We're almost finished with summer. Most families are trying to get their vacations out of the way so that they can prepare for the next school season to begin. Most families head to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for their vacations. I remember the mid-to-late 90s, when WDW had the heaviest television advertising with their "Remember the Magic" ad campaign.
While I can't offer my readers trips to Walt Disney World, I can provide a taste of "The Happiest Place on Earth," with these four cups sold by McDonald's to commemorate Disney's millennium advertising campaign.
There's a little bit of personal history with these premiums: Back when I started the blog in 2012, the EPCOT cup was one of the first things I posted. In my part of town (the Evergreen Park/Oak Lawn area), this one was the most common, and the other three were significantly harder to find.
It's interesting that only Walt Disney World celebrated the millennium in any significant way; one would have expected Disneyland to follow suit. Perhaps Disneyland was reserving the celebration for the then-upcoming California Adventure theme park? Whatever the case, WDW celebrated the year 2000 in a big way, with promotions and merchandise everywhere (possibly enough to warrant a blog in and of itself!) and, best of all, a gigantic replica of the wizard's cap worn by Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice sitting right next to EPCOT's Spaceship Earth attraction.
...And, of course, McDonald's offered these four gorgeous French-glass cups, one for each of Walt Disney World's theme parks: the Magic Kingdom; EPCOT; the Disney/MGM Hollywood Studio; and, most recently at the time, Animal Kingdom.
These vessels are beautifully designed. I break them up into three parts (I'll tell you why "three" in a moment):
- Mickey illustration
- Park image
- Park summary
The main side depicts Mickey, first in Sorcerer's Apprentice garb; then in a "director's" outfit with red beret, shirt, and shoes, and blue pants. In his hands he holds first a magic wand; then a director's bullhorn ("AC-TION!") Behind him on the one hand, there's a blue background to highlight the magic streaking of the wand; on the other hand, there's an old-fashioned film camera and a clapboard.
To the right of the cups, there's a symbolic "image" of the park depicted. EPCOT's is Spaceship Earth, with Mickey ears and surrounded by fireworks; Disney Studios' is the water tower with Mickey ears and starbursts around it.
Opposite the "park" images, EPCOT's cup has a depiction of the World Showcase, with the Eiffel Tower, what appears to be the very top of a Japanese pagoda, and the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Disney Studios' cup features the Hollywood and Vine street signs, an electric guitar whose neck seems to be made of rubber, and the Hollywood Hotel, site of the Studios' signature attraction, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which I believe is being retrofitted into a Guardians of the Galaxy ride.
Next we have the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, then WDW's newest attraction. It opened in...I believe it was 1998.
On the one hand; we have Classic Mickey, dancing against a background of Mickey logos and fireworks; on the other hand, Mickey is wearing an old-fashioned safari outfit, complete with pith helmet and binoculars.
To the right of the cups, we have first Cinderella's Castle for the Magic Kingdom; and the Tree of Life for Animal Kingdom. The "Mickey Ears" are not quite as well-integrated here as they were on the EPCOT and Disney Studios cups, but one could argue that the Magic Kingdom's iteration makes the tableau resemble the "segmented castle" logo which debuted in the mid-1980s; on Animal Kingdom, it looks a little bit like a sunset (or sunrise).
Magic Kingdom's cup features Dumbo in the foreground, with the Space Mountain building in the background and the Mad Hatter's tea-cups just behind the airborne pachyderm. Animal Kingdom's cup depicts a safari bus trekking along a boardwalk with giraffes behind it and what appears to be a Godzilla head just in front of the bus in the lower right-hand corner.
Now, the fourth side:
All cups share two things in common: First, the 2000 logo, which features a "Hidden Mickey" within the three zeroes. On top of Mickey's head, two figures hold hands and wave streamers in the air. I had another example of this logo earlier in the Museum's history.
Finally, the inside:
After you've finished your drink, you are treated to the Golden Arches, surrounded by the legend, "Walt Disney World---Celebration---2000---Walt Disney World."
These lovely cups serve as a time capsule in a more bittersweet way. French-cut glassware fell out of vogue at the turn of the 21st Century. McDonald's offered them for many properties, including the live action Flintstones movie; Batman Forever (after Batman Returns, McDonald's didn't want to take a chance on Happy Meal toys!); and the WDW Millennium. The only other property I know of past 2000 was Shrek Forever After, whose cups became controversial after high levels of cadmium were discovered in their chemical makeup. The only non-McDonald's promotion was Burger King's collection of goblets from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. These had removable bases made of soft rubber, and hidden LEDs in the bases made the cups light up.
I think the French-cut glass crystal trend finally died because the cups were fragile as heck. My old Flintstones ones all broke after a few years of service, and the only Batman ones to survive were Robin and Two-Face--the handle on Riddler's cup broke shortly after I got it, and Batman's broke a few years later. As for the Lord of the Rings ones...forget it! Those broke after about six months.
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