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McDonald’s will offer Disney toys with Happy Meals again

Ljubljana, Slovenia - September 3, 2011: Close-up of McDonalds outdoor sign with typical rounded yellow M letter against cloudless blue sky. Sign is positioned on the left side of image.
Ljubljana, Slovenia - September 3, 2011: Close-up of McDonalds outdoor sign with typical rounded yellow M letter against cloudless blue sky. Sign is positioned on the left side of image.
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The Daily Meal

Sorry kiddos - you might not see cheeseburgers on the Happy Meal menu anymore as of this summer, but McDonald’s toys are about to get a magical makeover. The fast food chain just announced a new multi-year contract with the Walt Disney Company driven by the Golden Arches’ initiative to improve the nutritional standards of its kids menu.

The two companies partnered long ago, but went their separate ways in 2006 when Disney decided against renewing the deal. According to Reuters, McDonald’s didn’t align with Disney’s hoped-for nutritional standards, but since the company has promised to slim down, things have changed.

Starting this summer, tiny customers can expect cross-promotional campaigns in the U.S. for select movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Live Action, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. The new alliance kicks off in June with toys inspired by Incredibles 2 followed by Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.

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“McDonald’s and Disney are two beloved family favorites and together with this alliance, we will create memorable moments for families,” McDonald’s USA chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley said in a release. “As we continue to build a better McDonald’s, this relationship combines ingenuity in food and entertainment to encourage more balanced meal selections in our Happy Meals and inspire families in fun and innovative ways.”

In addition to kid cheeseburgers getting the ax, all children’s items offered on menu boards will be in line with Disney’s nutrition guidelines - a 600-calorie cap, with less than 10 percent of calories coming from saturated fat, less than 10 percent from sugar, and under 650 milligrams of sodium. Americans can expect these changes by June 2018. Plans to implement the initiative nationwide are expected by 2022.

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For more on the Illinois-based chain where one man has eaten two Big Macs every day for 46 years, here are 11 things you didn’t know about McDonald’s.

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