PP171    WDW - Disneyland - Opening Day Monthly Series - January 2000

This is the first in a set of 12 limited-edition pins that will be released at Walt Disney World each month during 2000. Each pin commemorates the opening day of different Disney theme parks, water parks and attractions. They usually came out on the first day of each month. The price was $8.00/each, until the October pin, when the price was raised to $8.50.

The pin depicts Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland. On the bottom, it reads "Disneyland Commemorative Edition - Opening Day - 1955".

January: Disneyland LE5000

February: Magic Kingdom LE5000

March: EPCOT LE5000

April: Tokyo Disneyland LE15000

May: MGM Studios LE15000

June: Typhoon Lagoon LE15000

July: Disneyland Paris LE15000

August: Tower of Terror LE7500

September: Blizzard Beach LE7500

October: Animal Kingdom LE3000

November: Disney Quest LE3000

December: World of Disney LE3000

[December 2010 comment: In 2001, it was reported that this pin had been counterfeited, when it was extremely hard to get. I had purchased one at a Disneyana show & sale. The person selling them had a bag full of like 25 of them. I should have been suspicious, but the pin looked really good, and I was pretty naive about the idea of counterfeit pins at that point. This year, I acquired another of these pins. On its proper backing card, in a tiny collection from a former-CM who "got a little caught up in pin trading when it first started, but never really got into it." So I have no doubt about its authenticity. When the two pins are compared side-by-side, the coloring differences are apparent, but hard to photograph. The grey on the fake looks a little purplish, and the white on the fake is a little yellowish/ecru/cream. The most obvious differences are with the pinks. The fake is more baby pinks, the authentic is more rosey. However, if you do not have them side by side...Right side of pin, on the roof section, directly to the left of the spire with the red flag. There are 2 small spires, and a roof piece above the blue shingles. On the fake this roof section is white, on the authentic it is yellow. Also, the spire to the right of the tallest section, also has some white where it should be yellow. On the back of the pin, the gold metal seems slightly different in color. The authentic seems to be a more yellowish gold, but really hard to tell. But the more obvious sign is that in the copyright/info box, the pin is very smooth. On the fake, there is a bunch of pitting around the dot in between the words month and January.]