The 51 cent Walt Disney World Souvenir

Huh? A Disney Souvenir that is under a dollar? And isn't just a napkin from the restaurant where you had lunch?

Sure! Crushed pennies.  I admit that at first the idea of spending 50 cents to destroy your own penny sounds weird. However, it is a great way to solve a case of "Can I have..."

Instead of buying a $10 toy at every resort and park we go on a quest for a pressed penny machine. Even if we find 3 or 4 at a Park we've still only spent about $2.00. 

I've learned that the best way to carry coins for this project is to fill a small gumball machine container with an alternating pattern of  2 quarters and one penny. Each container holds 8 quarters and 4 pennies. That way you always have the correct change and they are easy to find in a backpack or purse. It's also not as heavy as carrying around a filled MnMs tube.

Walt Disney World Railroad Main St. Station

Crushed pennies are a great interactive souvenir. First there is the fun of searching for machines.

Sometimes you have a turn a handle to crush your own penny.

Then the fun of picking a character - and finally the thrill of watching the penny get squished!

I love that Disney World even places penny machines in some of the stores. The cashiers are always happy to make change so you can use the machine. They even go out of their way to find a super shiny penny. What an easy way to get your child out of the gift shop without spending a fortune. .(The Belle hat that she wears everywhere came from WalMart before our trip.)

Danielle collected 11 pressed pennies during our last trip to Walt Disney World. We bought her a special Tinkerbell book to keep her collection in. The book came from the gift shop in the Polynesian Resort. The grand total for our pennies came to $5.61 - plus about $10 for the book. Bargain!

The book has room for 48 pennies ($24.48 worth) and 6 larger coins so your total can creep up quickly. We, however, have plenty of room left for future trips.

You can buy an album online before your trip, but they are about twice the price of buying them on Disney property. Don't worry! Most of the gift shops carry at least one variety.

We've discovered that there are penny crushing machines at most tourist attractions. Danielle's collection has expanded to include pennies from local museums and the zoo.

You can turn this into a serious collection, searching for missing or special coins and going out of your way to locate machines in more remote locations. We, however, prefer the thrill of the hunt!

Tips:

• Use pennies that are dated before 1982. These have no zinc in them and press better.
• Press the heads side up so the monument doesn't show through
• Clean the pennies in a little bit of vinegar before you pack them so they are shiny.

If you need a map of the locations of the machines at the various Walt Disney World Parks- here it is!

For a detailed description of pressed coins at Walt Disney World, including the locations of machines go to www.presscoins.com