We have spoken in the past about all the changes going on over at Epcot, and after what seems like years some of the construction has started to end. Now I will say there is still a lot, and I mean a lot of construction happening all over this park, but some of the projects have started to wrap up. One of those is the infamous Club Cool that has been closed for almost 2 years.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with club cool, but for those that may not know it’s a very interesting place. It’s sponsored by Coca-Cola and allows guests to cool off by sampling complimentary Coca-Cola soft drinks from around the world. Plus there is a ton of Coke merchandise inside, but in all seriousness it’s really about drinking those…interesting sodas.
Some of you eagle eyed readers may notice that many of the soda offerings have changed. One of the old flavors I really liked was Inca Cola but I disappointed to see it was no longer available. I did go through and try all of these flavors and most of them were pretty good. The plumb flavored soda from China was not my favorite but the Viva Raspberry from Moldova was one I would see myself going back and getting again. It’s always fun to try these with your family and friends because almost everyone will have a different favor. That is until you get all the way to that last one on the left.
I did go ahead and try it again, I mean it had been over two years since I last had Beverly and who knows maybe my tastebuds had matured since then. Spoiler, that was not the case and in my personal opinion it is completely disgusting and barely palatable. I grabbed and extra cup of that Viva Raspberry as a chaser to try and help rinse out my mouth but that Beverly flavor just lingers way too long on your tongue. There is a companion video to this post on our YouTube channel which I linked at the top of this post and you can watch me drink this entire cup of Beverly to your enjoyment. Hopefully you feel at least a little bit bad for me.
As I’m sure you can guess this place is pretty popular and gets very busy from time to time. With all the soda you can drink it’s a fun way to cool off from the Florida sun. There is a one draw back that can happen from time to time and that is you may come across a sticker placed on one or more of the soda nozzles that says “Please Try Another Flavor”. As with so many things in Disney this sticker has become an icon among funs and due to its association with Beverly I’ve seen it on stickers, t-shirts, button and now a pressed penny.
This design is from our friend Don Cade who has created so many wonderful Disney and non-Disney themed elongated coins. When I saw this in his catalogue of designs I recognized it immediately and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect with the reopening of Club Cool to share this coin and adventure with all of you. Don makes his designs available through The Elongated Collector’s Facebook page. I’ve mentioned in the past that the group is a great resource for not just elongated coin collecting information, but also for unique pressed coin designs just like this one that you won’t find anywhere else.
Thanks for hanging out with me today at Club Cool. Have you visited this place on one of your own visits to Epcot? Did you try the dreaded Beverly? Let me know in the comments I’d love to hear all about it. Stay safe and as always Keep on Pressing!
** Updated 02/09/2023 The countdown has begun for when the 50th Medallions will be removed and no longer available to guests and collectors. Many of the machines now have these stickers on them confirming they will be leaving soon. So if you haven’t picked yours up yet, time is quickly running out.
** Updated 01/15/2023 **
With the WDW 50th Anniversary wrapping up in the next few weeks, there have been some rumors that new Medallions will be released to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. A special collectible Medallion storage Booklet has been released. I’m going to create a separate post that you can find here and we will use it as a central location for updates on those 100th Anniversary Medallions as they are released.
A HUGE thank you to everyone that has helped find these medallions. This has been a lot of fun and the conversations we’ve had in the comments has really helped many other collectors work towards completing their sets.– DCT
I’m sure you have all been anxiously following along in the related article to this one where I’ve documented all the 50th Anniversary Pressed coins that I have been hunting down. If you haven’t be sure to check it out here. Something I’ve been hearing along my travels for those coins is that not only will we be seeing 50 special pressed coins, but also 50 collectible medallions. I don’t know for sure if this will be true or not, but just in case I figured why not keep this search in a separate post to keep things nice and organized. Here is what we have found so far.
Magic Kingdom
** Updated 08/05/2022 ** This first medallions machine was found inside the Magic Kingdom right on Main Street inside the Hall of Champions store. This store is connected with the Main Street Emporium towards the far end closed to Casey’s Corner. These designs are new as of 08/05/2022. The designs that were originally in this machine have been moved to the Port Orleans Riverside Resort Arcade (see below for details).
This set has some really nice designs of Tinker Bell, Donald, Mickey & Minnie and Walt with Mickey all in front of Cinderella Castle. The reverse of each coin has a smiling Mickey face, and says The World’s Most Magical Celebration 50 Walt Disney World which I really love.
Thank you to Lisa for spotting this single 50th Medallion design with Dante from the Animated movie Coco. This single medallion has been placed in the Plaza del Sol (Pirates of the Caribbean) gift shop. The other three designs are unchanged from before and are still Pirate themed but no associated with the special 50th designs. Originally this medallion was rumored to be headed over to the Port Orleans Riverside Resort but instead looks like this will be its permanent home.
Epcot
The next set of medallions to be released was over at Epcot inside the Port of Entry store which is located just as you enter the World Showcase if you are coming from the Spaceship earth area of the park. There are two gift shops in this area that are almost identical and this is the one closes to the Canada Pavilion side.
This machine has been in this location for quite a while. In the past we have seen medallions for some of the different Festivals, but then it went stale for quite awhile with some Winter character designs that stuck around for much longer than we anticipated. I was happy to see these have finally been updated with some nice new 50th Anniversary designs of Figment, Miguel from Coco, the Genie from Aladdin and Jimmy Cricket.
Just across the courtyard from the above Port of Entry store is the similarly designs (almost duplicate) Disney Traders store. We had heard rumors that a second medallion machine would be released here and it finally arrived. The machine can be found just inside the side entrance near the main checkout area. The medallion designs available here are of Nemo, Dory, Flounder and Sebastien.
Hollywood Studios
Special thank you to Stephanie E,Matthew and Zizzy who all came across the newly released medallion machine at Hollywood Studios. This machine can be found in the Celebrity 5 & 10 store located near the front of the park as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard. The designs available her include Lumber, Woody, R2-D2 and Hei Hei from Moana.
The second set of medallions can be found in the Tower of Terror building. For those of you not interested in actually riding this attraction, no problem at all. The machine is available in the Tower Hotel Gift which can be accessed without actually riding. Just walk inside the gift shop and head towards the back where you will see plenty of guests exiting from the ride. The medallion machine is right next to the pressed penny machine. The designs available here include Goofy, BB-i, Bruni from Frozen and Cogsworth.
Animal Kingdom
Next up we took a headed into the jungle over at one of the most beautiful Disney parks Animal Kingdom. There was only one medallion machine I knew about in this park so that’s where I was headed first before exploring the rest of the park. Thankfully may assumption was correct and this existing machine had the old Lion King designs removed and replaced with the new 50th versions.
This machine is located in the Ziwani Traders store which is back near the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction entrance. The medallions available here include Simba, Bambi, Timon and Pumbaa.
Disney Springs
Before we start our pilgrimage to all the different resorts looking for medallions I was pretty sure we would find some a Disney Springs. More specifically in the Pin Trader store where there was currently a machine with some 2021 designs.
Sure enough my hunch was right and the machine was just recently loaded with these brand new 50th designs Donald, Daisy, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet too.
The second machine available in Disney Springs can be found in the gigantic World of Disney store. The machine is just inside the doors to the left of the Starbucks in front of the store. This is also currently where most of the 50th Celebration merchandise can be found. The medallions of Olaf, Jaq and Gus have returned after being missing for weeks, but we have now finally found the infamous Cheshire Cat.
Contemporary Resort
The first set of collectible medallions I have come across at a resort was found in a brand new machine over at the Contemporary Resort. It can be found on the 4th floor concourse just outside the arcade near the monorail security check point.
These medallions were nice quality, bright and shiny. Plus they were really heavy, even more heavy than I think the standard medallions we have found around property were but I may have to double check on that. Could have been I was just more used to the penny weight lately instead. The designs are of similar characters we have found on the pressed pennies including Tramp, Bo Peep, Pinocchio and even a Contemporary Resort image. They are not exactly the same designs that are on the pennies but similar. I’m hoping this is not going to be the case where the medallions and pennies all have the same / similar designs but I’m sure we will find out before too long.
Polynesian Village Resort
The Polynesian Village resort is one of my favorites. Unfortunately I’ve never actually stayed here, but have visited many times either to collect some pressed coins or in most situations to eat at ‘Ohana which is my all time favorite restaurant on WDW Property. On the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House across from ‘Ohana is a shop called the Moana Mercantile and just outside this store is where the next medallion machine can be found.
Adding to this ever growing set of 50th Anniversary Medallions we found designs celebrating the Polynesian Village Resort, the Orange Bird, Stitch and Pua from Moana. The reverse image is the same as all the other medallions we have found so far.
All-Star Movies Resort
A very special thank you to Kathleen B. who submitted a tip on the next two sets of medallions.
This machine is found in the World Premier Food Court and has replaced the pressed quarter machine that used to be here. The cabinet matches the pressed penny machines which I think is a nice touch. The medallion designs here are of the Mad Hatter, Joe Gardner, Frozone and Edna Mode.
All-Star Music Resort
Thankfully this next resort was not too far away, and I just walked over to the All-Star Music resort. The new medallion machine has also replaced the pressed quarter machines that was outside the Note’able Games Arcade.
This is an other great set of medallions with designs of Dumbo, Timothy Mouse, Pluto and Abu.
Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds
The medallion machine at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds has been released and is available at the Meadow Trading Post. This can be a bit of a difficult location to visit. The campgrounds are currently on a very strict restriction and will only allow guests staying at the campgrounds or with a dining reservation to come in and park. Now you can get around this by parking at one of the Theme Parks or Disney Springs and taking a Disney Bus over, or the boats from Magic Kingdom. Once you are at the campgrounds you will need to take the Orange internal bus to the Meadow Trading post. There are other internal bus colors but they do not pass near this Trading Post.
The machine is located just inside the main set of doors to this store. The credit card option was not working when I visited, but it was accepting cash with no issue. The medallion designs available here include one special Fort Wilderness Resort with hiking Mickey, Thumper, Chip and Dale.
Grand Floridian Resort (Formerly located at Port Orleans Riverside Resort)
** Updated 02/09/2023 ** This machine was originally placed at the Port Orleans Riverside resort has been relocated and can now be found at the Grand Floridian Resort in the main building on the second floor near the doors to the Monorail Station (**Thank you Rodney for the updated location). Just note the designs have not changed so if you already had these from earlier in the celebration from their previous locations in Magic Kingdom and then Port Orleans Riverside they are exactly the same.
This set has designs of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lady and Tinker Bell. The reverse of each coin has a smiling Mickey face, and says The World’s Most Magical Celebration 50 Walt Disney World.
Cast Member Exclusive 50th Medallion
At a recent Cast Member special event known as EARidescent Evenings which took place in the Magic Kingdom as Cast Members were leaving they were gifted a special 50th Anniversary Medallion. The coin is sealed in a plastic capsule and attached to a card stating “WE are the MAGIC”. The front of the medallion has Mickey and Minnie in front of Cinderella Castle with fireworks in the sky. The reverse side of this coin is the same as all the others we have reviewed above with Mickey stating “The World’s Most Magical Celebration”.
There are a few more of these special Cast Member events through the summer but it is unknown whether these coins will continue to be gifted out. There are some currently available on eBay but due to their rarity the costs are pretty high so just be aware of that. Hopefully you may know a Cast Member that has an extra they don’t want so you can add this special medallion to your collection.
Storage Ideas
We have received lots of questions about recommendations for how to store and display these fantastic new medallions we have all been furiously hunting for. Below I have outlined some suggestions I received from readers and included links to where you can buy them. Please Note: Below includes Amazon affiliate links which if used will help support this blog. Please note I did include prices just as a guideline so you know roughly how much to expect for each option, but as we know with Amazon and other retailers these prices can change without notice.
First at these 41mm plastic coin capsules that include foam gaskets to surround the coin and ensure they fit snuggly in the enclosure. This also includes the plastic storage box which holds 60 coins. Here is the link if you would like to get more details or order them.
Next is this nice looking Coin Collection Book that has 60 pockets inside perfect for this entire set plus a few extra if needed. This book will hold 2 inch x 2 inch cardboard flips that will protect each coin then you jus slide them into each page. The nice thing about the cardboard flips if they can be written on to include information on the design, collected date, location or whatever you want to include. Here is the link for the Coin Collection Book if you are interested in this option.
As mentioned above if you wanted to use that coin book you would also need to get some of the 2×2 cardboard flips. These are available at pretty much every coin collecting shop or online retailer. These do come in a large variety of window sizes, so be sure and select the 40mm version as that will allow for the entire medallions to be visible. Here is the link for a version on Amazon but come in quantities of 50. Just be aware you may need to get a second order if you have the entire set of medallions.
If you are interested in the 2×2 cardboard flip option, but don’t want the smaller Coin Booklet you can use the above pictured plastic pocket sheets that fit into any standard three-ring binder. This is a common option for many coin collectors so you may already have some of these in your home. Here is the link for these sheets which usually come in packs of 20. Just be sure to get the 2inch by 2inch version which should give 20 pockets per page. I didn’t see where you could buy the pages individually so you may end up having plenty left over which we may need again for Walt Disney Worlds 60th!! Hint Hint Disney.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Thiel
Our friend Donna mentioned the above beautiful display as another option for the 50th Medallions. This is labeled as being for Military Challenge Coin’s, but looks like it would also be a great option for our new Disney coins as well. Here is the link so you can check it out.
Our Friend’s Collection Display Ideas
Above is a beautiful display from fellow collector Michelle D. with some of her special 50th Medallions and Pressed Pennines. What a great idea, thank you for sharing!
Another amazing display from collector Annie M. with all her medallions and I love that 50th Mickey silhouette design. Thank you for sharing!
We are seeing so many fanatic display ideas for our 50th Medallion collections. Above is from collector Krystal H. with all her coins stored safely in the plastic capsules and nice arranged on a each display. Wonderful idea thank you everyone for sharing your displays.
Here is another beautiful display with all 53 collectible medallions, the special 50th anniversary park maps all inside a wonderful frame. This is so creative and another amazing idea from fellow collector Angie W.
So many fantastic display ideas from more of our friends. Above is a beautiful wall shelf shaped like Mickey showing off all of the coins. Great idea from collector Laura O.
This frame and matte idea is a great way to show off those wonderful medallions. Thank you to collector Robert R for his display.
Above we have another really nice wall display from collector Angela G. with a beautiful background of the castle, and fireworks. Also looks like the medallions are extra protected inside some coin capsules.
Wow I was blown away when I saw the above display of 50th Medallions from collector Dawn H. This is really fantastic and I can only imaging the work it took to get it put together. Amazing job!
The challenge coin wall mount displays seem to be a popular option for our collectible medallions. Above is a photo from collector Ashley A. showing off her entire collection. This looks fantastic!
Wow we have so many talented friends in our community. Above is another display from collector Renee L.
I’m sure you are thinking didn’t we just find a new pressed penny machine at the Art of Animation resort and you would be absolutely correct. If you didn’t read about that machine you can check it out here.
From that last trip to the resort we found out that the 3-design machine that had the 2021 dated design available was removed and replaced with a new 8-design machine. I was in the area recently and thought I would head back over because I was sure that 2021 design would just be moved over to the second machine in the food court.
But once I walked inside I quickly realized that wasn’t the case. The above image shows the first new machine we found a couple weeks ago on the bottom right side.
As I walked a little further into the food court I noticed that second machine was gone and replaced with yet another 8-design machine.
This machine’s cabinet was custom formed for this tight space in the wall. It actually fits in there perfectly and even the color matches the surrounding walls pretty well.
The designs available here continue with the theme of this resort that focuses on The Little Mermaid, Lion King, Finding Nemo and Cars. There are some nice new designs available here that really stood out to me like the Ursula one and even King Triton. I was sad to see that 2021 design did not return but here is a bit of spoiler, lately I’ve found that quite a few of the other 2021 designs have started disappearing around property and replaced with some fun new designs which you can follow along here on those conversions.
Thanks for visiting this week. Have a fantastic day and Keep on Pressing!
This is a bit of a strange situation that has recently taken place out in Disneyland California. So back in 2018 the California parks held a special event called Pixar Fest that ran through most of the spring into the fall season. To celebrate this Fest there were two special pressed penny sets released and you can read our original article about that here.
Now it’s been about 3 years and such a long time since Disneyland had any new pressed coin designs which changed just this past week. But these designs were only slightly new-ish.
First thing we notice that that these are part of the BFFs Forever collection, with very similar designs to what we found back in 2018. This set is available in a machine outside of the Bonanza Outfitters store which is actually where it was located back in 2018.
Above I put together a comparison so you can see them more clearly. The top row are the original released versions. They were pressed on copper pennies. The bottom set is from the newly returned machine which has been updated with the newer style payment system we have been finding everyone, plus the machine now supplies the penny to be pressed. The set I received do appear to be pressed on some shiny zinc pennies. Some obvious differences is the size of the actual characters has been reduced, the new set now has a dotted boarder and even the BFF Forever text is much smaller.
The reverse design has returned but is also altered slightly. The text is much smaller, and the surrounding stars and balls are a bit scarce now. Plus what I find very strange about this is that I’m pretty sure the parks are not currently celebrating a new Pixar Fest. So they just recreated new dies for this revamped machine. Trying to look on the bright side I guess it’s fun to have a variant set for my collection, but I’m a bit at a loss as to why Disney would have returned this set 3 years after they were considered retired.
Hopefully this is not something we will see happen more often. As much as I would love to fill in some gaps in my collection with old retired designs, this is not the way I would want to do that. Hopefully this is the only occurrence we will encounter like this, and I’m crossing my fingers for some beautiful brand NEW designs in the near future.
Enjoy the rest of your week and as always be sure to Keep on Pressing.
** Updated 02/09/2023 The countdown has begun for when the 50th Pressed Pennies will be removed and no longer available to guests and collectors. Many of the machines now have these stickers on them confirming they will be leaving soon. So if you haven’t picked yours up yet, time is quickly running out.
BREAKING NEWS: I have received confirmation from some of our friendly collectors that Disney has released 9 new pressed penny designs celebrating the 50th Anniversary. Here is a link to a separate post about the 50th Anniversary Series 2 pennies.
We all knew deep down in our hearts that Disney would release some special pressed penny designs to celebrate the 50th Anniversary, but with nothing official I was getting a bit worried. Thankfully Disney didn’t let us know and even though the 50th Celebration doesn’t start for a few more days, they have started releasing the new designs throughout the parks and this will be our official post that you can follow along as I find each one. I will continue to add to this post so everything is all in one place for you to use as your guide. Also quick plug for our Penny Maps, I’ve created a special one just for these 50th Anniversary Designs and you can find it here. So put on your Mickey’s ears and let’s head on over to the parks.
Magic Kingdom
First up we visited the Magic Kingdom and thankfully didn’t have to trek too far into the parks. Once you scan your ticket or magic band at the gate take a look to the left side and you will see the Newsstand. Currently it’s closed, and hopefully will reopen in the near future as this was a great place to pick up a last minute drink or snack before leaving the park. Thankfully the pressed penny machine is located outside the store so it can still be accessed.
The 50th design available at this machine has the Mad Matter which I think is another great penny. It seems like a bit of a strange location for this design, but I think with so many of the newer style touch screen machines they probably have limited places to put these individual designs. Next we up we just needed to head a bit further into the park and onto Main Street USA the pulled a u-turn and headed underneath the Train Station.
This set includes some fun new designs of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Gus from Cinderella, and Olaf from Frozen. Each design also includes a “50” overtop of each character. With these pennies stately stored away, I headed down towards Cinderella Castle we took a quick detour into the Main Street Emporium.
At a quick glance it appears that the Emporium takes up the entire left side of Main Street as you head towards the castle but it is in fact a few different stores that are all interconnected. The first section closed to the front of the park is the Emporium and has two machines. The first is just inside the doors and is a machine we have visited in the past. In total this machine has 8 designs, but 4 have been kept the same as before and only the 2021 dated designs were removed and replaced with these new 50th designs of Pooh Bear, Tramp, Tinker Bell and Bo Peep.
The second machine is further back in the Emporium just before you enter the Disney Clothiers store. Similar to the first machine 4 of these designs are unchanged but the 2021 dated designs are gone with new 50th pennies available for Dumbo, Lady, Woody and Piglet.
We were done with the Emporium and could have headed back out to main street but there was more more machine in this long interconnected set of shops so I opted to stay in the A/C and cut through Disney Clothiers and into the Hall of Champions store for the next machine. This machine had designs of Disney character playing different sports and 4 of the designs are also the same, but the other 4 were replaced with 50th anniversary pennies of Thumper, Frozone, Pluto and Pinocchio.
I made to sure to visit each and every machine inside all the parks hunting down these 50th designs and I will admit that the machine at the exit to Splash Mountain here the ride photo preview area would have been one of the last I thought would have received a 50th design. But sure enough one was placed here with a design of Timothy Mouse from Dumbo. I’ve mentioned this in the past but you do not need to ride Splash Mountain to access this machine, you can just walk through the gift shop towards the photo preview area to use the machine with no issue. That wraps up all the machines at Magic Kingdom now time to grab a Disney Bus and head to our next park.
Hollywood Studios
Day two of our search took us over to Hollywood Studios. As much as I wanted to jump on the Rise of the Resistance attraction we had more important things to look for here. No too far into the park we found the first machine at Oscar’s Super Service.
As a continuing theme we have noticed so far this new Lumiere 50th design has replaced the 2021 dated design in this machine. The other two designs here have not changed.
This second machine is just a little stroll down Hollywood Boulevard and you will see a nice water fountain on the right side. There is a small building there called Hollywood Junction and this machine can be found around back of this building right beside an ATM. This set of designs so far is my favorite. I love the Joe Gardner one from the movie Soul and hope we see more designs from that movie. Plus everyone’s favorite droids R2-D2 and BB-8 have returned, and we couldn’t be without Cogsworth.
Epcot
Next it was time to head over to Epcot and so far this park has received quite a few new designs. First we headed behind Spaceship Earth towards the World Showcase and visited the two gift shops on either side.
Disney Traders was my first stop but this was in no particular order. The machine is located near the set of doors closed to the Mexico Pavilion side of the store. This design has replaced the 2021 design that used to be here. The new design of everyones favorite Conscience Jimmy Cricket is a great addition to this set.
Just across the open area that is usually reserved for special Fireworks viewing, we came to the Port of Entry store. The machine is on the opposite side of the store, near the doors that would be closed to the Canada Pavilion side. This new design of Genie from Aladdin replaces an old Duffy the Disney Bear design that was here previously.
Now we needed to take a bit of a walk past Canada, and the United Kingdom pavilions, but not quite to France. Instead we headed towards the International Gateway which is kind of a back entrance to Epcot and would lead you to the Skyliner station, Yacht / Beach Club and Boardwalk Inn Resorts. You don’t need to exit the park for this next instead it’s inside the World Travelers store near the exit. This design will definitely be a fan favorite as it features Figment the “un-official” mascot of Epcot. Maybe he is official at this point, it’s hard to say he does show up for most of the Festivals.
We next headed around the World Showcase lagoon skipping by most of the pavilions (for now?) and headed inside Norway. The main gift shop is also the exit for the Frozen Ever After ride, but you don’t need to go on the ride to access this machine. It can be found just inside the back set of doors. The new design is of Bruni a character you may recognize from Frozen 2. He replaces the 2021 Spaceship Earth design that was available here earlier in the year.
There was one last stop in Epcot before we headed out and that was back up towards the front of the park in the Living Seas Pavilion. Or you may know it better as the building with the Finding Nemo attraction. The gift shop at the end of the ride is where this machine is located. The designs are some more great new images including Flounder, Sebastian, Nemo and Dory.
Animal Kingdom
Once inside Animal Kingdom we just headed straight back towards the Tree of Life and our first stop was the Discovery Trading Co gift shop.
I always love these really cool looking machine cabinets and get a kick out of the crab on the top holding on tight to her penny. The new 50th design at this machine is of Simba from The Lion King.
**Updated 10/14/2021** The above machine was initially located at the Island Mercantile store but has been moved to make way for a new penny machine. This machine is now available right next to the 50th Simba machine at the Discovery Trading Co. You may notice that this machine used to have the 2021 Pluto design but that is now retired and replaced with this awesome new 50th design of Dante from the movie Coco.
It was now time to head over towards Dinoland USA and into the Chester & Hester Dino Treasures store which has been home to a dated coin for quite a few years now. This did previously have the 2021 Tree of Life design, but that is now gone and in its place is this new 50th Pua from Moana design.
Leaving Dinoland behind we now had a bit of a walk through the Asian and then into the African section of the park. Back near the Kilamanjaro Safari is a cart/tent called Curiosity Tourism and just behind that is the penny machine we were looking for. The new design here has the world famous meerkat Timon from The Lion King.
**UPDATED 04/22/2022** Originally this design and machine were located outside the Dawa Bar in Harambe. But just recently that machine was removed, and the design dies were placed into a different machine up at the front of the park just past the touchpoint where you tap your MagicBand or ticket to enter the park. Nearby on the right side you will find the Garden Gate Gifts which is also where you can rent strollers and the machine is kind of tucked away in the corner near a Cast Member only building/door. This is where you can press the Pumbaa 50th penny.
Disney Springs
There were a few places I thought may get 50th designs here in Disney Springs but they seem to have kept them just in one place with has recently become a dumping group for a lot of machines with no where to go and that’s the Pin Trader store. Currently this store has a grand total of 6 pressed penny machines so if you only have one place to go and want to get a lot of pennies this would be a great place to check out.
This store is setup like an octagon and the machines can be found in between the pin walls that are the main focus in this store. Basically just walk around in a circle and you will find them pretty easily. This first machine has one new design of Miguel from Coco.
Just a few steps away is another machine with the second design available in this store. This may now have become my favorite design showing off the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I absolutely love this design.
That finished up all the designs currently available at the theme parks and Disney Springs, but we still had Resorts to visit so lets head over to those now.
Boardwalk Inn Resort
I’ve visited the Boardwalk area on Disney Property and just love the atmosphere especially at night. Maybe it’s because of my younger years hanging out at the Jersey Shore, but I’m always happy to have an excuse to go and visit. This resort does have quite a few machines scattered both inside and outside. The machine we were hunting down today can be found in the Main Lobby near the little gift shop.
POP Century Resort
In the past we have seen dated designs at the Art of Animation resort, but recently that resort has replaced their older 3-design machines with new 8-design touch screen versions which you can read about here. So I wasn’t surprised to see no new 50th design at that resort, but a quick walk across the Generation Gap bridge I headed into the POP Century resort and found what I was looking for.
POP Century currently has a total of 4 machines and all are located in the Everything POPs Food Court. This machine is the very first one you will encounter just near one of the check out areas for the gift shop before entering the food court. I was wondering when we would find the design for Daisy Duck and here is where she was hiding.
Contemporary Resort
I spent always a whole day using different modes of Disney Transportation checking out all the different resorts looking for more new pennies with not much success. But eventually after checking at the Magic Kingdom which you already read about above, I took a quick stop into the Contemporary Resort and found some new machines. This used to be home to the more glorious wall of pressed coin machines with a total of 6 all in one place. Now however those are all gone and in their place are two new 8-design machines. I’ll be reviewing the other non-50th designs in an upcoming post but for this article I wanted to just show off the 50th designs of Donald, Gus, Bambi and a great one of the Contemporary Resort. For those eagled eyed readers you may notice a new medallion machine just to the left in the above picture and you would be spot on. It contains 50th Medallions designs, and I’ve heard rumors that there may be a total of 50 medallions coming out as well so I’m going to be creating a separate post to track the medallions which you can check out here.
Polynesian Village Resort
Heading through the security checkpoint I headed up one floor to the Monorail station and took a quick ride on the Highway in the Sky over to the Polynesian Village Resort. On the second floor of the Grand Ceremonial House just outside the Moana Mercantile shop used to be a pressed penny and pressed quarter machines, but they have both been removed and replaced with a new 8-design pressed penny machine.
Only four of these designs are part of the 50th Anniversary set and include a great penny with a retro design of the Polynesian Village resort another of the opening day resorts. Then there are additional designs of the Orange Bird, Hei Her from Moana, and Stitch. The other four designs are also new but since they aren’t part of the 50th set I’ll leave them out of this post. If you want to read more about then check out this separate post. I was getting pretty tired from all this running around and there was no better place to be for a nice cool Dole Whip break downstairs at the Pineapple Lanai.
Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground
Once I was done with my quick snack it was off to one last resort and it was going to be a doozy. I had to take the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom, then hopped on a boat that took me over to Bay Lake and eventually let me out at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. For anyone that has not visited this part of property it’s a fun place to visit, but it is huge. So big in fact that they have their own internal bus routes to help campers get to different areas of the campsite. We were headed to about the middle of the property where the Meadow Outpost is situated.
This building is setup almost like an old general store which I absolutely love. Plenty of snacks, camping necessities, souvenirs and this sweet pressed penny machine near the back set of doors. The designs here include the Fort Wilderness logo celebrating the last of the original opening day resorts, and then of course 50th designs for Chip and Dale.
Port Orleans Riverside Resort (Updated location)
The last two special pressed pennies took a little longer to be released just to due them being available at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort which wasn’t scheduled to reopen until October 14th, 2021. As soon as the resort reopened we headed over to search for these last few pennies that were originally located in the main Lobby. However recently the machines have been moved into the Arcade which can be found at the far end of the main lobby.
There are two machines in this area along the wall just as you enter arcade near the massage chairs. The first machine has the 50th Design of Edna Mode from The Incredibles movies. The second machine has the last 50th design of Abu from one of my favorite Disney movies Aladdin.
Phew, this has been quite an adventure with lots of running all around Walt Disney World property hunting all of these pennies down. We initially thought only 50 would be available, but Disney surprised us with the additional 3 designs celebrating the opening day resorts Contemporary, Polynesian and Fort Wilderness for a grand total of 53 pennies. We are not anticipating any of these designs being changed our or having new designs released during the 50th celebration, but if that does happen I’ll be sure to keep this post updated so be sure to check back for any changes.
Pressed Penny Booklet
For those of you that like a quick an easy way to store your collection Disney has you covered with a brand new Booklet you can use.
This has that really striking purpose color and the iridescent lettering used for Walt Disney World 50. Plus a fun new design of Cinderella Castle with that 50th medallion front and center, and of course Mickey and Minnie celebrating in their new costumes. I found the above in the Magic Kingdom Main Street Emporium but would assume these will be showing up in all the different parks and resorts very soon.
Our Friend’s Collection Display Ideas
Above is a beautiful display from fellow collector Katelyn A. with her 50th Anniversary Pressed Penny collection. Such a great idea, thank you for sharing!
Here we have another eye catching display from fellow collector Jim R. He mentioned that the poster in the middle was purchased from eBay and then after some careful ordination all the pennies fit perfectly around the perimeter. This is such a fantastic idea, thank you for sharing.
Just this past week my family was able to attend a special Passholder preview of the new Remy’s Ratatouille adventure ride in Epcot’s France Pavilion. I’m going to hold off on showing anything about that in this post because I’m crossing my fingers that a new Remy themed penny machine shows up in the future.
Before we were about to head over to Epcot for this preview as I always do, I checked out the presscoins.com website just to see if there were any reports of new machines. Sure enough earlier that day it was announced that a new machine was placed inside the Germany Pavilion.
After our Remy preview (which was amazing by the way, definitely check out that attraction after it opens official October 1st, 2021), we took a nice walk around the World Showcase Lagoon to the Germany Pavilion. This machine is a bit hard to find, as it’s tucked away in the back corner of the pavilion. The easiest way I can describe the location is if you find the Biergarten restaurant entrance it’s directly across from that.
This is also the location that the old 3-design machine used to be but that has been removed and is now considered retired.
The cabinet of the machine has a nice clean natural wood look to it. This reminds me a bit of the fancy coo-coo clocks you can get inside the nearby Der Teddybar shop, but not as intricately detailed.
The penny designs available in this new machine are mostly themed around Snow White. There is one design that is similar to a version in the old retired machine that has Mickey and says Germany on it. The other designs include some fun new images of Snow White, the Magic Mirror, the Wicked Witch, Grumpy, Dopey and even Prince Charming. There is a 8-design set still available inside Hollywood Studios at the Once Upon a Time store but thankfully there are no duplicate designs and this is a completely new set.
We had a really fun day experiencing the new Remy ride and hopefully we can see a new penny machine in the near future so we can review that new section of the pavilion. But I was also so excited to be able to acquire this new set from Germany. Snow White is the original classic Disney Princess and it’s always nice to see her get some new penny designs. Will the other pavilions around Epcot’s World Showcase continue to get more of these new machines? We did just see the one over in Canada get swapped out so maybe there are some more still on the way.
Thanks for joining me again today, and as always Keep on Pressing.
It has official turned into Halloween season here in Central Florida. Yes i know it’s only just the beginning of September but this is my favorite time of year and I’m excited to start enjoying some park events. Of course the premier event in this area is Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida. I was lucky enough to be able and attend the very first night and it was amazing.
However I may have been looking forward to it a little too much. The first night was on a Friday and I actually took he day off from work so I could get to the park night and early. The event didn’t start until later that evening, but I just needed to get to the park as soon as possible.
I figured this was a good chance to just walk around the park a bit, take in some of the decorations, make sure I picked up a new HHN t-shirt to wear during the event.
This is the 30th year that Universal has put on their Halloween event, and it seems to get bigger each year. For this special anniversary they were brining back all their iconic characters from years past including the biggest of all Jack the Clown.
This was also a great chance for me to check the new Tribute Store. This is a location that changes seasonally here in the park and is usually themed around the different events that park hosts. Earlier in the year it was themed around Mardi Gras, and more recently it was all about the new Velocicoaster attraction that opened next door at Islands of Adventure. By far the most popular is the Halloween Horror Nights decorations.
Inside the tribute store there are usually four different themed rooms, all filled with all the merchandise you could possibly imagine. This place can get really busy during the actually HHN events, so I would recommend visiting during the day time hours for a calmer shopping experience.
After picked up my new t-shirt I was heading out of the store but stopped in my tracks as I was confronted by an amazing sight, a brand new collectible medallion machine with Horror Nights coins.
The cabinet of this machine had a nice worn wood look to it that fit in perfectly with the theming of the tribute store.
The marquee on the machine was so cool and definitely eye catching as I saw it from a distance. Having the HHN 30 logo on it and the creepy slogan, Never Go Alone.
There were four different medallion designs available, and the price was the same as we have found previously over at Disney with their machines. Each was still $5, or you could get all four medallions for a discounted price of $15.
The designs available included the Tribute Store facade, Jack the Clown, Frankenstein’s Monster, and a spooky Jack-o-lantern. The reverse side of each medallion had the Halloween Horror Nights 2021 logo.
After I had collected my new coins I finished enjoying the daylight hours at the park before taking a break to rest before the big event later that night. Unfortunately Universal Florida does not allow any photography or videography inside the House mazes so not much I can share with you on that except that the houses this year were fantastic. Plenty of scares, the details inside are amazing and just the whole ambiance of the event is so fun I can’t wait to go back for even more scares.
This set of collectible medallions was an amazing find and it was definitely popular. While I was using the machine a line quickly formed behind me. I don’t know how many of these coins they produced or how often the machine will be restocked, but if you are interested in a set I would recommend getting there as soon as possible. I really like that they listed the year on the back of each coin as a commemoration of this years event. Hopefully this means that we can see this again for future events, and if they keep selling like they are now I’m sure that’s almost a guarantee. Thanks for visiting with me again this week, I hope you stay safe and enjoy the Halloween Season!
Are you interested in seeing all 70 of my WDW wish list penny designs, check out our YouTube Channel.
In just a few short weeks Walt Disney World will be celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary. This celebration is scheduled to go on for a total of 18 months. There is going to be new attractions, special food, unique merchandise and hopefully some new pressed pennies.
As of the date I’m writing this there is nothing announced officially from Disney about any new pressed pennies, and to be honest they have so much going on I’m sure this is not top on their list of priorities. But for us collectors we are anxiously waiting for any news of new coin designs. Most of what I’m hearing is all just hopes and wishes from fellow collectors, and my instincts tell me that the designs (if any) will just suddenly appear in existing machines at the different parks and resorts as we get a bit closer to the October 1st date.
However all this talk of possible new designs has got my creative juices flowing and I thought it may be fun this week to put together some designs that I would like to see released. Not just for the 50th Celebration but anytime in the future. This is kind of like my Wish List of future pennies I hope we can see in the parks. Now I’m sure this is obvious but just to make sure, this is all for fun and I don’t think any of these designs will actually be produced. But Disney if you are out there reading this I don’t need any credit for these, instead maybe just some advance notice so I can race in and be the first to press a set! Ok with all that behind us let’s take a look at some of the designs I came up with.
Of course have to assume there will be some special 50th anniversary design. Cinderella castle has been recently repainted and covered with beautiful new accents for the celebration. I would also love to see special designs for all the original opening day attractions and resorts making for a fun mini-set of designs.
This next batch of designs I thought would fit perfectly in the new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge area of Hollywood Studios. I was there opening day here in the Florida park and thought it would have been amazing to find a new pressed penny machine themed to this new land, but unfortunately that was not the case but here we are a few years later and maybe a new machine is on the way. It could include designs like the above with the Batuu logo and skyline, or how about one with my personal favorite meal item the Classic Ronto Wrap. Plus we definitely need one to celebrate finally being able to indulge in the famous Blue Milk.
Also, how it is it we don’t have any Manadolian penny designs yet? Have you watched that show on Disney+, it’s amazing and I know that designs around that show would be incredibly popular. I don’t know about you, but I want a Grogu penny for my collection.
Here are a few that would be tough to acquire for some collectors. I’ve mentioned in the past that Disney Cast Members are truly amazing and really are the ones to make the magic within the parks. My family has become friends with quite a few cast members over the years and we appreciate them so very much. They should have a special design available just for Cast Members.
Or how about a Club 33 design available only to members or maybe guests of members. For those that may not know, Club 33 is an exclusive club where members are able to enter private dining and lounge areas in almost every Disney park around the world. The original Club 33 in Disneyland California was conceived by Walt as a place to host dignitaries, celebrities and family members of Disney executives.
I am a current Walt Disney World Passholder and am very proud of that fact as many other pass holders are. We love to show off our Passholder exclusive t-shirts and and hats, we get early access to new attractions and even get invited to special after hours events. I know that we are extremely lucky to be able to have an annual pass to our favorite parks, but I still think we need our own pressed penny. This may be a bit difficult to have available only for pass holders, maybe it could be in a special machine only brought out during pass holder only events. They did experiment recently with a pass holder only store in Epcot and that would have been a perfect place for this penny machine to be placed.
Currently I am not a Disney Vacation Club member but I do know quite few members, and they are really proud of being DVC members and especially are all about their home resort. Similar to pass holders they hav ea ton of merchandise specifically themed for DVC members, but no pressed pennies.
Next let’s hop over to Epcot and this is another theme that I am shocked they have not taken advantage of already. Now I will admit we have seen collectible medallions released in the last few years for some of the festivals, and they are pretty popular. The drawback is the much higher cost of $5 per medallion, and I would think the more inexpensive pressed penny option even at $1 per penny would be ever more popular as these festivals bring in some of the largest crowds I’ve ever seen in Epcot.
Continuing with some special events let’s visit the Magic Kingdom and their holiday parties like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween or even the Very Merry Christmas parties. These may be a little more difficult to keep exclusive for party attendees, but I’m sure having a special machine that can just be rolled out into the Main Street Emporium during party hours would be a simple solution. The other more common party merchandise is extremely popular during these events and a pressed penny would be highly sought after.
I’ve saved the best for last. As much as I love all the park attractions, shows, parades and characters one of my favorite things to do at the parks is indulge in all the amazing snacks. Here is a mini-set of 9 designs I put together showcasing all my favorite treats. These first three include the classic Churro, Dole Whip and of course a Mickey Premium Bar.
Then we have the big soft Mickey Pretzel, my personal favorite a Dole Whip Float, and something no Disney breakfast would be complete without a Mickey Waffle.
Lastly we have the always popular Disney (pop secret) Popcorn, or a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich and of course a newer option the huge Mickey Donuts. How many of these have you had on your trips to the park? I only showed 9 designs here but I know of quite a few more that could be added in subsequent sets.
Well there you have it those are my wish list pressed penny designs. In this post I only showed off about 28 of my designs, but I was on such a roll doing this that I actually came up with about 70 in total. I didn’t want this post to go on too long so at the very top I’ve included a link to our Youtube Channel video where I show off all 70 designs in case you want to see what else I came up with. Just a hint there are other mini-sets including some Haunted Mansion tombstones you may recognize from your time in the attraction queue, plus some fun designs of the famous Disney Trash cans and even a few for some special occasions like getting engaged.
This was a fun little project to play around with and who knows maybe we will see something similar in the near future. Collectors are hoping for 50 new designs to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary which would be amazing, just remember at this time nothing has been confirmed but we should hopefully find out soon in the upcoming weeks. Once thing I can promise is that if any new designs are released I’ll be out there hunting them down so I can share all the designs of what they look like and where you can find them for your own collection.
I can’t wait to celebrate with Disney on this special milestone. Thanks for visiting and as always Keep on Pressing!
David's Coin Travels 