One of my favorite souvenirs is the pressed pennies souvenirs disney. There are over 500 different pressed pennies and you will find machines all over the parks, resorts and Disney Springs. These are great and inexpensive Disney souvenirs.
Pressed Penny machines are so easy to use. You insert 2 quarters and 1 penny (this penny will be pressed!) and either press the button or turn the crank depending on what machine you are using. Each machine includes 3-4 different designs and you get to select which one you want.
Walt Disney World sells pressed penny books to make your collecting easier. If you display your pennies in something else, let us know.
Here are some tips on pressing pennies:
- Each penny machine takes 2 quarters and 1 penny (51 cents total).
- Sort your quarters and pennies before you leave for Disney.
- The best pennies to use are pre 1982. Make sure you clean them so the picture will show up clearly.
- The best way to transport your quarters and pennies is an empty tube of Mini M&Ms.
- Put 2 quarters and 1 penny per layer inside the M&M tube. This will make dispensing in the parks very easy!
- If you want to have fun in Epcot, you could press pennies in each country!
- Stop by Guest Services and ask for a Pressed Pennies map.
If you have any more Pressed Pennies tips, please share them!
Learn more about souvenirs in the Walt Disney World parks Plus Destinations in Florida can help you choose your souvenir purchases on your next Walt Diseny World vacation.
Anyone know about how many quarters a M&M container will hold? Would like to give this as a gift
If you have the shorter M&M container it fits enough for 20 pressed pennies
There are books in every gift shop. I asked a cast member and they helpede find it quickly. There are quarter books online but I’m not sure about in the store. We put ours in a shadow box and displayed them that way. Also I used clear coat spray before I put them in the box so they won’t change color over the years.
Hi! I have been in almost all the stores in disney over the years but do not recall seeing pressed penny books anywhere. Are they in all 4 parks?
One, the Pre 1982 Pennies mentioned are just copper. Copper prices went up and the value of the copper in the penny exceded the value of a penny so the Fed’s started using Zink as a cheaper filler metal. And dose anyone know of any source of books for Just Pressed Quarters… I know some of the pressed penny books have a few slots for them, but I’m looking for a Pressed Quarter book only…
Link to the Map: http://www.parkpennies.com/disney-pennies-wdw/wdw-penny-press-machine-maps.pdf
I went to grocery stores before my trip and got brand new shiny pennies! I also plan to put them in the shape of a Micky head in a picture frame!
The trouble with “brand new shiny pennies” is that the zinc to copper ratio is so extreme on the new ones that as soon as it’s pressed, the zinc shows through making it look like your penny is dirty. That’s why the article recommends 1982 & before pennies: the ratio was better.
Just use a paste of ketchup & salt to shine up the old ones.
Our first trip to Disney, my kids were 5 and 7, and they rode Rock n Rollercoaster. We were so proud of them that we told them they could get something from the gift shop. They picked $50 tee shirts. Um… “Hey! I have an idea! Let’s get Rock n Rollercoaster pressed pennies and make them into dog tags– that way you’ll never outgrow them!” :) It worked… $3.02 later, I had two happy kids AND two happy parents. :D Yes, we still have them, and I’m glad we got pennies instead of shirts.
Does anyone know who much the albums are at the parks?
I think they are $10-$15.. I don’t remember the exact amount..
I just bought several albums in September. They were $8.95.
We are going to do the pressed pennies around Epcot. We per-printed little postcards from all the countries that are in the park, and if you ask the cast members in each country, they will write a saying in their language. We are going for our Honeymoon and we are going to have them wright “Congratulation and Best Wishes Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs.” Then we are going to take a photo with each cast member who signed our postcard and get a pressed penny to match. They are going to be great items to place in a scrapbook, and will be a great example of how different each language is! I hope you all have a magical day!
I love this idea for my girls :) Nice educational activity while they’re not in school lol
If you don’t want to keep your pennies in a collection book, I’ve seen some very sweet jewelry made from pressed pennies, such as charm bracelets & pendant necklaces. There is lots of inspiration on Etsy, plus tutorials on Google if you feel like getting crafty with your pennies. I can’t wait to collect these with my daughter when we go this fall. Thanks for the info about the map!
2 Questions: Why are the pre-1982 pennies best? And where do you buy the collection books? I looked on Disneystore.com. Is there a good location to look for them at DW?
It is because of the level of copper that was either in or not in them. I forget which one. But pennies before 1982 press a lot better. You buy the collection books at any store at Walt Disney World. :)
Probably more copper back then, copper is soft.
Pressed pennies are my favorite souvenir! They are cheap and take up very little space. I am working hard at organizing our home and do not need extra clutter … but I have a hard time leaving a tourist spot without buying a souvenir. Pressed pennies allow me to satisfy my souvenir urge without adding to the clutter (well, not much, anyway).
We love doing pressed pennies where ever we go. Our last one we got was at Dinosaur World in Cave City, KY.
We go to Disneyland often and my kids love picking out a pressed penny each time. Actually we usually try to find a pressed penny machine wherever we may go (theme park, zoo, vacation spots, etc). Thanks for the M&M container idea! We also write the date the kids got it on the back of the penny so when the kids are older and look at their collection, maybe it will bring back some memories. I just wish they would have a meachine that had at least one dated pressed penny.
My 6 and 4 year old are obsessed with pressing pennies. They each have several books full. They will never spend a quarters that way each time we go to Disney they have plenty of money to press pennies with. They press a penny around the world at EPCOT, that gives me and my husband time to explore the stores since they know they get their penny when we’re done. We love pressing pennies at the resorts too. Each time we visit a new resort they press all the pennies they have there. We also let them press a quarter from each park each time we go.
The Mentos Gum containers work PERFECT for storing the pressed pennies AND for keeping the boys stashes separate! One in each color matching the M&M tubes and we were set! :)
There are also some very cute printable labels on-line to wrap the containers in, or you/your kids can just ad-lib with your own sticker combos.
Do you have a link for the labels?
I have squished pennies from almost everywhere we’ve been on vacation. I thought i would get a bunch this time at Disney and I only ended up with about 20 or so. On the other hand our Disney trip was AWESOME – we just got back last night.
We had a lot of fun trying to find the press penny machines. we also get pressed pennies from other places too. Already saving pennies and quarters for next trip. Didn’t think of sorting with 2 quarters & penny, just being keeping the pennies and quarters seperate.
GREAT tip! We’re going in June and My kids love these pressed pennies at other palces, so I’m sure they will be excited to do this here!
my husband and I have been collecting these since we got together, they are such a great souvenirs. We have them in a frame and I love looking at the Disney ones!
We did this 2 years ago when we were there. My parents took my family of 3 on the vacation and since we didn’t have a lot of spending money, we thought these would be great inexpensive souvenirs. We brought along a certain amount of coins and then made the mistake of picking up the sheet at guest services that tells you where the machines are. It then became a mission for my father to collect these pennies, it was no longer a leisure activity for my 3 year old. My dad would leave the rest of us to go find a machine. I know his mission was so that my son could have as many of these as possible but it defeated the point of my son collecting them! That being said, we do NOT have them all! we came home with 4 books almost filled though! and the mission is part of the memory :)
Can you still get pressed pennies?
Yes…Me & my husband went in April 2014 & even though we couldn’t get all of them we got quite alot.
This is one of the most hilarious things I have ever read pertaining to penny collecting. I was/am so close to being that guy!
There are also a few pressed quarter machines!!