Hiya, Brenda, and welcome to planDisney! Thank you so much for asking me this question about early morning travel and pins! What could be better than chowing down on an endless buffet of Mickey-shaped Waffles, meeting some iconic characters, and then trading pins? This sounds like an ideal day for me, and I'm glad you're planning something similar for your upcoming vacation.
Let's start with your travel question.
Chef Mickey's at Disney's Contemporary Resort is about a 15 minute drive away from
Disney's All-Star Music Resort. Since your reservation is early in the morning, complimentary bus transportation will just be getting started at your reservation time of 7:45 AM. If you have your own vehicle or a rental car with you, you can drive your party to the Contemporary and inform the security Cast Member at the entrance gate about your dining reservation. They will direct you where to park. If you don't have a vehicle, you may consider taking a
Minnie Van via the Lyft app. You can see the cost of the ride when you go to book, and Minnie Vans are available starting at 6:30 AM. I expect traffic around the resort will be relatively quiet at this time of day, so I suggest requesting your Minnie Van no later than 7:00 AM. This will allow time for your ride to arrive, get everyone settled, complete your journey, and head up to Chef Mickey's.
Now, let's talk pin trading. I can only imagine the gems and treasures that exist in the collection that you have lovingly curated since 2003! I admire your commitment to the hobby and am sad to hear you are planning to part with your pins. That being said, trading, not selling, is the name of the game at Walt Disney World Resort. If you take a look at the
Guidelines for Disney Pin Trading you'll see that "monies, gifts, vouchers or receipts may not be exchanged or used to trade for a pin." I have seen people "bless" a pin board before by putting a Limited Edition or jumbo pin on a board for a lucky trader to discover, so you might consider doing that with a few of yours. Talk about putting some good pin karma into the pin trading universe!
You will find many pin trading boards and Cast Members with trading lanyards and pin pouches around the resort area, so feel free to trade your pins at these locations. You might even come across some of the new Hidden Disney pins which might reignite your interest in trading and collecting!
Brenda, I am so excited that you'll be enjoying a delicious breakfast and engaging in some pin trading activities on your upcoming visit. Please come back and see me here at planDisney with more pin-tastic questions!
Stay magical,
Scott