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May 7, 2009
You may have noticed that we are having some challenges with our search engine, upcoming pins link and new pins link. We apologize for any inconvenience. Our internets team is addressing the situation and we hope to have resolution soon. We are starting to think that the ghouls and goblins from The Haunted Mansion® Attraction don't want us to post the pins for the Disney Summer Pin Festival 2009 at Disneyland® Resort. Then again, we may be wrong.

We were away from the office yesterday so today is full of updates.

Please note the location for Pin Trading Nights at Disneyland® Resort on May 17 has changed. This free activity will now be held at the Disneyland® Hotel, Magic Kingdom Ballroom.

Speaking of May 17, we have updated the release location for the May Pin Trading Knights pin. It will now be released at Little Green Men Store Command along with the Piece of Disney History pin. This will make things a lot easier for Guests headed to Pin Trading Night.

We have started posting June release dates (see the links above).

We moved the release date for the Piece of Disney History in June. It will now be released on June 14. For the rest of the calendar year, we plan to continue releasing the monthly Piece of Disney History pins on Sundays at Little Green Men Store Command (yes, wristbands will continue to keep things fair, equitable and enjoyable).

We have also moved the release date for the June, "Tigger-rific" Pin Trading Knights pin to June 12. It will be released at Disney's Pin Traders at the Downtown Disney® District. This also happens to be the day that Pin Trading Nights will be held.

Please note that for the majority of other pin releases at the Disneyland® Resort, we plan to start releasing things on Thursdays. There may be some exceptions on occasion like the Disney Summer Pin Festival 2009 items (look for those release dates very, very soon) or Gift with Purchase Sundays (we'd have to change the name).

The "Limited Edition Thursday" release day will make it easier to remember when new pins will be released (think Thursday). This strategy also mirrors efforts on the East coast where "Limited Edition Thursdays" have been used for several months now. Finally, this strategy is similar to the "Tuesday street date" for new DVDs.

Ultimately, we want a consistent Guest experience for Disney Pin Trading because we know you expect consistency (as you should!).

With all these updates, we think we need a sneak preview. So please enjoy!

Are you The One?

May 8, 2009
We were recently asked when information would be shared about the Auction Lots for Disney Pin Celebration 2009. We caught up with Steven Miller, Project Manager for Disney Pin Trading, who shared some insight. For the past several years, Steven has been the Cast Member responsible for putting together the auction lots featured at various Disney Pin Events.

DisneyPins.com: What can we expect to see this year's auction at Disney Pin Celebration 2009?
Steven: "I'm currently working on the auction lots for this year's event. Considering it is a museum themed event, I wanted to offer some very special items that Guests could proudly display in their collections. There is one major change to this year's event. We won't be holding a live auction like we have done in the past. There will only be a silent auction."

DisneyPins.com: Why the change from live to silent?
Steven: "Each year, we try to keep the experience at Disney Pin Celebration fresh and exciting for new and returning Guests. We have held a live auction for several years now. After much consideration, it was decided to try something different this year. So, the silent auction will end on Saturday afternoon similar to last year. In place of the live auction on Saturday, we will be holding the Ultimate Disney Trivia Challenge which was typically held on Friday. Immediately following the Trivia Challenge, we will select the three Grand Prize winners for the event."

DisneyPins.com: For the Silent Auction, how many lots will be featured?
Steven: "I am currently planning for 25 lots featuring some incredible items."

DisneyPins.com: Do you care to give us a sneak preview of any? In particular, what was in the box from Disney Pin Celebration 2008?
Steven: [Laughs] "Ah, the box. Guests who attended Disney Pin Celebration 2008 may recall the box that I couldn't open when announcing the theme for Disney Pin Celebration 2009. At the time, I said that the box would contain the first auction lot to be featured at this year's event. I'm happy to announce that the first auction lot will contain eight items. It will feature mini Figment sculpts from Disney Pin Celebration 2008 - four whiteware sculpts and four final sculpts with final pins. I worked with Keri, one of our Product Development Coordinators, and the manufacturer to get the whiteware sculpts. The lot looks awesome together. I wish I could bid on it, but sadly I can't."

DisneyPins.com: Wow! What a great lot. Any others you would like to share?
Steven: "Here is a picture of a few of the lots, including one of the Figment whiteware sculpts. You will also see a pre-production trading bag from the Disney Summer Pin Festival 2009. It is the very first sample of the carpet bag with a Haunted Mansion® Wallpaper print inside. The final bag looks nothing like it. It will contain some additional goodies I'm not ready to announce yet.

There is also a jumbo pin that was created to celebrate Disney's Hollywood Studios™ 20th Anniversary. That pin was canceled so it was never released.

Finally, there are some pins from a multiple pin collection celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Sadly, that project was also canceled but the pins turned out great."

A sneak peek at some auction lots for Disney Pin Celebration 2009.

DisneyPins.com: Thank you for sharing that information. We guess we should let you get back to work now.
Steven: "My pleasure as I enjoy talking about the auction lots. The lots always contain some unique pins that make nice additions to any Disney Pin collection. By the way, Guests still have some time to register before the event begins on June 26 at Epcot®. I can' t wait to congratulate the winners of these auctions."

May 11, 2009

When we spoke with Steven last week about the Silent Auction coming to Disney Pin Celebration 2009, he also shared this sneak preview. It is the card for the next "Gift With Purchase" Sunday Program coming to the Disneyland® Resort in July. The Matterhorn celebrates 50 years on June 14, 2009. A new pin will be released each month from this six-pin Gift With Purchase collection from July to December 2009.

Steven also shared that there are some exciting new things coming in 2010 regarding promotions on both coasts. Unfortunately, he couldn't say more than that but he assured us that it will include some fun new pins.

May 13, 2009

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Disney Theme Park Merchandise Online Store today, May 13, 2009. The site officially launched at 12:01 a.m. This site is a partnership with DisneyStore.com, and will feature a variety of Theme Park exclusive items. The merchandise can be found by going directly to DisneyParks.com/store, which is a Parks branded "boutique" within the Disney Store site. Disney pins from the Parks are not currently featured on the site, but there are a variety of other cool items like ear hats, big figs and other collectibles.

In other news, we posted release dates and information for the upcoming Star Wars™ Weekends 2009 starting on May 22 at Disney's Hollywood Studios™. One thing you'll notice this year is that we are releasing all of the items for this event. This strategy change follows similar strategies we use for other events like the Epcot® International Flower and Garden Festival or Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The goal is to give you the opportunity to collect the pins you like.

We are really excited about one item in particular - the Lightsaber boxed set.

This set contains four pins that look like miniature Lightsabers. The pins all have slider elements that allow the Lightsabers to emerge from their hilt. The coolest part is lifting the lid to the box to hear the iconic sound of a Lightsaber being activated. The set has an edition size of 1000 and a retail of $70.00.