Disney Parks Lanyard Medals

Ok, so the items pictured above aren’t technically keychains. At least, they didn’t start out as keychains. I had to add a split ring to the original metal clip on each one of them before I could justify calling them keychains. Cheating? Maybe. However, when I first started buying these items second-hand, I had no idea what exactly they were. I just knew that the Disney fan in me thought they looked really cool. And that some of them were obviously souvenirs from the Disney parks, and as such must’ve been pricey at original retail. Never underestimate the lure of a perceived bargain. Anyway, it wasn’t until I found one of these at a thrift store, with the original backing card, that I learned what their intended purpose was.

Disney lanyard medals appear to have been marketed to visitors at Disney’s theme parks as accessories for pin traders. The basic construction on the medals is very similar to the Disney park pins, but on a larger scale. Also, the medals in my collection are marked on the back as “Official Pin Trading” products. As the name “lanyard medal” implies, these items were intended to be hung on pin trading lanyards. They could also be clipped to pin trading bags. In my opinion, a lanyard loaded down with metal pins tends to be heavy enough without the extra weight of a lanyard medal. Maybe that’s why lanyard medals don’t seem to be very common on Disney’s official online shopping site anymore. At least, they weren’t the last time I checked. The last lanyard medal I purchased, shown below, was found on clearance at a Disney outlet store quite some time ago. Brick and mortar Disney stores themselves have become a rarity in their own right.

That’s all the information I could find to share on the subject of Disney parks lanyard medals. However, I would like to pass on a warning to other collectors who may be considering seeking these items out. I bought the Stitch lanyard medal, based on the character from Disney’s Lilo And Stitch franchise, used at a flea market. After I bought it, I ended up having to glue some of the enamel bits back into place with strong craft adhesive because they’d come loose and fallen out. I don’t know if this is a common problem with lanyard medals as they age. But I wanted other collectors to be aware of it. So, my secondhand shopping tip for today is, always examine used lanyard medals carefully to check for missing or loose enamel. I currently have all of my lanyard medals stored in individual, sealed baggies, just to make sure that none of the enamel pieces get lost if they start loosening and falling out.

Signed, Treesa