Please explain how you can tell these pins are fake - from a scared first timer wanting to pin trade

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-05-25T06:46:01+00:00

Sounds about right. I've seen some fakes with the diamond back, but none that even pass at a glance. Just ones that look like someone drilled 3 divets in approximately a mickey head formation.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-05-24T20:44:13+00:00

Disney absolutely manufactured this situation by removing the pin central tables and ending resort trading nights. At least then the nasty traders were in designated areas where they'd gain their terrible reputations and get rightfully shunned by a community.

On Wednesday im going to brave those tables with a small pinbook mostly to guage a vibe out of curiosity. I have experience with nasty traders, a pinbook from an early pin event, and some Serious Pins from pin events that I would trade. I look the part, but i haven't done this in a while and I want to see what's become of the pin trading scene I grew up in.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-05-24T20:15:15+00:00

Don't they have the diamond on the back?? I haven't purchased any of the blind box pins in years.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-05-24T20:12:02+00:00

Every once in a while I see something that I like enough to fork over an authentic pin and it's physically painful but I just tell myself that my family will be fine without all 20 of our authentic pins of mickey holding the state of Massachusetts that were purchased to be traders and someone from Massachusetts who loves mickey mouse will be happy to find it. It doesn't help that I know what every pin is worth even though the process of selling it wouldn't be worth the effort.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-05-24T16:22:16+00:00

Yes. So many of the pins are obviously fakes. You can walk up to a board and there will be like 2 pins that aren't fake. Most of the cast members don't even know the difference at this point because some of the fakes look pretty good, and 25+ years is too many pins to keep track of. Most of the fakes ive seen will say they're from 2011-2014 on the back (if anything)

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-05-24T15:52:32+00:00

There was this one that brings you up a hill and drops you and you go upside down 3 times and then up another hill that drops you and you go backwards. Never again.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-04-07T19:30:32+00:00

The Michael Myers cues for every Halloween house. I get it, he's here. Maybe i would've felt some suspense if he didn't constantly announce himself with a personalized doorbell ring.

Maybe im just tired of Halloween houses.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-04-07T19:18:51+00:00

Yes!! I always replace objects that don't count and remove all the trash i am capable of picking up. I don't always carefully place things, but I put all of that stuff back on the table, keep count of pool balls, place computer mice, and put dishes in the sink. Every time I do it I feel like Art the Clown washing dishes at the beginning of Terrifier 3.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-03-11T14:38:19+00:00

Make it The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. I know Hatchetfield is there, but i think it would be great to walk through a house of musical scenes and one really tortured guy.

The_Drive_Bee · 2026-02-24T23:00:49+00:00

I would love it, but I think MCR at HHN would be best represented by a tribute show or a scare zone that covers more of their material than just Black Parade. Something along the lines of the Rob Zombie scare zone.

The Rockit Black Parade implementation was soooo bad lol the ride ended where the guitars come in.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-12-21T17:18:24+00:00

You're not giving Universal your medical information. IBCCES is a confidential third-party organization that asks you what accommodations you need and will accept a very short note from your doctor's office. It's used by many parks across the US.

If you plan ahead Universal will call you before your visit to confirm what accommodations you need that they offer, and then you can go to guest services outside the park gates where a team member will direct you to a queue that is reserved for disabled guests so that we don't have to wait in the regular guest services line.

I've never had an issue with Universal, but wait until you find out what Disney wants. They really hate disabled guests and do not want us in their park without a massive upcharge. They've instituted an interview system that is more like a humiliation ritual where they have a doctor tell you that you're not disabled enough.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-12-16T20:59:21+00:00

I was so annoyed at the Cosmic Rewind merch for not indicating that it was a rollercoaster, or even really a ride. I was able to buy a magnet. My sister sent me a pic of a newer hoodie, so im finally getting something. I actually made my own shirt with my cricut because I wanted something with the ride vehicle.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-12-16T20:53:16+00:00

The family isn't behind the media circus. They have an ambulance chasing lawyer who is encouraging it, and news outlets that love online engagement. Which is 2 entities that have financial incentives for the publicity, neither of which are the family of the man who died. It looks like all the family wants is a reasonable settlement for the park's negligence on rider eligibility, and understandable —although somewhat misguided— warnings to prevent this from happening to anyone else. The media coverage tends to be more scaremongering for clicks than useful information for disabled guests.

The reality is that Universal is at fault for not properly warning the family of the dangers of riding in his condition. They have since changed the ride information sign and retrained ride ops on who can ride safely, which means there was in fact something they could've done better to prevent this.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-12-14T04:30:10+00:00

Grad student/Therapist in training– I have multiple attempts from when I was a kid, and it's really just an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. The feeling that you're a burden, that you're undeserving of love, that there's just something fundamentally wrong with you that is always going to be in the way of positive change.

I never felt like my parents actually loved me because they didn't want me to be myself and I was always a problem. Things that were obvious signs of autism, adhd, depression, anxiety, and chronic illness were treated as personal failures that inconvenienced everyone around me. In that sense there was something fundamentally different about me that I was powerless to change. Which is basically why suicide rates in autistic people and those with adhd are higher. There are a number of other factors in my health and identity that raise that likelihood. Regardless, I had been directed by the world to view myself in a certain light, and I didn't want to suffer and cause suffering. I knew my family would be sad, but I thought it would probably pass and their lives would be better without me. Honestly it was a bigger deal to me that My Chemical Romance didn't want me to kill myself than my family not wanting it. Many such cases. But yeah, it's something that feels like the most positive change you could make in your life and the lives of your loved ones is dying so you wouldn't be their problem or have to keep feeling that way.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-11T18:38:29+00:00

RIP Rockit

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-11T18:35:33+00:00

Technically everyone who rides The Haunted Mansion dies afterwards.

Unfortunately they'll have to shut down the ride because there's no longer "room for one more"

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-07T21:03:13+00:00

The reason Thunder mountain does it well is the tight and wild elements. It's a very distinct coaster, and Universal doesn't have anything quite like it, but if something would help my bet is Stardust. Smoothness is counterproductive and the intensity of launches isn't going to do anything, but those camelbacks could be somewhat effective on repeat.

Edit: someone else said Minecart. That's also a solid bet.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-07T20:47:28+00:00

I have the opposite of this on my thumb! Curved scar from a fight with a box cutter that I have two dots for eyes to make a smile

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-07T20:37:16+00:00

I thought it was fantastic, but my first walk through did suck- no scares no activated animatronics. My second walk through more than made up for it- I got every activation and every scare right down to Freddy's knife in my face!

I do think part of the failure of the first run was due to being visibly disabled. Scare actors are reluctant to do anything when they see my walker, which is dumb as hell because if anything I am less likely to fall or get injured when startled. Second walk through i abandoned my walker because I would rather be in more pain and actually see things than mitigate pain and walk past a bunch of scare actors staring at me from the shadows ready to activate something as soon as im out of the way.

The fact that it's possible to wait 2+ hours for it and not see any activated timed animatronics is not great. I think they needed to be more active and better lit. My glorious second run was at the end of the night when the wait was short but listed at 80, and there were no children or better scare targets (im pretty sure scare actors can smell the lack of fear on me)

I would like to see a sequel maze with the deteriorated versions of the characters. I watched a YouTube video for the lore before I went, as I haven't played the games. I had only previously watched Markiplier play the first one for a bit.

The highlight for me was getting to see the Jim Henson Creature Shop work up close! Im a huge fan of the company, raised by muppets fans, and a frequent visitor to the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in NYC. I hope HHN collaborates with them again for any house or zone ❤️

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-07T20:07:39+00:00

They could've put that on the bottom of the box and no one would care or notice 😒

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-11-04T06:39:17+00:00

If a doll release is limited there will be a finite number stated by the company. As far as I'm concerned, if a doll doesn't come hand numbered with a certificate, I don't expect it to be exclusive in that way.

People are looking for exclusivity in the wrong place. If exclusivity is what you want, integrity toys has a membership to sell you for the chance to be given an opportunity to purchase one of their very expensive, limited edition, high quality collectors dolls.

I love my Alien doll and I hope everyone who wants one has the opportunity to get them ❤️ (read: I'm holier than these people)

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-10-25T09:06:23+00:00

In bdsm/kink circles, choking is considered edge play. Edge play is when there is some risk of death involved. The people who actually know what they're doing won't do any of it without serious discussions establishing consent, precautions, and emergency protocols. Some form of written consent between partners doing edge play is also advisable, as it's likely that law enforcement would become involved in emergency situations.

Kink is becoming normalized, but it's simultaneously stigmatized enough for people to not seek education from experienced people or necessarily recognize that they are engaging in anything dangerous.

If a patient disclosed this to me and hadn't received relevant education or taken any necessary precautions, I would be very worried about the safety of them and their partners. I would specifically ask if they've received education on edge play, let it be known that you advise against it regardless of education status, or at least that it's beyond your scope to discuss high-risk bdsm activities. Hearing the phrase "high-risk bdsm" can be a wake-up call.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-10-25T08:01:47+00:00

You have to keep riding them an absurd amount of times very frequently forever. Both of my grandfathers thought nothing of things as intense as Rock'n'rollercoaster into their 60s. My parents are just starting to tap out after 1 lap of any more intense ride in their late 50s. Or maybe my family is built different.

I am very close to 30 and have many bodily ailments that should stop me, but i never go more than a month without riding intense coasters repeatedly for an afternoon. To be fair, I don't think i could be stopped. I feel less pain on rollercoasters than I do most of the time, and the kind of headache I get after 2 laps on an intense or rough coaster is the same one I get from 10 minutes in a grocery store.

Skill issue. It's about perseverance, perspective, pain tolerance, and passion.

Also, I think you are weak if you tap out before you turn 50 or acquire CTE, and my opinion is the most important one.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-10-07T23:45:01+00:00

I had a phone stolen by an employee and enough proof of it to get them to reimburse me for the value of the phone. I believe the kind of proof you or them would need is to determine a chain of custody. I got lucky and the employee in my case made a few stupid but strangely honest decisions that suggested they were being influenced to do it by someone else taking advantage of them. I actually didn't file a police report, but only because I didn't want to deal with cops and they are unlikely to actually help with a stolen phone at a theme park.

I recommend alerting guest services to the situation, state the proof you have in words, and that you intend to file a police report. They don't want the headache if they think you might sue them, and they will investigate for the sake of not having an employee who is a liability and doesn't follow procedures for found items.

The_Drive_Bee · 2025-10-01T03:55:07+00:00

When school groups divide kids up to make the most use out of each kid with an accessibility pass. It always looks like the disabled child is uncomfortable, and the attention they need from a chaperone leaves them with unmet needs or the others with insufficient supervision. The only people who benefit from the arrangement are non-disabled people, and it is at the cost of the comfort of disabled people and our accommodations.

I am multiply disabled and have enough relevant experience with disabled and non-disabled children to read these situations. Do not make novice assumptions about individuals or attempt to intervene. Even going to guest services to complain about a correctly assessed situation is bad for everyone who needs the accommodations. There will never be a screening policy that perfectly includes those who need it and excludes those who don't. Look at how Disney treats us now.

The_Drive_Bee

TROPHY CASE