McDonald’s Meets Disney Parks

While Disney toys were taking over McDonald’s Happy Meals, the iconic fast food restaurant was also making its way into the Disney Parks. McDonald’s fry stands became a staple inside of the parks, with locations in Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and eventually Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Fry stands like The Village Fry, Fairfax Fries, and Harbor Galley served McDonald’s fries and other food items. 

McDonald’s footprint in the Disney parks didn’t stop with fry stands. They went on to sponsor an entire land for the much-anticipated opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom! That’s right, Dinoland U.S.A. was sponsored by the Golden Arches when the new park opened its gates in 1998.

The dinosaur-themed land included an E Ticket attraction, Countdown To Extinction (now DINOSAUR), a Boneyard Playground, a Cretaceous Trail, a Dinosaur Jubilee, and more. The land’s dining location, Restaurantosaurus served McDonald’s food items like burgers, fries, and nuggets. Dinoland U.S.A. even had its own fry cart, Petrifries! 

This decade-long partnership between Disney and McDonald’s proved to be profitable for both, but when the contract was the brands did not renew. While fast food restaurants were king in the 1990’s, America was becoming much more health-conscious in the mid 2000’s. Films like Supersize Me had brought attention to the obesity crisis in America, and partnering with fast food brands didn’t seem like the best move for Disney at the time. The two brands ended their agreement on good terms, and would eventually find their way back to each other over a decade later.

In 2018, McDonald’s and Disney announced a new, shorter and nonexclusive partnership. This new type of partnership allows for occasional Happy Meal tie-ins and other promotional opportunities together. McDonald’s fry carts can no longer be found inside of the Disney parks, but the newly-renovated sit down location near Disney’s Blizzard Beach still stands proudly on Disney property. 

90’s kids with a childhood of McDisney memories are thrilled to see these two titans of industry working together again, even on a much smaller scale. From World War I to the Disney Decade, the story of how Disney and McDonald’s would come together for their “McDisney Production” is quite an interesting one.