading since I first visited WDW as a tween. I think I had assumed a lot of the hostility of pin trading was because I was a kid and adults wanted to have their own hobby. However I defenintly felt the same way with a few people at the Fronteirland trading area when I was there a few months ago. I just have a landyard and don’t have the resources for a big or fancy collection right now. While some people where kind, a lot of other people where cold and only trading with those who also had massive binders. To me, this felt like the reason kids were always surprised I wanted to trade with them (they have cool open-edition pins!). Pin trading at the parks should be more relaxed and kid-friendly. I’ve collected various things (formerly funko pops, currently monster high dolls) and the collections I find sustainable are the ones were there less of a fixation on money. I have hobbies to take my mind off of the intensities of the world, not to fixate on them more. Conventions or external meetups are were more value-based pin trading belongs. It’s not inherently wrong to collect anything that way, but it should never become the predominant way in a space because it’s stressful and exclusionary.
I like how there used to be benches in this location, and when we complained that the Binder People were all using up the benches for their binders and not their bottoms, Disneyland management came up with the brilliant idea of removing the benches! Sort of like King Solomon saying the obvious thing to do is to cut the baby in half, never anticipating that one of the parties would think that’s actually a reasonable solution. They replaced the benches with tables the Binder People were forced to stand at, and I am hoping those go away and they bring back the benches at some point. It’s a nice shady spot on a hot day, would be pleasant to enjoy some benches there again.
One of the funniest CM interactions I ever saw was a Binder Person who was told by a Cast Member that he could not use the benches for his binders. He called this a “Draconian law” and said that he would “discuss with my lawyers” about a potential “lawsuit for discrimination and unwarranted harassment” and that he would name the Cast Member, personally, in the suit, because clearly it was her decision to come up with and enforce the Binder Rules (I think she worked at the Golden Horseshoe). He said he would come back and organize a sit-in protest, and I am KICKING myself that I did not chime in by pointing out that we would have to do a stand-in protest, not a sit-in, due to not being allowed to use the benches.
They need to make a change like this for the breezeway in EPCOT, frequently all the tables outside Connections in the breezeway are full of pin traders with their binders. They sit there all day, I really don’t mean to judge anyone, but I really question their value of time on this one. Anyways, I just think it doesn’t look great and also maybe someone else wants to use their table to maybe eat food they bought?
Yes! I was hoping this article was about that … so over these ppl sitting there with their binders in one of try only areas to get out of the sun in Epcot. Meet up with local pin ppl at a Starbucks in Orlando or at your house or something. Please don’t do it inside a theme park.
My teenage girls love pin trading. On our first WDW trip, we were browsing in Frontier Trading Post and the sweetest older women asked them if they knew about pin trading. We did not, and she gave them each a pin and explained it. From there, they were hooked. Unfortunately, we have had very negative interactions with the binder folks. In every instance, they have insisted on being able to select any pin they want of my daughter’s for a one of a ‘selection’ of pins my girls were interested in (which we firmly turned down). They do not appear to operate in good faith, nor work to spread the magic. We will continue to pin trade with non-binder guests and pixie dust first visit kiddos with their own starter pin.
Pin trading is something that seems like a fun idea but is then affected negatively by many who take it too seriously. A few weeks ago you had a post about “Disney Adults”, and I think this is the example of what people dislike. Going to an amusement park to try to make money off of a piece of metal seems a bit strange, and just isn’t something that should be causing any sort of strife.
I used to collect pins before I had kids, but just those I liked. never from a monetary or scarcity standpoint, and before they came out with sets. I got really turned off when the binders would show up. something about that just makes me feel icky.
I only have experience with Disney World and DisneyLand Paris, so take my comment with a grain of salt. I understand DL only has so much land. When they “relocated” the pin traders, was that the best place to relocate them? Kinda seems like poor planing and now they’re panicking and pointing at the kids as a solution/excuse for their “oopsie.”
Scrapper pins are definitely a problem! Cast members should definitely have the power to decline an inferior pin. Sometimes, we pay a lot of money for these legitimate pins. Saying that though, my son and I were looking at a board at Once Upon a Toy at Disney Springs and a Leader came up with a hand full of scrappers and started to fill up the board. Boards, unfortunately, have turned into a joke. I like my pins; I only want to trade “real for real.” Other pin traders have been the solution for me…for me personally. Makes me sad for DL people. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for that one, other than shame on you DL for not planning ahead and choking on your own success.
Oh, just one more thing. I too love, love trading with the kids, but I kinda do the two pin rule, same as the boards. I don’t necessarily like their scrappers, but I want to keep the Magic alive. Hard to blame the kids for their parents being cheap.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the equivalent area in Epcot – which is similarly a “useful if you need a trade” but highly not casual-guest friendly place. Even though we have traded there and got some great pins I am not sure it is net positive for our experience of trading because of the vibes it gives and the sense of “$ value” being what matters.
I haven’t been to Disney Land, but the flea market vibes in the breezeway at Epcot are weird, and pin trading there is not that fun because the big binder people are either too into it as collectors or resellers. These zones create a distinctly undisney visual and vibe.
But it’s also a totally predictable byproduct of how Disney markets pins as sought after collectables with sets to complete and limited editions of pins. Disney thrives on this false scarcity and birthed a huge secondary market and fan base. If they want to sell pins this way, it seems reasonable to create spaces to accommodate the markets they created, ideally out of view of the general public.
It’s not just a matter of business, for the collectors visiting from all over, interacting with the big portfolio people is there only chance to get “rare” pins that now consistently sell out at the weekly Tuesday pin drops.
It’s ridiculous, but mostly harmless and often fun, Disney needs to learn to live with their Frankenstein.
Tom, is there a reason why this pin trading congestion happens at Disneyland & not so much WDW? Does WDW already have such rules in place?
I have a collection of pins divided into three containers–one for Iago, one for Pocahontas/Smith, & one for everything else. I am not an active pin trader, though, & would rather not wear pins out to the parks where they might fall off & be forever lost.
The Guest mix at Disneyland is almost all locals, and thus the number of diehard pin traders is much higher. Mix that with the small amount of space and you get a really frustrating situation.
I have never been in that area on a Tuesday but have seen multiple posts on social media from people saying how rude and snobby (I guess) the traders are to people.
These comments seem to be from people (like myself) who aren’t knowledgeable about pin quality and have innocently approached one of those tables and been rebuffed.
Apparently some of the traders treat kids equally rude, that are just trying to have fun.
I’ll never forget my husband being approached by a little girl at WDW, maybe 4 or 5 years old who asked him to trade off of his laynard. It was so sweet, neither of them had anything except scrappers but they had a great time!
I’m reluctant to paint everyone with a broad brush, but I’ve heard enough negative stories along these lines to recognize that this is a problem.
It also just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and gives the area a swap meet vibe.