After-Action Report: Pin Collecting/Trading

I don't know what it is about the pins. It might be simply that they're cute, affordable, don't take up much space, and come in such a staggering variety that you're bound to find something that appeals to you. Got a favorite character, favorite ride, favorite holiday, favorite sport? There's a pin for that! With new ones released on a weekly basis, not to mention the special editions, mystery boxes, and whatever else they scheme in the smoke-filled rooms of Disney Marketing, there are so many pins. Even if you could afford it, you'd never be able to collect them all.

And I don't know about you, but that's a big relief to me, because it means I am under no obligation to try.

I exaggerate. I wouldn't say I've ever been into pin collecting. If I see one I adore, I will usually get it, but that rarely happens these days. I mostly got it out of my system back in the mid-2000s—you know, around the time of the 50^th Anniversary, possibly the single most rewarding time to be a Disneyland fan in my lifetime—but that was enough for me to build up a reasonably sized collection.

I've never actually traded for a pin. Ever. I have one that I bought on eBay, because it was already out of production by the time I discovered that I really wanted it. Everything else in my stash came from a Disney theme park pin store, sometimes through the intermediary of a friend who gave it as a gift.

So I might not be the most qualified person to talk about this. But did you know there's no licensing process for blogging? Strange but true!

Actually, I'll come clean: this is mostly an excuse to show off my pin collection. Photos and explanations under the break!

Er...fair warning: these are not good photos. They were taken in the decidedly nonprofessional setting of my apartment, using the sub-amateur equipment that is my phone, against the completely ad-hoc backdrop of my coffee table. And I was not always able to wrangle the flash very well.

This is the oldest pin in my collection, so old that it has a spring-loaded metal back instead of the rubber mouse-head backs they use now! It's obviously from the Eighties—dig that rad outfit Mickey is wearing, tubular!—so I'm gonna go ahead and say it's from 1987, the year I suddenly realized that I wholeheartedly loved Disneyland. I'm as surprised as you are that I've managed to hold onto it that long, and in such good condition:

This is my collection-within-a-collection, my Sorcerer Mickey set consisting of a lanyard, medallion, and seven pins (one of which is precisely the same design as the medallion). If Mickey Mouse is the ultimate everyman protagonist, than Sorcerer Mickey is the ultimate everyman magical hero, and that's very appealing to me. From Fantasia to Fantasmic! to that one episode of House of Mouse where he duels Jafar, I love basically everything Disney does with this version of Mickey.

The Haunted Mansion maybe gets more merchandise than any other individual attraction, because of its instantly recognizable iconography, devoted fanbase, and numerous iterations throughout different Disney parks. You could build a vast pin collection with nothing more than the Haunted Mansion releases, and I'm sure many people have. Mine is much more modest:

Here's something different they tried a while back: Mechanical Kingdom, a merchandise event featuring steampunk versions of the core characters from the shorts, plus Ludwig von Drake because someone was using their power for good instead of evil. The Mickey/Main Street pin had sold out by the time I was able to get to the park, and I wasn't really interested in the one of Pegleg Pete since it didn't name-drop the themed lands, but clearly I like what I did manage to get since, unusually for me, I never even took them off the cards:

There were so many pins for the 50^th Anniversary you guys. So many. As much as I would have loved to collect each and every one of the Magical Milestones, there was no way I could afford it. So I restricted myself to a glittery Castle, a 50^th logo, and Space Mountain (1977), since that's my birth year:

Okay, time to get this out of the way. These date back to my wannabe-edgy phase, though in my defense, Chernabog's wings open and close:

Another one I cringe at nowadays. I must have gotten this when Curse of the Black Pearl was still new, we had no idea Disney was going to run the franchise into the ground, and Johnny Depp was still a good guy:

Back to happier stuff! Here are a few referencing various holidays. I hate this photo (the flash would not behave and this is the best I could do), but I love these pins:

Some micellaneous Mickey heads. The top two I like because of the artistic flair, the Irish flag is a nod to my heritage, and...your guess is as good as mine as to why I, a tepid Star Wars fan at best, thought I needed the Rebellion emblem with Mickey ears:

Professor von Drake recommends Disneyland! But he doesn't tell you which freeway to take to get there. For that, you need a second pin:

This one...I dunno, it just warmed my heart. And wow, I just realized that I've had it for ten years, and the Mouse turns 90 this December:

I don't remember why I decided Mara was worthy of my money when I don't have any pins for “it's a small world” or Pirates of the Caribbean (the ride) or the Disneyland Railroad. Maybe this was also during my wannabe-edgy phase? Oh well, it's a stylishly designed pin. Very glam:

And finally, here are a couple that I received free with other purchases. Ratatouille is probably my favorite Pixar movie, so I'll hang onto Remy, but...hey, anyone want a pin of a random ice-skating lady? Anyone?

And that's my Disneyland pin collection. Next week, I'll treat you to photos of my Disneyland hat collection!

Just kidding!