Originally Posted By Skellington88 Good this news makes me happy. I always thought it was dumb to have Mcdonalds inside the parks. I remember the "mcdonalds fries in frontierland" was one of the first controversies of the Eisner/Pressler era.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 I wonder if this move has anything to do with Disney's push to make the park food offerings healthier - like them offering apples or carrots instead of fries, and using all whole wheat buns?? McDonald's isn't exactly known for health food, so maybe that played into the decision.
Originally Posted By MPierce Nothhing raises the blood pressure of a Disney Geek more than the earth shattering question" should McDonalds be In the Disney Theme Parks".
Originally Posted By FerretAfros There may be one thing that does actually raise their blood pressure more: eating said food. : )
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Oh no, no more Disney Happy Meals?!?! My husband buys Happy Meals so he can give the prizes to the grandchildren.
Originally Posted By brotherdave Just last month, McDonald's had a Disney Pirate & Princess promotion for their Happy Meals. So, I think the 'demise' of the Disney Happy Meal may be a bit premature. My guess is that they're just doing fewer tie-ins.
Originally Posted By dshyates It was Eisner. It is amazing how many business relationships have been repaired since he left. George Lucas will work with them again and we are getting Star Tour 2.0, Pixar had walked, and the McDonalds deal fell through. I'm not sure what is up with the food in the parks,m but Disney is definitely still working with McDs.
Originally Posted By mickeyboy43 " wonder if this move has anything to do with Disney's push to make the park food offerings healthier - like them offering apples or carrots instead of fries, and using all whole wheat buns?? McDonald's isn't exactly known for health food, so maybe that played into the decision." Wheat buns at the Electric umbrella were not tasty at all in any way. Too dry, like the bag had been left open overnight or something. Im usually very open to food, but it didnt taste right.
Originally Posted By beamerdog You can get Happy Meals with fruit and milk instead of fries and soda. I agree that bringing in the real world to the parks jars me a bit. I wouldn't call most of what WDW sells is terribly healthy.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Unfortunately, there are a bunch of mothers out there who don't care to expose their children to anything better than McDonald's food.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I always kind of liked the corporate tie-ins at most Disney parks. I loved Monsanto in Adventures Through Inner Space. GE Carousel of Progress. Go Go Goodyear signs on the way to the People Mover gave everything a contemporary (at the time) feel. I don't mind seeing Chevron, Coca-Cola, and just about any other thing you can think of. I like McDonalds. Except at Disneyland. I don't know why I have that double standard, but I just do. I don't know why I am fine with seeing all kinds of corporate sponsorship from Mattel to Hasbro to FedEx to whatever. But for some reason, teh Golden Arches just doesn't "fit" to me. Maybe it's the smell of the food. It has a very particular smell, and like I said, I eat there from time to time, so it isn't a "bad" smell to me. Or maybe because a meal at McDonald's it is such a different experience compared with a Disney experience. Maybe because it's EVERYwhere all the time in the real world. I dunno. I wish I knew why it bugged me so much. But it does. And seeing less of a McDonal'd presence in the parks is happy news to me. Unless they make a deal with Subway or Arby's or something. : p
Originally Posted By dshyates I think its because McDs is sooooo pedestrian. Disney is about escapism. What are we escaping from? The everyday. The 7-11s. The traffic. The supermarket, and McDonalds.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan That is surely part of it. But why doesn't it bother me to see Coca-Cola, GE, GM, etc? They're not exactly exotic rarities.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Maybe it's because McDonald's is a little grungy. They do great things with Ronald McDonald House. I like most of their grub. Their fries rock. I don't have anything against them. But it also makes me think of tables sticky with dried ketchup, play structures with greasy fingerprints, litter.
Originally Posted By dshyates GE, and GM are sponsors of actual attractions. Coke on the otherhand is pretty pedestrian. But Cola either Coke or Pepsi is expected to be provided by specialized vendors even to places like McDonalds. No one makes there own fountain beverages.
