Thrifty Thursday: Your Best, Free Souvenir

Pins are awesome. That adorable Elliott over there on the right is one of my all-time favorite Disney things. He shows off my particular brand of Disney insanity and makes me happy when I’m feeling down. 

But I’m not much of a pin collector, really, because they’re so darn expensive. That Elliott? He cost me something like $8. Which is really quite an investment, when you consider the fact that I could have a Mickey bar and a bottle of water for that price. 

So instead, I do my own brand of pin collecting: I’m Celebrating pins! Jessica’s covered these awesome, free souvenirs for The Affordable Mouse before, so I won’t rehash too much, but here are the basics: 

• Disney offers pins for a variety of celebrations, and they have blank ones you can personalize if you ask! 
• They’re totally free! No one will ever charge you for them. 
• You can get them at resort check in or at any Guest Services location.

The best part about these pins is all the attention you’ll get from Cast Members and from other guests. On our honeymoon, so many CMs stopped us to say “Congrats,” and during out First Anniversary trip, a pair of married CMs stopped us to have a long chat about what makes a marriage work and wish us luck on our journey together. It was so sweet!! 

Next time you’re in the Parks, get a free I’m Celebrating pin of your own. And keep your eyes peeled for other guests wearing them. I love injecting a little bit of magic into someone else’s day by saying a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY or CONGRATULATIONS to someone who’s celebrating. 

Have you ever had a great I’m Celebrating pin experience? Tell us about it! 

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Melissa Sue works in higher education communications in upstate New York, where she lives with her husband Robert, a secondary school teacher, and her cavapoo George (as in King George). Melissa began visiting Disney World when she was six and today owns a piece of the magic at Bay Lake Tower. She blogs at Mouse on the Mind and tweets @msorrellsgalley. She’ll be contributing money-saving tips to The Affordable Mouse.