A lot has changed as we have grown up over the years. McDonald’s has changed right along with us. However, some memories are worth keeping. Do you remember birthday parties at McDonald’s? What about the secrets the old McDonald’s playground contained?
Here are forty things that you may never have known about or will never want to forget about when it comes to the way McDonald’s used to be:
There were games and things to do on the tray liners. Everything about McDonald’s was for the kids.
#2 The drive-through menu
In the 1980s, the outdoor menu didn’t come with many pictures. It made up for that with the prices.
Yes, McDonald’s used to provide ice cream cake! For only a few dollars a kid, they did pretty much everything. A lot of parents decided that it was the perfect option and the kids weren’t complaining.
#4 When schools would hand these out
Every year around Halloween, schools and businesses would give these to kids. It offered the opportunity to take a break at McDonald’s after all that trick-or-treating.
This Nintendo 64 was available in a few locations. However, it only ever seemed to work about a quarter of the time. Tech failures – happening for as long as we’ve had technology.
#6 The McDonald’s playground
Kids from the ’80s and ’90s remember crawling up the narrow passage to get into this. It was always worth it for the view from the top.
The kids’ area in McDonald’s always had a little something extra special. Burgers and fries you could sit on were definitely on that list.
#8 McDonald’s transformers
What’s better than toy fries? Toy fries that turn into a dinosaur! What more could an ’80s kid ask for?
#9 In case fries aren’t enough
The fries dinosaur came from a collection. Every kid wanted one of each. Some things don’t change.
One of the best things about McDonald’s has always been the Happy Meal toys. One of the best things about the 1980s was Inspector Gadget. Combine the two, and you have achieved perfection.
There is a distinct possibility that it contained no actual orange juice, but you could find it at every school event. It was lurking at summer camps too. Schools and parents would rent the coolers from McDonald’s.
These Tiny Toons flip cars provided endless hours of fun. The best part was that no one yelled at you for using them while still inside the restaurant.
#13 Halloween chicken nuggets
Sure, McDonald’s gave away a lot of toys from cartoons and movies, but sometimes they got back to what it was really all about. When that happened, we had Halloween chicken nuggets.
#14 Something to last forever
Not everything they gave away was made of plastic. Many people still have these mugs today. They have stood the test of time.
Once upon a time, smoking in restaurants was common absolutely everywhere. McDonald’s was no exception.
Not all of the ashtrays looked like they could be thrown out along with the burger wrappers. McDonald’s also had these amber ashtrays that every restaurant seemed to have back then.
Kids in the US lucked out with the Super Mario Bros 3 Happy Meals. In Canada, they were even luckier. They had Super Mario Bros 3 scratch and win cards.
McDonald’s didn’t want the magic to end when you got home. They gave away this series of plates. If you rummage through enough cabinets, you might still find them in a few houses today.
#19 An end to a millennium
In 2000, McDonald’s wasn’t willing to let us forget all the magic we had experienced. They partnered with Disney to bring us these glasses to go with the plates.
Not only were these awesome Looney Tunes superheroes found in Happy Meals, but they also came with accessories. The costumes could be snapped on and off.
McDonald’s has evolved over the years, and so has the kids’ area. Who can forget this?
There are some things that have come from McDonald’s that you might be surprised about if you weren’t there for them. These mugs are one of those things.
Trick-or-treating was fun, but what about trick-or-treating with a pail from McDonald’s? For a limited time, Happy Meals came in these.
#24 Things were a little laxer
Things like ashtrays on the tables during a birthday party didn’t worry anyone too much. They just took it for granted that the kids weren’t going to use the things.
Who wants an apple in their Happy Meal? ’80s and ’90s kids lived on the edge with cookies.
Even the soda has changed a little over time. Orange Hi-C could be found in every soda machine at McDonald’s not that long ago.
#27 The dinosaur hand puppets
McDonald’s has never stopped being creative when it comes to toys. These were a favorite among many of us, at least until the next toys came out.
McDonald’s wasn’t always as aware of environmental concerns as they are today. These containers will probably be reminding us of McDonald’s for the next 10,000 years when they’ll still refuse to decay.
Sure, they could have had the Transformers from the cartoon, but these were so much better. Who didn’t want a burger that transformed?
Does anyone remember these? Someone came across this one at a garage sale. There was a time when every single McDonald’s had a few.
#31 The Disney video toys
While they weren’t giving away the movies in Happy Meals, they were offering the next best thing. You could find Disney figurines inside.
Collecting toys from McDonald’s was a huge thing for some kids (and parents too). No matter how hard you tried, there always seemed to be one from the series that you would manage to miss.
These coffee stirrers were kind of perfect. Unfortunately, McDonald’s had to discontinue making them to save their image after it became obvious that the spoons were also a little too perfect for a certain type of drug use.
Don’t worry, McDonald’s, we won’t say which one.
It was impossible for any parent to drive by one of these without the kids pleading to go in. Who could blame them?
Sure, McDonald’s still has apple pies. The question is, can you find a fried apple pie anywhere? The secret was in deep-frying them.
#36 Ronald McDonald’s gang
Ronald McDonald wasn’t always that worried about his reputation. He was even known to hang out with the Hamburglar now and then.
McDonald’s has been entertaining kids for decades. This hand puppet comes to us directly from 1976.
#38 The Ronald McDonald bench
These offered the perfect chance to get a picture of yourself with the true star of McDonald’s. Who could pass up that opportunity?
This is where many happy childhood memories were formed. Every kid wanted to have at least one birthday party at McDonald’s.
Every McDonald’s used to have the customers served counter. The number is still growing.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
[like_cta]
A lot has changed as we have grown up over the years. McDonald’s has changed right along with us. However, some memories are worth keeping. Do you remember birthday parties at McDonald’s? What about the secrets the old McDonald’s playground contained?
Here are forty things that you may never have known about or will never want to forget about when it comes to the way McDonald’s used to be:
