And now, before we continue, a quick flashback to our previous trip.
(Which you can read about here, if you want:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3238608 )
Right before our March visit to WDW, my husband reminded me that our youngest daughter, then 19, always loved to collect pressed pennies.
What? She did not.
As far as I know, she had exactly two of them. And she found them before this March, 2014 trip when she came across her old WDW belly bag from our 2003 trip. Inside the bag were the two pressed pennies that she did not miss for eleven years. I hardly call that a characteristic of someone who always loved to collect pressed pennies.
He insisted that she loved it. And, because, through the years, I eventually learned to pick my battles, I just agreed. And, while I was at it, I also agreed that it was a great idea for him to pick up a roll of pennies and a roll of quarters for the goodie bag we were planning for her arrival in the middle of that March trip. What did I care if his carry on was two rolls of change heavier, both ways?
Once again, the obvious went right over my head. HE wanted to press some pennies but, because he didnt want to be busted doing something goofy at Disney World, he had to pretend he was doing it with and for his child. Never mind that his youngest child was a 6-foot tall college freshman. And shes not even a geeky dude freshman, but a girl that has no interest in Dad things like Star Wars and Legos and pressed pennies.
In fact, the only reason she even noted the two long-lost pressed pennies was for humor and selfie-taking purposes. Evidently, everyone on Instagram would want to know that her belly bag from second grade still fit her little waist. Showing the pressed pennies in the selfie proved she was just funny and not bragging. Not everything goes over my head.
As I expected, she was underwhelmed when she found the rolls of change and hastily printed map of WDW pressed penny machines in her goodie bag. No one really paid much attention to the pressed penny concept. However, on a couple occasions, my husband pointed out a machine to her and asked if she brought her pennies.
What pennies?
Never mind.
If you have read my first trip report, you may remember that I reference a few days when SOME family members were not displaying their most princely and princess-like behavior. On one of those days, one of my wise daughters suggested to the youngest, Maybe you could make a few pressed pennies with dad, you know, give him some attention. They all nodded in agreement. Yes, a great idea and they all knew it would work. They are pretty sharp young ladies.
The next time we headed toward the monorail, my 19 year old daughter called, Dad! Wait! And she asked him if he wanted to make pressed pennies with her. He did. They discussed which designs to choose and took turns cranking them out and then compared their work. It gave them something to talk about and something to share. She didnt especially care to own a penny imprinted with a Disney image. And he tended to take over the operation, always being the one to spot the machines first and hip checking her out of the way on more than one occasion. But she loved having that connection with him and he loved having that connection with her. But Im not going to pretend that he didnt love getting those pennies just as much and he enjoyed time with his daughter.
It must be a guy thing.
1. Put some coins in a machine.
2. Operate some giant gears.
3. Smash metal.
4. Deface government property.
What guy doesnt love that?
So, when the June trip for two rolled around, I did a little research on the pressed penny machines and mentioned some machines that I thought my husband would find interesting. This included the machines in Epcot where one can collect pennies that represent each Epcot country. Sold! He was all over that idea.
After dinner on that first day of this trip, I suggested we stroll around World Showcase and visit the shops and I was on a mission to finally find the Kaki-Gori stand. My friend, Meg, had suggested I try one before each trip Id taken since Id known her but I never noticed it. This time I was determined.
However, when I said the words, stroll around and visit the shops, my husband heard, race around and visit the shops to collect pressed pennies.
At the first shop, he made a beeline to the machine and I tagged along. He asked my opinion on which design we should get. I suggested that since each machine probably had a Mickey with a country-specific design, that collecting a Mickey from each county might be fun.
Great idea!
And then he pressed one of each of the three designs in that machine. He deposited his new treasures in one pocket of his old-guy, cargo shorts and reached into a pocket on the opposite leg for another handful of virgin coins. Its a good thing his pants are snug at the waist I thought, noting that he had no belt. Luckily, as one collects pressed pennies, the coinage load shrinks significantly.
Where next? he asked.
Well, I wanted to look at those
China?
If you havent noticed before, take note that, in front of the pressed penny machines, you will frequently see children, especially little boys of about 3-7 years old, studying the machines. They are rather interesting to look at and just the right size for a 3-4 foot child to get a good look at the inside workings. Its really cute how the little ones are so interested in the machines, even if they are not pressing a penny, they are still interested. My husband has no appreciation for this.
Excuse me. Hell say. But I know he really means, Beat it kid. Man on a mission!
I gave up on strolling around leisurely and actually looking at stuff after a couple stops. Once again, I just went along with the pressed penny phenomenon. After all, he was usually pretty sweet about letting me do whatever I wanted and it was nice to see him interested in this. After all, he would be at the conference most week days and I could do whatever I wanted.
But I put my foot down on the Kaki-Gori. I decided I wasnt leaving Epcot without checking this off the ol bucket list and luckily, by the time we worked our way over to that area, Id be recovered from our German food stupor and ready for a refreshing dessert. When we made it to the Japan pavilion, we couldnt find a thing that looked or sounded like Kaki-Gori. I asked several cast members. No one knew what I was talking about. I even looked it up on the map and showed my husband the photo of the stand that I had brought up on my phone. Between us, we have four college degrees and have been to Epcot at least 10 times. Weve the read guide books, the boards and blogs. We can spot hidden Mickeys faster than you can say Sleepy, Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful, Doc. But we still, to this day, have never located the kaki-gori stand. It remains on my Disney bucket list.
We do, however, have an impressive collection of pressed pennies. In case you are wondering, none are imprinted with a Kaki-Gori.
When he finally ran out of coins, he wanted to leave the park and go to the Magic Kingdom. I was pretty tired at the point and no longer in the mood to shop. A nice, cool ride on the monorail sounded good to me. On the ride over, he showed me his coins. Yay.
