How do you collection - Specific characters? Certain sets? Villains only?

Just curious as to how people here choose which pins they collect. I'm not sure if this topic has been done before, but it might be interesting.

I personally collect the following:

1. All Ratatouille pins. It's my favorite Disney/PIXAR movie. (I almost have them all)

2. All D23 pins. I'm a huge fan of the D23 fan club and the collectables they produce. (this is going to take forever and cost a fortune and I still won't get them all)

3. Pins that are a specific memory to me.... riding on a special ride with my kids, a Disney hotel we stayed at, etc.

4. Anything else that may catch my eye or seem rare. More often than not I look back on these purchases and think "why did I buy this?" because they don't really fit with anything I collect.

So what do you all collect and WHY?

The little mermaid because I love it for many reasons (too many to list haha!)

Stitch comes first because he is my favorite Disney character.
Figment and Goofy because they are my second and third favorite Disney characters.
Mickey because that is my partner's favorite Disney character.
Any special pins (rides, events etc.) that have meaning to me.

I collect Disney princesses and the US patriotic/4th of July pins that focus on the American Revolution/Colonial America since I'm getting my masters in Early American history. I also collect Brave, Stitch, and Scar pins.

I collect Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Tangled and Cinderella but only the ones I like

I collect a lot of villains.
Mainly Maleficent (not allowed to say) and Wicked Queen (just because she's my b*tch! LOL!)

I'm also starting to get into Chernabog lately.
I also collect anything EPCOT, Figment, Duffy and Sorcerer Mickey related.
Along with Steamboat Willie and regular Mickey Mouse himself.

Lots of things-- whatever movies or characters I like, and some things I don't normally collect but that catch my eye!

Alice in Wonderland, It's a Small World, Cinderella, Princess and the Frog, Diablo the raven (I'm not that interested in Maleficent without Diablo), Mulan, Haunted Mansion (especially if Nevermore the raven is on it), Tower of Terror, Pirates, Administrative Professionals Day, and starting to think about collecting Friday the 13th. And a few scattered others.

But within all those, only the ones I like the look of. There's plenty of Alice pins I don't want, for instance, because I don't like the way the face is drawn, or the position, or whatever. Or too much writing-- I mostly don't like pins with writing on, with a few exceptions. Also holiday/Christmas pins, I don't care for.

1) The little mermaid is my main collecton. She's always been my favorite. Its a movie that my mom would play for me every day when I was a baby.
2) Hercules. I just always loved this movie. (( luckily he's not as popular so pins come few and far between))
3) Jessica Rabbit. I just love her and the movie. It wasn't till I was older till I really fell in love with her. But she's not my main collection. If she was I'd be broke. Lol

I collect pins of the characters that I love. Usually I go for pins that just have the character(s) and not too much else. I did collect the whole set of purple villain mirrors because it was fun to hunt them down on our Disneyland trips - that was for the fun of it. In general, if I love the pin I'll try to get it.

Actually it has come up before, so I'll just copy-paste my answer from that thread ^_^

I have two collections, such as they are. My proper collection - the one I actually go out and hunt down - are pins of inspired by Jules Verne with Disney characters on them. Why? Because I love Jules Verne and Victorian Sci-Fi in general, and Disney's visualizations of them in films and theme parks. Disneyland's Haunted Mansion used to be my favourite attraction until I went to Tokyo, and now that #1 spot is tied between 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

I personally bought a handful of those pins from Tokyo Disneysea and Disneyland Paris, and the one trade, and have otherwise been reliant on purchasing them online (which reminds me, when my next two arrive I should post an update in the showroom!). My criteria is twofold and simple:

1. It has to be a pin based on a Jules Verne-inspired movie or attraction - basically meaning 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Tokyo Disneysea's Mysterious Island or Disneyland Paris' Discoveryland - but with a Disney character on them, preferably from the Famous Five. There is only one 20,000 Leagues pin I have my eye on that doesn't fit this criteria (Pinpics Pin# 83846), because it is an attractive pin of the movie logo and would nicely identify my collection.
2. I have to like the way it looks. There are more than a few pins meeting criteria #1 that I don't really like, so I'm not worrying myself about them. I have a few on my want list that are low priority... I'm not actively pursuing them but I wouldn't turn them down for a reasonable price. Mostly I seem to tend towards ones that have a nice full figure of the character with the name of the attraction and the ride in the background (or being ridden by the characters).

I also have a memento collection comprised of souvenir pins I actually got from places and tours and things, usually with classic black-and-white Mickey if I can help it. That one has my just plain Disneyland pins (Pinpics Pin# 38496, Pinpics Pin# 16902), as well as Walk in Walt's Footsteps (Pinpics Pin# 35492), the Disney Studios (Pinpics Pin# 89182, Pinpics Pin# 62943) and Carolwood Pacific (Pinpics Pin# 37570). Those hold special memories as well as show off what I've done ^_~

I've kinda' been tempted by some nice Fantasia and Haunted Mansion pins recently, but I'm trying to fight off that notion by keeping my eyes focused on the goal of Paris ^_^ I will probably fail >_<

Keeping it short and simple... I collect pins from my top 10 favorite movies but only certain kinds.

PoDMs, Beloved Tales, Stitch Invasion, Marquees, and really nice pins (if applicable to a top 10 Disney movie, see signature).

I collect Mulan, It's a small world, anything that catches my eye, princess and Tinkerbell for my little girl, star wars,pirates and Pixar for my little boy. Figment and jack and Sally for my husband.
I really like up pins and tangled too but don't think I'll be able to get many of those. But I really like my Mulan and small world pins best.

My first and biggest collection is classic Disney animals. Figaro, the character I have the most pins of, has been my favorite since I was a little girl (mostly because my childhood pet was a black and white cat named Oreo and I was absolutely obsessed with her). I also collect the characters from Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, and 101 Dalmatians, but I draw the line at The Jungle Book and the Aristocats, because those movies weren't quite as special to me as a youngster. Classic animal pins are just so cute.

My next, much smaller collection is Chip 'n' Dale. I collect them because they are my favorite "main" characters... In elementary school, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers was my favorite cartoon - Gadget was my hero. In first grade (I think), I actually wrote a letter to Chip and Dale, telling them they were my favorite actors... and they sent me a signed photograph, which I still have hanging framed in my room.

My other big collection, aside from classic animals, is Peter Pan - and that's because it has a special meaning to me. I have strongly believed in faeries for many years now, so there's that. And aside from the Disney movie and the original book by JM Barrie, I'm a big fan of certain other versions like the live-action film that came out in 2003 ("I do believe in fairies! I do, I do!"), the movie Hook ("Rufio!"), the Disney sequel "Return to Neverland", and the children's book series "Peter and the Starcatchers." I mean, Peter Pan's got everything - faeries, pirates, mermaids, lost boys, and a monstrous crocodile with a taste for human flesh. ❤

I also have a few Haunted Mansion pins (my favorite ride at Disneyland), one Hidden Mickey Belle (my favorite princess), and a few assorted pins I just like the look of, but I don't count those as collections.