Get ready to Ka-chow your way to the nearest popcorn cart, because Disney Experiences just announced a popcorn bucket that Cars fans have been waiting twenty years for.
Disney Eats revealed the all-new Lightning McQueen Popcorn Bucket on Instagram this week, and the reaction from the parks community has been nothing short of electric. The bucket is launching at both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort on June 9, a date that happens to mark exactly two decades since Pixar’s Cars first hit theaters back in 2006.
And yes, before you ask: the wheels actually roll.
This is not your average themed popcorn container. Disney has gone all out with the design on this one. The bucket is built to look like Lightning McQueen himself, decked out with racing decals, light-up headlights, and glowing eyes. Disney’s promotional footage shows the little guy gliding across a flat surface before the popcorn compartment is revealed, and it is genuinely impressive for a snack vessel.
Disney Eats accompanied the reveal with a caption that leaned straight into the anniversary energy: “Kachow! Celebrate 20 years of Cars with the Lightning McQueen Bucket, racing into Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort on June 9!
The comments section quickly filled up with fans declaring it a must-have and making very serious plans to be at the parks on launch day. There were also plenty of jokes about Disney’s uncanny ability to separate guests from their money, which is really just affectionate at this point.
The June 9 launch lands right on the Cars franchise’s 20th anniversary, and Disney is clearly treating the milestone as a major moment. The timing connects to a much larger investment in the Cars world within the parks. Disney has already confirmed that Magic Kingdom Park will be getting a Cars-inspired expansion called Piston Peak National Park, which will bring an entirely new themed area to Frontierland. Construction is still in early stages, but releases like this popcorn bucket make it clear that Lightning McQueen is far from fading into the background.
The bucket is limited to two per customer, so if you are planning to grab one on launch day, an early start is probably a smart move. These have every hallmark of a sell-out: a beloved character, a milestone anniversary, working light-up features, and the kind of novelty factor that makes Disney collectibles so hard to resist.
Mark June 9 on your calendar. Ka-chow.
Will you be buying this new popcorn bucket on June 9? Let us know in the comments down below!
