Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!
I hope you have a wonderful day with your friends and Family. This is such a fun and festive time of year that we look forward to it all year long and once it’s over we start looking to next year. Enjoy the day and make sure to always be safe.
Thanks for being such a great community and group of friends to us here. We truly appreciate you visiting each week and love hearing from you. Happy Holidays!!
Our fears have been confirmed. It seems like Disney is not the only place converting their pressed penny machines to $1. A very kind friend had sent me a message online that they saw some penny machines in Orlando had the new price rate. I almost couldn’t believe it so I made sure to head on over as soon as I had a free afternoon to confirm it…and it turns out to be 100% true.
The attraction in question has gone through quite a few name changes over the past couple of years. Currently, it’s called Icon Park over on International Drive. I had written about this place previously as the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye and you can read about Madame Tussauds here and the Sealife Aquarium here.
The large Ferris wheel can be seen from all over Orlando, but when you park right beneath it in the lot the actual size can be a bit overwhelming. It’s very difficult to get it all in one picture.
You can head inside to where the main building is located right behind the giant wheel. This is where you can get your tickets to ride the Icon (Ferris wheel), or visit the other attractions here.
One of the first places you will come across is Madame Tussauds the famous wax museum. I didn’t go inside this time, but it is definitely a fun place to experience. Just outside the exit to the gift shop is where the penny machine is located. Just as a reminder you do NOT need to pay for admission to use this machine.
You can see the machine has some updated decals on the outside.
This machine accepts dollar bills and supplies a pre-loaded zinc penny.
Even though the machine was removed temporarily to perform the conversion, just like most of the Disney machines, the designs available have not changed.
Located directly across from the wax museum is the Sea Life Aquarium which is really a hidden gem. I have gone back to this aquarium a few times over the last couple of years and I really enjoy it each and every time.
As much as I do encourage you to buy a ticket and experience this unique aquarium if you are stopping by just for a quick visit to use the penny machine you do not need to pay for admission. Just to the left of the ticket counter is the entrance to the gift shop.
Just inside the gift shop near the soda cooler and ice cream freezer is where you can find the machine.
The dreaded $1.00 signage and instructions on how to use the machine. No penny, No problem!
These designs have also remained unchanged. I did press a new set and they did come out pretty nicely even though they are on pre-loaded zinc pennies. I will be curious to continue to monitor how they look as the years go by. Using zinc pennies has always been something long-time collectors have tried to avoid. I’m crossing my fingers they don’t deteriorate too quickly but I guess we will just have to wait and see.
So we are halfway through the month of December. This is the time of year that I begin to try and prepare myself for the chaos that ensues when Disney starts releasing the new dated coins all over property. I assumed those would be the next “new” coins, but then they tried to sneak a new machine over at The Land Pavilion in Epcot.
My family was heading into Epcot for the Candlelight Processional the day after I had heard about this new machine. So things couldn’t have worked out better. After we had dinner there was a little time to spare before the show was to start, which gave me the opportunity to visit The Land.
When you walk into this pavilion you are on the second floor. Directly across is the Garden grill revolving restaurant and just to the right of that is where the coin press machines were located.
There used to a 3 design penny machine and a 3 design quarter machine (see above) here but both have now been removed. The quarter machine had one of the 2019 dated designs so this may be the beginning of those being retired.
Above is a picture I took to show that both of those old machines are gone and only the new 8-design machine is there along with a dog-tag engraving machine.
Here is a close up of the machine. It has a similar cabinet design to the previous machines and blends in nicely with The Land Pavilion theme.
The internal working of the press is always very mesmerizing to me. I enjoy getting down close and watching as it presses my coins.
Here is a picture of the marquee on the top of the machine with the designs available in this set. Same price as the other similar machines, $1 per penny or all 8 for $5.
Finally above is pictured my complete set after pressing. There are some fun designs in this set and some characters we don’t see very often like Bambi and Jiminy Cricket.
The entire set has the works “Living with the Land” on them which are in reference to the classic slow movie boat ride that takes you through The Land Pavilion greenhouse. It’s not a very thrilling ride but has some fun information along the way and you get to see where they grow some of the produce used in the restaurants all over property.
Will this be the last new set before those 2020 coins start showing up. I’ll be sure to keep you all up to date on where and when that all starts happening.
With the dry spell of very few new pressed coins at Disneyland this year, I was a bit worried the annual Holiday pressed nickel designs may not be released. Thankfully just a week ago or so I was proven incorrect and it was documented online that the new designs were out.
The first set is available over in Disneyland Park at the Main Street Penny Arcade. I really like this set, it has designs of Mickey with the word Noel, Minnie Mouse with the word Joy, and the third design with both of them together and two candy canes formed into a heart.
The reverse side of each of these coins says Happy Holidays 2019.
Not too far away over in Disney California Adventure in the Kingswell Camera shop is the second set of pressed nickels. This set has images of Tinker Bell saying Celebrate the Season, Chip and Dale as the Snow Bros., and Mickey feeding some reindeer.
The reverse image on this set also says Happy Holidays 2019 but inside a Tree Ornament which is pretty cool.
I always look forward to these sets and anxiously await their return each year. I was a bit worried they may not arrive but once they did I made to pick up a set for my collection as soon as possible. These are definitely only for a limited time and we just never know how long they will stay out in the parks so get your set quickly!
Happy Holidays!
Welcome to December! Thankfully it’s not too cold here in Florida, but during this time of year, it’s hard to get in the Holiday spirit. Thankfully Disney puts on some events to help get you feeling festive. In previous years we have checked out the Mickey’s Very Mery Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom, and last year we saw the holiday projection show down Sunset Boulevard on the Tower of Terror. But the one thing we have started to make a tradition is the Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs.
This is something completely free to do, and you can also try to visit Santa if you don’t mind waiting on average around 200 minutes (a virtual queue is available). For us, though we usually just pick a nice place to have dinner around 6pm, then just as it gets dark we head over to start the trail.
The main entrance for the trail is over in the Marketplace area of Disney Springs near the Earl of Sandwich or Once Upon a Toy store. There is a podium set up where you can put your name down for a time to visit with Santa, or you can just head right in and check out the trees.
The trail consists of 23 themed Christmas Trees. Usually, they are based around specific Disney movies. Above is the Sleeping Beauty tree with lots of fun ornaments like the fairy godmother hats, some balls of yarn and of course the princess herself Aurora.
This next one was our personal favorite this year. It was themed around the Princess and the Frog animated movie. It had some Mardi Gras masks on it and was topped with some Jazz instruments.
The Little Mermaid tree had King Triton’s Trident up at the top and was decorated with lots of seashells, starfish and what we guessed were large pearls.
One of my favorite animated movies is Aladdin and I always look forward to this tree. It’s located on top of a carpet that looks very much like the magic carpet from the movie. Jafar’s cobra staff is peeking out about halfway up the tree, and of course, there is the magic lamp right at the top.
With Frozen 2 just released this past week, we knew this was definitely going to be out this year. There are plenty of carrots on the tree for Olaf’s nose and I’m sure in case Sven the Reindeer is looking for a snack. The tree has a snow-frosted look to some of the needs which were a nice detail.
I was a bit conflicted with this tree. I love the Haunted Mansion attraction and have gone on it more times than I can count. But this tree seemed a bit out of place. I know it’s very popular among Disney fans but the large Bride torso in the middle of the tree was a bit off-putting.
Cinderella’s tree was very elegant. the decorations not too overdone, but I enjoyed seeing the pumpkins, fancy ornaments and of course a clock to keep track of when midnight arrives.
I saved this one for last as I thought it was pretty unique. Having a lightsaber as the topper to the tree was a nice touch. There were little Jawa ornaments and a Porg or two in there.
Did I mention Disney makes it snow in this area? Well, sort of anyway. Periodically you can hear the machines start-up and the snow start to blow into the air and fall all around. The kids definitely love it but make sure they don’t try to catch any of the flakes on their tongues as it’s actually a type of soap bubble so it won’t taste very good.
After we finished up the Christmas tree trail we headed back towards the parking garages but made a small stop in the Pin Traders store. Our daughters are always on the lookout for new pins to trade. While they were trading with cast members I headed over to the Medallion machine that was moved here (previously it was at the Art of Disney store).
It appears from a distance to be unchanged, but something caught my eye and I went in for a closer look.
The price was still the same $5 for one coin or 3 for $10. Sure enough one of the coins had been replaced. There used to be a Mickey’s 90th Birthday celebration coin. But now that 2019 was coming to a close I guess it was time to move out those dated coins.
Above is a close up of the medallion on the left and on the right is the artwork from the machine button. The one and only Mickey Mouse. With some new medallions in my pocket and the kids with some new pins, it was about time to head home.
There were plenty of great Christmas trees but wow does the trail get busy. I’ve heard if you go earlier in the day it’s not as bad, but seeing the trees lit up at night is just how we prefer to see them. It’s hard to get pictures of your family in front of their favorite tree but just be patient as the crowds will eventually give you a split second or two to snap your picture. Our mantra of the Holiday season…just be patient and keep on collecting!
David's Coin Travels 