The Story Behind the Cult Food Phenomenon That Is Disney Popcorn

This ain’t your standard movie theater snack. At Disney Resorts from Anaheim to Tokyo, here’s why popcorn inspires fans to stand in line for hours.

Americans visiting Tokyo Disney Resort for the first time are often confused as to why everyone's in line for popcorn. Yes, popcorn. Hours in line for popcorn. Some queues have even issued FastPasses in the past to manage crowds. Stateside, fans wait hours not just for popcorn, but for popcorn buckets. Because popcorn isn't just a snack at Disney Parks. It's a lifestyle—from the dozens of funky flavors to bedazzled popcorn purses. Here's a look at Disney’s wild world of theme park popcorn, from bucket designers to chefs to the fans who have made it a thing.

The Seeds of Disney’s Popcorn Kernel Craze

Popcorn’s been popping since the opening day of Disneyland in 1955: Walt Disney himself was photographed on Main Streetsnacking on “piping hot popcorn.” Today, more than 500,000 pounds of popcorn are sold at Disneyland Resort each year. Walt Disney World Resort sells about 385,000 pounds a year. And it’s so much more than a carton of buttered kernels.

There are specialty flavors, such as The Outpost Mix (think spicy Fruity Pebbles) at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge or the beloved Werther’s Original-coated popcorn at Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion at EPCOT. Seasonal offerings pop up during festivals and holidays, from Birthday Cake to Buffalo Bleu Cheese. There’s even a popcorn bar, the Kernel Kitchen, inside Main Street Confectionery in the Magic Kingdom where you can create your very own custom popcorn blend.

But Who Pops All That Popcorn? 

Like attractions or decor, the Disney is in the details. And even popcorn is intentionally sourced from a local artisan. If you’ve snacked on popcorn at Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, thank Neal and Minetta Crosier of Popcorn Junkie. The Orlando small business supplies Disney World with about 1,200 gallons of popped popcorn each week and is responsible for flavors such as Better Butter, Cheesy Cheddar, and Crispy Caramel at Magic Kingdom in addition to EPCOT’s Fruity Mix and seasonal flavors such as the Strawberry Crunch they released at Disney for National Popcorn Day this year. They’ve even begun supplying gourmet popcorn to Disney Cruise Line.

“I never thought I would make popcorn for a living,” says Neal Crosier. “I used to work in industrial engineering for a major manufacturing company. It was because of my wife, Minetta, and our love for popcorn that we started down this path. Being from Chicago where popcorn is very popular, we decided to turn dreams into reality and form a small gourmet popcorn business.” The Crosiers began working with Disney in 2019–since then, he says, business has grown “bigger than we ever imagined.”

Crosier says he starts with a non-GMO kernel varietal known as mushroom popcorn (named for the circular shape it pops into–not any relation to the fungi). “From there, we produce a variety of popcorn flavors, from standard butter flavor to chocolate with candy gems popcorn,” he says. “Currently with Disney we have produced approximately 30 different flavors. It’s a great feeling seeing the smiles on guests’ faces and knowing that we had a part in creating memories and sharing in the magic!”

The Magic of Disney Popcorn Buckets

Walt may have enjoyed that popcorn from a paper box back in the day, but those days are long gone at Disney Resorts. (Though, Disneyland did bring back the retro OG in 2020 to nostalgic acclaim.) One of the biggest draws for this humble snack is the premium vessels you can buy to tote around the parks. What started as a basic plastic pail has exploded into a designer series of shaped buckets, from Mickey balloons to Christmas carousels.

In fact, popcorn buckets have become one of Disney’s most sought-after souvenirs, with collectors paying twice as much on sites like eBay for exclusive or sold-out designs. But no one was prepared for the hype around 2022’s Figment Premium Popcorn Bucket at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, which saw lines as long as four to five hours. Not even the most popular rides at Disney World, such as Avatar Flight of Passage or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, typically see lines this long.

The rainbow popcorn helped, but guests would have waited in line for the $25 bucket alone. Because Figment (the small purple dragon at the heart of the Journey Into Imagination with Figment attraction) is a big deal at EPCOT. It’s a fringe character that separates casual Disney fans from theme park pros. In recent years, Figment has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity and Disney designers pay attention.

“We knew it would be very popular with our Disney fans,” says Rick DeCicco, proprietor and business relations manager of festivals at Disney World. “When our team worked on that original design it was a labor of love. The guest response was beyond what we imagined!”

DeCicco has been with Disney for more than 25 years and leads the creative content, logistics, and operations for all EPCOT festivals. And for this year’s Festival of the Arts, he brought the Figment popcorn bucket back better than ever.

“For the 2024 event we wanted to dream big and develop something that was a complete departure from anything we had done before,” he says. “Working with Walt Disney Imagineering, we looked at the incredible art and architecture right here at EPCOT for inspiration. One of EPCOT’s most iconic structures, the Imagination! pavilion, inspired the design.” The team used original architectural references to get the dimensions of the glass atrium just right for the new popcorn bucket, he says, and incorporated colorful LED lighting, a first. Figment, the star of the show, sits atop a rainbow.

Tapping Walt Disney Imagineering (the creative house that dreams up actual rides and attractions) to help design a popcorn bucket is a level of hype most merchandise doesn’t see. The buckets even get the full storyboard treatment; the project typically begins at least a year in advance.         

“For our festivals when developing novelty items, we start with the story we want to tell first,” says DeCicco. “After getting the big idea, we like to push for what we have never seen or done previously, thinking without constraints or limitations. We want to create designs that appeal to all audiences, but especially our superfans.”

From moving components to glow-in-the-dark features, Disney popcorn buckets have become more and more over the top. And DeCicco isn’t stopping anytime soon. “We are always working on something new,” he says. “No hints right now, but I will say we can’t wait for our guests to see what’s next.”  

Disney Popcorn’s Cult Appeal in Asia

Disney Parks in Asia dial the popcorn obsession to an 11, and no park does flavors like Tokyo Disney Resort, which is owned and operated by Oriental Land Company. With more than 30 flavors and 200 popcorn buckets to date, these unique, exclusive pops, such as Soy Sauce Butter or Green Tea White Chocolate, have become a bucket list item for theme park foodies and diehard Disney fans.

“We have been serving popcorn since Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983,” says Mr. Nakamura, a Cast Member in Tokyo Disney Resort's Food Division. “It was loved in the U.S. Disney parks, so we wanted to serve it in Japan as well. We believe that popcorn has become one of the park’s most popular food menu items today because many guests have embraced it as one of the menu items that can be casually enjoyed while strolling through the park.”

Tokyo Disneyland regular Chris Nilghe of TDR Explorer agrees it’s a Disney must-do. “My favorite is the Honey Popcorn and Black Pepper Popcorn,” he says. “I recommend trying those two. Another one to try is Curry, which is popular with many people. Also, caramel popcorn hits differently in Tokyo, and I think it's the best version of caramel popcorn anywhere.”

Nilghe, who covers all the Disney Parks in Asia for his site and social channels, says the flavors across parks change often. “If you see something you want to try, make sure you do because it may not be there when or if you come back!”

The same rule applies to popcorn buckets, especially ones featuring fringe park characters not often seen in the U.S. “Duffy and Friends are massively popular, and any time there's a new popcorn bucket with one of those characters, it almost always draws a crowd,” Nilghe says. “I see it more at Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland.”

The collectible craze is just as popular in Asia, where bucket designs are incredibly intricate, from a Tangled-inspired lantern to a stained glass window motif à la Beauty and the Beast. Sure, it’s plastic. But it’s a statement nonetheless. “I notice many people use them as accessories rather than popcorn buckets,” says Nilghe. “They can complement an outfit or look beautiful on a shelf.”

Disney Popcorn, But Make It Fashion

In the U.S., park guests—in large part thanks to influencer culture—are embracing the idea of popcorn buckets as accessories. On social media, #DisneyStyle feeds feature popcorn bucket purses, especially those designs large enough to hold a phone, keys, and wallet. But fun and funky turned into fashion when Miriam Kenly of The Churro Fund soared to popularity after posting a video of her hand-bedazzled Mickey-shaped popcorn bucket to her social media feeds. The entire piece was covered in crystals: popcorn haute couture.

“Popcorn at Disneyland is made with pure magic and has always been a favorite snack,” Keny says. “But the popcorn buckets just bring it to a new magical level with how cute they are!”

Kenly started collecting popcorn buckets in 2019 and immediately knew she wanted to embellish them. “I had a Mickey lunchbox and it was so cute and I had seen someone add rhinestones to one,” she says. “The lunch boxes were few and far between since they were made in the ‘80s. Then it dawned on me that popcorn buckets would be just as cute and there are always new ones every season! Endless possibilities.”

Kenly says it usually takes her about two to three weeks to cover a bucket completely in rhinestones. “My most intricate and favorite design so far took me a month to finish,” she says. “It was a Spiderman-themed bucket with his web and logo on the front. I wanted it to be reversible so the back was black with a silver web and Miles Morales's spider logo. It was so fun to make!”

Kenly says she loves matching different popcorn bucket designs with outfits for the parks. “The best is when cast members see them! They are always so excited to see what people make with the merch they sell every day.”

“I think popcorn buckets have become such a symbol of Disney fans,” she adds. “They are usually big and outrageous and impractical but so cute! I am always so happy seeing people walk around with them in the parks.”

Walt would certainly approve.

Read the original article on All Recipes.