Our Penny Pressing Plans - the Photo Finish About This Page:

[smoore424]

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it. The system for the pennies is actually something we do here at home. When Lenny's hips were really bad and Abby was younger. that's how we would work groceries and such. Lenny would drive and stay in the van with Abby and I would run into the stores - it made it much quicker too for me. We still use it too. As Abby has gotten older, she doesn't mind helping mommy with groceries, but since I go to 3 or 4 different stores (grocery store, pet store, Walmart,etc), she gets her fill quickly. So we all still go together - Lenny drives, Abby either helps or stays in the van to watch tv and I run in. It only made sense to do it in Disney - and it made it sooo much quicker too than parking, all of us getting out, going in, etc. One moves quicker than many

I agree about the one moves quicker than many! Luckily, I will have a teenager on this trip and he will be able to do some of that running for us. He's in track/cross country, so it may really be running for him I plan on having him run ahead and get fast passes for all of us while we take DD someplace to meet up with him.

[omd]

Another great "espisode with more great pictures. I cannot believe how many pennies you managed to get. I did not know there were so many machines. It will be fun to find out the final total.

[hoosiermomma2]

Boy I bet you have a ton of pennies! Do you use books to store them in or do you have another system to keep them organized. We haven't ever been to WDW, heading there in 15 days and would like to do some of the pennies....

[rhinohunter]

I am really impressed with your determination to collect all of the pennies. That is a challenge for anyone. My son and I have done this on trips in the past but not to the extent you are doing it. Anxiously waiting for the final result.

[OohAahAndKids]

Sorry about the 'Ohana experience, but at least the character interaction helped make up for it! I really think you're inspiring me to start our own pressed penny collection! Perhaps not with your amazing effort and dedication (I'm very impressed) but since the kiddos are still little (5 and 2) I think we'll have to be happy with as many as we can get. Speaking of...I have to say I really appreciate how you go at Abby's pace and let her have a lot of input.

[bitterchickey]

So aside from the laundry lady and the ohana server I am loving reading about you guys' adventures once again! Totally agree with you that I am more willing to let things slide in Disney that I probably wouldn't in the "real" world!

[elisa1006]

You've really dished out the updates!!! I am caught back up. Have enjoyed reading about your days. Seems like you had relaxing days, yet full of adventures and excitement! I also found the pool at ASMO to be really hot! Wasn't refreshing in the middle of the day, but my kids still swam in it, twice a day. lol

Looking forward to more!

[chezp]

It sounds like your day picked up after a disappointing start.

[mcc0313]

Glad so many of the machines were fixed so you were able to get the pennies you missed. Glad the rain did not stop your plans, sounds like everyone had a great evening.

[CinderAbby]

I agree about the one moves quicker than many! Luckily, I will have a teenager on this trip and he will be able to do some of that running for us. He's in track/cross country, so it may really be running for him I plan on having him run ahead and get fast passes for all of us while we take DD someplace to meet up with him.

Whatever works is what I say - and being a teen, I bet he'll appreciate a little time away from the rest of the family (I know my brother did as a teen in Disney).

Another great "espisode with more great pictures. I cannot believe how many pennies you managed to get. I did not know there were so many machines. It will be fun to find out the final total.

Thanks Olive. There are A LOT of machines - according to Presscoins.com, there are 181 machines with a total of 502 coins. I'm not revealing what we have until the very end of my TR.

Boy I bet you have a ton of pennies! Do you use books to store them in or do you have another system to keep them organized. We haven't ever been to WDW, heading there in 15 days and would like to do some of the pennies....

Yes, we use the books to keep our pennies organized - and we have a thing (nice description I have, right??) that Lenny made and it holds the books standing up and open so we can see the pennies all the time. If I remember, I'll take a picture of it and post it later. And don't forget to visit Presscoins.com or visit guest services at the parks to get the Disney lists (DHS was the best one).

I am really impressed with your determination to collect all of the pennies. That is a challenge for anyone. My son and I have done this on trips in the past but not to the extent you are doing it. Anxiously waiting for the final result

Thanks, and I think the reason why we did so much was to see if we could really do it or not. I know in the future, we won't be doing as much but it has become an addiction. We're going to Maine in a couple of weeks and we're already wondering if we'll come across any machines. Our final totals will come at the end of my report.

Sorry about the 'Ohana experience, but at least the character interaction helped make up for it! I really think you're inspiring me to start our own pressed penny collection! Perhaps not with your amazing effort and dedication (I'm very impressed) but since the kiddos are still little (5 and 2) I think we'll have to be happy with as many as we can get. Speaking of...I have to say I really appreciate how you go at Abby's pace and let her have a lot of input.

Thanks. There's always going to be that one time there's a less than wonderful server. That just happen to be our time. The pennies are fun - and cheap. We like them for both those reasons, but also because we look at them and say "remember when..." or sometimes Lenny will look at them and ask what something is or where we got it so we always end up in a Disney conversation - not bad for someone who was originally a Disney Downer. With kiddos as young as yours, I can understand doing the ones you come across and getting what you can. As they get older, they'll either want to look for more or it just won't be their thing. And as for letting Abby have input, she's part of the vacation and it's just as much for her (if not more so) as it was for us. If she wasn't having fun, then we weren't either. A couple of times I tried to get her to change her mind (like the day it rained) but for the most part, her requests were never unreasonable.

[CinderAbby]

So aside from the laundry lady and the ohana server I am loving reading about you guys' adventures once again! Totally agree with you that I am more willing to let things slide in Disney that I probably wouldn't in the "real" world!

Laundry lady - love the term. I'm glad you're enjoying it Chantel. And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who lets things go in Disney (maybe I should live there with the health problems I'm having lately - I was okay on vacation)

You've really dished out the updates!!! I am caught back up. Have enjoyed reading about your days. Seems like you had relaxing days, yet full of adventures and excitement! I also found the pool at ASMO to be really hot! Wasn't refreshing in the middle of the day, but my kids still swam in it, twice a day. lol

Looking forward to more!

Thanks Elisa. I actually don't start posting my report until I have it all typed up. I tried to post it as I typed it back in 2006 and I didn't get very far (I never finished that one) and as time went on, I was forgetting details and then going back to work unexpectedly (I went from being an occasional sub to permanent overnight) I came home tired and didn't want to sit at the computer. Doing it this way, I have the entire thing typed up (with the help of the notes I take) within a few days of getting home but before I go back to work. That way I can post at my leisure and know I haven't forgotten too many details or what we did.

And the pools - that's where your kids and Abby are different. Abby loves the pool and water - in May she starts asking for her easy set pool to be put up and she's in it pretty much every day. For her to not even ask in Disney after that first night, you know she hated it.

It sounds like your day picked up after a disappointing start.

Yes, it most definitely did pick up after breakfast. And the server really was the only dissapoointment - the rest of the meal was really good.

Glad so many of the machines were fixed so you were able to get the pennies you missed. Glad the rain did not stop your plans, sounds like everyone had a great evening.

Thanks - and our experience just goes to prove if you have the chance, check out a machine a second time if you're looking for a penny. You might just be surprised - I know we certainly were. We did have a great evening and rain and Disney - in summer they go hand in hand so I won't let it stop me I had even forewarned Abby before we left that if it rained, I wasn't going to leave the parks for the hotel - that there's no need of it. Had that heavy rain with thunder and lightning continued on Thursday instead of stopping, for Abby we would have gone back to the hotel.

[CinderAbby]

Sunday morning, Lenny was up first so I have no idea what time he was up. I really slept in today and woke up at 6:30. Abby I let sleep until she woke up on her own which was about 8:30. I didn’t really have any particular plans this day and with a dinner ADR, we didn’t need to get up and out. Lenny did do just that though fixing the fog lights then going to ASMo and ASMu for the pressed pennies. Since Abby slept in and Lenny wasn’t there, I used the quiet time to organize all the coins somewhat. When Lenny came back, he let me know one of the machines was out of order and I made a note of it.

Lenny also ran to the food court this morning bringing back chocolate croissants and some milk so Abby could have a bowl of Cheerios. When breakfast was all cleaned up and we were all ready for the day, we headed to our first stop of the day - POR (yes, for more pennies - why else would we go there ). We were in and out of there in no time and we were at the MK about 11 am. We went to the Hall of Champions first for the pennies in there, but the machine was out of order so we left to do some rides. I wanted to do Splash Mountain first so we headed that way. Abby saw the Magic Carpets and asked if we could ride them. After that, Abby was willing to go to Splash Mountain.. Lenny doesn’t care for the splashdown part of the ride but this year he was brave. He actually put his hands in the air during it. Abby was silly and covered her eyes while I just enjoyed it as usual. We bought the picture and a couple of souvenirs and with everything on its way to the front of the park, we did some penny hunting.

OMG!! I can't believe I let go

There’s a machine under the Frontierland train station. A woman sitting next to it told us it was out of order. Since there was no sign, we tried it anyways and got one of the 2 pennies we needed. When the penny dropped, the lady shot us a dirty look, then moved away. The pin that holds the penny was slow in popping back out so we couldn’t get the second penny we needed. So the machine wasn’t completely broken, just semi not working. Next we hit the machine across from BTMRR.

Someone was at this time (probably Lenny) so we went into Pecos Bills. Abby didn’t like the menu and asked to go to Cosmic Rays again. She got her nuggets and Lenny and I both got the grilled chicken sandwich with brownies for dessert. Lenny ate all of his meal (now who is surprised by that??) plus a small salad he made himself from the toppings bar. Abby ate all of hers as well but I took my brownie with me (that Lenny again ate on me at some point in time).

Let's go mom before dad comes back

Since we were so close to Fantasyland, we hit IASW twice, Peter pan and Philharmagic. Then it was time to head to the monorail On the way, Lenny had the urge to go into Hall of Champions again so we did. And what did we find?? A penny machine employee fixing the machine!! And it was a Sunday afternoon. We talked to her for a few minutes and told her about the Frontierland machine. Once we said goodbye, we headed to our dinner at 1900 PF.

We got to the GF and downstairs, but the doors to 1900 PF weren’t open yet so we just stood there and waited. They finally opened and we got checked in and had our picture taken. Even though I didn’t ask for a seat near the buffet, we got one. And not only was it near the buffet - it was the table that the characters visited first!! So at yet another meal we were able to see the characters relatively quickly. And the really odd part about the meal? We’re pretty sure that the CM playing Lady Tremaine is the same one from last year. She seemeed very familiar and when she asked Abby her name and where we were from, she said "Yes, I remember you from the last time you were here." And unless I wasn’t listening, nowhere in our conversations with Lady Tremaine was it mentioned that we had been there before. The sisters were a riot as usual (they screamed at the top of their lungs during the meal right next to Lenny and he thinks they blew his eardrum) and the Prince was indeed Charming this year and very good with Abby (last year he was a complete dud). And Cindy was good too. She was very soft spoken so I barely heard what she said to Abby.

Last year's Lady Tremaine.......................................... ..............This year's Lady Tremaine
What do you guys think?? Same person or different?

The food was good too as well as the service but we didn’t linger long after seeing the characters (especially since we weren’t overly hungry and didn’t want to eat much). We headed upstairs and instead of going to the monorail, we went to the Photopass desk to have our photo packages added to our card (I had all the receipts with me). While I did that, Lenny and Abby went into the gift shop right there to look around. I think the CM was hoping to make a sale or something because instead of just adding my photo packages, and letting me leave, she added the codes, then started scrolling through all the pictures (I had around 150 on that card). Thankfully, Abby found a few more things she wanted and came to get me. The CM finally exited out of my account and I headed into the store with Abby. New souvenirs bought (I don’t even remember what it was now) we headed back to the MK and we went right to the Emporium then the Hall of Champions. All of the machines were working and with pennies and a few souvenirs in hand, we headed to Frontierland again for that other penny we couldn’t get earlier. On the way, we stopped for the Tiki room. I guess it’s growing on me because the only thing I didn’t like this year was how short it was. Of course, it could also have been the heat too. The whole vacation had been so hot we just wanted to be in air conditining as much as possible.

From the Tiki room, we went and got our penny, then headed to IASW yet again.

I don’t know what happened but when we got to the end of the handicap ramp, a CM approached us and told us we couldn’t be there. "We’ve shut the ride down for now and are evacuating everyone." Abby was upset by this . She didn’t understand why she saw people getting off the boats but we weren’t allowed on in their places. Lenny and I tried to tell her maybe a doll fell over or some lights were out and needed to be replaced. It was something minor but the ride would open again later. We didn’t know what the problem was but we didn’t want to say anything that might scare Abby or cause her to panic. Abby was upset and wanted to leave the park, but I got her to agree to ride Peter Pan. While waiting for that, I noticed two firefighters in IASW talking to the CM that told us to leave (I recognized him because he was as bald as a cueball - no offense to those who are bald - it was just how I knew it was the same CM). A few minutes later, IASW opened again but Abby didn’t ask to go on it. Still upset, even after Peter Pan, Abby asked to see Philharmagic again, then she asked to leave the park.

"I just want it to look like nothing else in the world...and it should be surrounded by a train." Walt Disney

We were back at the hotel about 9:30 and just decided to call it a night.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day! Glad you were able to get the pennies you needed in MK, and that you had a great time at dinner!

[lauren-roxy]

Sounds like a pretty good day!! I love the photos where you put your head in, they are so funny!! Abby took more wonderful photos!!!

[KMB733]

Just getting caught up on your last couple of updates. Looks like you've been pretty busy collecting your pressed pennies and enjoying a few rides in between