Welcome to Jurassic Park!

Sorry I couldn’t help myself, and I feel like that whether you say it out loud or just in your head this saying takes place every time you walk through those large Jurassic Park gates inside Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

Just the other day I was enjoying a visit to Universal with a friend of mine that really wanted to just do a bunch of rides and attractions. Many times when I’m at the park I find myself more often than not just walking around, eating snacks and searching for pressed pennies. So the thought of a ride day was almost a foreign thought. Usually with such long wait times I just prefer not to bother, but today was the day for rides only….well maybe just one new pressed penny machine. But we will get to that eventually.

We didn’t start our day inside Jurassic Park, instead we checked out the Harry Potter area for those rides first, then we found ourselves hearing strange noises coming from the nearby bushes and foliage. This was a telltale sign that we had entered the land of Dinosaurs. In a previous post I gave some details on the new Velocicoaster attraction which to this day I still have not actually experienced (maybe some day) but you can read about that ride and the special pressed penny here. One ride in this section of the park that I have ridden in the past is the River Adventure and since it was already raining outside I figured I couldn’t get any more saturated than I already was.

We hopped inside and after a short wait, we climbed aboard our tour boat. Last time I was on a tour boat like this a huge shark jumped out at me over in Universal Studios. So my fingers were crossed that this would turn out better.

Well….I won’t spoil it for you but the tour started out nice and relaxing but quickly escalated when dinos started escaping their confinement’s. Eventually our only way out was down a huge waterfall and as you can see from the above picture we did somehow get even more soaked on this rainy day.

As with all good theme park attractions we exited off our wet boat and directly into a gift shop and for this ride the store is known as Jurassic Outfitters.

By this time of day we had successfully ridden a handful of rides so I think it’s a good time to celebrate with a brand new set of pressed pennies. Thankfully we were in exactly the right place.

In among all the dino plush, t-shirts, pins and other soaking wet guests is the new machine up again one of the walls near the entrance.

Inside this shop used to be two separate 3-design electronic penny press machines. Both of those are now gone and retired. In their place is this new fancy 8-design touch screen model that certainly seems to be taking over everywhere.

The penny designs available at this machine are very similar to the ones that used to be here in those separate machines. There is a new Jurassic World logo design, and then various dinos like a T-Rex, Raptor and Indominus Rex.

Well now that I had successfully taken a bit of a break to press some new pennies, it was time to head back on our adventure to hit up some other attractions before calling it a day. Thank you for tagging along as we spent our afternoon inside Jurassic Park and tracked down a full set of dino…pennies.

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.

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These new pressed penny designs are celebrating the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary. However as you can see from the below images the penny designs are of a different style that the first 53 we tracked down earlier this year and you can read all about here. This is why I’ll be referencing these new coins as Series 2 just to try and distinguish between them. Let’s dive in and I’ll show you where to find them.

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Disney Springs – Pin Traders

Just as with the first Series of pennies we are back at the Pin Traders shop which can be found towards the Rainforest Cafe / Earl of Sandwich end of Disney Springs. The other two 50th penny designs are still available here, but this new design can be found in a third machine just between the rack of magic bands a section of collectible pins. This design has Mickey posing in front of a large 50 with Cinderella Castle in the back ground and “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” across the bottom.

POP Century Resort – Everything POPs Dining

If you are not staying at the POP Century Resort getting in here to press the penny can be a bit of a pain. There are pretty strict parking restrictions so most of the time I end up taking either the Skyliner or Disney Bus transportation to get into the resort. Once inside the penny machine can be found inside the Everything POPs Shopping & Dining area of the main building. Just as you past through the gift shop into the food court the machine will be on the left side. This penny design has our favorite pup Pluto, the rest of the design is the same as the others with the 50, Castle and Most Magical Celebration listed.

Port Orleans French Quarter Resort – Jackson Square

This is one of my favorite resorts. The theming is great, it has fun music everywhere and of course beignets whenever you want them. As you enter the main building, near the check-in section is the Jackson Square Gift Shop and is where you will find the next 50th Anniversary Series 2 pressed penny. The penny design at this location has Donald Duck with the rest of the design being the same as we have seen with the other pennies.

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – Bus Stop

As we head a little closer to the Magic Kingdom we needed to make a quick detour over at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This top tier resort always gives off the essence of elegance and glamour. To be honest sometimes I feel a bit out of place here. This resort does have a few different pressed penny machines but the one we are looking for is out front of the resort at the bus stop where you would get transportation to Disney Springs, Animal Kingdom and other locations around property. So far this is one of my favorite designs at this location with a beautiful image of Mickey and Minnie in front of the Castle with a floating 50 and some of the famous Disney Fireworks in the air.

Animal Kingdom – Discovery Trading Co.

Animal Kingdom always blows me away with all the little details the imagineers included, and it seems like every time I visit I see something new. Whether it’s the hand woven creations inside Pandora the World of Avatar, or the hand carved wooden art work back in Harambe it’s always a fun place to visit. To track down the next pressed penny we didn’t have to go too far inside the park. Right near the Tree of Life is a large gift shop called the Discovery Trading Co. Outside of this store is a beautiful sight a wall of three total pressed penny machines and one of them is where you can get your own Series 2 Chip and Dale 50th Design.

Boardwalk Inn – Lobby

Just outside of Epcot is one of my favorite places to visit during the evening hours the Disney Boardwalk. They have plenty of restaurants, stores, and even entertainment along the water. Plus the Boardwalk Inn is a fun homage to the classic Atlantic City resorts and coastal beaches. Just inside the main Lobby building near the resort gift shop is where you can find the pressed penny machine with our next 50th Series 2 penny design of Minnie Mouse.

Wilderness Lodge – Bus Stop

Our next stop was over at the Wilderness Lodge resort which is another of my favorite resorts. The log cabin vibes once inside is truly amazing and esthetically for me very eye pleasing. I’ve always had great experiences at the different restaurants and their Christmas tree during the holidays is in my option the best on Disney property. The penny machine we were tracking on this visit is a bit of a walk from the main lobby building. You need to walk outside and head towards the Bus Stop for the resort to find the machine and the special 50th penny design of Your Pal Mickey Mouse.

Magic Kingdom – Tony’s Town Square Restaurant

To finish out this Series 2 set of pressed coins we headed into the Magic Kingdom. The first new penny available can be found inside Tony’s Town Square Restaurant which is themed around Lady and the Tramp. This is also the same building where you can meet Mickey and Tinker Bell for some iconic family photos. The machine is just outside the restaurants restrooms and has our favorite Pixie Tinker Bell.

Magic Kingdom – Main Street Firehouse

On this journey we have pressed quite a few great new designs but this last one is my favorite of them all. This design can be found in the machine located inside the Main Street Firehouse. The penny machine is certainly a unique one that appears to be carved out of a historic piece of firefighting equipment. The penny design has the iconic Partners Statue located just in front of Cinderella Castle that showcases Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands.

I can’t think of a better way to finish up this second set of pressed pennies celebrating Walt Disney Worlds 50th Anniversary Celebration. If anyone has any new information on additional designs, location changes or updates please let us know in the comments below so we can help everyone acquire this great new set of coins. Keep on Pressing!