Hidden Mickey pins

[Young@Heart]

We recently acquired some new pins for our upcoming trip, and I noticed that several of them are "hidden Mickey" series. Are they good for trading? Also, do most CM's have hidden Mickey pins available for trading?

This will only be our second time participating in pin trading, and we're all pretty excited about it. Of course, I'll never find the pin I really want-the Belle cameo. It's the only one I need to complete the series.

[KineGirl]

Yep those hidden mickeys are good for trading but you might want to hang on to them since you cant buy them (in park) - you can only get them by trading with CMs. They are the new version of "Cast Lanyard" pins.

But if you dont like them and want to trade them they are def great trader pins!

I have bought pins from an auction site before we go to the World for the past few years and I learned a couple of years back that it seems like half the batch are "keepers" - either LE or HM's OR sometimes from DisneyLand/ Paris/Tokyo - and so I buy dbl the amount I really want for trade. I dont necessarily keep them just because - I DO have to like them. But I have to admit I like MOST pins (LOL) and I have to give those HMs/LE/DL etc.. a good second look before they go in the "trader" pile. This last batch I got had the whole Alice in Wonderland HM series! As a matter of fact I didnt pay close attention until I won the auction that it was for a lot of HMs & LE so it made it really hard to choose which ones to put aside for trading when I got them!

Have fun trading and be careful...

it becomes very very addicting.

PS Is the cameo youre talking about black and white?

[Young@Heart]

Yep those hidden mickeys are good for trading but you might want to hang on to them since you cant buy them (in park) - you can only get them by trading with CMs. They are the new version of "Cast Lanyard" pins.

But if you dont like them and want to trade them they are def great trader pins!

I have bought pins from an auction site before we go to the World for the past few years and I learned a couple of years back that it seems like half the batch are "keepers" - either LE or HM's OR sometimes from DisneyLand/ Paris/Tokyo - and so I buy dbl the amount I really want for trade. I dont necessarily keep them just because - I DO have to like them. But I have to admit I like MOST pins (LOL) and I have to give those HMs/LE/DL etc.. a good second look before they go in the "trader" pile. This last batch I got had the whole Alice in Wonderland HM series! As a matter of fact I didnt pay close attention until I won the auction that it was for a lot of HMs & LE so it made it really hard to choose which ones to put aside for trading when I got them!

Have fun trading and be careful...

it becomes very very addicting.

PS Is the cameo youre talking about black and white?

Thanks for the info! We got a lot of 10 pins (2 for each of us) and I think all together, we're trading 3 or 4 of them. We already have our lanyards ready, although I'm leaving most of my pins off, since I have a lot I don't want to trade.

The Belle pin is yellow, with a raised ivory cameo. It's the only one I need to complete the set. And I've been looking for over 2 years!

[KineGirl]

Ahhh I see.. Ive seen that pin youre talking about. Good luck looking for it! The hunt is half the fun!

I wear mostly pins I dont trade on my lanyard(s). I only keep 3 or 4 that are "traders" on there though I may keep a few more in my bag. Some days there are lots of trades to be made and some days not so much. But I like to wear my lanyards in much the same way you would pick out an outfit... it just depends on my mood. Mostly I wear a completely Maleficent lanyard but I also like wearing all villains, all Tinkerbell, all Alice in wonderland, all Tigger and all Cinderella. Its a good way to Disneyfy an outfit LOL I also like to cram as many pins on my lanyard as possible. It gets heavy but its worth it.

Have fun trading and hunting! And dont be shy to sport your favorite pins!

[brdavis]

Yep those hidden mickeys are good for trading but you might want to hang on to them since you cant buy them (in park) - you can only get them by trading with CMs.

Huh. cool to know. At one time there was a Hidden Mickey series that was sold in the parks - the first time we started pin trading, I found three of them at AK (at the shop, not from a CM trade), and I've never seen them since (although I've looked). Perhaps I'll have to look some more the next trip.

--
Brian Davis

[KineGirl]

Huh. cool to know. At one time there was a Hidden Mickey series that was sold in the parks - the first time we started pin trading, I found three of them at AK (at the shop, not from a CM trade), and I've never seen them since (although I've looked). Perhaps I'll have to look some more the next trip.

--
Brian Davis

Yep those are the starter pins - I think theyre all marked with "1 of 4" or something along that line. They get you hooked and looking to finish the sets. I have some and some more

[Marilyn Michetti]

My DH loves trading for the cast pins. Some of them are neater than others, but mostly not anything I would pay for. It's just the idea that he can't get them in a store.

[rachel_future_candy_maker]

yes, almost all of the cast members have at least one hidden mckey pin on their lanyard. visit the sorcerer's hat at hollywood studios, and you'll have a wall of hidden mickey surprise pins-two to a pack. i have a chesiere cat pin, and there is a wole muppet series idden mickey pins! good luck with the trading!

[mrsgaribaldi]

visit the sorcerer's hat at hollywood studios, and you'll have a wall of hidden mickey surprise pins-two to a pack. i have a chesiere cat pin, and there is a wole muppet series idden mickey pins!

I got the hidden mickey surprise pins 2 pack at DTD 2 weeks ago in World of Disney

[Momof3BNL]

We have had the best luck with finding good hidden Mickey pins on the CM'S at the stores on Main Street. It seems they are picked through less.

[tinksmom02]

I got the hidden mickey surprise pins 2 pack at DTD 2 weeks ago in World of Disney

The way it was running last September was that there was one place in each park (and DTD) where you could buy the hidden mickey surprise packs. Each place had a different series of hidden mickey pins. I can't remember for certain, but I think we got the Donald duck HMs at the pin store in DTD, the Disney bears somewhere in AK, the princess ones in MK, and the Muppet ones in DTD. Plus at that store you had an opportunity to purchase 1 completer pin when you made a minimum purchase--each series has a completer pin that's not available for sale otherwise.

We ended up completing the princess set through the mystery purchases, trading the Muppets, and going absolutely crazy trying to complete the bears and ducks (actually had to get the completer pins from eBay when we got home).

[labtech_laura]

I've stopped CMs in the parks to check out their lanyards. I find it funny when I have more HMs than they do! That is how I get the vast majority of my pins...I trade commons for HMs with CMs. I would say about 80% of my collection of 600+ pins is HM. I have 3 pin books that I take with me to WDW when I go because I'm a hard core trader and I won't stop searching until I find what I'm looking for. It took me 4 years to get the Haunted Mansion trash can pin and about 6 years to find Elliott.

CMs are the way to go since they have pins you can't buy. Many are older and rarer. It's the thrill of the hunt. I love pin trading. I started collecting in 1996 and trading in 1998. It started as a hobby and quickly became an obsession. Happy trading!

[TracyL]

These days it's not as clear-cut whether a "hidden Mickey" pin is actually a cast lanyard exclusive or something you can buy. The little hidden Mickey can be found on both kinds, and it takes some practice and looking around at the shops to figure out what you can purchase vs. what you can only get by trading.

Friendly reminder: when approaching Cast Members (or any pin trader) to look at their pins, please make eye contact, smile and be polite, and never touch someone else's lanyard or pins without asking. I'm not a CM but I am frequently mistaken for one, because I tend to wear collared shirts and khakis in the parks. I've had some people be incredibly rude to me - staring at my pins without saying anything, or grabbing at my lanyard to get a closer look, or asking if I have any hidden Mickeys and blowing me off rather rudely if I say no. I'm sure no one on this forum would ever behave like that! But it never hurts to pass along the reminder that pin traders are people, not just walking pin displays!