Month: February 2021

Yak & Yeti Restaurant Pressed Pennies – WDW Animal Kingdom

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You may not be familiar with the name Landry’s but I’m sure you know of their themed restaurants like Rainforest Cafe, Bubba Gump Shrimp, or even T-Rex Cafe.  I’ve mentioned in the past that I really enjoy these restaurants for their theming and immersing us in a unique dining environment, but the food is always a little underwhelming.  I will admit there are plenty of Landry’s restaurants I have not visited so this is not a hard and fast rule, but there is one of their restaurants we have eaten at a few times and have always had fantastic entrees.

Of all places this restaurant is located in Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, back in the Asia area directly behind the Tree of Life.

The unique Purple building seems to drawn people in trying to figure out exactly what it is.  Unfortunately reservations are required and there is very little walk up availability.  It’s been a few years since the last time I was able to get a reservation but I recently snagged one and we jumped at the opportunity to go back.

Even though this is not a Disney operated restaurant there is of course a fun backstory to this place.  A wealthy merchant named Arjun fell on some hard times.  His house was located near the base of Mount Everest in the village of Anandapur.  Many travelers and traders would pass through Anandapur and Arjun turned his large house into a hotel.

Throughout the building are an amazing collection of artifacts and furniture that Arjun has collected from his time as a merchant.

In previous visits as with any restaurant there were large menus, but due to the current pandemic they have changed over to a digital menu.  Each table has a QR code that you can scan with your smart phone to bring up the current menu items, descriptions and cost.

As an appetizer we opted to try a new item that our server said was previously a special limited time item but was so popular it now is on the permanent menu.  This is the Korean Fried Chicken, hand-breaded tenders tossed in a gochujang maple syrup sauce.  These were really amazing, the chicken was tender and had a nice crunch to light batter.  The sauce was a little sweet with a back of the tongue spice that wasn’t too strong but definitely noticable.

As an additional side option we ordered some of their famous Garlic Noodles.  The noodles were cooked perfectly with a bit of chew to them, but definitely not mushy.  The garlic sauce was nice and potent so if you are not a garlic fan (is there such a thing?) you may want to avoid this one.  it also included some chopped peanuts on top for a bit of crunchy texture.

For my main entree I tried the Korean Beef.  Usually my go-to dish here is the Honey Chicken which I love, but this time around I wanted to try something different and I wasn’t disappointed.  This dish is Wok-fried beef with peppers, onions and pineapple in a sweet Korean BBQ sauce.  I opted for a side of brown rice, and they also put some micro greens on top as a garnish.  This dish was really pretty and I almost didn’t get a picture of if in time as I just wanted to dive in and start eating.  The beef was tender, the veggies were crisp and the pineapple added a nice little twang to round everything out.  This was another winner in my books for this restaurant.  By this time we were pretty full so we decided to not get dessert on this trip.  We figured that we needed a bit of a walk around the park before maybe getting some ice cream elsewhere.

Before we left I headed over to visit the pressed penny machine.  We have reviewed this machine in the past, and the designs have not changed.  The machine was recently changed to the new higher $1 per penny price point, and the machine now supplies a penny for you.  I’ve always really liked the cabinet on this machine, the wrap is fun and I just love those colors and Mount Everest at the bottom.

The penny designs available here include a Pagoda, the Himalayan Mountains, two Tibetan Mastiffs and a Yak.  All state Yak & Yeti on them which I think is a nice touch but very common with other Landry’s locations.

This machine is located just inside the main entrance to the restaurant near the check-in desk.  You do not need a reservation to get inside if you are only looking to press the pennies.  Just know that this place is very popular and that area can be a bit crowded making the penny machine a little difficult to access.  But I would recommend if you are visiting Animal Kingdom and heading this way to get these pennies try to get a reservation or see if you can walk up for a table, the food is common enough Asian style faire that anyone should be able to find something they like.  It’s fun to wonder around inside and see all the details that were placed here and most of the time would go unnoticed especially for a theme park restaurant.

Enjoy and Keep on Pressing!

(Closed) Contest – Win a Set of 2021 Walt Disney World Pressed Coins

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** Thank you to everyone that entered.  The contest has closed and the winner has been contacted so check your emails.  Visit us again for future contests.

It’s that time of year again for our annual giveaway!!  See our past winners here.

This is a chance for you to get a complete set of the 2021 Dated Coins that I had written about in a previous post.   If you haven’t already, be sure to click here and you can find out more details on each coin, or check out our YouTube video on these coins here.

 

This will include all 24 coins (19 Pennies and 5 Medallions) as shown above (please note there is an extra medallion in the picture just to show off the back design).

As stated above this is a FREE contest.  To enter just post a comment below with who your favorite Animated Disney Sidekick is.  Simple right!

Post as many times as you like, and be sure to spread the word.  Share this on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or anywhere else that Disney Pressed Penny fans can be found.  This is always a lot of fun when there is a lot of participation. The contest will end on March 17th, 2021.  At that time I will randomly select a winner and will contact you for your mailing information.

If you haven’t already, be sure to stop by our Youtube channel: davidscointravels and subscribe for videos all about pressed coins including updates on new Walt Disney World pennies.  Your support there helps us offer these types of contests.

Good luck and Keep on Pressing!!

**Please note this is just for entertainment purposes.  This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company.

TEC Recruiter Coin 2020

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I don’t know about you, but most of the mail I receive these days is junk mail and after quickly scanning through I end up tossing most of it.  So when I do get a special letter from The Elongated Collectors (TEC) club I can’t wait to open it and see what they sent over.

Wow just look at this wonderful card and design.  I would be happy with just a plain run-of-the-mill thank you card, but this was a great surprise.

Inside was a nice little note from our TEC Secretary Terri with some kind words which are always much appreciated.

Here is a closer look at the 2020 recruiter coin.  I obviously don’t post about my travels and coin collection just hoping to get these special coins from the club.

My passion for the hobby has always been about sharing experiencing and connecting with fellow collectors.  I do what I do because I love it and would continue to do it even without this type of recognition.  But with all that said, it’s still nice to receive this little perk from the club, and knowing that I was able to help someone find TEC does mean a lot to me.  This club is where I have gone with many questions and the members are always so eager to share their experiences and knowledge with any and all who ask.  If you haven’t already, be sure to visit the club website at TECNews.org to find out more.

Thank you all for creating this wonderful community we have, I love reading all your comments, and please feel free to leave me any questions about pressed coins and I will be more than happy to help.  Take care and Keep on Pressing!

Ziwani Traders NEW Collectible Medallions – WDW Animal Kingdom

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Things have certainly gotten a little busy over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Recently they have started converting their 3-design pressed pennies machines over to $1 and on a recent trip I made to check on those machines, I found that one had been removed and replaced with something new.

The Harambe section of the park is probably one of the more popular just due to the Kilimanjaro Safari, Gorilla falls walking path, and Conservation Station.  They also have an outdoor food market which has some really unique food options like Grilled Chicken Skewers, Gyro Flatbread, Grilled Sausages and even spice-rubbed ribs.

There is a even a stand that sells grilled corn on the cob which always smells amazing whenever I walk by.  One of these trips I’ll have to stop and actually try it out.  On this trip however I was heading to the Ziwani Traders shop which is right near the corn stand, and entrance to the Safari attraction.

I believe Ziwani Traders is just the name for this outdoor area of the store.  Inside is the Mombassa Marketplace.  This place has some beautiful African inspired items, and also some that were a little unique.

These would look pretty good as part of a Halloween display, but they were definitely intriguing to look at.

My daughters always love to stop here to play with the different instruments.  The one pictures above takes a bit of practice to spin in between the palms of your hands but makes some fun music once you get the hang of it.

Just outside the door that will take you inside the Mombassa Marketplace was where an old 3-design pressed penny machine used to be.  I visited here to see if it had been converted to $1, but was instead surprised to see it had been completely removed and replaced with a Collectible Medallion machine instead.

The cabinet of the machine had a nice wood grain look to it.  I really liked the decorative trip along the top, bottom and sides of the machine giving it an almost “hand carved’ looked to it.

There are four designs available in this machine.  The cost is $5 per medallion, or you get a bit of a discount of $15 for all four if you would like the entire set.

The designs on the medallions are inspired by the animated movie The Lion King, and has the Animal Kingdom logo and Tree of Life on the reverse of each coin.

I just can’t fight it any longer and have really come to enjoy collecting these medallions. I think that with the larger coin size the vendor is able to put a lot more detail on these images and they are really beautiful.  I’m still working on a nice way to display these within my collection and but may be something I can review in a future post.

Are you going to get a set of these for your own collection?  Let me know in the comments below.  Thanks for checking in this week, I always appreciate you taking the time visit.  Have a fantastic week and Keep on Pressing!

Bernie Sanders Mittens Meme Pressed Pennies

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Years from now this may be something that we only vaguely remember when playing a competitive game of Trivial Pursuit with family and friends.  No I’m not talking about the current COVID pandemic, but rather a more light hearted event that became an internet sensation.  I’m talking of course about Bernie Sanders and his Mittens.

For any readers that may not be familiar, Bernie Sanders is a US Senator from the state of Vermont.  Inauguration Day was on January 21st, 2020 where Joe Biden was officially sworn in as the 46th US President.  This took place at the US Capital in Washington, DC with a select few in attendance.  Once of those being Bernie Sanders and during this event he was captured in the above photograph.  As people like to say this was just “Bernie being Bernie”.  But it immediately took the internet by storm as people started photoshopping Bernie into all kinds of places and situations creating a slew of memes.

As a few examples I pulled some that were associated with Theme Parks.  Here is Bernie riding in a Doom Buggy through The Haunted Mansion.

Then he hopped on Splash Mountain for a ride into the Briar Patch.

Not a ride I enjoy, but looks like Bernie wanted to take a spin on the Tea Cups.

Let’s not leave out Universal Studios with an E.T. version.  Wow I could just go on and on with these.  They were just fun to see and every day just spawn more and more of them.

Then one day as I was enjoying my daily dose of Bernie memes I came across a special set of pressed pennies from our friends over at The Penny Depot.  How could I resist these!  I quickly purchased a set and they are fitting into my collection nicely.  Hopefully this will help start off 2021 on a lighter note as we try to work our way through this year.

Enjoy and Keep on Pressing!

Alex Trebek Pressed Penny

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I’m sure all of us at some point in our lives have watched a Television Game Show.  Whether it’s a classic like Family Feud, Hollywood Squares, Password, What’s My Line or maybe it’s something newer like Who wants to be a Millionaire.  Most of these have had hosts with personalities almost as big as the shows like Monty Hall, Richard Dawson or Bob Barker.  But one is so synonymous with a show that all I need to say is Jeopardy and you would immediately think of Alex Trebek.

Photo Credit: Associated Press (AP)

Alex was born on July 22, 1940 in Sudbury Ontario Canada.  He began his career in 1961 working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reading national news and covering a range of special events for CBC Radio and Television.  His first hosting job was on a Canadian music program called Music Hop in 1963 followed by numerous other shows through the remainder of the 60s and early 70s.  Then in 1973 he moved to the United States to work for NBC to host a new game show called The Wizard of Odds.  This led to other game show hosting duties until he was tapped to film a pilot of a revived version of Jeopard in 1984 when original host Art Fleming declined to return.

Photo Credit: Jeopardy

The show was picked up and Trebek remained the host for 37 years, and filmed over 8,200 episodes. He received seven Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host among many other accolades.

On March 9th, 2019 announced he had been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer which would eventually take his life on November 8th, 2020.  Even though his treatments he continued to film new episodes of Jeopardy and taped his last episode on October 29th, 2020 just 10 days before his death.  This final episode eventually aired on Television January 8th, 2021 with a wonderful tribute at the end allowing his fans an opportunity to say goodbye.

As a tribute to Alex Trebek, the wonderful people over at The Penny Depot created this special pressed penny with Alex’s face, and signature.  He will be missed, and I don’t think Jeopardy will ever be the same without him.

As Alex Trebek used as his trademark sign off.  “So long, everybody!”

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster NEW Pressed Pennies – WDW Hollywood Studios

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Just recently I had posted about a new pressed penny machine over at Sir Mickey’s in the Magic Kingdom and how the new machine removed one of the dated penny designs.  Well it looked that this has happened again but this time over at Hollywood Studios.

In years past this park has been home to two dated pressed coins designs.  One a pressed quarter at the Tower (of Terror) Hotel Gift Shop, and a pressed penny over at the Rock around the Shop.  Recently a fellow collector was visiting the park and mentioned casually about an 8-design penny machine at this shop which immediately piqued my interest since there is usually a 3-design machine here.  It took a few days before I was able to acquire a park reservation and then headed in to investigate.  The shop is at the exit of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, but quick tip you can access this store without riding the coaster if you prefer.

For those that don’t know the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster features Aerosmith so it’s themed around a Rock Concert.  Not only is the coaster themed this way but the Rock Around the Shop is as well.  You can find gear cases all over the place as displays for the merchandise, and there are even a few different kinds of drum sticks you can purchase.

As you exit off the ride there is an area with a bunch of tv screens where you can preview your on-ride photo just before you enter the shop.  The penny machine is found right near this area so you basically have to pass by the machine when leaving.

The cabinet of this machine is themed just like one of those gear cases as well which I think is amazing.  The previous machine had a similar style and I’m happy to see they kept it.

I haven’t mentioned it in awhile but these 8-design penny machines are still the same cost (for now).  Individual pennies are $1 each, or you get a discount if you purchase the entire set for $5.  Also, just as a reminder these new machines supply the penny to be pressed so you don’t have the option to use your preferred penny.

The set includes two designs themed for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster including the attraction logo and one of the Limo style ride vehicle.  These are similar to the designs here previously with the old machine.  The rest of the designs are of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Doc Dwarf, Pooh and Piglet and Stitch all playing different musical instruments. I’m always up for new designs, but these do seem a bit forced to make them fit into this attraction.  I’m not sure what else they could have done here as the coaster is mostly in the dark so it’s not like they could use images from the ride instead.  It is always fun to see designs of the actual attractions and I know they are popular with kids or adults that have conquered the coaster for the first time, but I don’t know how popular those other designs are going to be.

You may be asking about that 2021 pressed penny as you noticed it was not included in this machine.  Well I can confirm it was released and was located somewhere else in the park.  If you want to find out where be sure to check out our post about all the 2021 dated coin designs here.

Happy Collecting!!

Los Angeles Dodgers 2020 MLB Champs – Elongated Coin Set

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I think we can all agree that COVID has changes things severely throughout 2020 and now into 2021.  I’ve posted in the past about how it has effected theme parks and in my mind more importantly how they have adjusted once they were allowed to reopen.  Professional sports was no different during this difficult time and some were able to adapt better than others.  The NHL decided to delay their season, the NBA had their season in a secure bubble within Walt Disney World property, and then there was Major League Baseball (MLB).

Due to the pandemic the MLB and Players Association agreed to a shortened regular season of just 60 games instead of the regular 162 games.  Then there was a modified post-season in protective “bubble” environments to try and limit  the chances of further outbreak.  Fans were not permitted to attend games during the regular season, but it was then announced that fans would be able to attend the National Championship series and World Series games at 25% capacity limitations.

The 116th World Series was between the American League champs Tampa Bay Rays, and the National League champs Los Angeles Dodgers and started with game 1 on October 20th, 2020.

Photo Credit: GlobLifeField Twitter

The World Series was played entirely at the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas a neutral site also used for the National League Championship series.

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Dodgers Twitter

The series went back and forth through the first 4 games with each team winning two games, then games 5 and 6 were won by the Los Angeles Dodgers taking the series and becoming World Series Champions for the first time in 32 years.

To celebrate this victory fellow TEC memberJamie Bennett come up with an idea for a special elongated design.  Hi daughter Kami came up with the artwork which is really fantastic, and they had some assistance from another TEC member Oded Paz who rolled the coins.  They offered a few different denomination sets through The Elongated Collector Facebook group and I immediately reached out to place an order.  I opted for the 6 denomination set which includes a Cent, Nickel, Dime, Quarter, Kennedy Half dollar and Golden Dollar coins.

This is a fantastic set and I’m so happy Jamie and his daughter put so much work into this and made them available to fellow collectors.  We have such a fantastic community that just really enjoy sharing the passion for this hobby with others.  I’m not sure if there are any additional sets still available but if you are interested please feel free to reach out to Jamie at cafilmlover@hotmail.com to inquire.

Have an amazing week and Keep on Pressing!