No More Disney Toys With McDonald’s Happy Meals
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
That’s the sound of kids all over the world when they find out that Disney and McDonald’s are parting ways. McDonald’s Happy Meals have had Disney toys for the past 10 years but Disney has decided that it doesn’t want to be associated with fast food and the negative image of child obesity. (McDonald’s say this isn’t true and that they both decided the relationship was over. Somehow I don’t believe them….)
So no more Chicken Little, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, or other cool Disney movie-related toys in Happy Meal boxes. But, Dream-Works is supposed to be signing up for a two-year deal with McDonald’s so maybe there will still be some nifty toys to be had on our once monthly McDonald’s visit.
Before it all ends, though, you can still get Happy Meal toys based on the movies Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and and Cars. That’ll be great because we’re planning to make Cars the first movie our son sees in the movie theater.
The Daily Mail, May 10, 2006
Technorati Tags: mcdonalds, happy meal, happy meals, toys, children, kids, disney
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POSTED IN: News and Links about Children's Things
9 opinions for No More Disney Toys With McDonald’s Happy Meals
Karen
May 11, 2006 at 7:33 am
My husband is in Marketing/Licensing and his opinion on this is that while Disney might not want to be associated with fast-food, McDonalds is just as happy not to be tied to the lackluster films that Disney has recently produced.
Hsien-Hsien Lei
May 11, 2006 at 7:36 am
Karen: That’s very interesting and thanks for the comment! I honestly haven’t seen too many movies over the last few years so I haven’t had the chance to judge. :P
Bald Man
May 11, 2006 at 7:51 am
Thank heavens! Now there is no longer a hint of justification to ever step foot in McDonald’s again.
“Free at last!”
Deb L
May 11, 2006 at 9:25 am
the quality of the toys has always been hit-or-miss too. once in a while, there would be something that worked right and lasted more than a day or two worth of playing. most of the time it is just cheap junk. and usually they don’t even want to play with them.
We haven’t bought many Happy Meals though, because our oldest is a teen and eats enough for two grown men; and our younger two are picky. one likes chocolate shakes, the other likes french fries. neither is at all excited about things like burgers or nuggets and buying the whole meal would just be a waste.
Lydia
May 11, 2006 at 1:44 pm
I thought the Incredibles toys were really good. The kids still play with them — they were just action figures, but good for making up stories about the movie. If they would stick to the action figures idea and leave off the little beeping mini-game idea, that would be spectacular.
Hsien-Hsien Lei
May 11, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Bald Man: Somehow I think your freedom is limited. ;)
Deb: Yeah, the Happy Meals really aren’t about the food but S does like his Chicken McNuggets and fries. As a matter of fact, so do I. :D
Lydia: Thanks for the comment! It’s nice to hear that not everyone condemns everything to do with McDonald’s. Here’s wishing for more action figures!
Michelle
May 15, 2006 at 12:06 am
Of course.. there is no mention by Disney that they are tied up with Nestle (healthy? I’d say not) and that they sell fast food right there in the middle of the Kingdom. :-)
But little steps I suppose…
Hsien-Hsien Lei
May 15, 2006 at 9:43 am
Michelle: They’re all eeeevil! ;)
Play Library » Kid’s Meal Toys
Jul 16, 2006 at 5:15 pm
[...] As Hsien mentioned in an earlier post, Pirates of the Caribbean was the theme for the current Happy Meals. So, we start handing out the lunches, and my daughter reaches in to check out the toy. She pulls out a very scary looking skull. She hands it over to her (male) buddy, and asks if she can have a girl toy. Well, apparently Pirates of the Caribbean is gender neutral, because they have no girl toys. They do, however, have the pirate bandana things (sorry, not up on my pirate fashion lingo), and 6 of the 7 kids trade in their skulls for pirate headwear. (One of the 3 year old girls happily grabs her skull after my one year old happily slobbered all over it. Sorry about that!) [...]
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