Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout – California Adventure, CA

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With Disney’s acquisition of Marvel they have been pumping out blockbuster after blockbuster racking in mega bucks for the company, and entertaining a few fans along the way.  Some characters have started to appear in the theme parks, but due to some licensing issues with Universal Studios (Pre-Disney Marvel) the theme parks in Florida have some restraints on which characters they can have in the parks.  However this is not the case in sunny California, and just recently they have completely revamped a beloved ride you may have heard of called the Tower of Terror.  The new them is based on a very popular set of movies called the Guardians of the Galaxy and the ride is now known as Mission Breakout.

Being on the east coast I haven’t actually seen this attraction in person yet, and to be honest I’ve never actually ridden the original drop attraction.  Falling through an elevator shaft just wasn’t my type of entertainment.  But from some pictures and videos I’ve seen online Disney has really out done themselves with this new attraction. I would almost be willing to risk the multiple falls just to experience this Guardians of the Galaxy story that unfolds during the ride.  Of course once you are done with the ride you always exit through a gift shop.  This gift shop has also been re-themed and is now known as The Collector’s Warehouse.  Inside is a brand new penny machine with some of your favorite Guardian characters.

The images include: Flora Colossus Groot, Peter Quill Star Lord, and my favorite Pet Rodent Rocket.

All three coins also have a very cool backstamp with the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout Logo.  Based on some articles I’ve read of wait times exceeding 6-7 hours just to try to get on this ride I don’t see this going away anytime soon.  With that said you just never know what will happen to the penny machines as some stick around for years while others are only available for a short time.  Makes sure to pick these up as they are a really nicely detailed set.  I am Groot!

Parking HUB and City Walk – Universal Studios Florida

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I feel like lately majority of my posts have been about Walt Disney World or Disneyland.  I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, these are the places my pressed penny collection started and will always hold a special place in my heart.  Plus they are the locations that release the most penny designs throughout the year and I always want to make sure everyone knows what’s released and where to get it.  But the next few posts I’m taking a break and heading to a different part of Orlando.

Just like Disney the Universal Orlando theme parks have a lot of pressed coin machines.  But I find they don’t get updated as often as Disney.  The last time I was at Universal in Orlando was about 5 years ago, and not many of them have changed in that time.  However I was in the area for a trip and had a free day so I figured it was time to go see what’s new and update my collection notes.

After arriving at the property I was directed to their parking structures.  There are two parking areas, the primary one is the South lot with sections designated by “Cat in the Hat”, “E.T.” and “Spiderman”.  There is an additional North lot with section labeled for “Jurassic Park”, “King Kong”, and “Jaws”.  These are just to help you remember where you parked your car.  There are long moving sidewalks that help keep everyone moving towards the parking HUB.  The HUB is kind of like a “Y” with the two arms connecting to the parking lots, and the bottom arm taking you towards City Walk and the Parks.

I tried to put together a map with some notes on it above outlining how it looks.  The reason for this is there are eight pennies machines available in this area.  The South parking area does not have any machines, but if you are coming from that area as soon as you get to the HUB there are four machines before you even hit security.  The other four machines are on the 3rd level of the North Parking lot just at the end of the moving sidewalk.  It would still cost you $20 (for now in 2017) to park here, but you could access all eight of these machines without going into the parks.

   

First up lets take a look at the machines in the HUB.  As soon as I entered the HUB from the South lot I was greeted by this colorful machine that was covered in Minions.  Just to the left of this machine is a little gift shop area, if you cut through this to the other side are the other three machines all lined up together.

   

The second machine was one I had acquired years ago and was still functional with the exact same designs.  This is kind of a greatest hits of Universal with designs of Spiderman, Jurassic Park, The Hulk, and Spongebob.

   

The middle machine was all about Transformers.  This machine was a little finicky.  It pressed 3 of the 4 designs, but the design for Bumblebee just wouldn’t roll at all.  When I got home I searched eBay looking for the missing design and eventually found it to complete this set.

   

The fourth machine was another set of Minions / Despicable Me coins (These are kind of like the Frozen coins at Disney all over the place).  My daughter loves these designs, she can’t get enough of the minions.

So that finishes up the four machines located in HUB.  Before you go through the security scans, if you walk over to the moving sidewalk that takes you to the North parking structure is where the other four machines are at.  These machines are all located on the 3rd level of the parking structure, however if you are coming from the HUB you are already on the right level.  These machines are all located within a 15-20 foot radius of each other, up against various support columns.

   

The first machine has some designs of various attractions in the parks like the Jurassic Park Ride, and the Hulk Coaster.

   

The second machine has images of Spongebob, The Simpsons, Shrek, and the Jaws Ride which is no longer there.  I’m curious how long this image a some other similar ones around the parks will be available.

   

Next up was the third machine which was themed after The Fantastic Four.  The designs included Mister Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing.

   

Finally the last machine out here in parking lot land was a Woody Woodpecker model.  Not sure if kids even know who this is anymore, but I liked it and the designs make for a cool nostalgic set (minus Spongebob).  Images of Woody Woodpecker, Spongebob Squarepants, Scooby-Doo, and Shaggy.

With all the coins I needed jingling in my backpack I headed back towards the HUB, through security and made my towards City Walk which is their shopping and entertainment area (kind of like Disney Springs).

The last time I was here there were a half-dozen penny machines throughout City Walk at some restaurants and shops.  But when I visited there was only one machine available here.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co is a restaurant obviously themed after the movie starring Tom Hanks.  The penny machine here is the same one way back when I visited last.  Unfortunately these themed restaurant machines don’t change very often/ever.

   

Since I already had these coins I just snapped a new picture and headed back out into the sun.  I was on my way over to one of the theme parks with a big bag of change ready to be squished.  Stop back and see where I went next.

Florida Mall – Orlando, FL

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While in the Orlando area for a quick weekend trip I found myself with a little free time
(not enough to visit a theme park) so I decided to go check out the Florida Mall.  I had been here years ago and remember it just being really busy.  This visit was no different. I couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere near and entrance and seemed like I had to walk across the entire parking lot just to get in.

Truth be told I was here to visit two specific stores, but that didn’t prevent me from just aimless wandering around.  This mall also seems to have gotten much bigger than when I was here last, but that may not actually be true.  The walkways just seem to go on and on, and after you turn a corned they go on and on some more.  Eventually I came to the first place I wanted to visit.

M&M World, a chocolate candy lovers paradise.  We have one of these back up in New York in Times Square which I have visited almost religiously when I’m in the city.  This one isn’t quite as big, but still has a lot of M&M related merchandise, and of course candy.

Towards the middle of the store I found the first penny machine.  This was actually an interesting machine as it had part in the middle that would make change for you all in one machine.  I always come prepared so didn’t need to use this feature, but still pretty cool.

The machine pressed four designs with M&M Characters on them and the Racing Team logo.  I only know these characters by their color (Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue) and am not sure if they actually have other names.

The second machine was right around the corner from the first one so it didn’t require much detective work to find it (sometimes that the best part).

This set included the same four M&M Characters but all said “In Candy We Trust” on the designs.  They also included the M&M World Logo.  Once I got home I did notice that these are the exact same designs as the ones that are available in New York City, the only difference is these ones say Orlando instead of New York.  Too bad they were a little more unique, but still a nice addition to my ongoing M&M collection.

Before I left the store I had to pick up a few souvenirs for my daughters and used the opportunity to also buy a new version of the M&M World Pressed Coin Booklet.  They have had a few versions in the past but this seems to be the latest edition.

Just as short walk away was my next stop.  I’m not sure how long this has been at the mall but it was definitely busy and looked like a lot of fun for kinds of all ages.  When you enter from inside the mall you are greeted by the gift shop with everything Crayola.  Crayons, markers, pencils, coloring books, model clay kits, clothing and so much more.  Just inside the main entrance was one of those new 8-design touch screen penny/token machines.

The cost is $1 for 1 design, or $3 for all 8 which just seems like a no brainer.  I placed my order and watched through the window as my tokens were pressed.

The designs as you would guess are all Crayola inspired.  They have various Crayola logos, I Heart Crayola, and Coloring Pencils, Markers and Crayons.  This was another pretty nice set to acquire.  Towards the back of the store is where you can enter the Crayola Experience.  This is where they have some interactive exhibits that allow you to create your own crayon label, or marker, and give some info on how those products are created.  This is not an actual Crayola factor but more of a museum.  There is another one of these in Eaton, PA that we have visited with our kids and they love.  On this trip I didn’t have time to pay the admission fee and go through to get a better look.  I found out afterwards that there was an additional penny machine (4 design only) back in the Experience that can only be accessed with paid admission.  Guess this  means I’ll have to bring the kids back and go get that other set of pennies.

I didn’t do much other shopping and only stopped for a soft pretzel on my way out, but this was a nice way to get some exercise and pick up some new pennies while I was at it.

Disney Quest & Emporium – Disney Springs, FL

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On a recent very quick trip down to Orlando I made sure to take a stroll down Disney Springs to see the ongoing changes there.  Even just from my last visit in November there had been some new opening like the overhauled Planet Hollywood, and The Edison restaurant is coming along nicely.  But on this trip I was really here to get some pennies.  I was about to say new pennies but these have been around for a while just not in a place that was easily accessible.

Disney Quest is one of the few places on Disney Property I have never actually experienced or even gone inside.  For those of you that don’t know it’s basically a large Arcade with all different types of interactive games, classic arcade style games, Virtual Reality (VR) experiences and supposedly more.  This place never really interested me and with the fairly high entrance cost was always what kept me away.  The downside for my obsessive pressed penny collection is that two machines were placed inside on the third floor a few years ago.  You were only allowed inside if you paid the entrance fee which I just couldn’t justify.  Recently I had heard that these two machines were moved down to their lobby so I could finally get a chance to use them.  However, when I got there and walked in there were no machines.  I couldn’t believe it, my online community had been wrong for once.  After spinning around a few times to make sure I didn’t miss them I decided to walk next door to the Disney Quest Emporium.

Boom, right inside the doors were the two machines I was looking for.  Check these beauties out, as I’m hoping you recognize them from the Wreck-It Ralph movie.  Really cool theming.

Machine number one on the right has images of the Wreck-It Ralph Logo, Fix It Felix Jr, and Sgt. Calhoun.

Machine number two on the left included images of Ralph, Vanellope, and King Candy.  After I walked outside I passed by the ticket window for Disney Quest and saw two more penny machines.

These two machines used to be inside the Disney Quest Emporium but were moved out here when the above Wreck-It Ralph machines were placed inside.  Hope that makes sense.

The machine on the left had designs of the Disney Quest Logo, Aladdin & Jasmine, Reclining Space Goofy, and Space Mickey.

The second machine shown on the right (in blue) had designs of Cyberspace Mountain Logo, Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey, a Pirate Skull, and another Disney Quest Logo.

Now please be aware if you are going to try to get any or all of these coins that you may only have a limited amount of time.  It was announced earlier this year that Disney Quest will be closing for good in July 2017.  The Wreck-It Ralph machines could just get placed somewhere else on property, but the other two machines have Disney Quest designs and I would doubt these will stick around after the closure.  Time is ticking so be sure to get these before they are gone.

Elmwood Park Zoo – Norristown, PA

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Up here in Jersey we have had a pretty easy winter.  It’s been cold, but not much snow this year.  There have really only been two big snow storms hit our area and the snow is usually all melted away within a week or so.  Since I originally came from Canada I will say we have had it pretty good this year.  But regardless since the temperatures have been cold, and the wind making it very hard to stay outside for any length of time our daughters have been getting cabin fever staying instead all the time.  This past weekend it was a little more on the milder side (with more cold on the way) so we decided to take the opportunity and spend a day out at the zoo.  I’m always on the look out for new penny machines and this gave us the opportunity to visit a zoo we hadn’t visited before, and for my own selfish reasons get some new pennies.

About an hour from our house on the PA turnpike we were in a place called Norristown and found the Elmwood Park Zoo.  This is not a huge zoo, but much bigger than I had anticipated.  Unfortunately since we were visiting during their winter season a lot of the animals were not available to see.  Many of the attractions were also closed so we didn’t have much to look at.  The entrance fee was significantly less due to the limited things to see and do, but I will definitely want to come back when it’s warmer to see all they have when it’s completely open.

Their outdoor exhibits were very nicely put together, and the birds and other winter creatures were out and enjoying the warmer than usual weather.

One of the buildings we came to was called “The Bayou”.  Inside there were some frogs, snacks, an alligator and some monkeys (not sure why they were in the Bayou).

This was also where we found the first penny machine.  As you can see from the picture above it’s a four design hand crank machine.  The only issue I have with these machines is that the finished coins drop out at the bottom but there is no holding cup or tray for them.  They just hit a little piece of wood and more often than note go flying onto the floor.  My daughter Hanna has fun running around trying to catch them, but sometimes they do go missing if you aren’t paying attention.

The coins did press very nicely and only had a slight curve to them.  This first set included images of a Jaguar, an American Alligator, an American Bison, and a Flamingo. With the coins stored away we finished checking our The Bayou and headed back outside.  We visited the few remaining exhibits that were open that day.  As we headed towards the front of the zoo we went to check out their gift shop and found the second penny machine.

I’m sure you noticed the sign on the machine that said, “Out of Order”.  This always is a bummer when you visit from a distance and come away empty-handed.

The penny designs at this machine were of a Red Panda, a Giraffe, an Eagle, and a Zebra.  Once I got back home I did what I usually try whenever I come across a broken machine.  I wrote a quick letter to the zoo and included enough quarters and pennies for all four designs, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to return them.  There have only been a few instances where I never received anything back, but it’s pretty rare and most places are more than happy to help a collector in need.  My advise when doing this is make it as easy for them as possible, and there really isn’t a reason for them not to help.

With our faces getting a little frozen we headed back to our cars and over to a diner for some hot chocolate and lunch.  It was a fun little trip and I was disappointed there weren’t more animals to see.  But this just gives us an excuse to come back when it’s warmer.

UPDATE 12-21-2017:
It took about 6 months but I finally received the pennies from the zoo.  I have a feeling it was more due to our recent move down south as the envelope still had our old address on it.  So after making its ways through the postal system the pennies arrived earlier today.  It’s always nice to finalize a set that’s been incomplete.  Below is a picture of the pennies, and thank you to the staff at the Elmwood Park Zoo for pressing these and sending them back.

TEC 2016 Recruiter Penny

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Just recently I received a nice surprise in my mail from our fantastic club The Elongated Collector (TEC).  This is a special recruiter coin that is given out to all active members that helped recruit a new member.

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I try whenever possible to share my knowledge with people about the hobby, and for those that seem really into it I always explain out TEC.  In recent years I have also started carrying around copies of the membership application so I can hand them out to anyone I think would be interested.  It’s hard not to come off like a sales person sometimes, but more often than not they sign up.  The membership fee is really quite reasonable, and as I’ve mentioned in the past you get a nice set of coins each quarter, and access to all our wonderful members.  They have some great stories to tell in the quarterly newsletter, and the various meets throughout the year are fun to attend.  Be sure to join if you haven’t already, and start recruiting new members yourself so you can get a unique coin just like I did.

Valley Forge National Historical Park – Valley Forge, PA

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One day this past weekend I was out running errands with my youngest daughter Melody.  She had been a little cranky and in-between stops she fell asleep and I knew that I had to do whatever I could to ensure she got a nice long nap.  I just started driving and eventually found myself on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  I really was just trying to find someplace nearby that I could set the cruise control and not be stopping at a red light every one hundred yards.  Since I was heading out towards King of Prussia I knew that the Valley Forge park was nearby and was always on my to-do list.  As I get older I find myself more and more interested in American History (where you when I was in high school).  You can check out a previous visit to Gettysburg, PA here (Part 1 and Part 2).  As luck would have it just as I was pulling into the parking area Melody woke up and seemed ready to stretch her legs a bit, and what better place than a park.

Valley Forge was the camp where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-78 during the American Revolutionary War.  More than 2,500 American soldiers perished here due to starvation, disease, and exposure to the harsh winter.

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I’m no historian so I won’t go into much more detail about what happened at Valley Forge since I will most likely quote something incorrectly.  Instead be sure to stop by the Historical park and check out the visitor center.

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I will say it’s always nice to be greeted upon arrival by the great General George Washington.

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There are some very detailed exhibits throughout the Visitor Center museum detailing what Valley Forge.  What the conditions were like, how the soldiers spent their down time, living conditions and more.

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There was also an interesting collection of weapons on display and detailed descriptions of each.  If you take your time visiting each exhibit you could easily spend an afternoon here, but there are many other places to see and things to do.  There is also a theatre showing a movie about the events at Valley Forge.  It’s not long only about 20 minutes or so but well worth the price of admission (did I mention this is all free? yup free).  After we finished checking everything out we headed back down to the main area of the visitor center for their gift shop.

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Named the Encampment Store there is plenty of T-shirts, Christmas ornaments, shot glasses and books just like you would find in most of these little shops.  Over to one side of the store I came across one of the other reasons I had always wanted to visit this park.

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It just wouldn’t be a weekend trip without coming across a penny machine somewhere. My family always laughs when I try to play it off like I didn’t know the machine was here.  Ahh they know me all too well.

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The designs available here include The National Memorial Arch, a Revolutionary Cannon, America’s First Army, and Dogwoods.

I would have loved to spend even more time here, and we didn’t get to wonder around the park.  The wind was really making it hard to stay outside for too long and as I saw Melody’s cheeks getting red I knew she was ready to head back to our car.  Hopefully I’ll get back here in the near future when it’s a little warmer so I can really experience all there is.  Be sure to stop by and get a bit of a history lesson, a nice walk through the park and of course don’t forget to press a set of pennies before you go.

Turkey Hill Experience – Columbia, PA

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I’ll admit this was kind of a strange weekend adventure we decided to take.  Yes it was February and quite cold in New Jersey but when I saw that there was a new penny machine available at the Turkey Hill Experience over in Pennsylvania I figured why not. Plus when you tell your kids they are going to an Ice Cream factory they are immediately putting their jackets on and jumping into the car.  For those of you not familiar with Turkey Hill they are a pretty big supplier of Ice Cream and Iced Tea / Fruit Juice providers around Pennsylvania, New Jersey and many other states in the North east.  They probably extend further out but am not sure exactly how far their distribution goes across the country.  The Turkey Hill Experience technically isn’t the factory where the ice cream is made, but instead a gift shop / interactive museum.  It was about 2 hours away from our house in Jersey and is in the general area of Lancaster and Hershey Pennsylvania.

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As you make your way through the parking lot up to the front of the building you are greeted by Callie the Cow (mascot?!?).  Inside you are immediately located in the gift shop with everything you can image just ice cream themed, and they also sell their iced teas and juices for the ride home.  At the ticket counter you can pay the pretty reasonable entrance fee to access the experience upstairs.  Once upstairs the museum and self-guides tour begins.

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The tour takes you through the process of creating ice cream.  Your ticket also has a code on it that allows you to virtually design your own ice cream flavor, packaging, and towards the end your own commercial advertising the latest flavor creation.  You get an email once you are back home with a link to everything you did and allows you to download a copy of your commercial which was a really cool and at no additional cost.

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At the end of the self guided tour there is a free sample bar with about a dozen or so flavors of ice cream and sorbet.  These samples are unlimited, oh and did I mentioned free.  We hadn’t had lunch by this time and I think ended up having about 9 or 10 samples to share among ourself.  Some are already available flavors and some are soon to be released.  With the tour completed and our stomachs full of dairy we headed back towards the elevators to head downstairs, but first made a quick stop at the penny machine.

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As you can see in the picture above there is a chance machine available, but if you have followed me before you know I always come prepared.  This machine cabinet was themed nicely for the location and blended in nicely with the nearby cow statutes.

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The penny designs included an Ice Cream Cone, a Farm with Silos, Callie the Cow, and an Ice Cream Carton with Iced Tea bottles.  All designs include “Turkey Hill Experience” on them.  After finishing up using the machine we headed downstairs to the gift shop and I found another nice surprise.

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They have their own Penny booklet for less than $5.  Another nice colorful booklet and includes a special penny.

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I always think it’s a little weird to have a penny booklet at an attraction with only one machine, and makes me second guess myself sometimes on whether I missed additional machines.  But I still collect the booklets regardless and these are always a fun surprise when you find them.

The Turkey Hill Experience was a fun little outing for our family and everyone enjoyed all the free ice cream.  The sugar rush didn’t last long thankfully and the ride home was pretty quiet after their crash and lengthy nap.  The tour was less than $10 and well worth it, plus you can get a nice set of pressed pennies.

Merchant of Venus – Magic Kingdom, FL

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Recently it seems like Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom has been getting some much needed new pressed penny machines.  First over at the Speedway, then at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and now over at a store that you have probably cut through to get a quick Air Conditioning break, Merchant of Venus.

This store is located just beside Stitch’s Great Escape and Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies.  As with most of the other stores in the Magic Kingdom they sell pins, plush toys, and all your usual march.  They do try to specialize in Space themed movies, so there is a lot of Stitch and Tomorrowland stuff here to collect.  Just inside one of the doors is where the latest penny machine is now located.

I should really stop referring to these as penny machines, and rather the new 8-Design touch screen pressed token machines.  I still have come to like these machines (the additional designs helps).  They are easy to use, and the finished coins that drop out of the machine are nice and shiny.  Not sure if they will hold up like that after numerous years but only time will tell.

As you can see from the machine itself this is another set of Star Wars themed coins.  The designs include: Star Wars Logo, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, R2-D2, Stormtrooper, Tie Fighter, Millennium Falcon, and an X-Wing Fighter.  These coins are similar to some of the other Star Wars themed designs available around the Disney property.  I’m hoping they start to come out with more obscure character designs but then maybe casual collectors are less like to press a set.  But with more Star Wars movies on the way each year for the foreseeable future I’m sure there will be many more pressed coin designs on the way.

2016 WDW Trip Day 6 – Wedding Pavilion / Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

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The Wedding Day was finally here.  My brother-in-law’s sister was getting married and being the huge Disney fan that she is there was nowhere else in the world to get married.  But we had a few hours before the ceremony so we got up early and headed over to the Grand Floridian Resort for breakfast.

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1900 Park Fare is located on the first floor of the resort and is a character breakfast buffet.  The characters we met included Marry Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Alice.

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The food was pretty standard and nothing overly exciting.  There was a kids area that had candy dispensers which Hanna enjoyed but who wouldn’t be excited about endless gummy bears.  After breakfast we headed over to the Wedding Pavilion which is right on the Grand Floridian property.

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This really is a beautiful place to get married, and as you can see from the above picture the day they had was as perfect as anyone could have wished for.

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Inside the area where the ceremony was held was decorated for a magical event.  It’s hard to see in this picture but the big window in the middle at the back where they exchanged vows looks right out towards the Magic Kingdom and Cinderella’s Castle.

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Our niece Ava and nephew Luke were the flower girl and ring bearer.  How cute are they?  They did a great job and was a great way to star the ceremony.  The entire ceremony was really just like a fairy tale, and Disney had completely outdone themselves.  Before we knew it the vows had been exchanged, rings blessed, and we were outside ready to toss flower petals at the newlyweds.  Up next was the reception, and Disney did include a bus to transport everyone over, but since we had driven we just got back in our car.

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As luck would have it the reception was near the Boardwalk Resort which was right across from our resort.  We took the opportunity to walk along the Boardwalk towards the Dance Hall.

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Inside is where the reception was held.  Our table assignments were designed like the old fashion paper fastpasses which I thought was a really cool touch.  The cocktail hour was very nice and we got to catch a glimpse at the cake.

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Eventually it was time for the wedding party to make their grand entrance, and then the first dance, bride and father dance, and just a whole lot of fun.  The dinner was a buffet style which was nice, and the food was a nice assortment of options.  The dance hall was definitely rockin’ once the meal was over and the DJ was really fantastic.  I’m still not sure if he was from Disney or not but either way he did a really great job.  Before we knew it the festivities were coming to a conclusion.  As we left my parents headed back to their car to drive it around to our records, but I took the change to visit a few penny machines on the boardwalk.

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Inside the Boardwalk Resort just near the main lobby is a set of elevators and right there you will find the two penny machines.  The cabinets of these machines are pretty cool looking and look like they came out of Atlantic City in the ’20s.  the first machine has images of Chip, Winnie the Pooh, and an Elephant squirting Donald Duck.

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The second machine had designs of Mickie in a Tux, Ariel, and Lilo with a doll.  We headed back outside to the boardwalk and found the next machine right along the waterfront.

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This machine had 4 designs available and included images of Goofy juggling on a unicycle, Mickey with a Surrey Bike, Mickey as a Strongman, and Mickey & Minnie on the Boardwalk.  I’ve been on the boardwalk during the day and it’s nice, but it definitely gets interesting at night with a lot more going on.  A little further down the boardwalk was an ESPN Zone restaurant and bar.  I headed inside real quick as a machine is located just near the check-in desk.

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The pennies at this machine all included the ESPN Club logo and had images of Football player Mickey, Donald twirling a Basketball, and Daisy swinging a bat.  The Boston Red Sox’s where in a close playoff game and the bar was getting a little crazy with fans so I headed back outside so we could finish making our way over to our resort.

beach-club-from-boardwalk

This was a picture I took of our Beach Club resort from the Boardwalk.  The resorts really do come alive at night and this was just a really nice way to cap of a wonderful day.

BONUS: Day 7 – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

The next was the our last full day of our trip.  We had scheduled to take it easy this day so we could be ready for the Halloween party at night in the Magic Kingdom.  For breakfast we headed back to the Polynesian Village Resort to meet up with my sister’s family at ‘Ohana.

ohana-mickey

The breakfast here includes characters and we were able to see Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey.  The food was endless jumbo sized skilled filled with bacon, eggs, sausage and biscuits.  This sounds like a standard breakfast but for some reason it was really fantastic and I would definitely come back here again to start a day.  After we ate we all headed back to our resorts for some pool time, and naps in the afternoon.  By late afternoon we headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the party.

halloween-party-sign

This is a special ticketed event that we had to set up ahead of time.  We had printed tickets for the entrance gate, but were given special wrist bands so the cast members knew who was allowed in after the park closed for non-party guests.

mk-castle-halloween

I posted this before but the castle was all lit up for Halloween and was really cool looking.  Our kids didn’t want to get into their costumes until we were in the park so it was about now that they decided to transform.

hanna-halloween-costume

Hanna had recently coming interested in Sleeping Beauty after watching it a few times.  To be honest I think it’s just because the dress is pink, but she really got into it knowing that candy must be nearby.  Since we were allowed in a little early we had made dinner reservations over at the coveted Be Our Guest restaurant.

be-our-guest-restaurant

For dinner this restaurant is a standard table service setup where a wait staff comes to take your order.  For lunch there is touch screen kiosks to place your order.  We were seated in the darker West Wing room which is also where you find the famous rose with the falling petals.  We experience lunch the year before, and to be honest I think I preferred it.  The foods I had for dinner was okay but the sandwiches for lunch just seemed to be a lot more enjoyable.  For dessert make sure the “Try the Gray Stuff” and it was delicious.

the-grey-stuff

After we were done eating we were escorted into a private room to visit with the Beast, and take some pictures.  With dinner done the Halloween party was just about to start.  We headed over to Adventureland so we could ride Pirates and check out the first of many trick or treating spots throughout the park.

halloween-tick-or-treating

There was a bit of a line at most of these places but it moved pretty quickly, and the cast members were not shy about giving fistfuls of candy.  It only takes Hanna a few times to get the hang of it and was rushing us to each of the candy stops.  When we got over to Splash Mountain our niece Ava wanted to ride it.  My family didn’t want to go so I went with my sister, and brother-in-law and got a log all to ourselves.

halloween-splash-mountain

My sister and I were in the second row, and Ava was in the front enjoying every moment of the ride.  I’m holding out hope that my youngest Melody will go on this with me when she’s older.  My sister used to drag me on this when we were kids so it was kind of fund to have an updated picture.  Once we were soaked we met up with our family and had perfect timing for the start of the first parade.  We were pretty close and had a great view.  I’m a big fan of the Haunted Mansion so my favorite part of the parade was the Hitchhiking Ghosts.

hitchhiking-ghosts-parade

 The rest of the evening continued on with us getting as much candy as we could, and riding more attractions than usual.  The nice thing about this after hours party is that since there are only a limited number of tickets sold the crowds levels are much smaller and wait times for rides are really, really short.  Eventually we were over in Fantasyland to ride The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again, and then a short walk to ride Dumbo.

dumbo-ride-with-luke

I got to ride with my nephew Luke who didn’t want it to end, and I was able to snag a quick selfie with him.  We got off the ride and my dad and I went to check out the Big Top Souvenirs shop.  My dad wanted to get one of the limited edition Halloween Party Magic Bands and I went to use the penny machine.

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This is one of the few 4 design hand crank machines available in the Magic Kingdom.  The designs are all circus inspired and have images of Donald lifting a heavy weight, Minnie on the Trapeze, the Great Goofini, and Ringmaster Mickey.

Just as if we had planned it when we met back up with our group the fireworks started and we had a pretty good view area for the show.  When they were done there was still about an hour or so before the party was over, but our group was exhausted and already falling asleep.  We headed towards the front of the park, back to our car and eventually to our resort.

The next morning was our flight back to Jersey, and unfortunately back to reality.  It had been another wonderful vacation filled more amazing memories we won’t soon forget, and a whole lot of press coins to review.