If you’ve never gotten sucked into Disney’s popcorn bucket phenomenon, we’re about to change that. These aren’t just snack containers. They’re genuinely well-designed collectibles, some with lights, sounds, and moving parts, and they sell out fast enough that guests will line up for hours just to get one. Here’s our latest roundup of what’s currently out there and where to find it. Big update this time: the 70th Anniversary lineup has wrapped, a new Hatbox Ghost bucket dropped for D23 Day, and Halloween Time merchandise has arrived early and in force.
Just Dropped: The 2026 Halloween Lineup
Disney unloaded a full wave of Halloween novelties on August 18, ahead of Halloween Time’s official kickoff. This is the biggest single release of the year so far, with 11 items total. Here’s what’s actually worth tracking down.
Halloween Popcorn Bucket and matching Halloween Travel Tumbler. These two are designed as a set. The artwork wraps around with the Disney Villains (Ursula, the Evil Queen, Maleficent) looming over a cauldron on one side, Carthay Circle and Pixar Pal-A-Round in the background, and Mickey & Friends in Halloween costumes on the other, with a Haunted Mansion Holiday panel tying it together. Limit 10 per person, per transaction. Available at popcorn carts throughout both parks, with the tumbler also available at several Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian locations.
Vampire Mickey Mouse Bucket. A classic character-forward release, widely distributed across both parks plus the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian. Limit two per person, per transaction.
Winnie the Pooh Hunny Bee Sipper. One of the most widely available items in this wave, showing up at churro carts, fruit carts, and quick service spots across both parks. Limit two per person, per transaction.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington Gravestone Bucket and The Mayor Sipper. Available as a bundle or separately. Found at Harbour Galley, Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree, Stage Door Café, and The Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland Park, Popcorn at Grizzly Peak Airfield in DCA, and the Grand Californian Great Hall Cart. Limit 10 per person, per transaction.
Oogie Boogie Moon Glow Cube. Limit two per person, per transaction, at select locations in both parks.
Magic Key Ursula Straw Clip. New Magic Key exclusive novelty, limit one per person, per Magic Key pass, per transaction. Widely available at carts across both parks for passholders.
Pain and Panic Straw Clip. A Hercules-themed pickup, limit two per person, per transaction.
Coming soon: Hades Glow Cube and a Halloween Huey, Dewey, and Louie Bottle Topper are both confirmed but not yet available. Worth checking back on if you’re planning a trip in the next few weeks.
Oogie Boogie Bash exclusive: The Headless Horseman Bucket is currently only purchasable by guests attending Oogie Boogie Bash, Disneyland’s ticketed Halloween party. It’s not available to regular day guests at this time. Found at Hollywood Lounge, Popcorn at Grizzly Peak Airfield, Popcorn at Pixar Pier, and a few other DCA locations during party hours.
New: Hatbox Ghost Popcorn Bucket
Disneyland’s other big August release, this one landed August 13 to coincide with D23 Day. It’s a dark blue bucket shaped like the hatbox from the Haunted Mansion’s Hatbox Ghost, with a clear window on one side and an embossed Haunted Mansion logo on the other. A lever at the base rotates a door open so the ghost’s glowing blue head becomes visible, mimicking the appearing and disappearing effect from the attraction itself. The lid opens to reveal the popcorn compartment, with the ghost’s head visible from the top-down view too.
It’s available at Harbour Galley, Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree, Popcorn at Frontierland, and Popcorn at New Orleans Square in Disneyland Park, and at Popcorn at Grizzly Peak Airfield and Popcorn Near Carthay Circle Restaurant in DCA. Limit two per person, per transaction, while supplies last. No discounts apply, including for Magic Key holders.
Still Around: Bullseye Popcorn Bucket
The Bullseye Popcorn Bucket, which debuted June 18, 2026 timed to the release of Toy Story 5, is still floating around. It’s a full three-dimensional sculpt of Woody’s horse, complete with saddle and bridle, and the popcorn opening sits right where the saddle would go. It comes with a Toy Story-themed crossbody strap so you can wear it around the park. Retails for $26.99, limited to two per person, per transaction, while supplies last. Given how much new competition has landed on cart shelves this month, don’t count on this one sticking around much longer.
Magic Key Exclusives
King Arthur Carrousel Popcorn Bucket: Released May 14, 2026 exclusively for Magic Key holders. Designed by Disney artist Ashley Taylor, it spins, lights up, and plays “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” Limit one per Magic Key holder, per transaction. This one has held on longer than most exclusives, but refills tied to it wrapped up August 17, so treat it as on its way out.
Magic Key Ursula Straw Clip is the newest Magic Key exclusive, part of the August 18 Halloween wave above, available at a long list of carts across both parks for passholders.
Still Available: Star Wars Novelties
May’s Star Wars Day (May the 4th) releases are still floating around the parks in limited quantities, and several are worth grabbing if you can still find them:
- Salvaged Protocol Droid Bucket ($27.99), a C-3PO-inspired design with light-up eyes, resembling the character’s disassembled state from The Empire Strikes Back
- Bantha Sipper, featuring the creature’s shaggy coat, spiraling horns, and built-in sound effects, first revealed at Destination D23
- Jabba’s Sail Barge Popcorn Bucket ($30.00), modeled after the Khetanna from Return of the Jedi, with light-up elements and hidden character details worth discovering
- BB-8 Sipper ($16.29), available at ABC Commissary-style locations in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
- Bubo Wamba Family Farms Cup ($15.29), available at the Milk Stand
- Tauntaun Bucket ($33.49), available at Kat Saka’s Kettle, the popcorn cart near Star Trader, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge beverage carts
These are tied to limited supply runs, so availability varies week to week. Given the volume of new Halloween product now competing for cart shelf space, we’d check early in the day rather than assuming any of these are still around by afternoon.
Seasonal and Character Sippers
Louis Sipper, inspired by the alligator from The Princess and the Frog, has been available since June 1 at several locations including Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree, Jolly Holiday Bakery Café, Refreshment Corner, and Tiana’s Palace.
Bluey Sipper ($22.49) and a smaller Bluey Popcorn Bucket ($15.25) are both still around, tied to the ongoing “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” show at Fantasyland Theatre.
Jiminy Cricket Sipper, available since January 8, 2026, is still in rotation at a long list of locations across both parks, including Alien Pizza Planet, the Bayou Country Fruit Cart, and multiple churro carts.
Skyway Straw Clip ($7.99), available at Troubadour Tavern, is a smaller and more affordable option if you want something collectible without the full bucket price tag.
Cars 20th Anniversary Lightning McQueen Bucket features a detailed sculpt of Lightning McQueen (car number 95, Rust-eze livery), with built-in lights and a pull-back-and-go rolling function. Fits the theming perfectly if you’re headed into Cars Land at DCA.
Sam Eagle Popcorn Bucket ($18.79) is sold beyond just popcorn carts, it’s also available at four different stores across Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.
The 70th Anniversary Lineup Has Ended
The Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration officially wrapped on August 9, 2026, and the anniversary-themed novelties that were tied to it, including the Stainless Steel Tumbler, the Light Up Mickey Balloon Bucket, and the Abominable Snowman Sipper, are no longer part of the regular lineup. Some locations may still have leftover stock while supplies last, but don’t plan a visit around finding one. If you’ve been holding out on one of these, check secondhand marketplaces instead of the parks at this point.
A Little History: How Popcorn Buckets Became a Whole Phenomenon
If you’re newer to Disney parks and this all feels a little intense for a snack container, we get it. But there’s a real reason this has become such a big deal. Disney’s popcorn buckets have evolved dramatically from the simple souvenir buckets of a decade ago into genuinely impressive collectible pieces, some featuring lights, sound effects, moving parts, and highly detailed sculpting tied to specific characters or attractions. The trend has grown large enough that it’s spread beyond the parks entirely. Major movie theater chains now release their own sculpted, themed collectible buckets tied to big film releases, many of them Disney, Pixar, or Marvel-connected, which shows just how far this particular collecting culture has spread.
For Disneyland specifically, buckets tied to major milestones (like the now-wrapped 70th Anniversary lineup) or major seasonal events (like the new Halloween wave) tend to generate the most demand and the longest lines. If you’ve ever wondered why people are willing to wait an hour just for a popcorn container, it’s usually because that specific release is either genuinely rare, tied to a beloved franchise, or both.
A Quick FAQ
Do popcorn buckets come filled with popcorn the first time you buy them? Yes. Every new bucket purchase includes a first fill of popcorn, and most (though not all) bucket styles are eligible for discounted refills at any popcorn cart in the resort for the remainder of your visit, and sometimes on future visits as well, depending on the specific bucket.
Can I buy a popcorn bucket without buying popcorn? Generally, no. Popcorn buckets are sold as a package with their first fill included, not as standalone merchandise, though pricing structures can occasionally vary by item.
Are Magic Key exclusive buckets available to purchase for non-passholders? No. Buckets specifically marked as Magic Key exclusives, like the Ursula Straw Clip and the King Arthur Carrousel bucket, require an active Magic Key annual pass to purchase, and are typically limited to one per passholder per transaction.
Is the Headless Horseman Bucket available to all guests? Not right now. It’s currently limited to guests with a ticket to Oogie Boogie Bash, Disneyland’s after-hours Halloween party. Disney has occasionally opened party-exclusive items to general admission later in a season, but there’s no confirmation of that happening this year.
What happens to unsold popcorn buckets when a promotion ends? This varies. Some limited releases simply disappear once they sell out and never return, like the viral Pixar Pal-A-Round Bucket from DCA’s 25th anniversary, or the 70th Anniversary lineup that just wrapped. Others may see occasional restocks depending on demand and remaining inventory. We generally recommend treating any release as “buy it now or risk missing it,” rather than assuming a restock will happen.
Is it worth buying a bucket just for the popcorn, not the collectible value? Honestly, for families who go through a lot of park snacks across a multi-day trip, yes. Discounted refills across a several-day visit can genuinely offset the higher upfront cost compared to buying individual popcorn servings each time, especially for larger families.
Our Tips for Actually Getting One
Go early, especially for new releases. The most in-demand buckets tend to sell out fastest in the first few days after launch, and often within a single day during busy periods. With 11 new Halloween items and a Hatbox Ghost bucket all landing within the same week, cart inventory is moving fast right now.
Check the Disneyland app for current cart locations. Popcorn cart inventory shifts, and a bucket available at one location in the morning might be sold out by afternoon while a different cart nearby still has stock.
Don’t assume a bucket will restock. Some of the most popular releases, like the viral Pixar Pal-A-Round Bucket, sold out and simply never came back. If you see something you want, we’d grab it rather than waiting for a “better time.”
Consider the practical side, not just the collectible side. Every popcorn bucket comes filled with popcorn on first purchase and can be refilled at any popcorn cart in the resort for a discounted refill price for the rest of your trip (and on future visits, for some bucket types). If you’re planning multiple park days, a bucket can actually save you money on snacks, not just serve as a souvenir.
What’s Coming Next
Halloween Time merchandise arrived earlier and heavier than usual this year, with 11 new items dropping in a single wave on August 18. Two more are already confirmed and coming soon: the Hades Glow Cube and a Huey, Dewey, and Louie Bottle Topper. We’d also watch for the Headless Horseman Bucket to potentially open up to general admission guests later in the season, though that’s not confirmed yet. We’ll keep this list updated as new pieces land and as items from this wave start selling out.