Walt Disney World: It's Not Just for Kids

I am a really big fan of collecting pressed pennies when I am at Walt Disney World. They are a fun collectible which is affordable. Case in point-on my trip in December 2007, I got an MGM Studios pressed penny for a mere $.51. As the park was being re-named Disney’s Hollywood Studios in literally days, it was a wicked easy way to pick up a bit of Disney nostalgia. If you are an adult who is traveling to Disney World and are feeling somewhat self-conscious about engaging in the more conspicuous hobbies of autograph hunting, or pin or Vinylmation trading, the limited interaction which comes with a pressed penny may be more your speed.

For those of you who are wondering, here is proof that it is, in fact, legal to press pennies.  Additionally, if you’d like a small coincidence in your day-pressed pennies debuted at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL.  Walt Disney’s father, Elias Disney, worked on construction of the fair.  For more information on the Exposition, I cannot recommend Erik Larsen’s book Devil in the White City highly enough.

I keep my pressed pennies in a pressed penny book. These are easily gotten at most shops in Disney World.  This is a fairly slim book (about the size of an autograph book), easily slipped into your park bag.  I always get at least one pressed penny to place on my dad’s grave when I get home.  You can either pick out a theme to go with (if you are really hardcore, Allears.net has a list of all pressed penny locations, and PennyCollector.com has one which includes Universal Orlando)or just collect them wily-nilly.  I usually go with the theme of  “ooh, that looks cute.”

Much like trading Disney pins, the quest for pressed pennies require some at home preparation.  The first step is to save up your pennies and quarters.  I dump all of my change into an old Magic Kingdom popcorn bucket.  A couple of weeks before my trip, I pick out the quarters and pennies.  Quarters are good to go as is, but pennies usually need to be polished.  Personally, I prefer to put my effort into cleaning my pennies as opposed to looking for pre-1982 pennies.  Hands down, the best stuff out there for penny cleaning is Barkeeper’s Friend, which is easily available at most grocery stores for under $4.  Just rub the pennies with the paste and they will quickly get shiny.  Next, you need to get a mini m&m’s tube (it needs to be empty, so you should probably eat the candy.  Oh, the sacrifices you make for a Disney vacation ;) ).  Fill the tube quarter, quarter, penny; quarter, quarter, penny.  When you see a pressed penny machine, you just pull out your tube, and bam!  You’re all set to make a pressed penny.


Are you a pressed penny fan?

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