Pictured above: The three token machines were for
a time grouped near the side door.
Occasionally moved inside the arcade.
Also, the first change / token vending machine
to offer the
Starcade tokens.
Previous Tokens were "No Cash Value" type.
Why Disneyland Pressed Tokens Now?
Pressed tokens maybe the future... Since the very start of Disney pressed souvenirs in 1987, the United States Disney Resorts have offered only penny, nickel, dime and quarter press machines. For many guests, pressing coins is a welcome part of "The Show"! Transforming ordinary pocket change into nearly indestructible, inexpensive, mementos is a tradition, is a wonderful hobby, is er ah... FUN! After all, millions of malleable pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters have been eagerly stretched between two rollers within the current laws of the United States Treasury for years and all has been well.
But laws and coinage are subject to change and the future has become uncertain. Ever present discussions about discontinuing the production of some US coins, making coins out of steel, even the passing laws against the destruction of US coinage(PDF) are pressing issues. All while inflation squeezes the profit out of operating penny press machines today.
Pressed tokens may be the answer. Because token press machines do not press real coins, they provide some real advantages for machine owners as well as collectors. Pressing tokens avoids changes in coinage, coinage laws, and today's problems with pressing copper-plated zinc cents. Not to mention tokens can increase operator revenue as customers purchase not only the "press" but the token that is pressed as well. Additionally, unpressed tokens are collectible in their own respect, a win for both token press operator and collectors. Pricing is easily changed to avoid the inflation pinch, machine cash box security issues are reduced, the collector receives a larger, heavier collectible souvenir... It seems someone at Disneyland has their thinking hat on.
Security - Nobody will break into your business or coin operated machines to steal tokens.
Cash Control - Less supervision of your staff required.
Price Flexibility - You can easily change the number of tokens sold per dollar to immediately take advantage of any marketing or promotional ideas.
Immediate Sale - When you sell tokens, you have made a sale. The token does not need to be used immediately. If it is not used, you still make a profit. These "walk-away" tokens encourage repeat business.
Increased Sales - Customers will spend more tokens more freely than quarters because tokens are viewed as non-money.
Promotions & Brand Name Recognition - Customized tokens help develop your company's name and promote repeat business.
Souvenir Value - Customers will buy tokens and keep some as souvenirs.
From Boomer at ParkPennies.com: Tokens make cool pressed souvenirs! :-)
Now, if you're like me, you might still be thinking, "I don't like change unless I'm pressing it in a coin press machine!". Hey, I hear ya! Pressed *Pennies* are what we know and tokens, at least in the United States, are a change. On the other hand, Disneyland USA pressed tokens could be a nice change, an opportunity to start collecting a new series from the very beginning. For many years Tokyo Disneyland tokens have been a smash. And Disneyland has pressed Tokens as Cast Member issues for years. So, I'm viewing token presses as a strategy to assure the sustainable future operation of "penny" press machines and our hobby. The one change I would not want to see is the end of souvenir press machines; I'd be crushed.
UPDATE 2021: I've heard from multiple sources for more than a decade that the sale of tokens that *could* also be pressed in machines was
a hope and goal. The transition would have solved many of the issues that were rumored to be risking the future viability of coin press machines at the DLR. The long years of effort were rumored to be near completion around the time the Disneyland Resort was closed due to COVID-19. By the time the park reopened, I'm told an outside company had been given control of the coin press machines. In short, I believe the nine pressed souvenirs that make up this "Disneyland Pressed Tokens Guide" would make a unique, nostalgic and very collectable framed set. I don't think we will ever see them again.
Tokyo Disneyland planchets / tokens
are used as a "penny" for pressing. They actually about penny sized (see cent pictured below) and made of copper which as you can see makes a pressed souvenir that looks much like a pressed penny. In the early years, a nickel colored planchet as pictured above, was also used at times, in some machines, to press what the Tokyo Disneyland Resort and collectors called "nickels". The planchets are included in the cost of the machine, about 100 Yen or ~$.80 and vended from a hopper inside the penny press machine. Tokyo Disneyland planchet / token.
Was used as a "nickel" for pressing.
Actually about penny sized and vended internally by the penny press. Example of Tokyo Disneyland Pressed Token Enlarged to show detail.
Actually about pressed penny size.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Pressed Planchet Tokens
Hong Kong Disneyland planchet / token
used as a "penny" for pressing (Not confirmed) and enlarged to show detail.
As you can see the planchet is slightly larger than a United States one cent piece which is also
shown for size comparison. Lastly, the finished product, a Hong Kong Disneyland Pressed Token. :-)
Pressed tokens maybe the future... Since the very start of Disney pressed souvenirs in 1987, the United States Disney Resorts have offered only penny, nickel, dime and quarter press machines. For many guests, pressing coins is a welcome part of "The Show"! Transforming ordinary pocket change into nearly indestructible, inexpensive, mementos is a tradition, is a wonderful hobby, is er ah... FUN! After all, millions of malleable pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters have been eagerly stretched between two rollers within the current 
