Month: May 2025

Shell Factory | Fort Myers Florida

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During our trip to Fort Myers Florida we had a couple days with nothing specific planned and just through we would explore the area. Heading away from the more touristy sections of town can make for an interesting adventure.

On one of those days we came across this large yellow sign toting the World’s Largest Shell Factory. Well we just couldn’t resist a good ol’ fashion Florida roadside attraction, so we pulled in to check it out.

As we drove up towards the long building it kind of looked like it may not have been open that day. But once we got closer to the entrance we saw an “open” sign welcoming us in.

Once inside we were overwhelmed by the amount of stuff available for sale, and it was either made up of shells, shells only, or something to do with the water.

This place just went on and on. There were so many different rooms, and when you thought you were coming to the end, there was a doorway leading into another room. They even had a little cafeteria in the middle serving up some quick snacks and drinks in case you got hungry shopping.

As we took our time wondering from room to room I did come across a penny press machine infant of a large taxidermy diorama that you can see in the above photo behind the machine. Not sure what that had to do with shells, but I was more focused on the penny machine.

The machine rolled great, and the full set of penny designs dropped out with some fun designs. I liked the one with the Shell Factory Logo on it, another with some sea shells, a Lemur and a classic Florida design of an alligator.

At first I was kind of confused about the lemur and gator designs, however once we left the store we found out that there was a Nature Park on property, basically just a small zoo. We did buy tickets and checked it out. It had some nice trails to walk among the animal exhibits but didn’t have a large collection of animals. Plus no penny machine so we finished up our visit and headed back out on the road to see what we could find in Fort Myers Florida. Keep on Pressing!

Jungle Cruise NEW Pressed Pennies | Magic Kingdom

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There are quite a few classic Disney attractions like It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and of course the World Famous Jungle Cruise. Recently the Jungle Cruise has gone through some updates but the leaky boats and wise cracking skippers are still the same.

This is an attraction that almost always had a long wait time. It has a cult following and being a classic attraction many guests have it on their must-do list when visiting the Magic Kingdom.

We don’t do this attraction every time we visit the parks, but definitely do enjoy it from time to time. I do feel your experience on the attraction depends on your skipper. Most of them do a great job and are expecting the lack of laughter to their terrible puns, but the great ones can roll with it and catch you by surprise with a quip you may not have heard before.

Of course this is the one and only place you can experience the amazing wonder that is the backside of water. I remember this as a kid and even now many years later it still puts a smile on my face.

After your excursion on the Jungle Cruise when existing the ride you will walk right past the pressed penny machine. The cabinet has a fun themed design to it, making it seem like it was pieces together with old wood and metal pieces found in the jungle. Much the same way as the boats we just road on.

This is a manual machine so you will need to crack the handle quite a few times to get your coins pressed. The designs look nice and have quite a bit of detail to them that I think is fantastic. We have one of the elephants spraying water, a Hippo getting a little close to the boat, Mickey and Donald with a Map, and Explorer Mickey, all designs include the Jungle Cruise logo. You may notice in the above photo that the pennies rolled long. I first pressed these coins shortly after the machine was updated with the new coins and this seemed to be a common issue for a week or so.

I visited again a couple weeks later and pressed another set shown above and they came out much better.

The jungle cruise will always be a fan favorite attraction and it’s nice to see a new fresh set of pressed pennies celebrating it. Hopefully we start to see some new designs for other classic attractions. I don’t think we have seen a Tiki Bird coin in quite awhile that I think would be amazing. Any others you can think of? Be sure to let me know in the comments. Keep on Pressing!

NEW Pressed Penny Machine Model 2025

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I remember years ago when you could slide fifty cents into a coin press and elongated whatever penny you wanted, be it a new shiny zinc or a classic copper coin.

Unfortunately in recent years those style of machines have started to disappear, being replaced by preloaded machines that are usually filled with zinc pennies or in some instances dirty circulated coins of various mintages.

This did cause a bit of unhappiness among quite a few in the collecting community who preferred to be able to press their own preferred coin. Well the machine manufacturers seem to have been listening.

Photo Courtesy: Jim McNally

I received some news from friend and fellow collector Jim McNally who reported a new penny machine model that has first been discovered up in Michigan at the Detroit Zoo pictured above.

Photo Courtesy: Jim McNally

This machine has the standard paper bill payment system as well as a credit / debit card digital payment system we find on the other machines.

Photo Courtesy: Jim McNally

However if we take a closer look at the instruction placard we notice it mentions three different payment options. Turn the wheel to the design you want, then chose a payment option cash, card, or coins that also says “Press your own penny!” The machine still costs $1 to use but you can now opt to use four quarters and whatever kind of penny you like. The machine is still preloaded with zinc pennies if you use either the cash bill or digital payment options.

I’m honestly kind of blown away that this is even a thing. It’s something we have been asking for and it’s amazing that the manufacturer appears to have been listening and made it a reality which is fantastic.

Now the big question is….. will we see this new machine model released in a wider implementation. For me since I’m a huge Disney collector I would love to see these related within the parks and resort. The above pictures acrylic version is not the style of machine Disney usually has so I doubt we would see it released there. But the internal mechanisms I’m sure could be used in their existing 3 and 4 design machine models. Putting this in the larger 8 and 12 design machines I don’t think is something we will see.

Just wanted to share this excited news and fingers crossed we will start seeing this new machine model released in the near future. Keep your eyes open and if you come across any before to let me know. I’d love to hear all about them and can’t wait to find one to use myself. Keep on Pressing!

POP Century Resort NEW Pressed Pennies and Medallions

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Disney’s POP Century Resort is truly a fun and fairly economical place to stay during your trip. My family has stayed here a few times and we always have a great time.

The resort is themed after different decades, the 50s thru the 90s, and that theme continues through all areas.

As you take a dip in one of the pools with a huge retro jukebox, and records decorating the guest room buildings.

In the 70s area the courtyard has a larger than life foosball game, Big Wheel and even a classic Mickey Mouse telephone.

There is so much to see here, it’s sometimes fun to just walk around and explore. Plus you get to try and explain some old technology to your kids. That won’t make you feel old I’m sure.

Inside the main lobby building is where you will find the Everything POP shopping and dining area. During our visit sections of it were under construction but I have seen since that it has all been completed.

Just past the shopping area, but before you get to the cafeteria section you will find two new coin machines. First up let’s take a look at the new pressed penny machine. The cabinet blends in nicely with the surrounding walls which I like the look of.

As you can see this machine does offer 8 different coin designs. Thankfully for now the price is still $5 for the entire set, or $1 individually. The pennies have images of the POP Century Resort logo, and then an assortment of Mickey and his friends.

If you just take about 3 steps to your left you will find the second new machine which offered 4 new collectible medallions.

I really like this set of coins. They seem to fit in with the vibe of the POP Century Resort different decades theme. We have Mickey “Rock n’ Roll”, Minnie “Flower Power”, Donald “Out of Sight”, and Goofy “Totally Awesome”. The medallions are $20 for four, or $6 each.

There use to be a few other pressed penny machines at this resort but they have all been retired and these are now the only two machines available. I’m sure they will be around for quite awhile and it appears that the dated coins will not be returning any time soon to the resorts. These are great new additions to collect. Keep on Pressing!

Jurassic World Collectible Medallions | Islands of Adventure

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In a previous post I was visiting Universal’s Islands of Adventure and came across a new Dr. Seuss Medallion machine. That has replaced a pressed penny machine and I was hoping that wouldn’t become a trend. Well I’m sorry to say it’s happened once again. This time let’s head through the iconic arch welcoming us into Jurassic Park.

Once we pass through the large security gates we needed to head towards the waterfront where their newest attraction the Velocicoaster is located. Nearby is the two story Discovery Center which you can access either before or after riding the Coaster.

The top floor is a quick service restaurant, and the lower floor has some interactive exhibits but for now is primarily a gift shop.

There’s a large Raptor keeping an eye on guests entering and existing the store. The merchandise here has remaining the same since we first visited this area when Velocicoaster first opened and found some pressed pennies.

Over along the wall near the locker section is where that pressed penny machine was located and remained for a couple years. However that is no longer the situation. The penny machine has been removed and there is now another new souvenir medallion machine in its place.

The medallion designs in this set have some nice detail to them. I do find the text a bit hard to read on them, and have a difficult time figuring our the different dinosaurs. But overall I think these are another fun set of medallions for our collection.

The reverse side of all the coins is the same, and has the Jurassic World Logo including classic T-Rex skeleton. What confuses me about this is that here in the Florida park this area is Jurassic Park and has not been (so far) re-themed to Jurassic World like has in the California park. I know this is a small gripe but seems like a mixup by the coin designers, or maybe we are getting a re-theme here in the near future.

Now don’t get me wrong I do enjoy collecting the medallions. I do wish the prices were not as high but I don’t like the idea of these replacing pressed penny machine. If we can have both that would be great, however it if was up to me, for my own personal preference I would rather keep the penny machines than lose them for new medallions. I’m sure there is a higher profit margin on these coins and is why more are being released. That higher price point though I feel is getting close to where people aren’t going to want to pay it and by then it may be too late to get the penny machine back. I guess time will tell.

Keep on Collecting!

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe NEW Pressed Pennies | Magic Kingdom

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I visit Magic Kingdom a lot but something I’ve always insisted is that the table service restaurants are not great. The service is also great, but the food quality is bad and it’s all very overpriced. That’s why I usually find myself indulging in snacks most of the time like a Dole Whip or Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches. However if I do need something a little more substantial, my preferred option is over in Frontierland at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.

Theming is always a big thing with me, I’m a sucker for places like Rainforest Cafe or the Mars 2112 restaurants. I guess it’s just the kid in me that enjoys that type of decor.

Pecos Bill has some fun theming inside that I just find a lot of fun. Tables are packed in so there isn’t a lot of personal space between you and your neighbors.

We did lose some big perks that used to be available here like the toppings bar and unlimited guacamole. As with many things at Disney they cut things out to save money even if they are fan favorites. The menu used to have Fajitas and Tacos on it, but those have also recently been removed and replaced with “nachos” that only differ by the protein it’s topped with. The chips were stale, protein was fine but very salty and the guacamole is now the prepackaged kind in a little cup that you can buy at your local grocery store.

On the plus side we found that there was a new pressed penny machine inside. It’s along one of the walls as you leave the ordering area and head towards the various seating sections.

Previously there were two 3-design penny machines here. They had been moved from the old Shooting Arcade that was closed to make way for a new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Lounge. Both of those machines have been retired and replaced by this one machine.

There are 8 penny designs available at this machine and include Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Woody and Jesse all decked out in their Western outfits. A few of the designs do include Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn along the braided rope border.

I’m sad to see one of my favorite quick service locations sliding downhill in quality and hope maybe it was just an off day. I’ll probably give it some time before going back, maybe I’ll wait unit they change the menu options again. For now at least we can stop inside for some air conditioning and press a set of new pennies for our collection. Keep on Pressing!