The information available in this post is available as a PDF on Google drive. Remember, the internet is not forever and printing physical copies can be your friend.
drive.google.com
I’m guessing most people discover Disney Pin Trading on their vacation at one of Disney’s Theme Parks or on a Disney cruise. Once you get home, how do you get more pins? The good news is lots of places. So many places it’s hard to keep track, although some opportunities are relegated to history. Let’s look at the official Disney retail locations, starting with the ones US collectors are most familiar with.
General Retail
Disney Parks & Resorts
There are six Disney Resort Locations worldwide, and five of them participate in Official Disney Pin Trading (ODPT). Pin tradind debuted October 1, 1999 at Walt Disney World as an activity for the Millennium Celebration. Disneyland Resort officially added pin trading in February 2000. Disneyland Resort Paris, now Disneyland Paris Resort, kicked off pin trading October 6, 2001. Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland Resort joined the party when they opened in 2005 and 2016, respectively. Tokyo Disney Resort participated in ODPT from November 2000 until February 2002, but Japanese Disney pin traders were so exuberant it interfered with park operations and was banned. Of course, Disney pins were sold prior to the start of ODPT and the Tokyo Disney Resort continues to sell a variety of pins. Their core series is smaller, but release new pins for holidays and events.
The Disney Cruise Line added pin trading in 2000. Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa began participation upon resort opening in 2011. Adventures By Disney, Disney’s private tour company distributes Disney pins as part of your tour package.
DisneyStore.com and The Disney Catalog (US)
Through many name changes, to the confusion of everyone, one of the easiest places for North American Disney pin collectors to expand their collection is at DisneyStore.com. In its original iteration, DisneyStore.com and the Disney Catalog shared inventory, and pins were different than what was available at retail stores. In 2004, Disney sold the retail stores to Children’s Place, including ownership of that domain name. Disney continued operating online under the name DisneyDirect.com and later DisneyShopping.com. After repurchasing the Disney Stores in 2008, they returned to DisneyStore.com. Starting in September 2017, you needed to go to ShopDisney.com, and lastly, as of February 14, 2024 once again, Disney’s online store is DisneyStore.com. Did you get all that?
D23 Expo & Destination: D
Disney’s take on comic and pop culture conventions. While other official Disney retailers like DisneyStore.com, Mickey’s of Glendale or Disney Studio Store Hollywood operate vendor booths, pin merchandise is also sold through the convention’s “Disney Dream Store.” The Expo is held in the summer of even years at the Anaheim Convention Center. Destination: D is held in the fall at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.
Disney’s Character Warehouse
Discount stores for discontinued park merchandise. Popup versions used to open all over the country. Now, there are two locations in Orlando, and South Florida (Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, FL). Disney uses the Disney Store Outlets in other states instead of popups.
(The) Disney Store (US)
While The Disney Store sold a small selection of lapel pins as part of their jewelry line, and seasonal holiday pins, things changed with the arrival of a 1999 Disney Catalog. On the back cover was an advertisement for a new pin series, “Countdown to the Millennium,” coming to the Disney Store September 23, 1999, new styles releasing weekly. Two additional series followed. In Year 4, pins continued to be released, but were not presented as an entire collection.
Following the sale to Children’s Place, the Disney Store continued to sell a small selection of pins, but did not have as strong of a following among collectors. After the repurchase, in 2009 (I think!) Disney dropped the “The” in a rebranding attempt. Weekly pin collections returned in 2017 to celebrate 30 Years of the Disney Store, and a few monthly pin collections followed.
In September 2021, Disney announced the closure of almost all remaining Disney Stores. The remaining stores are Outlet stores, with the exception of the Times Square store in New York City. Outlets receive discounted pins from theme parks and online. The NYC store may also have full priced items and exclusives, but it’s been awhile.
Disney Studio Store Hollywood previously Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store (DSSH / DSF) and the El Capitan Theatre
Located next to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, this store stocks Disney products but is operated by the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company since November 13, 2013. The location was originally a Disney Store, which was partially, converted to a combined store and restaurant that opened June 22, 2005. While open edition pins are stocked in store, during and after the Covid pandemic Limited Editions pins sales moved to online only. Post-pandemic, most LE sales are restricted to residents of California. When offered, at the ice cream counter you can order a Pin Trader’s Delight sundae which includes a free pin. DSSH also hosts paid Pin Trading Events, and offers a Toys for Tots pin promotion in December. The El Capitan Theatre will periodically have their own promotions that include exclusive pins.
Former Locations
Disney Auctions (defunct)
In October 2000, Disney partnered with Ebay to offer official props and costumes, theme park items, and exclusive merchandise including pins. Every week, six LE 100 pins were sold individually and in a 6-pin set via Dutch Auction style bidding. Pins became one of their most successful items and expanded to include LE 250, LE 500 and LE 1000 pins sold Buy It Now style in their P.I.N.S (Purchase It Now Store) store. While the pins are hailed as some of Disney’s very best, the buying experience was fraught with problems. Lost merchandise, delays in shipping and other errors that would get other buyers kicked off of Ebay. The Ebay partnership ended in February 2006, but Disney offered their own auctions at DisneyAuctions.com. Eventually, Disney shifted sales of large style, low limited edition pins to DisneyShopping.com around 2007, where they were discontinued around 2011.
Walt Disney Gallery (defunct)
Modeled after a Museum store concept, Walt Disney Gallery stores featured higher quality Home Goods, Arts & Collectibles. The first store opened at the former Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, California on November 4, 1994. These Gallery stores were located in high profile areas such as the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, on Michigan Avenue in Chicago and in New York City. Of special interest to pin collectors were the Magical Moments series of boxed pins. All Walt Disney Gallery stores were closed around 2003 with remaining pin stock transferred to regular Disney Stores.
World of Disney New York (defunct)
Located on 5th Ave, Disney turned over operations of their flagship store to Walt Disney World merchandise ops after the sale of the Disney Stores to The Children’s Place in 2004. The store took the name of similar stores operating at Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs at WDW) at both US resorts. This store closed December 2009 after Disney chose not to renew the lease, and a new Disney Store opened in Times Square in November 2010. During its tenure, the store released many exclusive pins with World of Disney branding.
International Disney Retail Locations
DisneyStore.eu, DisneyStore.co.uk and Disney Store (UK & Ireland)
If the US Disney Store history is confusing, the European Disney Store history isn’t any better. At one point, there were many physical locations, which ebbed and flowed depending on the fortunes of the greater Disney company. For several years, in the 20-teens the United Kingdom Disney Stores sold exclusive pins online and in stores, as well as having their own sets for Cast Member lanyard trading. After the latest contraction, only two physical stores remain. Oxford Street in London, United Kingdom and in Dublin, Ireland. Selection online has ranged from exclusives, to Disneyland Paris Resort releases, to shared releases with the United States.
Disney Store Japan (JDS)
If there is one place the Disney Store is still thriving, it’s Japan. According to the website there are still over 40 locations. The flagship store is located in Shinjuku. Visitors to the Tokyo Disney Resort only have to visit the Ikspiari shopping center. In the early 2000s, Disney Store Japan released several large and popular series, as well as having pins for every holiday. They still sell some pins, but more as part of a merchandise line and not a thing on their own.
DisneyMall.jp (defunct)
For Japan, Disney combined official Disney retail outlets and select licensees under one online umbrella, Disney Mall. From this portal you could get to DisneyStore Japan, Baby Einstein, Disney Fantasy Shop by Belle Maison, and others. Also, users could order a selection of Disney Mall branded product, including exclusive pins similar to Disney Auction quality pins. The portal still exists, at Disney.co.jp/shopping , but exclusive pins are no more.
Disney Store Shanghai (maybe?)
The largest Disney Store in the world opened in Shanghai, China May 20, 2015. A second location opened in 2017, but closed in 2022 after its lease concluded.
Cast Member Retail Locations
Cast Connection / Company D
Cast Connection is at Walt Disney World what Company D is at Disneyland, but they serve the same function. These are the Cast Member stores where park merchandise is sold at discount. Inventory is basically what you will find at a Character Warehouse, but there may be different stuff too. There are plenty of pins, but primarily discounted park pins. Since the closure of WDW’s Company D (keep reading, it gets confusing) Cast Member exclusives may also be sold.
Company D / TEAM Center
While the previously mentioned stores sold discounted park product, these two stores sold Cast Member branded merchandise, exclusive pins and bolo lanyards and was where CMs would purchase their theme park and entertainment tickets. These were more office-oriented, so merchandise trended toward pens, portfolios, etc. as well as non-Disney branded things a PA might need to pick up last minute for a meeting or visit.
Company D stores were located at multiple locations at Walt Disney World, but closed during the Covid pandemic. The small bit of Cast Member branded merchandise was moved to Cast Connection.
TEAM Centers were in California. The one on the Burbank Studio lot was renamed Disney Employee Center, several years ago, and after another rename, is one of two Walt Disney Company Stores. Until the Covid pandemic, another TEAM Center was located inside Disneyland’s Company D (that’s the discounted merchandise store, remember?), and a previous location was in the Team Disney Anaheim building.
Disney Employee Center
Updated name for the TEAM Center until the name was changed again to the Walt Disney Company Store. Originally, located on Alameda Ave in Burbank, CA and on the Burbank Studio lot, before the Alameda location being replaced with a new location at the Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, CA.
Mickeys of Glendale (MOG)
Cast Member retail for Walt Disney Imagineering located on the Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, CA. Mickey’s of Glendale has operated popup locations at NFFC Show & Sales, D23 Expo and Destination: D events. D23 Gold Members may also have an opportunity to visit via Shopping Events held at the main store or Disney’s Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.
Pixar Studio Store
Employee retail store located on the Pixar Animation Studios Campus in Emeryville, CA.
Walt Disney Company Store
Cast Member store with two locations. The first is located on the Burbank Studio lot. The second is located on the Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, CA. This is the current iteration of what was originally a TEAM Center, and previously the Disney Employee Center.
Get to Know Release Locations Disney.pdf
drive.google.com
Get to Know: Locations - Official Disney
I’m guessing most people discover Disney Pin Trading on their vacation at one of Disney’s Theme Parks or on a Disney cruise. Once you get home, how do you get more pins? The good news is lots of places. So many places it’s hard to keep track, although some opportunities are relegated to history. Let’s look at the official Disney retail locations, starting with the ones US collectors are most familiar with.
General Retail
Disney Parks & Resorts
There are six Disney Resort Locations worldwide, and five of them participate in Official Disney Pin Trading (ODPT). Pin tradind debuted October 1, 1999 at Walt Disney World as an activity for the Millennium Celebration. Disneyland Resort officially added pin trading in February 2000. Disneyland Resort Paris, now Disneyland Paris Resort, kicked off pin trading October 6, 2001. Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland Resort joined the party when they opened in 2005 and 2016, respectively. Tokyo Disney Resort participated in ODPT from November 2000 until February 2002, but Japanese Disney pin traders were so exuberant it interfered with park operations and was banned. Of course, Disney pins were sold prior to the start of ODPT and the Tokyo Disney Resort continues to sell a variety of pins. Their core series is smaller, but release new pins for holidays and events.
The Disney Cruise Line added pin trading in 2000. Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa began participation upon resort opening in 2011. Adventures By Disney, Disney’s private tour company distributes Disney pins as part of your tour package.
DisneyStore.com and The Disney Catalog (US)
Through many name changes, to the confusion of everyone, one of the easiest places for North American Disney pin collectors to expand their collection is at DisneyStore.com. In its original iteration, DisneyStore.com and the Disney Catalog shared inventory, and pins were different than what was available at retail stores. In 2004, Disney sold the retail stores to Children’s Place, including ownership of that domain name. Disney continued operating online under the name DisneyDirect.com and later DisneyShopping.com. After repurchasing the Disney Stores in 2008, they returned to DisneyStore.com. Starting in September 2017, you needed to go to ShopDisney.com, and lastly, as of February 14, 2024 once again, Disney’s online store is DisneyStore.com. Did you get all that?
D23 Expo & Destination: D
Disney’s take on comic and pop culture conventions. While other official Disney retailers like DisneyStore.com, Mickey’s of Glendale or Disney Studio Store Hollywood operate vendor booths, pin merchandise is also sold through the convention’s “Disney Dream Store.” The Expo is held in the summer of even years at the Anaheim Convention Center. Destination: D is held in the fall at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.
Disney’s Character Warehouse
Discount stores for discontinued park merchandise. Popup versions used to open all over the country. Now, there are two locations in Orlando, and South Florida (Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, FL). Disney uses the Disney Store Outlets in other states instead of popups.
(The) Disney Store (US)
While The Disney Store sold a small selection of lapel pins as part of their jewelry line, and seasonal holiday pins, things changed with the arrival of a 1999 Disney Catalog. On the back cover was an advertisement for a new pin series, “Countdown to the Millennium,” coming to the Disney Store September 23, 1999, new styles releasing weekly. Two additional series followed. In Year 4, pins continued to be released, but were not presented as an entire collection.
Following the sale to Children’s Place, the Disney Store continued to sell a small selection of pins, but did not have as strong of a following among collectors. After the repurchase, in 2009 (I think!) Disney dropped the “The” in a rebranding attempt. Weekly pin collections returned in 2017 to celebrate 30 Years of the Disney Store, and a few monthly pin collections followed.
In September 2021, Disney announced the closure of almost all remaining Disney Stores. The remaining stores are Outlet stores, with the exception of the Times Square store in New York City. Outlets receive discounted pins from theme parks and online. The NYC store may also have full priced items and exclusives, but it’s been awhile.
Disney Studio Store Hollywood previously Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store (DSSH / DSF) and the El Capitan Theatre
Located next to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, this store stocks Disney products but is operated by the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company since November 13, 2013. The location was originally a Disney Store, which was partially, converted to a combined store and restaurant that opened June 22, 2005. While open edition pins are stocked in store, during and after the Covid pandemic Limited Editions pins sales moved to online only. Post-pandemic, most LE sales are restricted to residents of California. When offered, at the ice cream counter you can order a Pin Trader’s Delight sundae which includes a free pin. DSSH also hosts paid Pin Trading Events, and offers a Toys for Tots pin promotion in December. The El Capitan Theatre will periodically have their own promotions that include exclusive pins.
Former Locations
Disney Auctions (defunct)
In October 2000, Disney partnered with Ebay to offer official props and costumes, theme park items, and exclusive merchandise including pins. Every week, six LE 100 pins were sold individually and in a 6-pin set via Dutch Auction style bidding. Pins became one of their most successful items and expanded to include LE 250, LE 500 and LE 1000 pins sold Buy It Now style in their P.I.N.S (Purchase It Now Store) store. While the pins are hailed as some of Disney’s very best, the buying experience was fraught with problems. Lost merchandise, delays in shipping and other errors that would get other buyers kicked off of Ebay. The Ebay partnership ended in February 2006, but Disney offered their own auctions at DisneyAuctions.com. Eventually, Disney shifted sales of large style, low limited edition pins to DisneyShopping.com around 2007, where they were discontinued around 2011.
Walt Disney Gallery (defunct)
Modeled after a Museum store concept, Walt Disney Gallery stores featured higher quality Home Goods, Arts & Collectibles. The first store opened at the former Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, California on November 4, 1994. These Gallery stores were located in high profile areas such as the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, on Michigan Avenue in Chicago and in New York City. Of special interest to pin collectors were the Magical Moments series of boxed pins. All Walt Disney Gallery stores were closed around 2003 with remaining pin stock transferred to regular Disney Stores.
World of Disney New York (defunct)
Located on 5th Ave, Disney turned over operations of their flagship store to Walt Disney World merchandise ops after the sale of the Disney Stores to The Children’s Place in 2004. The store took the name of similar stores operating at Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs at WDW) at both US resorts. This store closed December 2009 after Disney chose not to renew the lease, and a new Disney Store opened in Times Square in November 2010. During its tenure, the store released many exclusive pins with World of Disney branding.
International Disney Retail Locations
DisneyStore.eu, DisneyStore.co.uk and Disney Store (UK & Ireland)
If the US Disney Store history is confusing, the European Disney Store history isn’t any better. At one point, there were many physical locations, which ebbed and flowed depending on the fortunes of the greater Disney company. For several years, in the 20-teens the United Kingdom Disney Stores sold exclusive pins online and in stores, as well as having their own sets for Cast Member lanyard trading. After the latest contraction, only two physical stores remain. Oxford Street in London, United Kingdom and in Dublin, Ireland. Selection online has ranged from exclusives, to Disneyland Paris Resort releases, to shared releases with the United States.
Disney Store Japan (JDS)
If there is one place the Disney Store is still thriving, it’s Japan. According to the website there are still over 40 locations. The flagship store is located in Shinjuku. Visitors to the Tokyo Disney Resort only have to visit the Ikspiari shopping center. In the early 2000s, Disney Store Japan released several large and popular series, as well as having pins for every holiday. They still sell some pins, but more as part of a merchandise line and not a thing on their own.
DisneyMall.jp (defunct)
For Japan, Disney combined official Disney retail outlets and select licensees under one online umbrella, Disney Mall. From this portal you could get to DisneyStore Japan, Baby Einstein, Disney Fantasy Shop by Belle Maison, and others. Also, users could order a selection of Disney Mall branded product, including exclusive pins similar to Disney Auction quality pins. The portal still exists, at Disney.co.jp/shopping , but exclusive pins are no more.
Disney Store Shanghai (maybe?)
The largest Disney Store in the world opened in Shanghai, China May 20, 2015. A second location opened in 2017, but closed in 2022 after its lease concluded.
Cast Member Retail Locations
Cast Connection / Company D
Cast Connection is at Walt Disney World what Company D is at Disneyland, but they serve the same function. These are the Cast Member stores where park merchandise is sold at discount. Inventory is basically what you will find at a Character Warehouse, but there may be different stuff too. There are plenty of pins, but primarily discounted park pins. Since the closure of WDW’s Company D (keep reading, it gets confusing) Cast Member exclusives may also be sold.
Company D / TEAM Center
While the previously mentioned stores sold discounted park product, these two stores sold Cast Member branded merchandise, exclusive pins and bolo lanyards and was where CMs would purchase their theme park and entertainment tickets. These were more office-oriented, so merchandise trended toward pens, portfolios, etc. as well as non-Disney branded things a PA might need to pick up last minute for a meeting or visit.
Company D stores were located at multiple locations at Walt Disney World, but closed during the Covid pandemic. The small bit of Cast Member branded merchandise was moved to Cast Connection.
TEAM Centers were in California. The one on the Burbank Studio lot was renamed Disney Employee Center, several years ago, and after another rename, is one of two Walt Disney Company Stores. Until the Covid pandemic, another TEAM Center was located inside Disneyland’s Company D (that’s the discounted merchandise store, remember?), and a previous location was in the Team Disney Anaheim building.
Disney Employee Center
Updated name for the TEAM Center until the name was changed again to the Walt Disney Company Store. Originally, located on Alameda Ave in Burbank, CA and on the Burbank Studio lot, before the Alameda location being replaced with a new location at the Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, CA.
Mickeys of Glendale (MOG)
Cast Member retail for Walt Disney Imagineering located on the Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, CA. Mickey’s of Glendale has operated popup locations at NFFC Show & Sales, D23 Expo and Destination: D events. D23 Gold Members may also have an opportunity to visit via Shopping Events held at the main store or Disney’s Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.
Pixar Studio Store
Employee retail store located on the Pixar Animation Studios Campus in Emeryville, CA.
Walt Disney Company Store
Cast Member store with two locations. The first is located on the Burbank Studio lot. The second is located on the Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, CA. This is the current iteration of what was originally a TEAM Center, and previously the Disney Employee Center.