Ronald, Mickey Form New Alliance Mcdonald’s To Open Eateries At Walt Disney Theme Parks

Happy Meals may be coming to the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

McDonald’s Corp. said it will open several restaurants within Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks in Florida and France by the end of next year. The fast-food giant also said it was exploring sites for restaurants at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., but has no timetable.

“We have ongoing talks with Disney about several possible locations in the park,” said Cathy Nemeth, a McDonald’s spokeswoman.

The restaurant will be the first fast-food chain operations allowed within Disney’s theme parks. The outlets are part of the 10-year exclusive global marketing agreement reached last year between McDonald’s, of Oak Brook, Ill., and Disney based in the L.A. suburb of Burbank.

The plan calls for the first restaurant, dubbed Ronald’s Fun House, to open in Walt Disney World’s downtown area in December, followed by an outlet in February or March near the DinoLand USA area of the yet-to-be-opened Animal Kingdom section in Florida. Another at EuroDisney near Paris would open by the end of next year.

The McDonald’s-Disney partnership had previously been used for giving away toys as part of Happy Meals to promote “George of the Jungle,” “Hercules” and “101 Dalmatians.”

The Disney World restaurant will encompass 10,000 square feet and feature several of the McDonald’s characters.

McDonald’s also will offer pizza at the Disney restaurants.

“This new restaurant is a good example of the way our two brands can team up to provide unique experiences that only McDonald’s and Disney can deliver,” said Brad Ball, McDonald’s senior vice president for U.S. marketing, in a statement.

Analyst Linda Bannister of Edward Jones said the theme park outlets are a logical extension of the Disney-McDonald’s alliance.

“It’s hard to say how far this will go, but it’s working out quite well for both companies so far,” Bannister said. “It’s two of the strongest brand names and that’s pretty powerful.”