Mattel, Disney Put Their Toys, Rides Together : Agreement: The toy maker will sponsor theme park rides and will develop toys based on Disney characters such as Bambi, Dumbo and Pinocchio.

Sorry, Ken. Nowadays, Barbie wants to go steady with Mickey Mouse.

Expanding on a relationship begun four years ago, Mattel Inc. and the Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that the toy maker will sponsor theme park rides and will develop a new collection of toys based on Disney characters.

The deal will allow El Segundo-based Mattel to add Bambi, Dumbo and Pinocchio to the list of Disney characters it makes for infants and preschoolers. That particular Mattel line is expected to produce $160 million in sales in 1991.

Burbank-based Disney also said it has extended a toy licensing agreement with Mattel for another 10 years and will explore other product ideas. Financial terms of the agreements, which take effect Jan. 1, were not disclosed.

“The combination of the magic of Disney with the product innovation of Mattel has been an outstanding success to date and this expanded alliance will result in further success,” Mattel Chairman John W. Amerman said in a statement.

The toy maker said it has had success with some special Disney movie items this year, including stuffed animals based on “101 Dalmatians” and dolls from “Sleeping Beauty” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Mattel struck a separate deal to sponsor the Autopia driving ride at Euro Disneyland, the huge theme park scheduled to open in April near Paris. It will also sponsor the “It’s a Small World” rides at Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.

The Autopia ride will probably be tied to Mattel’s line of Hot Wheels miniature toy cars or its Corgi toy cars made in England, said Donna Gibbs, a Mattel spokeswoman. The Euro Disneyland sponsorship is important to Mattel because Europe is the toy maker’s largest foreign market. About half of Mattel’s revenue of $1.5 billion in 1990 came from foreign sales, she added.

Gary M. Jacobson, an analyst for Kidder, Peabody & Co. in New York, said the deals will benefit both companies.

“For Mattel, it helps them benefit from their association with Disney, and for Disney, it helps them get more involved in consumer products,” he said. “I think the relationship first established in 1987 was just the beginning. Might the next step be a Barbie Adventure at Disney?”