The return of McDonald’s at Disney Parks

[Elijah Abrams]

Ever since The Walt Disney Company started a new partnership with fast food chain McDonald's in 2018, will there come a time when McD's food will return to Disneyland and Walt Disney World for the first time since 2008? I wouldn’t care if the McDonald’s restaurants at Disney were different from the pre-2008 ones.

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

I doubt it.

In their defense, recent QS food offerings have been excellent. Galaxy’s Edge, Connections Eatery, etc.

 

[OKW Lover]

Not seeing it myself. I think Disney and McDonalds are more interested in links that encourage customers to use their products. McDonalds offers Disney toys to get parents to bring their children in. Disney gets the benefit of brand exposure which hopefully results in more people visiting the parks or buying Disney merchandise.

 

[subtchr]

Oh, I certainly hope not.

 

[Upatnoon]

People more than ever, people crave dining "experiences" and "unique" offerings.

You want your vacation to be special, not like a trip down the street to McDonald's.

I suppose you could say the same thing about Starbucks, but that is an upscale brand and many people are addicted to its offerings. Many people look down their nose at Chicken McNuggets, but stand in line for a $6 latte.

That doesn't mean Disney and McDonald's can't have a relationship. Kids watch Disney+, they go to the movies and they enjoy the happy meal toys. A few of them may be lucky and go to a theme park.

This also shows the kind of customer Disney is trying to please. The Starbucks crowd, not the McDonald's crowd.

This isn't a trend that is unique to Disney. From ballparks to fairs to shopping centers, they all want those interesting, unique experiences that people put on Instagram.

There still is a McDonald's at Disneyworld. And every chain restaurant in America is probably within 15 minutes. People are still after the "reliable" favorites, especially when off-site in an unknown area, but I think Disney for the most part has moved beyond that for its parks and Disney Springs.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Nope. McDs prices way too low for Disney. I wish though, I have vague memories of a fry cart in Disneyland Frontierland that served massive boxes of McDs fries. I would take McD’s fries over getting popcorn stuck in my teeth and gums any vacay day!!

(In order to assure myself I wasn’t crazy and that magical fry stand existed I hit Google and came across this article. Which led me to this article about how Doritos came from Disneyland- I had no idea! Thanks OP!)

 

[DodgerGirl]

When McDonald's relationship with Disney began in 1987 with the debut of the first ever Disney based Happy Meal called Disney Favorites little did we know that Disney and McDonald's would soon become a perfect match. But when Burger King began a partnership with Disney it hurt McDonald's a lot but as soon as Burger King's partnership ended with Disney I think McDonald's was glad to see Disney return to them. Why Disney and McDonald's had such a long partnership since 1987 is because when you see McDonald's and Disney team up to do projects you can see a success start to grow. But why I think McDonald's wanted to be part of Disney Parks was so they could be huge and attract visitors who wanted a quick snack. But once McDonald's left Disney Parks and Subway replaced McDonald's in Disney Parks it wasn't successful at all. But when you look at Disney's love affair with McDonald's every time Disney releases a movie or cartoon show McDonald's releases a Happy Meal to go with the movie such as Onward Soul Encanto Luca Cars On The Road Thor Love And Thunder and countless other movies and shows McDonald's knows that anything Disney is a hit. But if I ran Disney Parks I would put real McDonald's restaurants in the parks rather than kiosks because they would be huge with families that want to sit down and eat and take a break. But Disney should think about teaming up with Panda Express or Cinnabon or even Burger King because just like in airports have Burger Kings and Wendy's and Cinnabons in them Disney Parks should do the exact same thing in their parks because everyone loves Cinnabon and they would be a great addition to Disney Parks along with McDonald's

 

[reddog21]

People more than ever, people crave dining "experiences" and "unique" offerings.
You want your vacation to be special, not like a trip down the street to McDonald's.

Not everyone eats McDonald's all the time, my family only east McDonalds or fast food in general on vacation so far us it's a treat. I know it's not the most tasty treat but it's different then what we normally do. We always looked forward to getting the fries from Magic Kingdom sooo good!!!

 

[ucf_knight]

Not everyone eats McDonald's all the time, my family only east McDonalds or fast food in general on vacation so far us it's a treat. I know it's not the most tasty treat but it's different then what we normally do. We always looked forward to getting the fries from Magic Kingdom sooo good!!!

The McDonald’s fry stations that were in each park were the best french fries that you could get. So good

 

[OKW Lover]

I think it's amusing that when people mention McDonalds they always say how good their fries are. Shouldn't a burger chain be known for how good their burgers are?

 

[Sparkly]

Why would Disney sell burgers and fries and also have McDs doing the same thing?

 

[gharter]

I don't think you'll see the full menu inside any of the parks, but wouldn't be surprised to see a fry cart pop up again.
WDW already has a large McDonalds .
A could see them add it to the food area in some of the value resorts.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Its right there on W Buena Vista Dr if you need it! Im not sure if its because we are in Disney mode. But the WDW McDonalds always seems to test better than any other MCDonalds.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I want to be immersed in a different world when at Disney. Last thing I want to see is McDonald’s in the park

 

[OKW Lover]

I want to be immersed in a different world when at Disney. Last thing I want to see is McDonald’s in the park

Or a starbucks

 

[mrsap]

How is having a McDonald’s in the parks any different than having a Starbucks??