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I had a short trip recently back to New Jersey for my work anniversary. There were a bunch of different events going on while I was there, but after the work day I wanted to try and find some new elongated coins. About an hour north on the Turnpike I found myself at the American…
We are back with another State Park visit and this time we headed up to Apopka Florida about 40 minutes north of Walt Disney World to the Wekiwa Springs State Park As with all the Florida State Parks there is a minimal entrance fee per car load but is well worth the cost with the…
After a fairly quick (for Disney) update the Country Bears Musical Jamboree opened on July 17th at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. It features the fan favorite bears (a couple with new names) performing classic Disney songs in their style of country music featuring genres of bluegrass, country-pop and more. The show is…
Seaworld Orlando has done it again with another new coaster. They have definitely seemed to change their focus into these new attractions, as they slowly phase out some of their more problematic animal exhibits. This time we head back into the Antarctica section of the park. There used to be a ride in this area…
I've been lucky enough to travel and see quite a bit of the United States and Canada, but there are still plenty of places I would love to visit. Hawaii is probably the top of that list. My wife and I have been talking about maybe doing a future anniversary trip to the islands but…
Yes we are back with another Florida State Park visit, but this one I promise is different. Well by different I mean we don't explore a nature trail, or swim in a Springs. Instead we do get out on the water for a tour, however before I explain that further lets get inside the park.…
The 2024 Summer Olympics will be commencing soon. Starting July 26th in the City of Lights Paris France. To celebrate collector and elongated coin designer Alex Mruk has created a special series of ten elongated coins depicting different Olympic sports. During his research Alex found that the 1924 Olympics were also held in Paris, and…
On June 28th, 2024 the fan favorite attraction known as Splash Mountain had reopened with a fresh coat of paint, new characters and new theme. Now known as Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The ride has remained mostly unchanged. It's still a log flume style water ride with a 50 foot drop towards the end of the…
With the summer in full swing that means it's time for the Summer F.U.N. (Florida United Numismatists) Coin Show. Once again (thankfully for me) it was back at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida. You do need to pay for parking at the convention center, however there is a bit of a discount…
It's been a few weeks since my family last visited a Florida State Park. There are still quite a few that we haven't explored yet. This time we were heading towards the Gulf side of the state in Dunedin we crossed over the causeway bridge and into the Honeymoon Island State Park. This trip was…
The Elongated Collectors Club was founded in 1966, and since its creation has had thousands of members. Many are serious collectors, some just casual, and everyone else is somewhere in between. Then there are a few that have become synonymous not just within the elongated coin clubs, but also within the larger numismatic communities. Names…
Not too long ago we visited the new Walt Disney World Store that is off-property (actually much closer to the Universal parks) over on International Drive. During that initial visit we found a pressed penny machine that was previously thought to have been retired, and you can read about that here. The store wasn't as…
In a previous post we review the dated 2024 Medallion Set that you can read here. There are a few other non-dated mini-sets that we are going to be reviewing. First we checked out a Winnie the Pooh medallion set you can read here, second was the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs medallion set…
Inside Disney's Animal Kingdom as you walk towards the park icon The Tree of Life there is a large gift shop to the right called the Discovery Trading Company. This has always been home to a few pressed penny machines, but their locations over the years have moved around a bit. They also had quite…
Summer has arrived and Universal Studios has officially opened their new Tribute Store which is always a unique experience. In previous versions they have had special medallions, but they were absent from the Holiday store so we will have to cross our fingers that the machine has returned. The store has again returned to the…
The second quarter of 2024 has begun and that means it was time for a new edition of the TEC News. It's the Official Newsletter of The Elongated Collectors club. I've talked about the club many times in the past and have nothing but high praise for it. The newsletter is great, the unique elongated…
In a previous post we review the dated 2024 Medallion Set that you can read here. There are a few other non-dated mini-sets that we are going to be reviewing. First we checked out a Winnie the Pooh medallion set you can read here, and continuing today with the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs…
Disney's MGM Studios Theme Park had it's grand opening on May 1st, 1989. Then in January 2008 it was renamed to Disney's Hollywood Studios. The park has had plenty of changes over the years including adding the iconic Tower of Terror, Rock n' Roller Coaster, Toy Story Land, and more recently Star Wars Galaxy's Edge.…
You would think that in the Central Florida area, with all the theme parks we would have enough Disney stores to shop at. However back in 2022 Disney decided to open yet another store, this one was a bit different by being off property and actually just down the street from the Universal Studios parks…
SeaWorld Orlando has been adding a lot of new coasters in the past few years. Not too long ago we posted about their (at as of the writing of this) latest coaster Pipeline and you can read about it here. However before that they had opened Ice Breaker in 2022. Now even though I'm not…
Earlier this year a whole slew of new collectible medallions were released all over Walt Disney World property. In a previous post we review the dated 2024 Medallion Set that you can read here. There are a few other non-dated mini-sets that we are going to be reviewing, starting today with the Winnie the Pooh…
I have mentioned this many times in the past, the Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction at Walt Disney World. I have experienced the Disneyland version and honestly I personally like the Florida version better, but I may be biases since that's the one I've been able to ride most often. Even though the Ghost…
Today (April 8th, 2024) is Total Solar Eclipse Day. For those of you in the total eclipse area enjoy and be careful with your eyes. Here in Florida we are only going to have a partial Eclipse but will no less be a fun experience. Being this is such a unique event that doesn't come…
On February 11th, 2024 the NFL held Super Bowl LVIII in Paradise Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium between the San Francisco 49ers, and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game came down the the wire with the Chiefs becoming the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did it in 2004. Then…
Recently I had a quick trip up to Canada for my cousin's wedding. This was a fun little getaway for our family. We flew out of Orlando and into Toronto, then had about an hour drive to the Kitchener-Waterloo area. This is where most of my dad's side of the family are located and has…
During the summer while our kids are out of school my wife and I alternate taking a day off each week to take the girls out and do something a little different. Otherwise they seem to be drawn into their rooms with iPads in tow only showing their faces when they need something to eat…
In a previous post that you can read here, I went over all the new collectible medallion designs that were released at the beginning of the year. However, not all of these coins were part of the "2024 Dated" set. Some of the others were new "non-dated" designs, or part of separate mini-sets that we…
In a previous post that you can read here, I went over all the new pressed penny designs that were released at the beginning of the year. However, not all of these pennies were part of the "2024 Dated" set. Some of the others were new "non-dated" designs, or older previously retired designs that were…
To be honest I thought I had written about this years ago, but recently I've had some questions and comments asking about how I first got into the hobby. When I went back through all my posts I realized that it's apparently not something I ever wrote about in detail. So in today's article we…
This is one of few Disney resorts I still have yet to stay at and is on my bucket list. I've been fortunate enough to stay at almost every resort on property but this one has eluded me so far. Which is strange because it's one of my favorites. It has a couple of restaurants…
Robert William Barker was born on December 12th, 1923 in Darrington Washington. He attended Drury College in Springfield Missouri on a basketball athletic scholarship. He joins the United States Navy Reserve in 1943 during World War II to train as a fighter pilot, but did not serve in combat. After the war he returned to Drury College…
The PeopleMover originally opened in Disneyland California in 1967, and then here in Walt Disney World Florida in 1975. Guests board small trains that ride an elevated track for a grand circle tour of tomorrowland. It was originally thought of as a serious prototype of intercity transportation and even appeared on the maps for Walt's plans of…
With all the new pressed pennies and medallions being released so far for 2024, honestly a new set of Star Wars themed coins was not what I thought we would get. I'm not complaining as I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan, plus it gave me an opportunity to visit a section of Hollywood Studios I…
It's time for me to once again talk about the fantastic Facebook Group Pressed Penny Mafia - PPM of which I am a member. All the members enjoy telling stories about their penny pressing trips, or simply helping to trade, buy or sell coins for everyone's collections. Then there is the biggest benefit of the group…
The newly renovated Pixar Place Hotel had it's grand opening on Tuesday January 30th out in Aneheim California. The celebration included all your favorite Pixar friends and from the pictures I've seen it looks like quite the improvement over the previous version of the hotel. Now the grand opening has been covered already by news, vloggers…
Way back in 2021 Universal Florida opened a brand new thrill ride known as the Velocicoaster. To this day it remains one of their most popular and certainly intense coasters. Even before the attraction officially opened they released a special pressed penny design to celebrate the grand opening and you can read all about that here. However,…
Seems like not too long ago we were at the nearby Port Orleans Riverside resort checking out a brand new pressed penny machine. I'm not complaining as this gave me an opportunity to not just get some new pennies but also grab some fresh hot Mickey beignets. Let's not waste any more time and head over to…
For all you Disney Medallion collectors out there, I hope you paid off our credit cards from last year because all of the designs have been replaced. There is a total of 20 medallion machines, each with 4 designs making for a total of 80 new medallion designs around Walt Disney World. They can be found in…
It didn't take long for the vendor to star changing out Pressed Penny designs for the new year. We have been flooded with reports from all over WDW property as new designs are released. A HUGE thank you to everyone that has submitted information and left comments, it's a big help in making sure we keep this…
Well it's finally here, our last day in Denver is coming to a close and we were about to head out to the Airport. We had to be out of our Cabin by mid morning, and our flight wasn't until later in the evening so we figured why not try and kill a little time with…