Flashback

Moved – Big Hero 6 Pressed Penny Set now at Epcot

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Flashback to 2014 when Disney released a new animated movie  called Big Hero 6.  It is not one of my favorite movies, but the story is interesting and who doesn’t like Baymax.  That same year there was a set of pressed pennies placed in the Magic of Disney Animation building at the Hollywood Studios theme park.

I remember years ago there used to be a show where an animator would walk the audience through how to draw certain Disney characters.  At the end of each show there was one lucky audience member that would get the drawing from the animator, but I was just never that lucky.  More recently this was a meet and greet area where at one point you could meet Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero 6.

Near this meet location was where the original penny press machine was located in a nice wood grace cabinet.

A short time after this machine was made available the Magic of Disney Animation building closed down as it was being redesigned as the Star Wars Launch Bay.  During this closure the Big Hero 6 penny machine was nowhere to be found.  Then in 2015 the machine showed up.

This time it was back in the Muppet’s Courtyard at the Pizza Planet quick service restaurant.  During this time Pizza Planet was a bit of a dumping ground for penny machines and I believe the Big Hero 6 was the fifth or sixth machine there.  But that wouldn’t last long as Pizza Planet got closed down not too longer after.  This closed down so it could be redesigned as PizzeRizzo’s, and this penny set disappeared again for almost two years.

Flash forward to 2017, and I read online that this missing machine thought to have been retired shows up in Epcot of all places.

In-between Spaceship Earth and the Fountain if you head towards The Land pavilion where Soarin’ is located you pass two Character Spot’s with meet and greets.

Once of these locations is where Innoventions West used to be and is now where you can meet Joy and Sadness from Pixar’s Inside Out.  Also in here is Baymax (no Hiro anymore for some reason).

   

Just inside the doors to this Character Spot is where the penny machine can be found.  The cabinet has been repainted.

But the designs are still exactly the same.

The images on these coins include Baymax, Hiro, and Fred all with the BH6 logo on them.  It’s took bad they didn’t issue different designs when they brought back this machine.  But with all the movement this machine has had I’m sure there are a lot of people who weren’t able to press these coins the first few times it was available.

I hate to mention this but, there are a lot of changes coming to Epcot over the next few years.  This character spot is in a location that seems to be unrecognizable in the concept art that Disney has released.  This is a nice place for the machine, but who knows how long these designs will be here.  Go get them before they disappear again.

Click here to see my YouTube channel video on this move and the designs.

Flashback – 100 Years of Magic 2002 WDW

/ davidscointravels / 2 Comments

Every few years Disney has a celebration that extends through the theme parks and of course their merchandise.  Thankfully for us pressed coin collectors this can also mean special limited designs are available for only a few months or if we are lucky up to a year.  With some of the new coins for this year already showing up I have noticed that 2016 apparently is the year Disney will celebrate Music, Magic and Memories.

This got me thinking about another celebration that was going on during one of my visits to Walt Disney World.  As we flashback to 2002 the resort was celebrating 100 Years of Magic.  This was to commemorate 100 years since Walt’s birth.

I visited the resort in the summer of 2002 just on a small vacation with some friends. In preparing for this post I went through some old pictures trying to find anything that had the 100 Years of Magic designs but couldn’t find anything.  However what does stick in my mind was the huge assortment of pressed quarters that were available throughout the theme parks and resorts.  I must admit that at this time I wasn’t as obsessed with collecting pressed coins and would only use my spare change to pick a few random designs, and this pains me to this day.  Especially as I look back at this special set which I really think was a great collection.  I only picked up a few of the coins during that trip, and the years since I have spent trying to fill in the missing designs.

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In total there were about 50 designs available during this celebration.  As you can see from the above picture I have 11 so far, but I keep searching and trading whenever I come across another design needed to finish this set.  I’m not sure what it is exactly about this set, but I just really enjoy it and think the designs are great.

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These designs covered all aspects of the parks as well as each resort and other areas of the property.  The above design was what I considered the main design for the celebration.  It has Mickey sitting on top of the 100 Years of Magic logo.

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One of my personal favorites the monorail was also available to press.  Another nice detail on each of these coins is the established date.  Monorail Est 1971.

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Here is definitely a flashback, Pleasure Island Est 1989.  For those young ones out there this is the original Downtown Disney area.  I remember after a certain time of night you had to show ID that you were over 21 to access the numerous clubs and bars.  Next up the resorts.

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The Polynesian Resort Est. 1971.

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Animal Kingdom Lodge Est. 2001

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Wilderness Lodge Est. 1994

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Beach Club Resort Est. 1990

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Pop Century Resort Est. 2002

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Coronado Springs Resort Est. 1997

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Port Orleans Resort French Quarter Est. 1991

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Port Orleans Resort Riverside Est. 1992

I still have quite a way to go before completing this set, but the hunting and searching is part of the fun.  Be on the lookout whenever you are out collecting for special edition designs you just never know when you may come across them.  However make sure you have enough pocket change to get the entire set because you just never know when you may be able to find those coins again.