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 Host mentions that there are 999 Happy Haunts inside, there is one spirt that can be found in the California Mansion that has never appeared in Walt Disney World. That is until now. Back in September 2023 at Disney’s Destination D23 Expo, Josh D’Amaro the Chairman of Parks and Resorts ..read more

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 once the team was back home, on February 14th Kansas City held a Victory Parade for the team through the downtown. Unfortunately during the parade, a day for celebration suddenly turned to tragedy. Gunfire broke out injuring 22 people who were shot, and 43 year-old mother of two Lisa Lopez-Gal ..read more

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 been quite a long time since I last visited. We were only there for a couple days, and most of the time we had scheduled for the different family events and wedding. But I did find a little bit of time early one morning to venture out to nearby St. Jacobs Ontario to find a couple penny press machines. It was a sho ..read more

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 or have to recharge their electronic gadgets. Recently it was one of my weeks and I thought it would be fun to head over and enjoy an afternoon at our local Dave & Buster’s Arcade. Located in Orlando just off of the notorious International Drive, Dave & Buster’s is basically a huge arcade. I think of it a ..read more

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 will review in future posts so stay tuned. In this post I’m going to show off just the 2024 Dated Medallion Set. Here is a look at the 2024 design that appears on the reverse side of all coins in this set. Happy hunting! All-Star Movies Resort All-Star Music Resort Animal Kingdom Ziwani ..read more

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 brought back. In this post I’m going to show off just the 2024 Dated Pressed Penny Set. Here is a picture of all the pennies in this set, and below that I’ll explain where each one can be found. Happy hunting! Animal Kingdom Discovery Trading Co. Chester & Hester’s Dino Treasures ..read more

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 are going to time travel back quite a few years to where it all began. I’ll try to keep this on point and not to go onto too many tangents. Here’s my story and how I started collecting Pressed Pennies. I’m originally from Ottawa Canada where I grew up with my parents and younger sister. We were lucky enou ..read more

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 on my best of lists (Sanaa and Boma), the theming and design is unbelievable, and there is an actual safari in the back that many of the rooms look out over. Fortunately I live nearby, so even though we aren’t currently staying here we can still make a quick trip over to find some new pressed pennies. It was a bit rainy on ..read more

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 his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow EPCOT. The California attraction closed in 1995 for various reasons but most assumed for cost cutting measures due to high maintenance expense. The track and infrastructure still remain as an unfortunate r ..read more

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 don’t often go to. Back in what used to be called Animation Courtyard, I’m actually not sure if that’s still the official name or not. It’s where the Little Mermaid stage show, and the Disney Junior Dance Party can be found. All the way in the back is a large marquee for the Star Wars Launch Bay. It’s easil ..read more