Theme Park Scope

If your family has ever turned a Happy Meal run into a collecting mission, this one is for you.

Disney Villains Boo Buckets are coming to McDonald’s, and the lineup is a good one.

Five Disney Villains Boo Buckets are said to be dropping on October 20 at participating McDonald’s restaurants. Each bucket features a different villain’s face on a base colored to match. Ursula from The Little Mermaid is purple. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty is green. Scar from The Lion King is orange. Jafar from Aladdin is red. And Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians is white. If you’re picturing a lineup of very dramatic buckets, you’re not wrong. It’s about the most villainous trick-or-treat parade you could assemble.

Every bucket is also reported to come with a sticker sheet. The images appear to show stickers featuring Disney characters and McDonald’s-themed items, so kids can decorate their buckets themselves. For example, the Ursula bucket’s sheet appears to include characters from The Little Mermaid. I can’t tell you every sticker that’s included, since the images are limited, but the idea is clear: it’s a bucket and a craft project in one. And let’s be real, any parent who has ever survived a rainy afternoon knows the value of a craft project.

Boo Buckets are a Halloween tradition at McDonald’s, and they’ve returned in recent years as a limited-time Happy Meal option. They’ve historically been available for a short period, so if past years are any guide, you may not want to wait. That said, I haven’t seen any announcement about how long these Disney Villains versions will be around, or what they’ll cost. McDonald’s hasn’t shared pricing, and I don’t want to guess. Participating locations can also vary, so a call to your local restaurant before you load the car is a smart move.

For families, there’s a lot to like here. The buckets are practical. Kids can use them for trick-or-treating, party favors, or toy storage long after Halloween has passed. The stickers give them something to do. And if your household includes a Disney fan (or three), having a favorite villain to hunt for is a pretty fun way to turn a regular meal into an event.

A small note for parents of very young children: these are villains, and some of the artwork shows their faces in dramatic, moody styles. Most kids who know these characters love them, but if you’ve got a little one who finds Maleficent a bit much, you might want to pick the bucket together. It’s a good chance to let them choose a favorite and see if they’re brave enough to take home a villain.

I think this is a clever tie-in, and it makes sense for the season. Disney Villains are a natural fit for Halloween, and Boo Buckets already had a built-in fan base. Putting the two together gives families a reason to get excited, and the stickers add a layer of personalization that I think will make these buckets more than a one-night prop.

The one thing I’d say is to treat all of this as unconfirmed until McDonald’s says otherwise. The details look credible, but we’re still waiting for an official announcement, and plans like this can change. So I wouldn’t promise anyone a villain just yet. If you’re in the “set a reminder for October 20” camp, that’s perfectly reasonable, but I’d check the McDonald’s app or your local restaurant before you make a special trip.

And if you’re wondering which one I’d pick? Scar, hands down, because that orange and flame design is the one I’d want sitting on my shelf. But I’ve also got a soft spot for Ursula, because who doesn’t love a good sea witch? Honestly, the real answer is that I’d probably try to collect all five, and that’s exactly what McDonald’s is hoping for.

So tell me, which villain are you rooting for? Or do you prefer the classic generic Halloween Boo Buckets? Let me know in the comments. And keep checking back at Theme Park Scope, because as soon as McDonald’s makes this official, you’ll get the details here.