Passing on a Disney tradition

I started working down at Disney when I was 22 years old. I worked as an intern in Magic Kingdom in Liberty Square. I used to do a lot of pin trading with guests. The pin trading was getting more popular at the time. It felt like every few minutes I was showing a guest my lanyard that was around my neck. On the lanyard there where pins that they could trade with one of theirs pins for. I asked the guests about their pins, why they collected them and which ones where more popular. After about three months working down tat Disney, I bought my first pin. It was Slinky the dog from Toy Story. I just loved the way it was made to bend like a slinky. Then my collection grew from there and by the time I had left Disney I had fifty or more pins. I started to read up on Disney pins, which ones where more popular, limited edition ones, mystery pins and so on. I now have way over 200 pins to my collection and each one is very unique. I have a special one from a friend who bought me an Ariel on that was from the Cruise Ship, Artist Choice, which when I looked it up was worth over $100.00 now. I get so excited about trading pins when going down to Disney that I wanted to pass my love of Disney pins on to my stepson.
We went down as a family a two years ago. He was almost eight. I bought him a lanyard with some starting pins. He then bought a few he liked when we would see a pin rack at the parks. I then told him that he could pin trade with cast members. First he was nervous. He didn't want to approach anyone at first. I went up to a cast member myself at Downtown Disney and asked if she would pin trade with my stepson. She talked with him for a few minutes as he looked at her pins. He landed up switching one of his starter pins with her. His eyes lit up and he got excited. He had a new pin!!! So then he went up to the next cast member he found and then the next and then the next...he was a pin trading machine! He loved it! We then got him a pin book to hold all his pins in to show them. He has already brought them to school twice f or show n' tell. He can't wait to go back down in a year or so to do some pin trading! And the new Disney tradition has begun....

 Here is the picture of my stepson trading a pin with the first cast member we meet. She had a green lanyard which was just for kids to trade pins from. He loved pin trading that this moment! The person in green on the other side...was a happy me while watching him trade!