Collecting pennies or pins or...........

[MaidMarianRuns]

I have a 7 year old who I think would enjoy doing something like pin trading or collecting all (or many) Pressed Pennies. I have also read the idea of setting the goal of eating a diffent cupcake everyday of your trip. While I think all of these are good ideas for my kid I was wondering what other "Goal" type of ideas people have for kids in the parks?

 

[Jenn55]

My son was almost 8 when we went and I made the mistake of introducing him to the penny machines!!! Had to turn around and buy him one of hose collector books he had so many. It's defiantly cheaper then pins that's for sure

 

[Figment Mom]

We're doing pennies. He already has a small collection.

I fit 75 pennies into a mini m&ms container. If he uses them all (I don't think he will but you never know) then we'll spend 150 quarters, or ~$36. Not bad for souvenirs.

I found maps of each park with penny press location and saved them as screenshots on my phone. He can decide if he wants to look for specific ones or just.pick a design from each machine we happen across.

I thought about the pins but I'd want to make sure he was trading genuine pins and not scrappers and that could get much more expensive.

 

[Dano13]

My son started doing pennies about 5 yrs ago when he was 5. He has a huge collection now. That is our "thing" whenever we are somewhere that has them. Hershey Park, interstate rest stops, zoos, etc. it is a really nice collection and it doesn't cost a lot.

 

[disny_luvr]

We did the pressed pennies on our last trip when my boys were 6-years-old. They loved it! We ended up buying two books at WDW to put their pennies in. I had read on here that if you use pennies from before 1982 (I think) and put them in ketchup they get pretty shiny again. My boys had so much fun doing this last time that they want to do it again on our next trip. We didn't use a map to locate the pressed penny machines - part of the fun for us was finding them on our own.

We are also planning on looking harder for hidden Mickeys on our next trip. I may even buy one of the books that gives clues where hidden Mickeys are located.

 

[milza26]

The mini m&m container was such an awesome tip I read somewhere. It is neat to see someone else use it too. We are a big fan of the pennies. It is so neat to try to find the machines. We might try both next trip.

 

[MSSANDRA]

My oldest loved pressed pennies. We might do these with our 7 year old next trip. We have not done pins as my boys are not out going enough to enjoy that. My DH has the goal of eating ice cream every day most trips and he always makes his goal. How many times has your little boy been? I really don't recommend adding activities for the first couple of trips as there is enough stuff just to take in without adding another dimension to things.

 

[sb682]

My son is 4 and loves collecting pennies. Between two trips he's filled one of the coin books. He has so much fun finding the machines and choosing which designs he'd like. I keep pennies and quarters in an M&M Minis tube and the pressed ones in a Mentos Gum tube until we get home. It's easy to scrounge around in our family's spare change bowl before the trip to find plenty of coins.

 

[scrappinginontario]

My 5yo DD loves the pressed pennies! She's now working on her second book. I like it because not only does she enjoy collecting them at WDW but now home I find her taking then out, looking at them and talking about their pictures,

 

[boltfan]

The mini m&m container was such an awesome tip I read somewhere. It is neat to see someone else use it too. We are a big fan of the pennies. It is so neat to try to find the machines. We might try both next trip.

We do this too! I can't remember where I read it, but it works really well for pennies. Of course my daughters prefer the pressed quarters...they always want the most expensive things!

 

[lovetogowdw]

My almost 8 year old can't wait to pick up new packs of trading cards for the Sorcerers game each day we visit the MK. I say I play too (well, maybe one stop each trip) so that I can pick up a pack to add to his collection, too. Often he'd rather play this game than ride rides, which is fine with me when the waits are long!

And Hidden Mickeys are good, too.

We also do silly picture poses, and if possible, tie in a theme with what we are wearing (like a photo with Mickey - even if it is a selfie where Mickey's in the background - while wearing a Mickey shirt). Fun to do something like that each day.

 

[PennockFive]

How much are the pressed pennies, .51 for each one? A friend of mine alternated the quarters and pennies to really make it easy at the machines.

 

[MandiC]

My girls (7 and 9 at the time of the trip) loved pressed pennies and pin trading!
I kept pennies in one zip lock bag and quarters in another. I counted my coins before we left and gave each kid a 'max'. I printed the list of where to find which designs and let them choose. I highlighted them so we knew when we were in a park with one of their chosen designs that we should grab that one
The pins, I bought ahead of time on amazon. Much less expensive. I also told them that on the last day of our trip we would go to the Pin Store in Downtown Disney and they could pick any one pin they wanted
My oldest loved the Sorcerer's game in MK, you get the pack of cards for free so it is worth going even just for the pack of cards as a free souvenir.
Animation Academy in Hollywood Studios! They teach you how to draw a character and you keep your drawing from that day, on special Hollywood Studios paper
We ate so many sweets as it was in Disney that a cupcake a day may have just been too much sugar

 

[amyren]

My DD(6) enjoys pin trading. Specifically with cast members. She's only done it on one trip and was a bit nervous about asking a CM to trade at first. By the end of the trip she would ask me if she could approach a CM and do it all by herself. I think she really just likes the interactions with CMs. She's not that specific about which pin she trades.

 

[disny_luvr]

My girls (7 and 9 at the time of the trip) loved pressed pennies and pin trading!
I kept pennies in one zip lock bag and quarters in another. I counted my coins before we left and gave each kid a 'max'. I printed the list of where to find which designs and let them choose. I highlighted them so we knew when we were in a park with one of their chosen designs that we should grab that one
The pins, I bought ahead of time on amazon. Much less expensive. I also told them that on the last day of our trip we would go to the Pin Store in Downtown Disney and they could pick any one pin they wanted
My oldest loved the Sorcerer's game in MK, you get the pack of cards for free so it is worth going even just for the pack of cards as a free souvenir.
Animation Academy in Hollywood Studios! They teach you how to draw a character and you keep your drawing from that day, on special Hollywood Studios paper
We ate so many sweets as it was in Disney that a cupcake a day may have just been too much sugar

Can you please tell me more about the Sorcerer's game in MK? I've never heard of it before. This might be something my boys would like to try next year when we go to Disney.

Thanks!

 

[mediadiva]

Can you please tell me more about the Sorcerer's game in MK? I've never heard of it before. This might be something my boys would like to try next year when we go to Disney.

Thanks!

When you enter the park ask a CM where to get the sorcerer's card packs to play the game. Its to the LEFT right after you walk in before main street starts at the buildings that face the entrance and has something like "recruits welcome" on a banner outside. When we went at Christmas time we got a special holiday themed one so if you go during a holiday make sure you get the extra cards. It will take a few minutes as there is a video to watch. Everyone with a magic band can get one so we all go in and I give my packs to the kids or they split the extra pack etc. They watch the begging video and get their first pack and a map of where all the portals are.

We were in a big hurry literally 2 days in MK starting with the day we flew in and my sister had us running around to dinner restorations and fast passes and we never got to play but when we left after the Christmas parade we went in and she watched the first video and got her cards before we left the park. She talks about it ALL the time, last night she reviewed the map with me and discussed ideas she had for how to use each card at each spot. Its basically a role playing game. The cards each have different "powers" you can use to defeat the enemy and there is a "key" card you use to start the experience. The "portals" are hidden in windows and odd side places. Some of them are pretty neat looking.

 

[disny_luvr]

When you enter the park ask a CM where to get the sorcerer's card packs to play the game. Its to the LEFT right after you walk in before main street starts at the buildings that face the entrance and has something like "recruits welcome" on a banner outside. When we went at Christmas time we got a special holiday themed one so if you go during a holiday make sure you get the extra cards. It will take a few minutes as there is a video to watch. Everyone with a magic band can get one so we all go in and I give my packs to the kids or they split the extra pack etc. They watch the begging video and get their first pack and a map of where all the portals are.

We were in a big hurry literally 2 days in MK starting with the day we flew in and my sister had us running around to dinner restorations and fast passes and we never got to play but when we left after the Christmas parade we went in and she watched the first video and got her cards before we left the park. She talks about it ALL the time, last night she reviewed the map with me and discussed ideas she had for how to use each card at each spot. Its basically a role playing game. The cards each have different "powers" you can use to defeat the enemy and there is a "key" card you use to start the experience. The "portals" are hidden in windows and odd side places. Some of them are pretty neat looking.

Great! Thank you so much for explaining this to me. I know this is something my boys will enjoy. This sounds kind of similar to the Midship Detective Agency game on the Fantasy my boys enjoyed so much last year.

 

[MandiC]

That is pretty much all I know about it as well I know we all had fun with it and will definitely do it on future trips

 

[Snow Shoe]

You want a solid penny (all copper) so use pennies made 1982 or older. Newer pennies are zinc base with a copper overlay. Sometimes when you press the new pennies, the zinc base shows through. Not very good looking.

 

[Jenn55]

Odd question.. Do u think canadian pennies would work? I can't see a difference, but we stopped distributing the pennie and my son has a ton, sitting around. I figure if I can use those it would save me a lot of hassle.