McDonald’s Boo Buckets Are Entering Their Villain Era: Here’s What Arrives Oct. 20
The villains are taking over the Happy Meal, and this time they are coming with stickers instead of elaborate revenge plans. McDonald’s Disney Villains Boo Buckets arrive Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at participating U.S. restaurants, bringing five character-inspired designs to the chain’s Halloween lineup. The collection features Jafar, Ursula, Scar, Cruella, and Maleficent. The buckets will be available for a limited time while supplies last, so the announced start date doesn’t guarantee every location will have every character throughout Halloween week.
McDonald’s confirmed the collection in its October 15 U.S. Menu Spotter update, moving the news beyond the earlier online speculation. “This spooky szn, we’re entering our villain era,” the company wrote. “Our iconic Boo Buckets are teaming up with Disney to bring the ones you love to fear to a McDonald’s near you!” That is the central twist for 2026: the familiar seasonal pails are returning with a coordinated Disney lineup rather than the ghost, pumpkin and other Halloween faces featured in recent years.
Five Disney Villains Are Getting the Boo Bucket Treatment
The character selection brings together antagonists from five different Disney films. Jafar represents Aladdin, Ursula comes from The Little Mermaid, and Scar brings The Lion King into the collection. Cruella draws from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, while Maleficent represents Sleeping Beauty. It is a lineup that spans very different animated worlds, united here by one shared assignment: making a Happy Meal container look a little more wicked.
The buckets also have a distinct color scheme. Scar’s is orange, Ursula’s is purple, Jafar’s is red, Maleficent’s is green, and Cruella’s is white with black detailing, according to published coverage of the designs. Those differences give collectors more to distinguish than the character artwork alone. They also mean the full collection includes five separate designs not one bucket featuring the entire villain roster.
McDonald’s says the extras are part of the presentation, too. “Each bucket includes a villain-inspired lid and stickers featuring iconic characters and details true fans will recognize,” the company wrote in its announcement. The stickers let customers decorate the pails, while the lids extend the character theme beyond the bucket itself. The announcement doesn’t provide a detailed checklist of every sticker or a full description of each lid, so there is no need to invent hidden features to make the collection sound more elaborate.
The campaign leans into each villain’s personality rather than treating the designs as interchangeable Halloween decorations. McDonald’s describes the range with phrases including “fabulous flair,” “fierce ambition,” and “sea-witch swagger.” That language is promotional, but it explains the creative direction: recognizable Disney personalities are doing the spooky-season work. The company has confirmed all five characters, so fans don’t have to rely on leaked photos to figure out the final lineup.
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How to Get One and What the Meal Actually Includes
The launch begins October 20, and participating locations nationwide offer the buckets with a Happy Meal. They replace the traditional Happy Meal box while supplies last, according to USA TODAY’s reporting. That is an important distinction for anyone picturing a separate souvenir purchase: the confirmed offer is a Boo Buckets Happy Meal. The company’s announcement does not establish a nationwide bucket-only purchasing policy or guarantee that customers can buy an entire collection in one transaction.
The food remains familiar. Reported entrée options include a hamburger, with cheese available to add, or a four-piece or six-piece Chicken McNuggets meal. The meal also includes fries, apple slices, and a drink, and customers can order in-store or through the McDonald’s app. The headline attraction is the Disney packaging; the announcement does not introduce a new villain-themed burger, special nugget flavor, or exclusive Halloween sauce.
No single national price applies to the promotion. McDonald’s told USA TODAY that individual restaurants determine Boo Bucket prices, which may vary by location. That means you should check the selected restaurant’s current menu before ordering, rather than assuming a price quoted elsewhere applies to your meal. Likewise, the confirmed lineup doesn’t guarantee that every participating restaurant will have all five designs available when you visit.
McDonald’s has not announced a fixed end date for the promotion, and the official language is “for only a limited time” and “while supplies last.” Those phrases shouldn’t be taken as a prediction that the buckets will sell out immediately or remain available until October 31. Customers seeking one particular character should check with their restaurant about current stock. That is more useful than promising a collection strategy the company has not confirmed.
A Halloween Throwback With a New Cast of Troublemakers
Boo Buckets have a longer history than this Disney collaboration. McDonald’s first offered the pails in 1986, with an original lineup of three orange buckets featuring different scary expressions. They have returned periodically since then, with designs changing across the years. NBC Chicago notes that the Halloween buckets returned in 2022 after a hiatus, reconnecting the seasonal promotion with customers who remembered earlier versions.
The most recent collections show how often the concept gets a refresh. McDonald’s 2024 lineup used monster designs in white, orange, green and blue, with stickers for customization. In 2025, the company offered Ghost, Pumpkin and Goblin designs alongside Cat and Zombie. This year keeps the five-design approach but swaps those general Halloween characters for Disney’s Jafar, Ursula, Scar, Cruella, and Maleficent a clear theme change without abandoning the recognizable pail format.
For families planning a seasonal Happy Meal stop, the essential details are straightforward: it starts October 20, participating locations are the destination, and availability depends on supplies. For collectors, five designs and character-themed extras drive the appeal, but the announcement doesn’t guarantee a complete set. McDonald’s has given its Halloween tradition a new cast of scene-stealers. This time, the scheming is on the bucket, and the fries are still inside.
