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

 

Pick A Pearl from EPCOT: My Favorite Disney World Souvenir

You can return from Walt Disney World having spent a small fortune on tchotchkes and small doo-dads. And, on some trips it feels like we have! For instance, I always seem to "have" to buy a $17 misting fan.

However, for the most part, my family exhibits great restraint. We've never bought any ears, for example. Not even a hat. We try to buy as many Disney-realted things in advance as we can (see my earlier blog) but in the end, we always want to leave with something new as well.

My favorite souvenirs are always photographs, but we still want something extra special - something more than photographs. I've found over the many trips to Disney World that our best souvenirs come from EPCOT.

One year Danielle got a lovely, hand painted, personalized ruffled red umbrella at the France pavilion. Amanda once got a very nice dress from the Norway pavilion.

The ladies decorating Danielle's red umbrella.

However, my all time favorite souvenir came from the Japan Pavilion last year. Within the Japan Pavilion is a wonderful department store, Mitsukoshi.  

Inside the store is an amazing display of live oysters.

 

For a small price ($16 - or about the same as a pair of Mickey Mouse ears), you can chose an oyster which will be ceremoniously opened for you.

 

 

Danielle with her unopened oyster.

 

 

The two pearls that Amanda & I selected - open, but not yet measured.

 

 

There is a wonderful drum roll before the size of the pearl is announced.

 

 

 

 

Amanda's 8 mm pearl!

 

 

Danielle proudly  displaying the pearl she selected.

 

 

 

For an additional cost, the pearls can be handset in lovely jewelry right at the Japan Pavilion - the same day. This is the necklace I had made from two of our pearls.

 

 

 

This is the setting Danielle chose for her pearl.

 

In the end the necklaces did cost more than a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, but we have worn them many times since returning home which I doubt most people can say for their ears. Also, this is a souvenir that the girls and I can keep for the rest of our lives and remember our magical vacation together.