Pressed Pennies

I’m the kinda person who wants a souvenir for every experience at Disney, one for every ride, restaurant, and event. I have found pressed pennies are the only affordable solution.

 

There are well over 100 pressed penny machines on Disney property, typically with three designs per machine. Some are pressed dimes or quarters instead of pennies (and the price is higher in this case).

Usually the machine will hold designs specific to the location. For example, Splash Mountain has two machines, with five designs devoted to Splash Mountain, and one for Big Thunder Mountain (the closest ride, barring the train station). Space Mountain has three machines, one is a set of pressed penny designs, one is pressed dimes, and one is pressed quarters.

Randomly collecting as you enjoy the park is a great strategy, and stressless too. However, because of the number of pennies, if you have a specific set you want to attain I recommend looking on the official site before your trip at: www.ctmgroupinc.com/disney

You can also ask guest relations for a pressed penny map, and they should have one printed out for you.

Another resource is an app for your smart phone called “penny finder”. It is not specific to Disney, but can help you find pressed pennies all around the world. It is able to tell your location or you can narrow down your search using the options it gives you to find nearby pennies.

Keep in mind, the machines are subject to sudden changes, and the sites are not always updated immediately. They also go out of order quite frequently, so be sure to remain flexible in your pursuit of these shiny mementos!

Disney sells pressed penny books to store the pennies, dimes and quarters in for around $9. Two designs are available, a Tinkerbell one and a theme park design. I personally have filled all the penny slots in my penny book.

I upgraded to a storage container with mini containers inside:

I label each section with tape, and keep them all organized. 🙂
I also like to hammer a hole in the top of the penny, and put it on a bracelet or necklace chain with a split ring.

Do you collect pressed pennies? What do you do with them? Post in the comments! 🙂

Have you used a Disney Hacker tip on your vacation? Do you have one you want to share? Send it to me at disneyhacker100@yahoo.com with a picture of yourself (preferably using the tip, or at Disney), and you may be inducted into the Disney Hacker Hall of Fame!

Parking at the Park

This is one of the more well-known hacks, but only because it is so important.
Each Disney parking lot is divided into sections. There is an item/character to each section, and a number to each separate line of cars. At Magic kingdom, there is a character (either a hero or a villain), at Animal Kingdom an animal, at Epcot a verb (create, amaze), and at Hollywood some item relating to the movies (music, television). You will need this information to know where to get off of the tram, or where to walk to after your time in the park.

Take a picture, or send yourself a text message with the character name and the number at the end of the line of parked cars. It will be at the front of the line of cars, toward the tram. It will look like this:

Don’t forget this info. Trying to find your car after a long day at the park is no fun!
Have you used a Disney Hacker tip on your vacation? Do you have one you want to share? Send it to me at disneyhacker100@yahoo.com with a picture of yourself (preferably using the tip, or at Disney), and you may be inducted into the Disney Hacker Hall of Fame!

Transportation Trading Cards

Free souvenirs at Disney are one of the best hacks available. One of my favorite free items are the Disney transportation cards.
They are easy to attain, just ask any transportation cast member (people who drive, or manage lines for bus, monorail, boat, and so on), if they have trading cards. If they do, you will get one corresponding to the place they work. For bus, you get bus, for monorail, you get monorail. They all have a picture of the transportation device, a picture of a Disney character’s head, and a name for the specific transportation device. There are 26 cards in total.

Bus (1-3):
There are only three different bus cards, Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto. You can get them from the bus drivers, but my favorite place to ask is the bus information booth, located to the side of the transportation and ticket center for Magic Kingdom (near the buses and taxi pickup and drop off area, next to the bathrooms on the far right side).

Water transportation (4-14):
Water transportation is the most varied of the transportation cards. There are friendship boats, a motor cruiser, the ferryboat, and more. My favorite is the electric water pageant. 🙂 You can get these from water transportation personnel, and the water transportation information booth next to the unloading dock for the ferry (at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom). 7-10, I have been told, are found at water transportation specifically relating to Downtown Disney (Disney Springs).

Monorail (15-26):

On the back of all the cards there is trivia and facts relating to the transportation and Disney characters on the card.

They are free, and a lots of fun to collect! It depends on how often you use Disney transportation, the places you visit and the particular day (sometimes cast members don’t have them in their pocket), but it is realistic to expect to attain a large number of cards, if not a complete set, in a few days (give or take) if you are persistent. Visiting the information booth strengthens your chance of this, as they have the cards in greater numbers, and are (almost) guaranteed to have at least a few. Good luck, and Happy Hacking!

Have you used a Disney Hacker tip on your vacation? Do you have one you want to share? Send it to me at disneyhacker100@yahoo.com with a picture of yourself (preferably using the tip, or at Disney), and you may be inducted into the Disney Hacker Hall of Fame!

What is “Disney Hacking”?

Disney hacking has nothing to do with a computer. It refers to preparing yourself with tips, tricks and insider information to make the most of you visit. I’ve been to Disney World. A lot. People keep asking if I live there. On this blog I hope to share my knowledge with the intent of making your trip affordable, efficient, and . . . wait for it . . . magical.

Have you used a Disney Hacker tip on your vacation? Do you have one you want to share? Send it to me at disneyhacker100@yahoo.com with a picture of yourself (preferably using the tip, or at Disney), and you may be inducted into the Disney Hacker Hall of Fame!