Step 1: Cut the ribbon to the right size and use a lighter to heat seal the ends. For the adult lanyards, I cut the ribbon to 33.5 inches. For the child lanyards, I cut the ribbon to 26 inches.
Step 2: Hold the ends together as shown, folder over and pin in place. I used the clasp as a guide to how much I wanted to fold over.
Step 3: Sew. I went over it twice to make sure it was secure.
Step 4: Attach clasp.

For the badge holders, I found a map of Disneyland online and printed it small enough to fit inside. I also included all the emergency contact information necessary if we were ever separated from the kids.

Completed lanyards

*From the completed pictures, you’ll see that I attached the clasp in a different location. Since this location wasn’t a key ring, I had to fold over the ribbon farther so that I could sew with the clasp in place. I ultimately decided to do this so that the clasp would lay flat, but it really wasn’t necessary.

Pin trading basics: You can trade up to 2 pins with any cast member with pins. The cast members with teal lanyards can only trade with children under 12 which is nice except we only encountered a handful of these lanyards. Some stores have pin boards to choose from as well.

If you haven’t yet, you should definitely try out pin trading. We highly recommend this for any age. For kids especially, pin trading seems to be a good fit for every personality. Not only does it make for some great memories, it’s also a great souvenir. We loved it because it gave us something to do in our downtime and it was almost like a treasure hunt as we looked out for cast members with pins. Even though the kids were a little timid at first, pin trading actually ended up being Jadon’s favorite aspect of Disneyland and Isabelle loved trading and then hoarding her pins away.