Be careful during your next visit to Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, because Walt Disney World Resort just might charge you a fee for an unwanted souvenir.
It’s no secret that there aren’t enough seats around the Walt Disney World Resort parks. During a visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, this Disney Dining team member and her family were waiting near the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris in Africa, just minutes away from the start of an Up Close With Rhinos Tour. We were excited for this Enchanting Extra, but understandably tired after a week at The Most Magical Place on Earth.
Since no seats were available, we decided to lean on the only open spot nearby: a pressed penny machine. One of us leaned against the side of the machine, while the other balanced on the wooden ledge where the buttons are located.
After a few minutes, we heard an unusual noise and felt the pressed penny machine crank into action. We were confused–there was no way someone had activated the machine without us noticing. After we stepped away from the machine, we watched as it crafted three pressed pennies and dispensed them to us. Huh?!
Seconds later, we received an alert from our banking app. We had been charged just over $3 from an undisclosed merchandise location in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. That’s when we realized what had happened.
When one of us leaned against the front of the pressed penny machine, wearing a backpack, the credit card reader somehow sensed our tap-to-pay debit card through the bag and wallet inside. Because the machine only dispenses all three designs for card purchases, it automatically processed the transaction and pressed three pennies for us before we ever pressed any buttons.
Fortunately, Disney was understanding when our bank contacted them for a refund. But be careful where you lean during your next Walt Disney World Resort visit, or you might come home with some of the hundreds of pressed pennies and souvenir coins available throughout Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney Springs, and the Disney Resort hotels.
Has something like this happened during your visit to Walt Disney World Resort? Share your story with Disney Dining in the comments!
