Flash back to December 2019 and the highly anticipated brand new Disney Vacation Club Resort the Riviera grand opened. Just a couple days before the official opening and a photo leaked online of a new pressed penny machine for the resort. Thankfully my family had secured a dining reservation at the Topolino restaurant for opening night so I figured I could marked off two things at once. Check out the brand new resort and get a brand new set of pressed pennies. Unfortunately after our amazing meal (more on that later) we wondered around there resort but couldn’t find the penny machine anywhere. I even checked with quite a few Cast Members who remember seeing it days before during some of their training sessions and were stumped as to where it may have gone. Collectors were left hanging for almost three years, but I’m here to tell you that the missing machine has finally returned!

The Riviera Resort was building on a large piece of land that was originally part of the Caribbean Beach Resort. It’s located right along Buena Vista Drive which runs right through Disney property so we got quite a look at it throughout the construction process. So far to date I have not stayed here, but I have visited quite a few times. I just love the exterior look of the resort.

It’s themed with both French and Italian inspirations. The cast members will even greet you when you come and go in both French and Italian.

The main lobby is not huge but has plenty of seating. With most resort check-in being on before arrival online the large desks for check-in are a thing of the past. Here some cast members are available with digital tablets to help you with any questions or issues and most of the time will just sit in these large chairs or couches for a more comfortable experience.

There are many things to love about this resort, but one that sticks out in my mind is the amazing art work everywhere you go. Many are gorgeous painting all of which have prints available for sale in the main gift shop, but they even have some fun photos of Walt and his family on their own trips overseas.

Outside are plenty of activities available for you and your family like Bocce ball, or maybe you prefer to play a gigantic game of Chess on the lawn. Of course there is also a wonderful pool with plenty of seating around, and a special kids splash pad with water slide for your younger companions.

On the very top floor of the resort is a fantastic restaurant called Topolino’s Terrace. We were told that Topolino is Italian for Mickey Mouse or at least that’s how he is referred to there, I believe the direct translation is “Little Mouse”.

My family has visited this restaurant I believe 4 times. Once for breakfast and three times for dinner, it’s truly that good. Dinner is by far our favorite, although if you visit for breakfast you will get to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy. For dinner we enjoyed a complimentary basket with French Baguettes and both French and Italian Olive Oils to experience the different between them. One of my favorite appetizers is the fresh Burrata that also comes with these very thin crackers, and yes that is shaved black truffles on the top. We have tried quite a few different main entrees but our favorite is always the Filet Mignon, probably the best I’ve had on Disney property.

While we are on the subject of food, the resort also does have a quick service option down on the first floor can Primo Piatto. There are some great salads, sandwiches and gelato available here, plus as you can see from the photo above this is also the general area where you can now find that mysterious pressed penny machine.

Something interesting here is that the original photo that leaked back in 2019 of this machine had it in a darker colored cabinet. I’m not sure the reasoning behind changing it, but this does seem to fit the surrounding decor a bit better with the more subtle plain white color.

The penny designs available at this machine include a great one of the Riviera Resort’s logo that I really like, and then the rest are a collection of our favorite Disney characters Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto in what I guess can be considered French and Italian clothing and activities. Sure let’s go with that.

I am very excited that this machine finally was made available. For quite awhile many of us collectors figured it was gone for good and maybe only available to the Cast Members that were working their leading up to the grand opening back in 2019. If you are visiting this resort or just stopping through be sure to check out the penny machine and if you are able to score a coveted reservation for Topolino’s you won’t be disappointed. Keep on Pressing!

Just a quick disclaimer that this post will include information on the special 100th Anniversary Pressed Pennies available in Walt Disney World Florida. If you are interested in information about the Disneyland 100th (California) Pennies Click Here. There is no information at this time as to how many total designs will be released, but I will work to keep this updated as best I can.

If you have any updates, pictures or information on new machines and penny designs please let know in the comments. Keep on Collecting!

Our friends over at the Disney Coin Pressers Facebook group have been helping to keep us up to date with all the new penny releases. They have also created a PDF printable list that I have linked here for you to use. Keep on Pressing!

** Updated 03/31/2023: Currently rumors are circulating that all of the pressed penny designs have been released with a total of 69 individual designs all of which we have reviewed below. I have no firm confirmation if this is true, but if we find more designs released in the future I’ll be sure to keep this post updated. Thank you to everyone that helped track down all of these wonderful pennies!

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Magic Kingdom

Newsstand

When visiting the Magic Kingdom once you have scanned your Magic Band, or park ticket at the entrance before going under the train station, if you head all the way over to the left side you will find the Newsstand and the penny machine beside it. Here you will find a 100th Anniversary penny featuring Cinderella with her two mice friends Jaq and Gus Gus.

Main Street Train Station

** Special Thank you to Super Fan for reporting the Main Street Train Station penny designs **

On the first floor of the Main Street Train Station directly behind the big double staircase is where you will find the next penny machine. Just note there are two separate machines here, but only one of them will have new 100th Anniversary designs. Here the pennies will have images of Maleficent, Madame Leota, the Mad Hatter & Cheshire Cat, and Miguel & Dante from Coco.

Tony’s Town Square Restaurant

You do not need a reservation at Tony’s Town Square to visit this pressed penny machine. It can be found in the waiting area of the restaurant near the restrooms. The design on this penny is a very adorable one of Lady and the Tramp sharing a long string of spaghetti from their infamous movie scene.

Firehouse

On the opposite side of Main Street just head inside the Firehouse and you will find a very strange looking piece of fire fighting machinery, but that is actually the penny machine. Here is is just one 100th Anniversary penny design and it’s of Cruella deVille.

Emporium

As you stroll along Main Street be sure to head inside the Emporium also known as the giant Souvenir Shop, and just inside the doors closed to the Train Station direction) you will find the first machine. The machine offers 8 designs, but only 4 of them are part of the 100th Celebration and has designs of Captain Hook, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan Wendy & Think, and Pinocchio.

This second machine is a bit hard for me to explain where it can be found. If you are walking through the Emporium starting from the park entrance side and heading in the direction of the castle you will come across the machine about halfway through the store. Even though this is one large building that extends down the entire length of Main Street it’s actually three different stores that are inner-connected. The penny designs here are of Mickey & Minnie, Donald & Daisy, Goofy & Pluto, and Chip & Dale.

Hall of Champions

If you were just inside the Emporium above keep heading in the direction of the castle and the store at the end closed to Casey’s Corner is actually called the Hall of Champions. At this machine there are four 100th Anniversary designs available to press and include images of Dumbo, Jasmine & Abu, Snow White and Merida from Brave.

Heritage House

This machine is actually located near the exit to the Hall of Presidents attraction. There is actually a pathway that goes behind the Sleepy Hallow food stand leading towards the Hall of Presidents. In this little back alley you can find the machine all by it’s lonesome. There are three penny designs here of Baymax, Jack Skellington, and Woody.

EPCOT

Living Seas SeaBase Alpha Gift Shop

Inside the Living Seas Pavilion at the exit to the Nemo Attraction, or you can bypass the ride and just enter through the Sea Base Alpha Gift Shop to find this machine. The four designs here are of Remi, Figment, Ariel & Flounder, and Nemo & Dory.

Port of Entry Gift Shop

As you enter into the World Showcase there are two large gift shops, the first is towards the Canada Pavilion side and is called Port of Entry. Inside there is a 3-design pressed penny machine, but only one of the designs is celebrating the 100th and has the cutest image of little Grogu (Baby Yoda).

Disney Traders Gift Shop

The sister store this the one above is towards the Mexico side called Disney Traders. Inside is another 3-design penny machine with one special penny available for the 100th with another adorable design of Rocket and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Norway Pavilion The Fjording Gift Shop

As you head around the World Showcase take a little stop at the Norway Pavilion. All the way in the back is The Fjording Gift Shop (this is also where you exit if you ride the Frozen Ever After attraction) and you will find the pressed penny machine. The single design available here for the 100th Anniversary is of Anna, Elsa and Olaf.

International Gateway Gift Shop

This one can bit a bit difficult to find. This gift shop is near the entrance / exit in-between the France and UK pavilions, also where you would go if you are heading towards the Boardwalk Inn, Yacht & Beach Club resorts or the Disney Skyliner. The penny machine here also has just one design available for the 100th with a fun image of Lumber and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast.

Hollywood Studios

Oscar’s Super Service (Near front of the Park)

Just inside the park entrance if you head towards the right you will find Oscar’s Super Service. This is also where you would go to rent a Stroller, Wheelchair or ECV. Inside the little shop you will find the machine near the exit doors. There is only one design available here for the 100th and it’s of Kermit the Frog in his fanciest Tuxedo.

Hollywood Junction

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. The designs available here include Lightning McQueen & Mater, Indiana Jones, BB-8 and R2-D2.

Animal Kingdom

Discovery Trading Co Gift Shop

As you enter the park and head towards the Tree of Life, there is a large gift shop on your right side called the Discovery Trading Co. Just outside one of the doors you will see a wall with three penny machines sitting side by side. Each machine has one new design available. This first machine has the special penny with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from Zootopia.

The machine located in the middle will have a 100th Anniversary Penny featuring Carl, Doug and Russell from Pixar’s Up!

This one is interesting. The machine on the right side has a special anniversary penny featuring some new characters added to the Disney family with the acquisition of FOX. Here you can find a 100th Anniversary penny featuring Sid and Scrat from the Ice Age movies.

Chester & Hester’s Dino Treasures

If you wonder over into Dinoland USA, back near the Triceratops Spin ride is a gift shop called Chester & Hester’s Dino Treasures. Inside you can find a unique looking penny machine with a 100th anniversary design showcasing Bambi and Thumper.

Curiosity Animal Tours

This is another machine that can easily be missed. It’s found inside the Harambe area of the park, and if you head back towards the Kilimanjaro Safari. When looking at the entrance to the Safari turn around and there is a wall behind you that will have this machine up against it. The 100th anniversary design here features Baloo from The Jungle Book.

Dawa Bar

The last machine available inside Animal Kingdom is also found inside the Harambe area. Near the Tusker House restaurant there is a place called the Dawa Bar, as well as a waiting area for the restaurant. Near the corner of this covered area is where the penny machine can be found. This has a new penny design of Timon, Pumbaa and Simba from The Lion King.

Disney Springs

Pin Trader Store

The Pin Trader store is over in the general area of the Rainforest Cafe and Carousel. Inside there quite a few machines, but only three of them have new designs. First is the above pictured machine with a 100th design featuring Ironman.

Just a few steps away is the second machine with a 100th anniversary design featuring Captain American.

The third and final machine in the Pin Trader store has a third Marvel themed design featuring The Hulk.

Resorts

Contemporary Resort

The penny machine inside the Contemporary Resort is up on the Third Floor Concourse, just past The Game Station Arcade kind of behind the Fantasia Market. As with the other machines, there are only four 100th anniversary designs here and they have images of Aurora, Belle, Mulan and Bo Peep.

Polynesian Village Resort

Inside the main Ceremonial House up on the second floor you will find the Moana Mercantile store. Just outside is where the penny machine can be found. Only four of the designs are celebrating the 100th anniversary so becarful when selecting which ones you want. The penny designs here include the Orange Bird, Maribel Luisa & Bruno, Moana & Maui, and Stitch.

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

At the Grand Floridian resort, they have a couple penny machines inside however it’s the 3-design machine out in front of the resort near the Bus Stop if you were going to one of the other parks. The machine has just two 100th Anniversary designs including a great one of Mary Poppins, and the other of Alice with the White Rabbit.

Boardwalk Inn

This location can be a bit difficult to find. Once you are inside main lobby building, with the check-in desk on your left side, head down the long hallway on the right. This will lead you towards the Belle Vue Lounge. The two machines are beside the elevator in this area. The first machine has a 100th design featuring Vanellope von Schweetz.

The second machine is right beside the first one above, and has a 100th penny design of Rapunzel from the animated movie Tangled.

** Special Thank you to Anthony Fernandez for reporting the new penny designs on the Boardwalk **

I will admit I completely missed this machine on my previous visit to the Boardwalk Inn. This machine is actually located outside of the resort on the actual Boardwalk near the boat launch for the Friendship boats that take you to Epcot, Hollywood Studios and a few other stops along the way. At this machine there are four new designs all Pixar themed with images of Bing Bong, Mr Incredible Elastigirl & Frozone, Edna Mode, and Joe Gardner.

Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

I will admit I was kind of hoping this location wouldn’t get a new set of pennies just due to it probably being the most challenging to visit. Unless you are staying at the Campsite getting in here needs a bit of time and creativity. You can take the boat from Magic Kingdom, or a bus from Disney Springs. Both options drop you off at either the Marina or the main Check-in area. Then you will need to hop on the internal Orange bus that has a stop at the Meadows Trading Post. Inside this store you will find the penny machine towards the back set of doors. The penny designs here celebrating the 100th Anniversary include Pocahontas, Pooh & Piglet and my personal favorite Red Panda Mei.

POP Century Resort

There are a few way to get into the POP Century resort if you are not actually staying there, and my personal favorite is taking the Disney Skyliner. Once inside the main lobby building head towards the Everything POP Shopping & Dining area. In the area where the gift shop transitions into the food court, four penny machines can be found. Only two of them have new designs but it should be easy to check out each one to find the ones you want. The first machine has a 100th Anniversary design of Thor from the Avengers.

Just across from the machine we visited above is the second machine with another 100th Anniversary design featuring Black Panther. Wakanda Forever!

Port Orleans French Quarter Resort

** Special Thank you to KC for reporting the Port Orleans Resort penny designs **

One of my favorite resorts on Disney property is the Port Orleans French Quarter resort. If you head inside the main lobby building, and go into the Jackson Square gift shop the penny machine will be towards the back near the beverage coolers. The penny design here is a beautiful one of Princess Tiana.

Port Orleans Riverside Resort

Not too far away is the Port Orleans Riverside resort that is home to our next two penny machines. Both are located inside the main lobby building, this time however you will need to seek out the Medicine Show Arcade. The two penny machines are sitting right next to each other. The first has a 100th Anniversary design of Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc.

The second machine has a great design of Wall-E with his little plant and the Disney 100th Logo.

Wilderness Lodge

Another of my favorite resorts on Disney Property is the Wilderness Lodge and my family loves all the antics at the Whispering Canyon restaurant. While you visit this beautiful resort, be sure to head out of the main building and down the long pathways towards the Bus Stop for the parks. There is one penny machine located here that has recently been updated with a new 100th Anniversary design of Raya.

I remember years ago when I was young and my parents would get the Sunday edition of our local newspaper. Majority of the newspaper I was uninterested in, but the cartoon / comic section was what I grabbed to read while eating my breakfast cereal. There were many classic comic strips then but my favorite was always Charles Schulz Peanuts with poor ‘ol Charlie Brown.

Charles Monroe Schultz was born on November 26th, 1922 in Minneapolis Minnesota. He loved drawing and sometimes drew their family dog Spike. Schulz’s first group of regular cartoons was a weekly series of one-panel jokes called Li’l Folks was published from June 1947 through January 1950 in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. It was in Li’l Folks that Schulz first used the name Charlie Brown for a character, although he applied the name in four gags to four different boys. The series also had a dog that looked very similar to Snoopy. In 1950 Schulz had developed a comic strip using four panels rather than one. Unfortunately the title for the strip had to be changed for legal reasons and a new name was selected, Peanuts.

Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2nd, 1950 in seven newspapers. After a slow start, Peanuts eventually became one of the most popular comic strips of all time, as well as one of the most influential. At its height, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, and in 21 languages. For nearly 50 years, Schultz drew 17,897 published Peanuts strips.

Peanuts also proved popular in other media, such as Television with the first animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas aired in December 1965 and also won an Emmy award. Numerous TV specials followed including classics like By My Valentine Charlie Brown, and my personal favorite It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

On December 14th, 1999 Schulz announced his retirement due to his failing health and passed away on February 12, 2000 at the age of 77. To this day Schulz classic Peanuts cartoons continue to appear in Daily newspapers across the county, and poor Charlie Brown still hasn’t been able to kick that darn football.

This special collection of Pressed Coins was created by our friends over at The Penny Depot. We have reviewed a few of their other designs in the past and they just keep coming up with new and certainly unique design topics. These were originally released back in 2022 to celebrate 100 Years of Charles Schulz (born in 1922). Be sure to head on over to their site to check out these create pressed pennies and all their other available designs. Keep on Pressing!

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Here we are back with another beautiful privately designed elongated coin by fellow collector Michael Mochizuki. In the past we check out another of his unique designs that you can read about here. This time we are going to take a closer look at a design created to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Hawaii Theater.

Many of Michael’s special sets include information cards that will give a lot of great details about the theme of the design, and I think this is such a fantastic addition to the coins. You can see in the two images here the story of this truly historic building.

If you are lucky enough to get one of the Limited sets they are numbered on the info card along with the concept design of the coin itself.

Here is a close up view of the pressed penny design. The image details of the Theater exterior is gorgeous and overall just a really eye catching coin.

The set I ordered included a full denomination set of coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter) and also a collectible chip. Michael has quite an amazing catalog of Hawaiian elongated coin sets similar in style and amount of detail to this one. I have ordered a few more designs so we can take a look at those in future posts. If you are interested in checking out any of Michael’s available sets I have included a link to his Facebook group page here.

Thank you for checking out more privately designed pressed coins with me. As always Keep on Pressing. Mahalo!

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Universal is back again this year with their fan favorite Mardi Gras and Flavors of Carnaval food festival. I’ve mentioned in the past this is one of my favorite events at Universal and based on the crowds I’ve seen so far this year, many other guests seem to feel the same way.

There are plenty of food booths and great eats again this year, but to be honest we are here today to check out the new Tribute store and a look at the new souvenir medallions.

Something a bit different with this years Tribute Store and from what we are hearing future Tribute stores will be located in this new location. Previously there were back in the New York area of the park beside The Mummy ride. Rumors are that location is being converted into a preview center for their new Epic Universal Theme Park scheduled to opening Summer 2025. Due to the Tribute Store popularity and I’m sure large volume of merchandise sales, they have moved it into the building along Hollywood Boulevard formerly used as the Annual Passholder Lounge.

Inside there are three different themed rooms, but they are much smaller than in the usual location. The decorations and theme of these rooms is still great and a lot of fun to check out. But overall I feel like this is definitely a step down from what we have experienced in the past. I’m sure this just has to do with the location being a much smaller area so they are limited to what they can do with it.

In the last room where they are selling some themed sweet treats, and also where the check-out area is, you will find the updated souvenir medallion machine right next to the exit doors.

The cabinet of the machine has remained unchanged, and looks to be just slightly themed as a storage box. It has a nice Tribute Store marquee across the top, and almost most surprising of all is that the price has not increased. These are still being sold as $5 each or $15 for four designs. Nearby parks SeaWorld and Walt Disney World has started increasing the cost of these medallions so hopefully Universal is puts off that imminent change for awhile. If I had to guess the increase will show up with the new Halloween Horror Nights Set since that is from what I have seen by far the most popular set of medallions Universal releases each year.

The designs in this years set include a Mardi Gras Mask, a pretty dapper looking Crawfish, a Skull and of my favorite King Gator.

The reverse image is the same on all designs and is of the Universal’s Mardi Gras logo and I love that they include the year 2023 on this as well. That way they can’t try to release these again next year, like they did just a few months ago with their Holiday medallions.

Now I guess it’s time to head back into the park and try some of the food booths, and hang around until after dark when the parade takes place so I can try to grab some beads. It’s always a fun time at Universal’s Mardi Gras so be sure to check it out before it ends April 16th. Keep on Collecting!

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