McDonald's Boo Buckets return Oct. 20 with five Disney villain designs

What McDonald's announced

McDonald's said on Thursday, Oct. 15, that its Halloween Boo Buckets will return on Tuesday, Oct. 20, this time in a collaboration with Disney. The company's menu page lists the buckets as available at participating US restaurants for a limited time while supplies last. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

"This spooky szn, we're entering our villain era," McDonald's said in its announcement, according to Complex. "Our iconic Boo Buckets are teaming up with Disney to bring the ones you love to fear to a McDonald's near you." ^{[5] [3]}

The five designs

The 2026 lineup features Jafar from Aladdin, Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Scar from The Lion King, Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Each bucket has a villain-inspired lid and comes with character stickers, according to McDonald's and The Toy Insider. ^{[1] [4] [5]}

Disney fan site Attractions Magazine reported the colors as red for Jafar, purple for Ursula, green for Maleficent and orange for Scar, with Cruella's in white. NBC Chicago described the Cruella bucket as black and white. Images of the designs circulated on social media earlier in the week before the official announcement. ^{[6] [3]}

Delish reported that this is the first movie-themed Boo Bucket set since the pails came back in 2022. ^[2]

How to get one

The buckets come with the purchase of a Happy Meal. Neither McDonald's nor the outlets covering the launch gave a price, which varies by restaurant, and the company did not say how long the promotion will last or how many buckets were made. Not every participating location is guaranteed to carry all five designs. ^{[1] [3] [4] [5]}

A Halloween tradition since 1986

McDonald's introduced Boo Buckets in 1986 with pumpkin-style pails. October 2016 was the last time they were available in the US before a six-year gap, which ended when the company brought them back in 2022, according to Delish and NBC Chicago. ^{[2] [3]}

They have returned each fall since. McDonald's records show the 2023 set launched Oct. 17 with monster, skeleton, mummy and vampire designs, the 2024 set launched Oct. 15, and the 2025 set launched Oct. 21 and added new cat and zombie designs along with stickers. ^[1]