We have spent a lot of time in the past reviewing all the different CityWalk pressed penny machines, and even the more recent collectible medallions. I’ve eaten at pretty much every restaurant in CityWalk, and that includes Hard Rock Cafe. But one thing that never really crossed paths were pressed pennies and the Hard Rock until now.

I last visited this Hard Rock Cafe a few years ago with friends. Since it’s a chain I find the menu options nothing extraordinary so we really just used it as a last resort when we couldn’t get into any other CityWalk restaurant. During that last visit however I can confirm that there was no pressed penny machine. Just recently however I received a message from our friend and fellow collector Joe W who informed me that there was a pressed penny machine inside. So you know what that means we had to head over and investigate.

I did make a reservation for lunch just in case it was busy, but since my friend and I were there mid-week for lunch the place was pretty much empty. Once inside I remembered just how much memorabilia they have on display there. This place is basically a big music history museum. After we were seated at our table our server said we were free to wonder around and check out everything they had on display.

Being the Bloggers / Vloggers we are you didn’t need to tell us twice. We first headed upstairs for our self guided tour and it’s truly amazing what they have there.

Items from The Clut, to The Cure and even Smashing Pumpkins.

I found some clothing from Slash with Guns n’ Roses and even Joe Perry’s jacket from Aerosmith.

These few wall displays I showcased here is only a small smidgen of the things you can find here. Now I will say that we were lucky it wasn’t busy inside and that allowed us to really be able to see these things up close. The only issue would be if it’s busy inside, these items hang along the walls where all the booths are located and would have patrons sitting there eating their meals while you are trying to snap a picture of Eric Clapton’s guitar. Could be a bit awkward, but wanted to mention this so you can plan your visit accordingly.

After we were done exploring it was perfect timing as our food had just arrived back at our table. I started with the “One Night in Bangkok Spicy Shrimp” which were crispy shrimp tossed in a creamy spicy sauce and topped with scallions and served on a bed of coleslaw. These were nice a fresh, big shrimp that were perfectly crunchy. The sauce was not to spicy but had a nice kick. These are very similar to versions I’ve had at other chain restaurants but I was pleasantly surprised with this version. For my main entree I had the “Original Legendary Burger” which is labeled as a steak burger with applewood bacon, cheddar cheese, crispy onion ring, leaf lettuce and vine-ripened tomato. Similar to the shrimp this was a nicely prepared burger, the patty was fresh and cooked perfectly to my liking, the veggies were crisp and the bacon was crunchy. Overall it wasn’t anything I hadn’t had before, but I really enjoyed it and would order this again.

Since we were planning to head into the parks after our lunch we decided to skip dessert (I had a Crepe in mind for my sweet snack later on). We paid our tab and headed back towards the front of the restaurant where the Rock Shop was located. The pressed penny machine is just outside the shop actually very near where you would check in to eat at the restaurant. Due to it’s location you do not need to actually eat here to use the machine, you can just inside the doors to press your pennies.

Quick note on this machine, it is $1.00 to press your penny but the machine takes four quarters instead of a dollar bill. Thankfully I always bring extra change just in case.

This was a pretty standard machine, and the cabinet had a black and chrome looking style around the bottom which I guess is kind of “Rock-like”, but that could just be me grasping for some type of theming.

The penny designs available here include the Hard Rock Cafe Orlando logo, the Building Facade, a Guitar and a T-Shirt. I always love when these types of designs are created for a specific location and makes for a fun little sub-set to collect when visiting other locations.

Our experience at the Hard Rock Cafe Orlando was really great. The atmosphere inside is really amazing and if you love music history or maybe even just have a favorite band or performer they probably have something inside for you to check out. The meal was much better than I remember having the last time and I would put this on my list of places to visit again soon. Of course the pressed pennies were a great find and thank you again to Joe W for letting us know about them. I will say I’m a bit embraced that it took so long to find these, and we may need to explore a little more thoroughly in some other places in CityWalk. The Chocolate Emporium is another spot that I’m amazed does not have any pennies but maybe we will find them soon, or who knows they may already have one there and I’ll have to go check it out. Have a great week, Keep on Pressing and Rock On!

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