No McDonalds at Disney?! About This Page:

[krisk11]

This wouldn't affect me because the last thing I am going to eat while at WDW is McDonalds. I would rather go anywhere else. Even my dd wouldn't eat at McD's during a trip to the world.

[kitkat]

From what I have heard it won't affect things at the parks, but rather the happy meals McD's themselves.
This is from yahoo news.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060509/ts_...ey_060509012630

Kat

[WrldTrvlr1019]

Very interesting. But I don't eat McDonalds while in the World, either, so it wouldn't matter either way for me.. Although I am curious to see what's going to happen!

[Stripes]

After reading the Yahoo article, this is only that McD/Disney have ended their exclusive marketing deal. Disney will contnue to use McD's on a case-by-case basis for promos in the Happy Meals. There is no mention of food changes in the parks.

[jimmymac]

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Interesting. It could cost them a lot of money, but it sounds like something they feel very strongly about.

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If they did, they would stop serving the food. It's all PR

[simbarel]

I for one will be relieved--even when we're at home DH will make McComments whenever we drive by one (he believes it nearly gave him a heart attack one night) and it's 10 times worse when we're at the beloved, though corporate, WDW. Sayonara!

[Dave Marx]

When the corporate spin doctors are done it's hard to know what's really up. However, I'll try.

McD's was in what they thought was a slam-dunk deal. A 10-year pact for Disney character tie-ins, which would have been made back in around 1994/1995. Disney animation was sooo golden after The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King.... Who wouldn't go for a long-term lock-in? Since then, Disney's record has been a bit more spotty, and other companies started having successes creating new animation franchises.

If I was McDonald's, I wouldn't want to be locked in like that again. At least, not for now. Meantime, while $100 million a year isn't exactly chicken feed, Disney will probably still get close to that, or even more, because long-term deals usually come at the price of lower average compensation. While the royalty rate on the long-term deal was probably pumped-up by the successes that preceded it, Disney may have gotten a less-than-optimal price on the Pixar film tie-ins (maybe the real reason Steve Jobs had few good things to say about the subject). If there's no lock-in, other burger joints can join the bidding war for hot properties, and even McD's will have to pony-up more for the properties they do want.

Altogether, I think there's a win/win on both sides. While McD's management may have to explain why they paid so much for some future movie tie-ins, they won't be embarassed by having to explain why they paid for tie-ins with under-performers like Dinosaur, Hunchback, Home on the Range, etc. Disney is back in the game of auctioning to the highest bidder, which is rarely a losing proposition.

Baseball players usually boast about their best, single-season batting average, not their career average. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[FanOfMickey]

While I don't go to Disney for McDonalds, I do enjoy getting the fries for a snack now and then. And yes, I have even eaten at the McDonalds at Down Town Disney on occasion. I like having that option, sometimes I just want a quick cheap meal. I definatly want to see McDonalds stay [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ripkensnana]

It's my understanding that the negotiations have to do with the Happy Meal toys, not the restaurants themselves.

[Shell_of_the_South]

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It's my understanding that the negotiations have to do with the Happy Meal toys, not the restaurants themselves.

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That's what I got from it too. The McD's restaurants on WDW property will not be affected. Here is an article from www.jimhillmedia.com that gives a lot of info on this decision by Disney:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hi...5/08/2288.aspx

[Dave Marx]

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It's my understanding that the negotiations have to do with the Happy Meal toys, not the restaurants themselves.

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That's what I got from it too. The McD's restaurants on WDW property will not be affected. Here is an article from www.jimhillmedia.com that gives a lot of info on this decision by Disney:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hi...5/08/2288.aspx

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Jim's basically mirroring the main thrust/spin of the LA Times story, and he ignored everything in the story that wasn't related to the evils of fast food - McDonald's disappointment with the performance of some films, the difficulties of working with Disney's licensing requirements, etc. Jim's swallowed the LA Times' "spin" on the story complete with special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and a sesame seed bun.

Who'd have read the Times' story if it hadn't played up the anti-fast-food angle?

Practically speaking, if someone can successfully sue over fast food/childhood obesity, they can also sue anybody for producing anything that can be harmful in excess. As we all should know, everything is harmful in excess. The chance of there being real legal liability for this kind of promotional tie-in is next to nil.

Normally, this story would have resulted in one of Jim's "Disney management has messed-up again, they lost another big-money deal" articles. What went wrong, Jim?

One of America's biggest broadcasters (Disney/ABC) does not go about seriously trashing one of its biggest advertisers. That $1 billion Disney collected in licensing fees is nothing compared to what Disney got in advertising from McD's over the same period. The anonymous Disney "inside sources" the LA Times cited are all that anybody has from Disney that mentions the obesity tie-in, so I really have to wonder about the substance of the entire story. The quote from Steve Jobs comes from last year, before the Pixar merger with Disney. As I interpret that quote, the question he answered may not have even directly related to the Disney/McDonald's deal. Besides, saying that there are both benefits and concerns about these tie-ins isn't the same thing as saying that he's against them.

[forever_amber]

well I will be glad if they do less Disney Happy meals so will everyone who knows me... I swear once in teh early 90's I had everyone and their brother eating Happy Meals so I could get as many of those 101 different Dalmatian toys as I could [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[vin816]

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well I will be glad if they do less Disney Happy meals so will everyone who knows me... I swear once in teh early 90's I had everyone and their brother eating Happy Meals so I could get as many of those 101 different Dalmatian toys as I could [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

[Philly]

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<font color="blue">Getting rid of those McDonald's stands that serve fries and nuggets is fine with me. I don't go all the way to Disney World to eat fries from McDonald's. </font> [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/foreheadslap.gif[/img]

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[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yeahthat.gif[/img] I feel the same way!

[DogLady]

I certainly wouldn't miss having McD's anywhere in the world, their food gives me a bad stomachache.
I'm disappointed to read some of the posts that it is just the toys that will be discontinued and not the restaurants.
Americans need to wake up and start eating healthier! There are plenty of healthy choices in DW, thank goodness, for non McD people like me.