Month: November 2018

Nightmare Before Christmas Quarter Set – Disneyland, CA

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This new pressed Quarter set actually came out a couple of weeks before Halloween but I was having some difficulty getting my hands on it.  Usually I can reach out to some fellow collectors in California but everyone seemed to be on vacation or out-of-town all at the same time.  However after some patience and perseverance I was finally able to get a set shipped to my home.

I haven’t been to Disneyland in quite a few years and am looking forward to going back hopefully in the next couple years.  Due to this I’m not as familiar with the park layout as my home parks in Florida.  This new machine is in New Orleans Square at the Port Royal Curios and Curiosities gift shop.

As previously mentioned this is a set of pressed quarters which is a nice change from all the pennies we usually find throughout the parks.  The images on these coins are of Jack Skellington, Zero and Oogie Boogie all with the Nightmare Before Christmas logo.

Keep in mine these are not part of the usually Holiday dates coin sets that Disneyland and California Adventure release.  Those are still to come (and hopefully soon).  This is a really fun set of coins from a great movie that has definitely been getting more attention within the parks.

Icon Orlando – Orlando, FL

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
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Over a year ago I had taken my daughters to check out an attraction we found along International Drive in Orlando called the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye.  This was a huge ferris wheel that can be seen for miles around the surrounding areas.  Not too long ago it had been rebranded as the Icon Orlando, and rumor had it that the pressed penny designs here had been updated due to this change.

It was time for another visit to see what has changed.  We jumped in our car and made the drive down I-4 towards International Drive.

One really nice thing about this area is that they offer free parking in their garage.  We parked the car and as we headed out towards the Icon Orlando we could see the rebranded starting all around.

Inside the previously red interior color has been changed to blue, and the new sign above the ticket counters has been updated to the new name.

We didn’t have time to actually go up in the attraction this visit but thankfully the penny machine does not need paid admission to access.  Just to the right of the ticket counter is the exit / gift shop and the penny machine right outside.

The cabinet is pretty much the same, but does have one slight difference.  Just below the touch screen is the Icon Orlando Skyline logo.

Here is a close up of the touch screen with all the designs available.  The price is still $1 for 1 penny, or $5 for all 8.  I’m sure you know which option I went for.

The designs are fairly similar to the previous ones but do now have the new name Icon Orlando on them.

After I had pressed a few sets of the coins we headed into the gift shop to look around.  All the new merch was available and I do like the new blue color.  There is absolutely no sign of the previous Coca-Cola branding.

This is really a fun place to visit and other than the Icon Orlando, you can also visit Madame Tussauds or the SeaLife aquarium.  The Icon Orlando though is quite the experience and once up at the very top you have fantastic views of the Orlando area.  If you aren’t a fan of heights you may want to skip it, but just remember the pennies are easily obtained without admission.  Happy Collecting!

Lowry Park Zoo – Tampa, Fl

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The summer is over (although you wouldn’t know it in Florida), and the theme parks saw a slight drop in visitors as school went back into session for most of the country.  Unfortunately that never lasts too long and now the holiday season is quickly approaching.  Just before Halloween we took a drive out-of-town down I-4 to Tampa and checked out a place we had been interested in visiting for a while, the Lowry Park Tampa Zoo.

The zoo is a bit outside of the downtown area of Tampa, but not hard to get to.  A nice perk was that they offered free parking which is something becoming more and more rare around the Orlando area lately.

After buying our tickets and entering inside the park splits into a few different pathways.  They all connect with each other eventually in a main central area of the park where you can also find a pretty big carousel.  We let the kids decide where to go and we were off towards Africa.

Just before the path that led towards Africa was the first penny machine we came across.  This machine was not level on the group so as we turned the handle to press the pennies the entire machine kind of rocked back and forth a bit.  I wasn’t worried about it falling over, but the rocking did make it a little difficult to use.

All of the designs have Lowry Tampa Zoo on them along with a variety of zoo animals.  This set had an Manatee, Ray, Tiger and a wild Dog.  After using the machine we headed towards the Africa Tunnel.  This was an interesting park of the park where you actually walk under a roadway, through a tunnel to the next set of exhibits.  We found out afterwards this is due to the Safari rides they offer where you can get a little closer to some of the animals.  The wait time was more than we wanted to incur on this hot autumn Florida day so we just kept walking.

My girls were intrigued by the large tortoise we found along the way.  They had just been fed some lettuce leaves and he was going to town on them.  The zoo had a nice little cut out of the fence with a piece of plexiglass that made it easier for the younger / shorter visitors to get a nice look.

The rest of the afternoon we visited with some elephants and giraffes.

There were also some rhinos enjoying the shaded area of their exhibit and a few zebras were found nearby.  Eventually we headed back towards the Africa Tunnel but stopped near the Savanna Oasis for some lunch.

After our lunch we found the second penny machine just across the pathway.

This second set of designs included some of the animals we had visited with earlier which my kids always get a kick out of.  The set included an Elephant, Giraffe, Cheetah, and Rhino.  We headed back through the tunnel towards the carousel.  Our daughters always request a ride on the carousel so we took a break for one ride which eventually turned into two rides.  The next area we headed into was the local Florida wildlife which included some birds and alligators of course.  There was also a touch tank with some sting rays inside that had a large crowd.  This is always something that seems to get a lot of attention.  Unfortunately a few of the areas here were also under construction and made for some long periods of walking with nothing much to see.

By this time we had spent a good part of the day at the zoo, and the blazing sun was starting to take its toll on us as it usually does.  The kids were getting a little cranky and my wife and I were about ready for a nap ourselves.  The pathway we were on eventually came out by a set of restrooms near the exit of the park.  This was also where we found the third and final penny machine available at that time.

This machine was in much better working condition and rolled the pennies nicely.  The set had images of an Orangutan, Koala bear, Parrot and a Tiger.  We made one last stop in the gift shop for some souvenirs.  Our kids picked out new plush toys which I’m pretty sure we already had from another park but it makes them happy.  I also found a penny booklet for the zoo that I just had to have.

It was a bit of a slow walk back to our car due to everyone being pretty tired.  They fell asleep almost immediately after I started driving home.  This zoo was a lot of fun, but we are suckers for these types of places and love seeing the animals.  I’ll be curious to see how this place looks next year after they have finished with those exhibits that were under construction on this visit.  Plus of course I have to keep tabs on these penny machines.  You never know when new designs will appear.

Polynesian Village Resort – NEW Pressed Penny Machine

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These 8-design penny machines are taking Walt Disney World by storm.  I received word that one of these new machines was put out over at the Polynesian Village Resort.

This is a resort that I visit whenever possible.  Not only does it have one of my favorite restaurants (Ohana) but the island vibe you get just from walking around the property is a lot of fun.

Once inside the main ceremonial house the friendly staff greet you with a flower lei, and the beautiful flowers all around just put you in the vacation mood.  Something else I usually do when visiting here is walk straight back through the rear doors to the Pineapple Lanai for a dole whip.  But on this trip I had a quick pit stop first.

Previously just to the left of these rear doors was a 3 design penny machine, but as you can see it has been removed.  Now there is a new touch screen machine.

The designs available here are all themed around the movie Moana which makes perfect sense at this resort.

The penny designs include Moana herself in a few different poses, Maui, HeiHei, Pua and even a couple of Kakamora.  I think this is a really cool little set for such a great movie.

Before heading outside for my Dole whip I went upstairs to see if those two machines were still there and they were.  Just outside the Moana mercantile are two machines (one has 3 penny designs, and the other has 3 quarter designs).  The designs on all of these coins have remained unchanged…for now.

With the new coins pressed, and the previous machines checked up on it was time for my treat.  I made my way back downstairs and out the back of the ceremonial house to the Pineapple Lanai.  Amazingly there was no one in line so I got right up to the counter and ordered my Dole whip.  I walked it over to the beach along side the seven seas lagoon and just enjoyed a little bit of island time with my feet in the sand before heading back home.