Disney tightens rules on fan-favorite park activity that can earn you thousands

Disney is tightening the rules around one of its most obsessive fan hobbies as the company cracks down on a booming resale market that has turned collectible park pins into items worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The entertainment giant is moving to restrict pin trading at Disneyland after complaints that traders were taking over benches and clogging up walkways with sprawling displays as collectors hunted for rare and valuable pins.

Disney souvenir pins — which feature attractions, Disney characters, festivals, holidays and limited-time events — have long been a staple among theme park superfans. Guests are allowed to swap up to 2 pins a day with cast members and fellow collectors as part of a scavenger-hunt-style tradition that has historically operated on the honor system.

While many visitors collect the pins casually, hardcore enthusiasts have turned the hobby into a massive secondary market centered around elusive “hidden Disney” pins and limited-edition designs.

Some of the rarest pins now command eye-popping resale prices online.

A rare Donald Duck pin was recently listed on eBay for $75,000, while several Jessica Rabbit pins were reportedly selling for between $45,000 and $50,000 — despite Disney’s rules stating pins cannot be traded for “monies, gifts, vouchers, receipts, or multiple pins for one pin.”

The craze has also sparked frustration among parkgoers who say aggressive traders have overtaken public spaces.

“These lowlife ‘pin trader’ losers have taken up every bench in this area!” one visitor at EPCOT in Orlando vented to the Daily Mail.

Disney itself has acknowledged that traders hauling massive pin boards and elaborate displays have slowed foot traffic at already packed parks.

Complaints intensified after visitors found benches and open seating areas occupied by pin-trading setups rather than by guests looking for a break.

Disneyland first updated its rules in 2023 by banning the “use of benches” for pin trading and limiting activity to a designated area near the Westward Ho Trading Company shop.

Traders were also restricted to one bag of pins and barred from using “additional decorations.”

But the changes reportedly failed to stop resellers from hoarding sought-after pins and flipping them online for huge profits.

Now Disney is escalating the crackdown even further.

According to flyers distributed around Disneyland and cited by the Daily Mail, guests “will no longer be able to set up stationary pin trading spaces in front of Westward Ho Trading Company in Disneyland Park or other areas around the resort” beginning May 19.

“Guests can continue pin trading using a lanyard or other small handheld pin trading accessory,” the flyer states.

Westward Ho will also reportedly become a kids-only trading area beginning May 22 as part of Disneyland’s Kid Rule Summer promotion, which includes a $50 children’s ticket offer.