COVID-19 seriously threw a wrench in everyone’s plans in 2020. Thankfully by September Busch Gardens was confident enough to temporarily reopen for their Bier Fest event. This temporary event was extended and extended until finally they decided to stay open for the rest of 2020.

Our original plan pre-COVID days was to attend King’s Dominion for 2020, and then get Busch Gardens memberships for 2021. But then the Pandemic hit and King’s Dominion never reopened until their Winterfest event called “Taste of the Seasons.” We really did enjoy Taste of the Seasons and was willing to wait until 2021 for more theme park fun. That is, until Busch Gardens announced they would be open for the entire year, we signed up for fun cards! This also meant we could continue pin trading, as that was one of the highlights of our Summer back in 2019. However, we noticed things were a little different. Seeing as my first Pin trading post was popular, I decided to do an update for those interested in pin trading in 2021!

For Your Consideration Before you Begin:

Due to COVID, Pin trading Ambassadors are no longer wandering the park. So you will not be able to trade pins with Busch Gardens employees. However, there is a Facebook group you can possibly join to trade with other pin fans. You can either meet with them at the park, or mail trade. I found much success in being a member of this group.

How to Start Pin-Trading:

The Emporium in England remains the best place to start, as they carry every pin available. There are now three different starter packs available: A flag pack, a traveler aesthetic pack, and a pack featuring country seals.

The Emporium is also the only place in the park you will find the 4-pin country packs.

Other Locations include the Trading Post in New France (new), Tweedside Station in Scotland, and Der Marketplatz nearby Festhaus.

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Mystery Pin Packs

The Kinder Karussel horse pin pack is still available. There are also new packs including the Clocks Collectable Pin Set, the My First Ride set, a International Nesting Doll set, and the Busch Gardens Map Puzzle set. There are also four different Seaseme Street pin sets to choose from.

There is also a grand expansion of starter pin packs with a wide range of themes and aesthetics!

Newest Additions:

Other new pin collections include magazine cover pins, soda cans, dog tags, luggage tags, calendar pins, etc.

I have been loving all of the new pins this year and from 2020! There are some pins that remain from 2019 but they are slowly becoming few so keep that in mind. Although Pin Ambassadors are no longer wandering Busch Gardens, there are communities of pin traders on social platforms that happily make exchanges. Check them out and see what you can find! ^^