Pressed Pennies by the Pirategeek

How many of you have ever gone to Disneyland and saw the notorious penny press machines at work at thought to yourself, "Hey that's cool. I think I will get one". Then after you received the flattened penny, with the Disney character pressed into it, you wonder to yourself, "Now what am I going to do with this." Like most penny press coins, they are long forgotten. Their fate is either the garbage can, or like other loose change, the ground beneath a ride.

Well on my last Disneyland trip on August 3rd, I have discovered that Disneyland has answered the prayers of all the penny press fans. While browsing the Pieces of Eight store, a little blue folded book/wallet near the register caught my eye. As I reached for it I thought to myself that it was another autograph book for kids to capture the signatures of their favorite character. When I picked it up and opened it up from the back I noticed there were little thin slots on each side as you unfolded the wallet. Finally I flipped it over to read "Penny Press Collection". I had never seen this item before. Looking that the wallet was only five dollars, I went ahead and purchased it. Now I have never been a big fan of the penny press souvenir. So as I left the store I thought to myself - now what. Then I remembered that there are two penny press machines inside the Pieces of Eight store. So I made my way to the back of the store as I dug into my pockets for the necessary fifty-one cents needed for a penny press. Since Pirates of the Caribbean is my favorite ride I decided to try that as my first penny press. As I inserted the still warm penny into the collector's wallet I thought to myself, "Hey this is actually kind of cool". Well needless to say this started my journey through Disneyland for penny press machines. A journey I had never even thought of embarking on before.

The penny press collector's wallet is a great souvenir for anybody. For children, it can be a cheap reminder of their trip to the happiest place on earth. For the more mature audience it will take you on a hunt through the Disneyland park, often into stores that you have never been into. It can be a great way to see the park and get away from the lines and crowds.

I have tried to put together a list of all the stores in the park that have penny press machines located in them. As much as I tried to find all the penny press machines, the appeal of the rides and attractions sidetracked me and I failed. Here are the stores or arcades that I know of that have the penny press machines:

• Pieces of Eight - New Orleans Square
• Penny Arcade - Main Street USA
• Bonanza Outfitters - Frontierland
• Pioneer Mercantile - Frontierland
• Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade - Critter Country
• It's A Small World Toy Shop - Fantasyland
• Starcade - Tomorrowland