my top five favorite: disney pins

I've been collecting Disney pins since 2011, when I started a (currently unbroken!) streak of visiting a Disney park every single year. I'm going back to Disney World with my mom in April and pin trading/shopping is at the top of the list of things I'm excited about! Normally I stalk all of the Disney news sites for pin updates and new releases (yes, I am THAT kind of pin collector, lol!) but I haven't even peeked since I booked my trip last fall. I want to be surprised and see what new pins await when I actually get to the resort.

Anyway, all that being said, I thought it would be fun to pick my top five favorite pins from my collection. This was SO MUCH HARDER than I thought it would be. I left out a lot that I really, really love... so I might need to do a Part II to this post ;)

First up (haha) is my UP house pin! This was a Christmas present from my mom a few years ago. The floating house with the balloons is, in my opinion, one of the most visually stunning and beautiful images that Disney has given us. I think this was a limited release pin which is actually sad because the image is so iconic and well-loved that it should really be more accessible.



I got this pin at the Disney soda fountain shop in Hollywood. I was so excited when I found it! 101 Dalmatians pins aren't easy to come by (well, at least non-Cruella pins are hard to come by. I can't for the life of me understand why most of the pins for this movie feature the puppy-killing villian?!) and Anita ones are SUPER hard to come by!



I got this pin in a Beauty and the Beast mystery box about five years ago while I was in Disney World. Most Belle merchandise features her in the yellow ballgown, but I've always preferred the casual independent bookworm iteration of her character, and I get super excited whenever I find something that shows her in her village attire. I was lucky enough to actually get two of these in the mystery boxes, so one has a permanent spot on the lanyard that I wear to the parks, and one lives comfortably at home in my collection.



Eating at Disney parks is up there with pin collecting as one of my favorite parts of visiting the parks. And eating pineapple dole whip is the best part of eating at the parks (and churros. and nutella waffles from Sleepy Hollow. oohh and hot pretzels!) I have stood in such long lines to get one little scoop of dole whip and it has ALWAYS been worth it. I love it when Disney immortalizes park food in pin form, and this just had to be in my top five.



Last but not least is this 50th anniversary Small World pin! This was a limited release cast member pin so I had to buy it on ebay. My favorite part of It's a Small World is the Mary Blair design, so pins that incorporate that are must haves for me. And my Grandmom actually saw the ride at the New York World's fair in 1964! This was a little more money than I'd normally pay for a Disney pin, but I couldn't pass it up. It's my most cherished pin in my collection.

collections: disney pins

One week from today I'll be in Disney World! So I thought it would be fitting to make my Disney pins the next installment in my collections series :)

I only started collecting pins during my 2011 trip and only started trading last year so I'm still getting the hang of that. My brother has been collecting and trading since we went in 2002, but he's more into getting rare collectibles whereas I choose my pins purely for sentimental reasons.



My favorite Disney movie is 101 Dalmatians, so that's what I love collecting the most! I'm so torn about getting the Cruella pins, though. She's technically part of my favorite Disney film but at the same time I really hate her character. I mean, she wants to skin cute little puppies to make fur coats, for goodness sake! Can a villain get any worse than that?!

My favorite pin here is the one in the bottom right corner. I have a similar Christmas ornament too (I think it was released in 2011) and I just think it's so pretty! I love the one with Roger as well. Roger and Anita are sorely neglected when it comes to Disneyana, in my opinion.



I won't bring these to Disney World, but I also have a little collectible pin set that my mom got me for Christmas last year. I love the tin that they came in!



Beauty and the Beast would be my second favorite Disney animation so I had to have this 20th anniversary pin! Has anyone been to the Be Our Guest restaurant? I went last year and if you're a fan of Beauty and the Beast, you have to go! It's so magical!!

Mary Poppins is another movie that needs more representation -- I was so excited when I saw this pin! I also found a Mary Poppins stuffed animal (stuffed person?) at the Disney store in New York last winter but I'm thinking that was probably more for the Broadway show. I'm just going to pretend it's for the movie though.

Mulan is my fourth favorite Disney animation (I know I left out my third, I keep forgetting to get a Little Mermaid pin, but that will be rectified next week ;) Does anyone else get goosebumps when she climbs to the top of the pole during training and sends the arrow down? It gets me every time. And don't get me started on the scene when everyone bows to her! *shivers down spine* Love that movie!



I also love getting pins that represent my favorite places in the parks. My favorite attraction is Philharmagic. It's a 3D show that makes you feel like you're in movies like Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. You literally feel like you're flying over London and swimming under the sea, it's fantastic! And they have special effects too, like in the Fantasia scene when the mops walk in with buckets of water you can feel yourself getting splashed, and when Lumiere is singing "Be Our Guest" you can actually smell apple pie.

I also adore It's a Small World! It's such a happy ride, and the design is so fantastic. I think it's the ride I miss the most after my vacations are over, since it really represents how being in Disney World makes me feel. Just very, very happy.

And my favorite place to eat in Disney is Cosmic Ray's, so when I found this vinylmation pin version of the out-of-this-world nightclub singer Sonny Eclipse I HAD to get it.



Both of the times I've visited Disney World since I started pin collecting I've been there for the Christmas celebrations, so I bought pins to commemorate it :) This time I won't be visiting during any holidays but I like the idea of having one special pin for each trip, so I'll probably get one that says 2013.



And these were my first trades! I didn't end up finding any really special pins when I traded last year (none of my favorite films, characters or attractions) but now these are special to me just because they remind me of that particular vacation, and how fun it was to start trading!

such a wholesome place

One of the highlights of the trip so far was finding out that our hotel was 101 Dalmatians-themed! We're staying at the All Star Movies resort, and you're assigned to one of 5 different movie themed sections. I wanted this one SO badly, but I didn't find out that we had it until we checked in. They have two massive Pongo and Perdita statues in front of each building, and some of the walls are painted with dalmatian spots. It's my favorite Disney movie so I'm basically in heaven.

Also, yesterday I had the best meal of the trip. I know I said this in my last post, but really this trip is all about the food. I was flipping though the photos on my phone last night and noticed like 99% of them are pictures of my meals, lol! But anyway, yesterday we ate lunch at Seasons in Epcot and they had vegan orange sesame chik'n. I almost died when I saw it on the menu... a lot of the counter service restaurants here have a limited selection for vegetarians (lots of veggie burgers and PB&J sandwiches) so this was quite a treat! And it was absolutely delicious. I'm going back today, and basically as often as possible while I'm here! 

Well we're heading out for another magical day! Be back soon :)

Shirt and backpack - h&m | Sneakers and shorts - asos | Tights - target

Cardigan - forever 21 | Sweater clips - sweet and lovely