r/interestingasfuck • u/Charming_History7423 • 11d ago
/r/all McDonald's in the 80s compared to today
[removed] — view removed post
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u/cheeersaiii 11d ago
They went from kids/family vibe to “operating theatre please leave quickly” vibe. In Australia we had one with a train carriage for kid’s birthdays, one with a plane, all sorts of fun. I understand the change and the coffee is better for it but still change isn’t always a good thing
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u/RichEvans4Ever 11d ago
IIRC, The toy thing is more because a lot of legislators came after McDonald’s for giving away toys in the 2000s. The logic was that it compelled little kids to eat crappy McDonald’s food just to get a toy. I honestly think I agree.
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u/No-Improvement-8205 11d ago
In regards to the quality of toys, a big part of it is also that the EU pretty much banned plastic toys in happy meals (it have to be sustainable, and all that)
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u/7thFleetTraveller 11d ago
There are many EU laws which I'm glad about, but this is not one of them. Probably because of the nostalgia when I think about my own childhood. I still remember going to the cinema for the very first time, watching The Lion King and then going to McDonalds and getting a toy from the movie. Felt so wholesome for little me. But it was also more special back then, as it wasn't something my parents could affort every week.
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u/Brevard1986 11d ago
Nah, that age was one of wanton consumerism and little consideration of the impact. I support the push to not throw tons of plastic into landfills for so many broken MacDonalds toys.
Definitely sad that my kids won't be able to experience the craziness of getting so many random plastic toys I had as a child but we should endeavour to do better.
Having said that, I wouldn't be too critical if McDonalds decide to do a once per year promotion (e.g. anniversary event) where those plastic toys come back for a short period of time to make them a lot more meaningful.
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u/Over-Tomatillo9070 11d ago
They have done some creative things with card and paper that I have found pretty clever while staying sustainable.
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u/chunkysmalls42098 11d ago
"I'd rather kids everywhere get a poor quality plastic toy that certainly ends up in the garbage in under 5 years. Something about the nostalgia of being wasteful"
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u/Paddy_Tanninger 11d ago
Yeah like of course I remember getting these shitty toys too, but objectively it's horrible. My kids don't get happy meals when we go to McD and they really couldn't give a shit...they're more interested in the peel off Monopoly stickers.
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u/RoboDae 10d ago
Yeah, I remember being a little kid begging my mom for the happy meal. I also remember never playing with most of those toys and just throwing them out pretty quickly because the quality sucked.
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u/rockstar504 11d ago
I was about to say, lawsuits and politics are part of the reason it is what it is today
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u/cheeersaiii 11d ago
Purely transactional now… in Aus KMart has done the same thing… good luck finding any variety or brands there, it’s just one cheap brand that they own that does one type of everything… it’s so disposable and crap and boring
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u/doopajones 11d ago
Kmart in the states in the 90s was amazing, had a little concession area with hot dogs and popcorn and icees
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u/ChoochieReturns 11d ago
Blue light specials and product demonstrations. It was a party back in the day.
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u/Queen_Cheetah 11d ago
One of my fondest memories as a kid is sitting in a booth at our local Kmart, just talking with my dad as we enjoyed our Icees/soda. Now that store is just a vacant building with boards over the windows...
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u/Alucarddoc 11d ago
It's the worst because they are all such cheaply made items all owned by Kmart. I've been burned three times now on cheap electronics like phone chargers or spice grinders that barely last a year.
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u/Username99User 11d ago
They still have the toy in the kids meal
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u/mattcoady 11d ago
Most of the time now it's just cards for some property like Multiversus or Pokemon. My 3 year old has no use for any of this, end up tossing it all in the trash. Feels so cheap compared to the cool toys when I was a kid.
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u/Benevolent_StarBoi 11d ago
In Sweden we have actual hardcover books in happy meals. I think it’s neat
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u/_Not_an_Economist_ 11d ago
We got those once in ours and my 3yo was so happy. Never seen one since.
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u/CanadianDinosaur 11d ago
Here in Canada you can choose either a toy or a book for a happy meal. You can also get apple slices instead of fries. The toys are definitely pretty shit though. Right now it's a pack of 4 pokemon cards
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u/GoAskAlice 11d ago edited 11d ago
Downtown Chicago used to have a two-story McDonald's that was heavily decorated in "early rock n roll". Mini jukeboxes at each table, photos and albums on the walls, zebra striped tables, even had a 57 Chevy with two 50's teeny bopper statues sitting in it, in the restaurant. Everywhere you looked, you saw dozens, if not hundreds, of bits of memorabilia. People would unknowingly wander in for a burger and stay for hours.
It has been remodeled into a soulless cavern of nothingness. I wanted to wail when I read about it and saw what had been done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T266cfW95m8
Seriously, why the FUCK would they do that? It was one of the coolest places around. *cries
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u/denialator 11d ago
Rock and roll McDonalds! Rock and roll McDonalds! Rock and roll McDonalds! Rock and roll McDonalds!
Rock over London, Rock on Chicago!
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u/gameplayer55055 11d ago
In Ukraine we had a McDonald's with a tram carriage, celebrating birthdays there.
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u/Adorable-Boot-3970 11d ago
Yeah the UK had some with a train, and some with a paddle steamer too.
It’s interesting that the target age group seems to have always been the same bunch of people. When I was a child they clearly went for the children’s parties and what not. When I was in my 20s the target was teenagers and young adults (music voucher prizes and such), now the ads target middle age men.
Perhaps that’s just where the money has gone?
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u/cheeersaiii 11d ago
Not sure… I’d argue kids have more money for fast food than ever before , when I was a kid I was lucky if I had it maybe 3 times a year. I think a lot of businesses just evolved to make more and more money while caring less and less tbh
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u/kanst 11d ago
They went from kids/family vibe to “operating theatre please leave quickly” vibe
I think a lot of what Americans hate about how society has changed is encapsulated in pictures like this. Its the bland-ification of everything in the chase of profit maximization. Its basically the aesthetic of the venture capitalist.
Companies used to be run by people who knew the industry, now its run by people who know how best to extract profit. The CEO of McDonalds is the perfect microcosm of that overall trend.
First you have Charlie Bell, the founder and CEO until 2004. He created the company and grew it into a behemoth. He's succeeded by James Skinner who started out as a management trainee and worked his way up the company over 41 years. Then it starts shifting, next is Don Thompson who was an engineer by trade but at least spent 20 years working his way up McDonalds before becoming CEO, he now runs an investment fund and is a board member for Beyond meat.
But after him, its just suits. First you've got Steve Easterbrook who had been CEO of two other food companies first. He was eventually fired for inappropriate relationships with subordinates. He was replaced by Chris Kempczinski, an MBA from Harvard who has Procter & Gamble, Pepsi-Cola, and Kraft Foods on his resume before McDonalds.
And the transformation is complete, from a guy who wanted to make hamburgers to a capitalist vampire who only knows money. This is happening all across the economy in every industry.
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u/247Brett 11d ago
Take me back. Even the bottom picture has chairs more comfortable looking than the ones my local one has now. Hard metal chairs at right angles that dig into your rear and leave you wanting to rather sit on the floor. I don’t eat at McDonald’s anymore. Especially with the prices the way they are. Better options for better prices with much better service.
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u/TwinFrogs 11d ago
My shitty local one has big signs all over that say 30 minutes maximum stay.
As in: Fuck off, but leave your money behind.
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u/Blackbear8336 11d ago
Why they decided to rebrand with the "McCafe" thing, I'll never understand. Iv never known anyone who's said their coffee is their favorite. They're like Starbucks, but worse.
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u/Global_Permission749 11d ago
“operating theatre please leave quickly”
Which is ironic since those self-order kiosks take 10x longer to order from than just asking someone to order for you.
If they want people out of the restaurant quickly, they need to fix the UX of those kiosks. Items buried in menu after menu, so many extra taps to get past the upsell screens.
If I'm in there for a medium #7, that item should be visible up front right on the screen. Tap that option, select the size, pay. Done. It shouldn't be any more complicated than that.
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u/We_Are_Nerdish 11d ago
In the Netherlands, back in the 90s /2000s you'd see birthday parties every day at THE (only) McDonalds in my city.
Full on kids play area and you'd see a bunch of parents talk who are with their kids. We would trade happymeal toys to make sure we would get the sets complete.It was where people would go to meet up before or after going somewhere. Now it's been gutted and it looks like this. There are like 3 people working the kitchen and I only stop at McDonalds now on roadtrips to pee and for some nuggets before driving off again asap.
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u/FTownRoad 11d ago
I feel like McDonald’s catering to adults instead of children is absolutely a good thing.
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u/AdRevolutionary6924 11d ago
Tho strangely enough the modern look actually has a higher retention time compared to the 90s, fern made a video about it and how modern european mcdonalds is superior
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u/TonAMGT4 11d ago
Imagine sitting at the table directly in front facing the tree…
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u/hannahatecats 11d ago
I used to love sitting at the tree! Id pretend I was in the wizard of Oz
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u/Rich-Pomegranate1679 11d ago
My family used to go there while we were all high on PCP and it would tell us it's secrets.
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u/realitythreek 11d ago
Kids used to love that actually. Your family would be at one of the bigger tables and kids would ask of they could sit by the tree. Also the indoor playground was the best thing ever at the time. I don’t get why anyone goes to McDs anymore.
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u/emilyrosecuz 11d ago
Where’d all the talking trees go? They were a hit in the 80s/90s. Loved seeing a talking tree as a kid, very comforting.
Designers and architects need to start doing LSD again honestly
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u/Effective_Dirt2617 11d ago
I’ve seen the old McD’s fiberglass setpieces for sale from time to time at antique shows. They are absurdly expensive but they’re out there. You can probably find one if you want.
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u/zachary_grey 11d ago
There’s going to be an estate sale in IL of Mc items from the people who did the commercials from 70’s-90’s. I think their IG is something like “filminginmcdonaldsland” if anyone wants to look.
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u/TheSchneid 11d ago edited 11d ago
I do often think about how weird TV and music were in the '90s.and early 2000s (for instance things like sifl and olly making it on TV) and I think a lot of it was actually impacted by a big LSD resurgence in the late '80s and early '90s when the dead were touring.
The people graduating college in the late '90s had definitely been doing a good amount of acid in their high school years. It was before that family that made like 70% of the acid in the US had gotten arrested too.
We can honestly probably thank the grateful Dead for some of the weird trippy shit that we saw on TV and in movies and music back then.
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u/Sempervirens47 11d ago
Lawsuit! They ripped off a children's TV show from the late 60s called H.R. Pufnstuf, to create the McDonaldLand characters. They had talked to the creators about making characters for McDonalds and been turned down, so showing intent was easy and McDonalds lost the lawsuit. Other than Ronald, all those other characters like Mayor McCheese and talking trees and stuff had to go or they'd be paying the creators they ripped off big money. Maybe they could have created a new, original McDonaldLand, but with fewer children in the developed world today, is it worth it?
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u/DOG_DICK__ 11d ago
They need to stop microdosing this stuff. A tab is a tab for a reason, it's not meant to be any smaller of a dose buddy.
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u/Wookie301 11d ago
The burgers tasted better back then too
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u/JorisGeorge 11d ago
Prices were also more Fastfood Chain worthy.
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u/247Brett 11d ago
For real. Paying restaurant prices for stuff that tastes like it was microwaved inside a wet bag. Much rather go to an actual restaurant at that point.
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u/Leading_Study_876 11d ago edited 11d ago
Burger King is often actually worth it though. Here in Scotland anyway.
I always just order the burger and take it home to have with a healthier side option.
This week I've had a peppercorn Angus which was pretty good, and yesterday a Bacon Double Cheese XL which was almost transcendental. Ordered in the drive-thru but had to wait five minutes in the car park, so I guess it was cooked from scratch.
Anyone from Glasgow area reading this - these were both from the Kingsgate Burger King in East Kilbride.
Even after taking it home and reheating it in the oven it was so fresh, tasty and juicy.
Some of my family now live in the states, and when they come home for a visit always go for Burger King (as well as the obvious fish & chips) as they say the burgers in Scotland are way better than those at Burger King in the US. Anyone got their own opinions on this?
McDonald's actual burgers have always been the poorest of all the big chains in my experience.
I quite like their breakfasts though. Good coffee for a burger joint too.
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u/abarthsimpson 11d ago
Fast food in other countries is much better than the US.
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u/Fragholio 11d ago edited 11d ago
It's the lack of corporate regulation in food ingredients and quality. I mean we have some but there's so many compromises that are so clearly for corporate profits that they basically come down to "make sure what you put in there for consumers can't be traced back to you if it shows up in a police report". Every time I hear "new recipe" touted for something I think "what slightly healthy ingredient did they switch out for a cheaper processed one this time?"
And even those dubious rules and guidelines are being sledgehammered away thanks to the current "administration".
Edit: typo
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u/evilmonkey853 11d ago
The difference between US and EU regulations is subtle.
In the US, manufacturers are prohibited from using anything proven to hurt you. So, if there was a study that using bleach in hamburgers was dangerous, you can’t do that.
In the EU, manufacturers are prohibited from using anything that has not been proven to not hurt you. So, if there was no study either way that bleach in hamburgers was dangerous, they can’t use it. But if there was a study that confirmed garlic is okay and safe to eat, then that’s fine.
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u/defjs 11d ago
Most things are better in other countries than the US. Some days I believe the Government is actively trying to kill us
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u/chrisberman410 11d ago
Apple has legit said to other countries "no, no, no, we don't sell YOU guys that stuff. We sell it to the dumbass Americans."
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u/Hoshyro 11d ago
EU forces Apple to not use anti-consumer and unfair techniques so they hate selling on the market.
Skill issue, Apple is terrible anyway.
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u/Strength-Speed 11d ago edited 11d ago
I kind of wanna give you an award for this. The food that our own country produces and exports is worse here than abroad. Our pharmaceutical products that we make are sold to us for triple what they charge elsewhere. I think they are trying to kill us. Our technology companies have better personal data protections for overseas countries than our own. We are just a piggy bank to be mined and exploited. All you do need to do buy off some legislators and they'll let you do whatever you want.
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u/SafeOdd1736 11d ago
Probably because those governments make them use actual ingredients like hamburger meat, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce etc for their food instead of processed chemicals like the US allows. Remember Ireland wouldn’t even allow Subway to call their rolls “bread” because subway put way too much sugar in them?
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u/Bulk_Cut 11d ago
Yea parents can’t afford McDonalds as a lunch time treat any more so no love lost.
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u/247Brett 11d ago
Remember being excited for McDonald’s instead of it just being the last pick ‘guess there’s nothing else’ option? I miss the crisp mcnuggies and burgers that actually had me excited to go there.
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u/xelop 11d ago
It's not even that to me. I haven't had McDonald's in 4 years. I'll go home and make a PB and J before I stop there. I'd stop at a gas station and get a prepacked sandwich before mcds lol
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u/Jesus__Skywalker 11d ago
I'd stop at a gas station and get a prepacked sandwich before mcds lol
that's going too far. McD's aint what it was, but those gas station sandwiches are dangerous looking
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u/Mountain_Frog_ 11d ago
Depends on the gas station. In some parts of the country it is common for gas stations to cook and serve relatively fresh burgers, chicken sandwiches, and other hot food
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u/KeepingItSFW 11d ago
On a roadtrip we were in the middle of nowhere and stopped through the drive thru and everyone got a unHappy Meal.
For like $6 a person you get:
6 nuggets (which were fine)
a cup of ice with a shot of Coke in it
7ish french fries
a bag of apples floating in chlorine?
a chunk of plastic “toy” that literally does nothing besides take centuries to break down in a landfill.
Forgot to beg for my fries instead of apples, and they didn’t ask. Was a really disappointing $20ish spent for 3 people.
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u/xelop 11d ago
Yeah one of those frozen prepack burgers at a gas station is like twice as big and I think like 3 bucks. The microwave is free. Or one of those frozen burritos, or a hot dog. Literally anything a gas station has would have a better cost to taste ratio. I'm unsure why anyone eats McDonald's at all still. Even as a desperation you have better choices than mcds lol
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u/makos5267 11d ago
Burgers and fries are still fine but they changed the recipe on the McNuggets years ago and they are crap compared to how good they used to be
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u/Bennybonchien 11d ago
You also probably didn’t worry about cholesterol, sodium or heartburn from the styrofoam fries and fire-retardant anti-foaming-agent filet-o-fish sandwich back then.
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u/duaneap 11d ago
If you’re worried about cholesterol or sodium was any period of McDonald’s for you? At least it tasted good in the 90s from what I remember.
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u/Kimberlylynn2003 11d ago
Did they change to stop marketing toward kids or just wanted modern?
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u/dalgeek 11d ago
Probably wanted to charge more and also cycle customers through faster. Most people don't want to visit a place with a bunch of screaming kids running around, and if a family is taking up a table for an hour then that's fewer customers who can use that able. Bigger menu, higher prices, more customer traffic = way more money.
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u/Ok-Donut-8856 11d ago
I have never seen a mcdonalds with all the tables full in over 20 years. It's about the brand imagery and their customer base.
Mcdonalds actually has less customers a day than they did say 10 years ago. Which is part of why the price went up
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u/Val_Hallen 11d ago
Ah, yes, the vicious cycle of capitalism.
- The ever persistent need to make more profit
- Raise prices
- Lose customers because of raised prices
- Raise prices again to make up for revenue from lost customers
- Rinse, repeat
Eventually, you file Chapter 11, get bought out by a hedge fund, then your company no longer exists
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u/youhavenosoul 11d ago
Not McDonalds, though. Their primary business is in real estate, which has all but guaranteed their success no matter what they serve.
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u/FinancialLemonade 11d ago edited 11d ago
have never seen a mcdonalds with all the tables full in over 20 years.
I rarely see one that isn't full lol
Even at night it is full with all the drunk people trying to sober up and the mcdrive with insane queues
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u/godmademelikethis 11d ago
Yes! At least it's part of it. MC donalds were getting in hot water about their aggressive marketing fast food towards children. So they did a heavy modern/mature/millennial rebrand.
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u/Junior_Fig_2274 11d ago
They started to phase out play places around the same time. Those used to be so common, and the last time we took a long car trip with our kid in the winter (so parks were a no go) we had the hardest time finding a play place we could use. I know they were germ factories but, like, just wash their hands. 🤷♀️
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u/Annie_Yong 11d ago
"just wash their hands".
As much as that might sound reasonable on paper, it's just not a realistic strategy for keeping an indoor play area like that in a sanitary state.
Even if 90% of parents are capable of keeping their 5-year olds hygienic, it's that remaining 10% that will be hiding chicken nuggets in every crevice they can find and creating biohazards.
Combine that risk with the general shift in attitudes to see marketing a fast food restaurant as somewhere for kids to want to go as a bad thing, and it's no wonder that you've seen the play places disappear.
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u/Idiotology101 11d ago
This is the real answer, the US and EU cracked down more on marketing towards kids.
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u/dacca_lux 11d ago
They found out that they earn more money if people leave earlier and make room for new clients.
I remember hearing this somewhere.
Modern fast food chains are designed to be comfortable enough so that you consider eating there but uncomfortable enough for you to not linger after you've eaten your meal.
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u/Theplaidiator 11d ago
Seems it’s had the effect of making everybody want drive thru/to go instead of eating in, instead
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u/RichEvans4Ever 11d ago
That’s literally the point. If everyone’s in the drive-thru or taking their order to-go, then they can service more customers that way.
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u/Ok-Donut-8856 11d ago
The thing is they have less customers than they did in the 2000s
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u/celebral_x 11d ago
McDonalds is still the a very unhealthy option for kids (and adults).
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u/InformationOk3060 11d ago
Society changed. In the 80's you had 6 TV channels and unless it was TGFI, or Saturday/Sunday morning cartoons, nothing on TV was really entertaining for kids. There was no Internet, video games were expensive, parents had to pay 10 cents a minute to make a phone call outside of the town they lived in, unless it was past 8pm.
Parents wanted to go out and sit at a restaurant, chat, let the kids play around in the play pen for a while and wear themselves out, especially when it was really cheap. Now parents would much rather just get food through the drive thru and sit themselves or their kids on the coach in front of the TV or a tablet.
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u/elchet 11d ago
For anyone who hasn’t seen it: https://youtu.be/Df_K7pIsfvg?si=dx8RA-wRG00M5Tfw
The tale of one of those murals as seen in the 80s photo here.
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u/georgehotelling 11d ago
Came here to post this.
Cabel is a madman. Starts a video game company just to publish Firewatch, suddenly decides to start making weird video game consoles, sees a McDonald's mural and makes an amazing XOXO talk.
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u/francino_meow 11d ago
Sheesh, that tree is really creepy xD
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u/JacksonCorbett 11d ago
The tree demands a sacrifice. Bring him your first born and you shall be rewarded with apple slices with caramel flavored dipping sauce
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u/TrailerPosh2018 11d ago
I'd rather go back to that than what they have now.
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u/FULLPOIL 11d ago
You don't like the new hobo on drugs self service experience?
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u/talldangry 11d ago
It's not fully self service, a mcdonald's team member still sits on all of the burgers to flatten them out.
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u/rjmartin73 11d ago
I miss that try not to get thrown off merry go round and that sizzle the skin off your legs metal slide lol
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u/PiddelAiPo 11d ago
Fair but anyone in the creative field back in those days was off their nut on LSD. The one at the top looks like some kind of magic mushroom land and that tree god thing... oh its just me...
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u/oojacoboo 11d ago
No, parents just took their kids to McDonalds back then. There were probably more birthday parties at McDonalds than anywhere else. They had the playground too. It was a family establishment.
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u/Pogeos 11d ago
It was like that just about 15 years ago and suddenly everything started changing to this unappealing style. Wtf they are thinking?
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u/blyan 11d ago
They’re thinking about maximizing profits and who their actual target demographic is
I’m not saying corporations don’t sometimes make mistakes but do you really think they made all those changes on a whim? Or do you think maybe there were countless focus groups and research projects going into how to get the most people consistently buying food there?
Yeah, back when we were little kids, going to McDonald’s was an exciting experience… but if a company like that wants to remain at the top, their target demographic can’t be children with no disposable income
No one nowadays is going to McDonald’s for “the experience”. People want some mediocre, predictable, semi-affordable fast food that they know exactly how it’ll taste. If anything, it’s shocking that it took them so long to realize that.
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u/7mm-08 11d ago
Corporations make mistakes all the time, regardless of it being on a whim or not. I can't fathom why you'd bring up children's nonexistent disposable income. It's obviously targeting parent/guardian money.
McDonald's food has gotten predictably bad/inconsistent and really isn't affordable anymore, so I'm not sure what you're saying.
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u/CodeToManagement 11d ago
They don’t really want people coming to sit in, that’s not where there money is.
Like a group of kids having their birthday there will come and all get a meal but stay for an hour or two. And then someone has to do cleanup etc. When you can make that same amount of money in 10 minutes with the drive through or deliveroo / uber eats it’s just not worth it to have people taking up a table.
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u/Forward_Promise2121 11d ago
It was more explictly aimed at kids in those days too.
An adult grabbing a coffee and muffin on the way to the office can do that in the bottom image. You'd feel like a sex offender sitting in the top one reading your emails over a latte.
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u/Crow_eggs 11d ago
For some reason I can't imagine a sex offender reading their emails over a latte. I suppose they must do, but in my head it's all handwritten notes, dirty tracksuits and raincoats, and CRT monitors. I think my mental image of a sex offender might be someone who only actually makes sense in the top image.
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u/CoastingThruLif3 11d ago
I felt like a king eating there in the 80s when my family could afford it, I feel like a loser if I have to eat there today...
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u/travizeno 11d ago
They really targeted kids back then huh?
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u/raphthepharaoh 11d ago
They targeted community.. it’s why there are playful child tables right next to adult-sized booths.. families would meet up and just hangout. Times were different.
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u/HookerHenry 11d ago edited 11d ago
That tree should be investigated for any missing children.
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u/RenirambusAFoNos 11d ago
Looks more like the 1970s to me. Especially with that weird ass tree that weirds me out
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u/Jonqbanana 11d ago
I definitely prefer the fever dream aesthetic over brutalist prison intake.
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u/Confident-Fudge-2087 11d ago
No personality in modern McDonald’s, it looks like a soul sucking corporate office
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u/LudicrisSpeed 11d ago
Pretty much the case for all fast food places. All of them want to go for the boring-ass "mature" aesthetic like an office breakroom, forgetting that they serve low-quality hamburgers for people who just want something quick and cheap.
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u/reddenblack 11d ago
Yeah well I used to play with stuff made by hasbro, now I play with stuff made by Apple….
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u/jford1906 11d ago
Back then it was an occasion. Now it's just where people with two jobs and no time can afford to eat.
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u/spookyjibe 11d ago
The difference between a company that works for its customers and a company that works for its shareholders.
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u/Moist_Scheme8194 11d ago
It boggles my mind why McDonald's do not open some outlets that look like the 80s/90s ones. They would make a killing. Fill it with N64s, and a soft play like they used to. It would be rammed with people.
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u/Ready_Employee9695 10d ago
The McDonald's near where I grew up had a pirate ship in it. And yes, the hull was 3 booths
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u/hallouminati_pie 11d ago
Unpopular opinion, I prefer the newer picture/look.
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u/Jancappa 11d ago
It's funny that people will complain about fast food advertising to kids is unhealthy but simultaneously bemoan the loss of McDonalds focusing on kids like it's a huge cultural loss.
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u/Key-Rest-1635 11d ago
Its a million times better than the old one which looks gross, greasy and probably smelled bad. The only thing newer is missing is a few plants.
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u/Throwinitawayheyhey 11d ago
The modern designs are generally unwelcoming.
I stopped going just because its so awkward to wait for food since they removed legit over 50% of the dining room to build a delivery window and its awkward as hell waiting in such a cramped space,
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u/AyCarambin0 11d ago
Remember you are to them, what cows are for their burgers. You are there to spend money as efficient as possible. That's it. You are raised as spending cattle.
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u/sh513 11d ago
I'm not sure how old you are but as a 35yo, looking back to my kid years in the 90s, it felt like customer experience was a differentiator for McD's. Maybe not on the same par as Chick-fil-Atoday, but it was part of their business plan, something the company strive to provide... the toys in Happy Meals, the coupons for school attendance, the play places, the "art" on the walls of smiling families.
Somewhere along the way that was all thrown out the window for the drab, right-angled, millennial greige model of maximum money extraction while ushering you out the door as quickly as possible. It truly wasn't always this way
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u/Syssareth 11d ago
The one around the corner of my childhood home used to have a big fishtank. It was there for as long as I can remember, with some of the fish living for at least 20 years (unless they managed to consistently find replacements that were the same size, which wouldn't be easy to do). They clearly took very good care of it.
They got rid of it when they switched to coffee shop mode. I asked about the fish, and not only did nobody there know what happened to them, nobody seemed to know they ever existed. It was honestly pretty weird; you're telling me A, literally nobody here was working here before the renovation, and B, none of you once, in your entire life, came to this place you're working at now?
I can only hope they got a good home. :(
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u/AnAnonymousParty 11d ago
From "please come in and enjoy your stay" to "just buy our shit and get out".
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u/CozyBlueCacaoFire 11d ago
I prefer the current vibe. Looks much easier to keep clean.
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u/Latter-Literature505 11d ago
A fantasy play land vs the second shift at the inner party’s ministry of truth
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u/jcarreraj 11d ago edited 11d ago
A McDonald's I went to in the Chicago suburbs totally had no soul. There was a counter there but no menus behind it to encourage kiosk ordering
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u/davekingofrock 11d ago
From Day care to prison. There's a metaphor in here that a smarter man than I could probably articulate.
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u/shijinn 11d ago
i think in the 80s they actually have play areas with ballpits and stuff.
now - https://old.reddit.com/r/LiminalSpace/comments/1j5x6ul/mcdonalds_new_play_place_for_children_two/
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u/PC_AddictTX 11d ago
McDonalds used to be aimed at kids. It no longer is. That may be part of their problem, although I'm not in marketing so definitely not my area. I remember the days of Ronald McDonald, Hamburglar, and Grimace. And every McDonalds used to have a Play Place. Now they seem to be futuristic and soulless, with no color or design philosophy at all. Just bland and boring. It describes both the restaurants and the food.
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u/1011001101 11d ago
One of the ones near where I grew up had a merry go round in the restaurant. not a huge one or anything maybe six little horses but full sized, not the put some quarters in it outside the convenience store.
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u/ShellfishAhole 10d ago
I’m not sure which one is more creepy between the glaring tree theme with Ronald Mchorror in the background, or the clean, but soulless theme with automated servicing.
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u/xIViperIx 10d ago
The second one. The feeling that Mchorror is still there somewhere. Hiding. Binding his time while remaining unseen. Waiting for new souls.
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u/CreamXpert 10d ago
I don't know. The burgers keep getting smaller and smaller. I need 3 now to feel like I ate something.
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u/-paperbrain- 11d ago
To be fair, when it looked like that, people criticized them for using all that stuff to get children hooked on junk food. It was seen as exploitation of the vulnerable.
Now that they ditched it all and the advertising and spaces aren't targeting kids so much people say. they miss the warmth and whimsy.