We started off with having a quiet breakfast along the waterfront at OKW. This, I think, has become my favorite spot to eat whenever we stay at this resort.
We then made our way to Epcot. This was my first view of Spaceship Earth after the removal of the Wand. It looks "empty". So yes, I do miss it. There! I've said it!
They directed us Pin event attendees to a different bag check area, as expected since they do this every year. However, this year, they didn't go through our bags as usual, but rather employed dogs to sniff our bags. It actually made the whole process went faster. So way to go, Disney, for thinking of doing it this way! Besides, it was fun watching the dogs sniffed the bags. Too bad it couldn't catch if anyone was bringing in scrappers or counterfeit pins! :)
Upon entering Epcot, we see that Spaceship Earth is still under renovation.
Since we were early, we had time to do Soarin' first, and then we headed straight to the World Showcase for our Pin event. This is the view as we were about to walk in.
Just outside the front entrance, there is this display. Already I realize that if they are putting this much effort into themeing and decorating even on the outside of the building, they inside should be fabulous. And I wasn't wrong.
This is the very busy registration and merchandise pickup area right inside the door.
And this is the "gateway" into the rest of the Pin Celebration area. Yes, Figment is everywhere this year with this pin event.
The place was already busy and buzzing with people playing various pin games and going through various stations to get their complimentary pins.
A very large section was set aside for pin trading, which for many people, is the major reason to come to this event. People from various parts of the world are here, either displaying their pins for trading, or walking around looking for pins to trade. This year, since we know a lot more people in the pin trading community, we managed to sit with a few people and get to display our pin trading albums. We did make quite a few pin trades during the whole event, so it was quite fruitful. These pictures don't quite convey the size of the crowd and the amount of pins on display on the tables for trading. It was jaw-dropping.
There were also other games being played at the stage area of the event. A few lucky attendees got selected to play these games and win prizes.
As I said earlier, the themeing and decorations this year was just outstanding. It added to the atmosphere of the event.
While we were in line to play some of the pin games, we bumped into this person, who we also met last year. He was quite memorable because he was wearing this vest and hat that was literally covered with Stitch pins. I remember him because several people came by and admired his vest and hat. So this year, I asked his permission to take a picture of him and his vest. Obviously, he collects Stitch pins. (This is a common practice where a person will pick a theme to collect, mainly because there's no way anyone can buy everything he/she likes, because there's just way too many pins out there.) Needless to say, this person was a head-turner and what he got was just impressive. So if by any chance you are this person reading this, thanks for letting me take your picture.
We ended the wonderful day by staying to watch Illuminations from the Italy Pavilion.
Zz.
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