Disney to remove McDonald’s spots from California theme park

Walt Disney Co. is eliminating McDonald’s Corp. fast-food restaurants at its Disneyland resort.

Three McDonald’s locations at the Anaheim park will close Sept. 2 as part of planned refurbishments, Disneyland spokeswoman Lisa Haines said today.

Disney, seeking to promote healthier eating habits among children, said in 2006 it would license its characters to sell fruits and vegetables. The company also has stopped promoting its films with Happy Meals from Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s. Disney said in 2006 it would remove foods containing so-called transfats, an artery-clogging ingredient now banned in New York City, from its theme parks by the end of 2007.

“We are considering a number of concepts that will offer our guests a wide variety of food options,” Haines said. “Disney’s parks continue to have a relationship with McDonald’s.”

McDonald’s spokesman William Whitman confirmed the Disneyland outlets will close. Walt Disney World, near Orlando, Fla., will continue to operate three restaurants that serve McDonald’s burgers and fries, Haines and Whitman said.

Kid’s meals at fast-food restaurants including McDonald’s are too high in calories and fat, the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest said in a report this week.