MONEY PAGE – Tips for
squishing pennies at Disney World
THE INFORMATION IN
THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER VALID SINCE THE CHANGE-OVER TO ZINC MACHINES THAT
TAKE DOLLAR BILLS
IT REMAINS HERE SOLELY
FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE
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at shops and Guest Relations are notoriously out-of-date (sometimes by two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
04/28/2024