We had spent some time in the Fort Myers area just enjoying the beach and some local attractions. Then as our vacation week went on we headed north a bit to check out Sarasota Springs. There would be another beach day but first after we checked into our hotel we wanted to check out a nearby attraction called Jungle Gardens.

This place was tucked away from the main highway, although there were quite a few billboard advertisements for it throughout town. That’s really was piqued our interested.

Jungle Gardens is home to more than 200 native and exotic animals including birds of prey, many different species of parrots and macaws, primates, small mammals, snakes, lizards and many other reptiles. Many of the animals are rescued or donated to the park. The property covers 10 acres of tropical landscaping all connected by winding jungle trails.

Their most notable residence are the pink flamingos. They are found all throughout the park and you can even purchase some food to hand feed them if you’re feeling adventurous.

The trails throughout the park were well maintained and kind of relaxing to just leisurely stroll around. The different animal exhibits had beautiful creatures on display and plenty of staff nearby to answer any questions. We also came across quite a few themed playgrounds that gave my wife and I a nice break to sit and watch as our girls worked off some extra energy.

Before leaving we found ourselves back in the main front building which is also where the gift shop was located. Near the front doors I found their pressed penny machine, and yes I did know it was here so that did have a bit of influence to our visit.

I’ve mentioned in the past that these style machines are not my favorite and I don’t always have the best luck pressing full designs with them. This one however was in pretty good shape and my pressies came out with their entire design visible.

The set of pennies found at the Jungle Gardens has images showcasing some of their residents including some Parrots, and Tiger (which I honestly don’t remember seeing at the gardens) and their famous Pink Flamingos.

This was another fun little local attraction that seems to have become the theme of our little trip. Since we live closer to the big theme parks like Disney and Universal it’s a nice change to visit some smaller venues with much smaller crowds and of course some fresh new pressed pennies. Keep on Pressing!

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It has almost been a year since Splash Mountain reopened with a new theme and name, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The lines are still incredibly long, and that big drop still elicits plenty of thrills and screams.

Back in 2024 when the newly rethemed Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened and we were greeted by some new pressed pennies, there was one that I noticed would not have a long shelf life.

As you can see from the above photo of the penny machine marquee one of these designs included the Grand Opening year 2024. I do love these types of designs as a great way to memorialize these big events within the park history. Plus, we know that it will be replaced before too long.

In an interesting move only this one design has been changed. For those of you that may have looked inside the window on the front of these style of machines to watch the gears roll. You may have noticed there are two separate die rings, each with four designs on them to make the full set of eight. That means you can’t just replace the one design, but need to create an entirely new four die ring. Some other collectors have been investigating the other three designs on this die ring, but only slight variations have been found however for the most part those designs are the same as before.

The new penny design features a few of the attraction characters, and states This Joint is Hoppin’ along the bottom. Noticeably the year has been left off of this design so my assumption is this design along with the others will be sticking around for quite awhile. Keep on Pressing!

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