MONEY PAGE – Tips for
squishing pennies at Disney World
|
FINDING MACHINES Use the listings at the Presscoins website. The lists on Disney’s website or available
at shops and Guest Relations are notoriously out-of-date (sometimes by two
years). COST Disney World machines have various costs:
50 cents plus your penny for some older pressed cents (being phased out); $1
for most, $5 for sets of 8, and $10 for sets of 12 (2 or 3 locations). The more expensive machines provide a zinc
penny, which is considered inadequate for serious collectors. Quarter presses cost $1 in quarters plus
your quarter for pressed quarter machines.
Many collectors believe quarter machines
will be phased out since the Disney World vendor also charges $1 to roll a
penny. Penny press books are
available at many Disney World stores, but not all stores. New designs are introduced every two or
three years. Current price (2019):
$14.99. DISNEY WORLD ATMs Disney World’s list – almost all are Chase
machines: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/atm/. Every park has at least one ATM. In addition, Chase machines can be found at
most resort hotels near the lobby area.
At Fort Wilderness, the machine is near the rest rooms at Pioneer
Hall. A complete list of Chase machines can be
found on Chase’s website; type “Disney World” into the search box: https://locator.chase.com/ . Unfortunately, the Chase listings provide
street addresses, and one thing you learn about Disney World is that street
names are not generally posted anywhere!
Example: Some of the addresses are on “Avenue of the Stars,” which is
the ring road around Epcot that is open only to Disney utility vehicles and
cast member buses. Also, beware if you
use an internet map system with those addresses, as they are notoriously
filled with errors. I once had an
appointment at WDW Casting, and the map showed it in the middle of the lagoon
at Downtown Disney. GETTING MONEY Link: Disneyland
Change Machines You can usually get change for a few
dollars at any WDW store or restaurant.
Sometimes you can get change at Guest Relations – and if you are early
enough, you might even get a whole roll of quarters. I recommend that you bring rolls of
quarters from home. If you bring coins
from home, though, remember you have to pass through Disney security bag
checks, but they don’t hassle you about bringing so much metal in your
bag. Airline security has some trouble
with metallic rolls, but I have still been able to fly with them in checked
or carry-on baggage without difficulty.
If you bring a lot, TSA will open your checked baggage to inspect, and
will leave a card explaining that they are just doing their job. You can always get pennies at any store or
restaurant. They will search for
shinier coins – it’s part of Disney’s legendary service. That legendary service has its limitations,
though - Disney cashiers have generally been limiting quarters to $2 or $3
increments. How can you get uncirculated copper pennies? Try your local coin
store. If you buy them by the roll and
don’t care about the dates, you can get them for about $3 a roll. Uncirculated zinc coins can be purchased at coin stores, or sometimes your
bank will have them. Here is an incomplete list of DISNEY WORLD CHANGE
MACHINES – the machines give quarters, and some (*) give zinc pennies
at no added charge. They generally
take currency from $1 to $10 bills. MAGIC KINGDOM:
Frontierland Shootin’
Arcade * Verandah Breezeway
Splash Mountain exit gift shop – not
recently verified EPCOT:
* The Land - near Garden Grill restaurant ANIMAL KINGDOM: There are no change machines.
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS: Tower of Terror – often inoperable, and
very picky about which $5 bills it will accept DISNEY SPRINGS: The change machines at Rainforest Café and
T-Rex Café have been removed; there are no change machines at Disney Springs WATER PARKS, MINI GOLF, ESPN WIDE WORLD OF
SPORTS, BOARDWALK: None RESORT HOTELS: Hotels generally have change machines near
their arcades, but not all hotels have arcades or change machines. |
ACCESS TO MACHINES Some stores and attractions close early (such
as Fulton’s General Store at Port Orleans, and the water parks). Other locations are open until 11pm or
midnight (such as food courts, Disney Springs, and mini-golf). Parking:
Parking costs $25 a day for the 4 main theme parks (2019 price). In-and-out privileges are offered for all
parks; for example, if you pay to park at Epcot, you can also park at the
Magic Kingdom later that day by presenting your parking receipt. Resort guests are entitled to free parking
at the parks, but they need to get a parking pass at the hotel desk. ESPN Wide World of Sports normally offers
free parking, but during some events a parking fee is charged. All other areas of Disney World (hotels,
campground, Downtown Disney, water parks, mini golf) offer free parking to everyone. Magic Kingdom:
You have to pay for admission to get access to all machines in the MK.
Parking: $. Animal Kingdom:
You have to pay for admission to get access to all machines in the AK except
the 4 machines at the Rainforest Café and 2 machines at the Outpost. Parking: $. Epcot:
You have to pay for admission to get access to all machines at Epcot. Parking: $. Hollywood Studios:
You have to pay for admission to get access to all machines in Hollywood
Studios. Parking: $. Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard
Beach:
At the ticket booth, tell them you want a shopping pass. They will charge you to enter the water
park, and will refund your entry fee if you come back within 30 minutes (and
you are dry!). Parking: free. Winter Summerland &
Fantasia Gardens: You can enter these mini-golf attractions
free of charge. Parking: free. Hotel resorts &
campground: You can enter all the hotels free of charge to go
shopping, dining, or press pennies. If
you drive there, you will be stopped at the front entry gate and need to
present picture ID to security.
Explain why you are there, and you will be permitted to come in. They are mainly concerned about people
parking at the hotels to get free parking (instead of the $25 per day the 4
main parks charge for parking). At Fort
Wilderness campground, you park in front and take a bus to Pioneer Hall and
the trading posts. Parking: free. ESPN Wide World of Sports:
This sports complex is open seasonally.
Check the Disney website for operating schedules. You do not need to pay admission to enter
the store where the machine is located, but you have to pay admission (some
days) to reach the Run Disney machine.
Parking: ESPN Wide World of Sports normally offers free parking, but
during some events (notably Atlanta Braves spring training) a parking fee is
charged. Boardwalk:
The Boardwalk area does not charge an admission fee. Parking: free. Disney Springs:
All machines can be accessed without paying for admission. Parking: free. |
OTHER INFO
Unlike Disneyland, there are no exclusive
pressed coin machines for cast members at Disney
World.
If broken or jammed, most machines are
repaired within 24 hours. Try again the
next day. I have found that, by
nighttime, between 5% and 10% of the Disney machines will be out of order.
When you put a penny in the slot, the side
facing the center of the machine will generally be the side that is pressed. On
motorized quarter machines, the quarter in the far left slot will generally be
the coin that is pressed. On hand-crank
quarter machines, the coin on the far right will be pressed.
Copper coins give a better impression than
copper-coated zinc coins because there is no streaking of the two metals.
Machines often instruct you not to use
foreign coins. If you use foreign coins,
older Canadian coins (1960s/1970s) are the right size (later Canadian cents are
too small and roll very short). Also
suitable: old German 2 pfennig & 5 pfennig; Hungarian 2 forints (rolls
slightly short); 2 Euro cents. Sometimes
you have to shake the coin slide to get it to take the coins. Sometimes the machine jams. That’s why they tell you not to do it.
Back to Jim’s penny press page (mainly Disney)
New 06/02/2012
Revised 01/18/2021