Pin of the Month - December 2021
December 5, 1901. The date of Walter Elias Disney's birth. And with this month's pin, that's what I'm commemorating. That and Disney Pin Trading.
Ever since my first trip to Walt Disney World, I've been hooked on pin trading. As a collector, it's ingrained in me that sometimes the hunt is more important than the find. No matter the reason while on property, I have a pocket with pins. Be it just to eat at a restaurant at some resort or on the clock, I have my pins ready because you never know what might happen at Disney.
Well, this story is a reason I do it. If you gave me a three-day ticket to Walt Disney World, the one park I'd reluctantly skip would be Animal Kingdom. In terms of their good traits, the other three win out for me. By no means it's a bad park, just my least favorite. And this is also me as a guest talking, I want to work nowhere else. I love my DAK coworkers and friends but EPCOT has World Showcase, Hollywood Studios has well Roger Rabbit, and Magic Kingdom is the Magic Kingdom.
Anyways this was during my time as not a working Cast Member and I was going to the parks 2-3 times a week cause no one else was due to COVID. I take a turn at the Tree of Life and head towards Expedition Everest. Just past the bridge is a pin trading CM that I stop and engage with. And that's when I saw this little beauty. This isn't your normal Disney Pin. It's not even made by the Disney Company (The backing card in the picture is purely for display and picture-taking purposes. It did not come like that.
So for a little background, "The Walt Disney Family Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was formally owned, operated and funded by the Walt Disney Family Foundation, a non-profit organization established by Disney's heirs including Diane Disney Miller, Disney's daughter and founder of the museum. It is not formally associated with The Walt Disney Company, the media, and entertainment enterprise." -Wikipedia
I knew about the museum because of the "Connecting with Walt" podcast that deals with Disney history. I'm a huge fan of it and they've had many discussions and references to the museum. So much so, that I definitely want to go at some point but I'll take this little memento for now.
Stories are at the heart of everything Walt Disney did and try to establish with his company. So imagine the story this little pin could tell. Not made by the company. The location isn't even on this coast. Someone had to have bought it in San Franciso, brought it across the country to Animal Kingdom, then decided to trade it for something else. Now it rests soundly in my room. But stories like these are the legacy of Walt Disney. For all of his many human faults, he still has and will continue to inspire people all over the world to chase their dreams.
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
Walter Elias Disney