Pin Trading for the Shy

At the risk of stating the obvious, pin trading is a Big Deal in the Disney parks, and even outside of them. I was interested in getting involved, but I have an awful time talking to people, so trading was out for me.  Then I started taking my stuffed Stitch to the park with me, and an idea struck. I put a pin lanyard on Stitch, stocked it with a few pins I could bring myself to part with, and headed out into the World.

Suddenly, I wasn’t bringing it upon myself to stop a stranger and ask to trade. Now I was asking for Stitch. I imagined how Stitch would want pins of favorite characters– himself, of course; what little blue alien wouldn’t want pins of himself? Others because he had something in common with them, or for whatever reason they caught his fancy. Now that I was speaking “on Stitch’s behalf,” the whole thing was a little less daunting. Cast members seem to be amused when I ask if Stitch can trade with them, and so far no adults have looked at me strangely when I ask to trade and then show them a lanyard draped around a stuffed animal’s neck. People can be very patient in the parks so long as you’re nice, and it’s tough not to be nice when you’re playing with a stuffed animal.

So if you suffer from shyness the way I do, maybe a trading intermediary could help you, too. You may not be comfortable carrying around a stuffed animal, but perhaps someone else in your party would be willing to wear your lanyard. Letting someone start the conversation for you can be very helpful, and just might get you that pin of your dreams.

by Coreada—a lifelong Disney fan, and friend of  Wish Upon a Star with Us