With all the new pressed pennies and medallions being released so far for 2024, honestly a new set of Star Wars themed coins was not what I thought we would get. I’m not complaining as I’m a pretty big Star Wars fan, plus it gave me an opportunity to visit a section of Hollywood Studios I don’t often go to.

Back in what used to be called Animation Courtyard, I’m actually not sure if that’s still the official name or not. It’s where the Little Mermaid stage show, and the Disney Junior Dance Party can be found. All the way in the back is a large marquee for the Star Wars Launch Bay.

It’s easily been 3 or 4 years since I’ve been back in here. I remember they used to have a theater where you could watch trailers for upcoming Star Wars movies, or maybe even a little “history” of Star Wars video but now it’s really just a meet and greet area with a really slimmed down memorabilia area.

There used to be a ton of models from the different movies, and props, costumes and so much more. There wasn’t much in here in they way of props but the few items they did still have were interesting to see in person.

The main area in the middle of this building is where you can meet a few different Star Wars characters including Chewie, BB-8 and Darth Vader. As you can see from the above photo it wasn’t too busy inside.

This area is also where I found the new medallion (and existing pressed penny machine in case you were looking for it). The penny machine used to be outside the Launch Bay near the exit for the gift shop that seems to no longer be available.

The machine offers 4 different medallion designs including Darth Vader with a couple Storm Troopers, Mando & Grogu, Chewie, and the famous Droid Trio of C-3PO, R2-D2 and BB-8. Unlike many of the other medallions we have collected in the past that are more golden in color and very reflective, these are more of a darker tarnished color which I actually really liked. Not sure if that’s just because they photograph easier, but they also don’t attract fingerprints as easily which is a big plus.

The design on the reverse side of each coin here are all identical and just shows the Star Wars trademark logo among a consultation of stars.

The Star Wars Launch Bay always seems like it’s just really disconnected from the Galaxy’s Edge area of the park, and with the limited props and other items inside this really seems to have become an afterthought. Hopefully they can revamp it, but for now it’s at least a fairly quiet place to take a break and get some air conditioning if needed, or just a set of these new medallions.

Keep on Collecting!

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