Sunday, September 30, 2007

DLR APH.. Huh?

Disneyland Annual Pass Holder…

That’s what I became last weekend. After having gone to Disneyworld and Disneyland so many times over the years, I finally decided the fun never wears out and you can never get tired of or outgrow these places. With Disneyland only an hour’s drive away, I now plan to go back MANY times. ‘A’ was out of town, so I played single mom and took three kids there for 13 fun-filled hours last Sunday.

What a BLAST we had! Of course, there was a lot of build-up prior to this day because, quite simply, my kids are CUCKOO over pin trading. I’d say they’re just a lil’ bit obsessed.. Okay, so I am, too.

For those of you non-fanatics, Disney Pins are a hot collectible that have been around for years. What I love about them is that aside from being super cute, they are small and do not take up a lot of space.

When you start, you typically purchase a booster set that includes a lanyard stocked with 4 or more pins. You can then begin trading with cast members (Disney Park employees) or other willing collectors. While many people will just buy and trade pins that appeal to them in the moment, others will stick to a certain theme. Having a theme is great because it can help keep you stay focused in dealing with the overwhelming selection of pins available.

My son, for example, focuses mostly on Stitch pins and Mickey Mouse pins. My daughter loves Ariel/ The Little Mermaid pins as well as other princess pins. And I love the VILLAINS (esp. Ursula the Sea Witch and Cruella) as well as any mother-related pins like Mrs. Incredible, Lady and her puppies, Perdita and her pups, Nani and Lilo, Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother etc.

Here's my personal favorite from my collection:

And then there’s the Cast Member only pins or “Hidden Mickeys” that we love to gather. These are the pins that you can’t buy. They can only be acquired by trading for them with a cast member. They have a tiny little mouse ears logo stamped on the pin (hence “hidden Mickey”) as an indicator. I swear my son can spot these from a mile away. He will always try to acquire these even if it doesn’t fit into his themes because they can be valuable when trading with others.

*Sigh* I must say, we spent just as much time trading pins as we did going on rides. We just can’t get enough of the magic right now. We’ll probably go back every other weekend not to mention our upcoming trip to Disneyworld over Thanksgiving… Crazy, I know.

What can I say? Catch the fever and trade with us!

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