r/interestingasfuck • u/Charming_History7423 • 11d ago

/r/all McDonald's in the 80s compared to today

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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/[deleted] 11d ago

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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/ra__account 11d ago

One of my favorite ever Mystery Science Theatre 3000 gags was the "Unhappy Meal," where rather than coming with a toy, it came with something like a used Q-Tip. And the burger had a bite taken out of it already.

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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/stefanopolis 11d ago

5 years is super generous. Try 5 days.

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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/Riaayo 11d ago

Gotta get them addicted to gambling early to get them ready for mobile "games" after all, lol.

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u/RoboDae 11d 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/sionnach 11d ago

As a parent, the modern system is much better. They get a little book or something made from cardboard at McDonalds so you can chuck it in the recycling bin in a few days and not have another piece of plastic shot cluttering up your home.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

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u/sentence-interruptio 10d ago

plastic should only come in the form of free range microplastic in our food.

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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/Loudmouthlurker 11d ago

On the surface I agree. I mean, I still agree. But I'm also seeing some consequences of all the gray everywhere. The cashiers are deliberately kept out of sight so you'll use the screen. It's eerie and liminal. It's dark. It's easier to use the drive-thru.

Besides being hugely expensive, the food also doesn't taste very good anymore. I never have a craving for it the way I do other junk food.

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u/nevetsvr 11d ago

Eat shitty food, get a shitty prize.

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u/CatgirlApocalypse 11d ago

They could have made them improve the food

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u/SinuousPanic 11d ago

Well yeah, do you know how many happy meals I had to get the kids just so I could get myself Sonic, Tails and Knuckles the other month? They're getting diabetes for sure.

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u/AlmostSunnyinSeattle 11d ago

I mean I drank syrup out of the bottle as a child, so I'm not necessarily sure the toy was the driving factor. Probably a notable one though, yes.

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u/peepopowitz67 11d ago

I mean.... they weren't wrong..

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u/StrongTxWoman 11d ago

They should change the name of "happy meal" to "meh meal".

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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/doopajones 11d ago

That’s a great memory to have, thanks for sharing :) The one in my town is all boarded up too.

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u/Queen_Cheetah 9d ago

Aw, that's a shame- although I think there's still some stores elsewhere (like Guam). So maybe there's still similar memories being made?

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u/Think_Ad_1583 11d ago

Yo, I remember when we were getting a new target nearby earlier last year. I was hyped to see the new store and grab some popcorn from the food court. They put a Starbucks there instead of a food court

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u/doopajones 11d ago

Man, that popcorn smell when you walked into target back in the day! Mom never let me get any

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u/throwaway098764567 11d ago

there's a plant nursery near me that has a fresh popcorn stand in the houseplants area, feels very throwback

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u/Legend_of_dirty_Joe 11d ago

they always had one of these running too

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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/creep303 11d ago

I realized via frigging Lego Masters that KMart still exists there.

It folded in the 90’s here in Canadaland

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u/Scouter197 11d ago

They want you in and out ASAP. They don't want you staying and "taking up space." However, I haven't seen a McDonalds "full" in a long time. Is it working or are people going elsewhere?

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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/Benevolent_StarBoi 11d ago

In Sweden we get both apple (or carrot) slices and fries

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u/a_moniker 11d ago

Yeah, my niece and nephew often get books or paper board games from Chick-Fil-A in their kids meal. I actually think that’s quite a bit better than the cheap plastic toys I used to get.

The books were just paperback, but that’s not actually a big deal for me. I feel like paperbacks are easier for little kids to hold anyway 🤷‍♂️

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u/licuala 11d ago

I saw they had choice between Pokemon Cards and Sonic toys (actual toys) a few weeks ago, but I don't check often.

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u/atsirktop 11d ago

it must be location based then cause my 4yo has an entire bin of McDonalds toys that she still plays with. sometimes they're trash (olympics were stupid), but they can be alright.

(yes my child probably eats too much McDonalds but she's healthy and thriving so idgaf)

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u/DOOMFOOL 11d ago

Huh, the McDonald’s I go to occasionally still puts real toys in their happy meals for the most part, they did do the Pokémon card thing as well but before and after that were actual toys (shitty toys but still toys)

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u/zeromig 11d ago

At least here in Japan, they still give toys with the meals. Two weeks ago they ended their run of Jurassic World toys. I'm not sure why Jurassic World toys were released now but I got 7 of them, just because they're perfectly scaled for D&D dinosaur miniatures.

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u/BurgundyHolly345 11d ago

Honestly, they could’ve easily kept a few retro-themed locations for nostalgia kind of like how some diners or arcades go all-in on the 80s/90s aesthetic.

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u/lazytiger40 11d ago

Don't know the reasons outside of America but here in the states McDonald's was known for two things, speed of service and marketing to children.

Speed of service came from their original operations plan to streamline to prep/cooking process to put out as.much product as quickly as they can, consistently,.cheaply, and easily (""billions and billions served""). They abandoned this in the late 90's for a more quality conscious model (made for you/right on time). They switched from speed to batch cooking as food waste costs caught up to them. The quality was there in the past just a different process. Like quickly slapping together a juicy sandwich vs. artistically creating one.. of course speed faltered but they countered with trying to put coffee Starbucks, and out ice cream Dairy Queen...instead of doing the one thing they are renowned for prestigiously....they are trying to do all things half assedly.

Kids..the big draw for McDonald's was marketing to children. Toys were good, there were collectibles, plates ,.cups, glasses...it was not just food but a brand. Kids wanting McDonald's brought parents (some reluctantly) to McDonald's. MCD had a huge commercial presence back in the days of afternoon and Saturday morning cartoons. Top two.sellers.were fries and Nuggets, which as a father myself, is most 8 year olds major food.groups.

But again, late 90's we had a phenomenal beanie baby toy promotion..McDonald's was THE place...then they inked an exclusivity deal with Disney to promote their movies with happy meal toy tie-ins. But the toys were crap. Many were more sought by Disney-crazed adults, not very "playable" as compared to hot wheels or robot burgers etc...the toys gradually became cheaply China made and boring.

As this was going on they stopped or cut back on marketing to children. They switched from beef tallow to vegetable.shortening which altered the fries taste..they had a period of experimenting with sandwich offerings, basically trying to fix what was never broken in the first place ..people became more health conscious so MCD had tinkered with their salads until they took disappeared. Quality suffered and combined with reliance of "experience" over speed...McDonald's has had a rough couple of decades...but the solution was not to go back to what made McDonald's...McDonald's ..but to go further down this rabbit hole to mediocrity. McDonald's locations, while maybe trendy, look so bland and uninviting. They forgot their identity.

And I'm not saying being more eco friendly or upscale is a bad thing, it's just not McDonald's thing. There are plenty of other places to occupy that space...meanwhile many smaller chains and mom and pops are out-Mcdonaldsing, Mickey D's.

Their problems are more self inflicted than consumer based...

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u/popeyepaul 11d ago

Those kids grew up so they don't need to entice them with toys and bright colors any more. They got kids in the 80s and 90s essentially addicted on McDonald's and now those people keep going there all their lives and taking their kids there too so the cycle continues.

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u/I_Heart_QAnon_Tears 11d ago

That may well be but you are forgetting the hard plastic seating tilted at odd angles to get you to get the hell out as fast as possible.

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u/ministryofchampagne 11d ago

Well that is because of advertising laws and children.

It is the same reason Saturday morning cartoons went away.

Children can’t be targeted for advertising. All that fun stuff in McDonalds was advertising for children.

In the US. OP was talking about Australia but maybe they have the same laws or McDonald’s corporate decided to make their branding consistent internationally

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u/br0b1wan 11d ago

It's probably for the better that they shifted their focus from kids to more adults/general public. Fast food isn't healthy and we don't need to be advertising it to kids any more than we should be advertising cigarettes to them either, and we don't.

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u/dewyocelot 11d ago

“Happy Meals” in any establishment are fucking pathetic now. McDonald’s is still the best, but it’s a race to the bottom. Freddy’s literally will just have cards. Not playing cards, just like, “look! Isn’t this cardboard with a picture on it neat? Ok kid, throw me away now.”

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u/AeroInsightMedia 11d ago

If any kids are reading this, yes they occasionally had hot wheels cars in the early to mid 1990s but they felt like a step down and lighter than regular hot wheels cars. As a kid I don't know if I cared that much but obviously a little if I'm remembering this 30 years later.

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u/Prestigious_Snow1589 11d ago

I still have a few of the hot wheels from when I was a kid in the early 2000's

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u/XxOmegaSupremexX 11d ago

Here in Canada and I believe the US they still have toys but give an option to substitute for a book as well

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u/AsaCoco_Alumni 11d ago

Apple stores have a carefully curated and expensively-built aesthetic.

Modern McDs have what can only be called an anti-aesthetic. 'How can we make you leave with zero feelings, and not look like we spent the absolute minimum on it?'

People say they are apeing Starbucks, but at least you don't get sense of pressured of unease and unbelonging in a starbucks, and it actually feels like a place.

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u/dnmty 11d ago

The quality of happy meal "toys" has gone insanely down hill. I'm in Canada and have a 5 year old kid, so we occasionally do go to McDonalds and get Happy Meals. Some of the "toys" we've gotten have been trash. The worst were these board games like Connect4 that you had to punch the pieces out yourself but they were soo flimsy. Also Jenga that you had to fold the blocks from flat pieces of card, but they were not usable at all.

But the books they offer instead are actually pretty decent.

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u/youhavenosoul 11d ago

McDonalds raised a couple of generations on that stuff, and got them hooked for life. Now, as grownups, they bring their kids, but it’s no longer for the kids, if that makes sense?

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u/Longjumping_Ad_6484 11d ago

"Is the happy meal for a boy or a girl?" "A girl, but she wants the car, not the Barbie."

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u/MostlyRightSometimes 11d ago

Not just soulless, but soul sucking.

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u/StarPhished 11d ago

I want my weird clown art back on the walls.

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u/BoatZnHoes 11d ago

The outsides remind me of some Soviet block housing

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u/FlyByPC 11d ago

it's largely what got kids demanding McDonald's for lunch

Can confirm. Why vote for food when you can vote for food-and-toy?

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u/The_Shadow_Watches 11d ago

I can't remember if it was McDonald's or Burger King that had my favorite toy ever.

Power Ranger Morph coins.

But, the coolest kids toy came from Taco Bell of all places. It was....."Tamagatchi"

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u/Rough-Analysis 11d ago

Well they dont serve actual food anymore so actually its more appropriate.

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u/Rough-Analysis 11d ago

Well they dont serve actual food anymore so actually its more appropriate.

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u/dustymaurauding 11d ago

they definitely still have toys in happy meals.

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u/cai_85 11d ago

In the UK at least you still get a choice of toy/book in your happy meal 🤷

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u/Annihilator4413 11d ago

Now all the kids are addicted to cheap unhealthy fast food so now they don't need incentives like toys anymore :/

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u/1_art_please 11d ago

As a little girl I had a few Hot Wheels from McDonalds ( a gold rolls royce and a black trans am) because they were out of the Barbie toys. I wasn't into Barbie much but definitely wanted a toy!

I loved building buildings with my Legos and setting up my dad's encyclopedias as the 'street' to race the cars down. In 1985 it was the only way people would have been 'allowed' to give me a more fun boys toy!

Thry refused to buy me Mechano :(

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u/Stunning_Flan_5987 11d ago

I thought of a prison, last time I ate inside one

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u/KiryuClan 8d ago

They still have toys there. These days they have celebrity meal deals for both kids and adults. There’s no toy with those, though.

Side note: if you were into collecting the toys or collectible cups/glasses, locations usually would sell them without a meal purchase. You just had to ask.

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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/AuRevoirFelicia 11d ago

Wheaties, breakfast of champions

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u/Vileness_fats 11d ago

He headbutted me in Portland, OR 26 years ago.

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u/NotAsleep_ 11d ago

How's Batman and Birdman doing these days?

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u/denialator 11d ago

He ridiculed me, calling me a bum

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u/NotAsleep_ 11d ago

You should kick their asses

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u/cheyennepeppr 11d ago

Memory unlocked. Back when the internet was cuter. What was that guy’s name?

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u/denialator 11d ago

Wesley Willis

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u/Admirable_Cicada_881 10d ago

Cuuuuut theeee mullllleetttttttt

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u/indigo_inamorata 10d ago

Now I want to watch Supersize Me

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u/murphsmodels 11d ago

I'm remember a McDonald's that used to sit over a highway. It was 2 stories and railroad themed. I wonder if it's still around.

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u/Raiders2112 11d ago

We had a couple of those in VA, but not quite to that level. Ours were just one story with a classic car in the window and some cool memorabilia etc. The last remaining one in my region was in York County, VA but it has succumbed to "modernization" as well. Sad to see it go.

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u/Business-Glass-1381 11d ago

I worked as an artist at the Fond du Lac company responsible for that (and many other) rock-themed McD's in the 90's. That was a fun job.

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u/GoAskAlice 11d ago

Oh man, if you have any pics, I'd LOVE to see them.

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u/footpole 11d ago

There was one one in Helsinki too but they renovated it two years ago.

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u/turdor 11d ago

In the UK we had one that looked like a UFO

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u/GB1987IS 11d ago

It makes more money for you to eat your food and get out then to stay around. Thats why.

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u/LoserBustanyama 11d ago

Aw man I totally forgot about Rock and Roll McDonald’s, and now I’m a little sad it’s gone. That, fao Schwartz? And rainforest cafe got me AMPED back in the day

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u/YahMahn25 11d ago

They would unknowingly wander in... to a McD's?

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u/Narissis 10d ago

Quinton Reviews did a video a couple years ago about the de-theming of formerly themed McDonalds locations.

There used to be tons of them but the closest thing still extant might be the UFO-shaped one in Roswell.

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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/SomeKindOfOnionMummy 11d ago

We did in Massachusetts too. 

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u/donnutnuts 11d ago

In the USA they had very good birthday cakes. Chocolate with white icing. As an adult I would pick one up for my own birthday.

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u/TheOGPooner 10d ago

I had a McDonald bday party when I was 10 or 11

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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/Chillers 11d ago

You could get a burger for a dollar back in the 90s and the portions were much bigger and better value. McDonald's is much more unaffordable for kids these days. What probably changed is the big shift to being health conscious expecially after supersize me. Parents are more careful what they feed their kids. I know I purposely went out of my way to avoid fast food for my kids.

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u/dirkdiggler580 11d ago

Also here in the UK with the exact same experience but I think it's anecdotal - I remember reading an article a while ago about how they wanted to get more of a foothold in the adult markets.

My mum and dad always used to tell me that they never went to McD's aside from my birthday parties when I was really young, whereas I see people of all ages in there when I visit now so maybe that tracks?

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u/TheRadishBros 11d ago

There are far more restrictions on advertising to children now than there were 20 years ago.

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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/gahlo 11d ago

I call it corporate minimalism.

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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/Sai22 11d ago

I don’t eat there cause their food is shit 😏

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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/murphsmodels 11d ago

I think a lot of that is because of the homeless people who would come in, buy a coffee and sit for hours to get out of the weather, then use the bathroom to take a shower.

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u/Smooth_Marsupial_262 11d ago

Agreed. I see those signs in locations with large homeless populations as well. I doubt they enforce it as long as you appear clean and respectful.

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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/CreekSurfer 10d ago

I actually love McDonald’s coffee, it’s the only good thing they have

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u/aspannerdarkly 10d ago

But cheaper.

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u/hannahatecats 11d ago

I remember a tiny merry go round when I was a baby.

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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/cheeersaiii 11d ago

It was something special - lucky to have it like twice a year…. These days loads of kids are getting it every week! Removing the fun doesn’t seem to have worked!

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u/FTownRoad 11d ago

lol nothing has changed for n that front. There were plenty of folks 40 years ago that ate McDonald’s weekly.

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u/HQ_FIGHTER 11d ago

Was thinking the exact same thing

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u/heckinCYN 11d ago

Liability lawsuits go brrrr

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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/Buchsee 11d ago

I remember the Macca's had heaps of footy themes back then too.

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u/erossthescienceboss 11d ago

We’d go to McDonalds to hang out. It was a great business model and got kids in the doors.

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u/Own_Bluejay_7144 11d ago

The original operating model of McDonald's was "take your burger and fries in this paper bag and leave." They saved money by not having to constantly clean up the facilities and not having to pay a wait staff. 

They're trying to get back to that after realizing how much money they were saving by just operating the drive through window during Covid, and it alleviates staffing shortages.

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u/Humble-Morning-323 11d ago

They went from “let’s get everyone kid addicted to our foods” to “they are addicted, just need them to order food as quickly as possible “

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u/DiabolicallyRandom 11d ago

Kids don't have money and don't have automomy. Adults do. They used to market to kids, who then begged their (usually) stay at home moms to take them to McDonalds.

Then it became uncouth to market fast Food to kids so They adjusted. Adults are not swayed by play lands and hamburglers much.

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u/Nostalgia-89 11d ago

People complained incessantly that McDonald's was making kids fat. Of course, if parents (myself very much included) could refrain from getting fast food too often and getting their kids to move more, this wouldn't have been a complaint.

McDonald's adjusted and went to something like this over time. It's the market adjusting to cries that fast food corporations were intentionally harming children.

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u/SomeKindOfOnionMummy 11d ago

We had one with a train! I had my 6th birthday there in 1981. 

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u/Rare_Hydrogen 11d ago

Here in America, our local McDonald's had a merry-go-round. Push a button on the wall and it would go around for a few minutes. Lots of fun!

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u/MochaHasAnOpinion 11d ago

We had the Hamburglar back in the 80s. Several kids could sit in it and one would spin the wheel in the center, spinning the whole thing around. Good times.

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u/georgisaurusrekt 11d ago

Not gonna lie though as an adult the newer decoration feels a lot nicer. Last thing I’d want when getting lunch is loud kids running around screaming

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u/Olybaron123 11d ago

Too many kids pooping in the play places

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u/okiedokie666 11d ago

They got the 80's one wrong, there's no ashtray pictured....?

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u/KrocCamen 11d ago

I've got a personal theory that the reason gen Z associate '80s McDonald's with analogue horror (see Grimace Shake), is because they've never had any of that 'kids restaurant' vibe anywhere. It all became sterile in the early 2000s, and the '80s looks alien and creepy to them.

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u/mythrilcrafter 11d ago

I always feel odd seeing how hardcore people reminisce about old-style McDonalds because I really like the modern/contemporary coffee bar aesthetic and I even remember thinking that it was a great change back in the day when they were moving from the older style to the new one.

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u/sheikhyerbouti 11d ago

When I was a kid (mid 1980s), my favorite McDonald's franchise to eat at had pony saddles in the kid's seating area. I loved it.

Nowadays McDonald's feels like something you'd find in a dystopian novel.

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u/Wardogs96 11d ago

It turned more into a soulless corporation. They aren't even trying to hide it anymore.

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u/MileHigh_FlyGuy 11d ago

They're not allowed to market towards children anymore... Blame your government (almost all have come down on stipulations for marketing to children for unhealthy food).

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u/CitizenPremier 11d ago

It's weird, why did coffee improve so much at so many cheap places? Easy to maintain grinding machines? I remember coffee at McDonald's 10 years ago tasted like cigarettes.

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u/SidewaysFancyPrance 11d ago

I get why they overhauled the look, because it was pretty dated. If you drove by a McDonald's that still had a Playplace in the 2000s, you knew it was going to be pretty run-down on the inside. Stuff built with that aesthetic wears down and looks pretty bad over time. Chipped fixtures, worn-off paint, stains, etc.

Now, they don't want people in the lobbies so it's not inviting. They don't want people hanging out and getting comfy or having fun. They want people to use the app and pick up orders in the drive-thru. And if people do come inside, they want cleanup to be easy.

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u/Forumites000 11d ago

As a kid, I hated the old scary wacky ass theme. Glad they changed it.

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u/RealLADude 11d ago

It’s weirdly dystopian.

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u/mustbeme87 11d ago

We used to have those here in America as well. I never got to go in one as a kid for some reason, but I remember them outside some of the McDonald’s. Loved it.

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u/cleff5164 11d ago

Its intentional when we were kids it was marketed torwards and then we lewrned how horrible it is for kids so now its bland and marketed torward adults as it should be

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u/Public_Bluejay_7634 11d ago

we used to have train car birthdays in the US too when I was a kid
I went to one of those when I was a kid and it was a blast

I also used to have the zoo themed McDonalds with my dad in the mornings when he would take me with him to work
It was so great

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u/AnAnonymousParty 11d ago

"We don't care if you are lovin' it anymore, only that you are buying it."

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u/CashMoneyIsAnArmy 11d ago

I had a birthday in a McDonalds train halfway across the world in New Jersey

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u/Cryst 11d ago

We had a train caboose where I attended birthdays up here in canada too. And there was a play roo with slides etc.

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u/_allycat 11d ago edited 11d ago

The ones near me have groups of teens and doordash type workers hanging out in them.

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u/learnedsanity 11d ago

Have your order complete prior to arriving and take your shit and get out! - McDonald's "Go fuck yourself"

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u/thecountnotthesaint 11d ago

It is due to too many kids not having McDonald's money back in the day, forcing mom's to get McDonald's at home.

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u/abell_123 11d ago

"Please leave quickly" was exactly the thought that went through my head.

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u/qroshan 11d ago

Back then you didn't have infinite sources of entertainment options that you have now. So, they had to cater to the fill the gap.

If you make the current McDonalds back to the 80s, do you really think kids will abandon their phones/screens/TikTok and want to go McDonalds?

That's why redditors/progressives are clueless about business and lose money

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u/hereismarkluis 11d ago

Basically they grown up with the target group

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u/PrivilegeCheckmate 11d ago

We had a cable car at the Ocean Ave one where I grew up in San Francisco. I remember as a kid siting in the parking lot waiting for my mom to run in, one of the employees gave me his hat with the little logo. It was like getting the little plane badges on airline trips.

Why does our society suck so much now?

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u/Q_My_Tip 11d ago

The coffee IS better for it

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u/4Z4Z47 11d ago

This came about because they were sued for advertising junk food to children.

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u/bolanrox 11d ago

i remember one on the highway by me starting to play classical music (basically to keep kids from loitering around)

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u/Umbrella_Viking 11d ago

What do you mean you understand the change?

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u/Sad-Bonus-9327 11d ago

It became a meat processing facility essentially

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u/thisisanamesoitis 11d ago

Aging population in the western world. That's why.

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u/icecubepal 11d ago

They also prioritize the drive thru customers.

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u/icecubepal 11d ago

And some of them you cannot order in person. You have to order online or those kiosks in the pic.

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u/natkolbi 11d ago

Ok, so it might seem sad at first but this is a good thing. McDonalds is terribly unhealthy food. It's so, so incredibly unhealthy, full of fat, sugar preservatives, cancerogens, ot has zero nutritional benefit and should absolutely not be marketed to children.

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u/WonderfulShelter 11d ago

At my age 30, as someone who takes very good care of themselves and eats 99% organic health crap, I would never eat at McDonalds these days.

If I was the SAME person I am today, but it was the 80s, I would absolutely eat at McDonalds - just the vibe and character can't be beat in that specially weird Americana 80s style.

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u/invisible_panda 11d ago

We wonder why our kids are fucked up.

They don't get to be kids

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u/Expert_External8426 11d ago

Same shit different Color 😃

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u/cmaxim 11d ago

I get that they wanted to modernize and move away from pandering to kids but I just think these establishments have swung too far into the sterile "grab-n-go" motif. There's got to be a happy medium. Maintain the "fun" and colourful vibe while still feeling modern and clean. They don't need to necessarily pander directly to children anymore, but at least get some colour and comfort into the design and maybe some interesting murals on the walls etc. Make it a warm and inviting place for family to mingle and relax. I don't like how cold, void and homogenous these spaces have become.

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u/Drunky_McStumble 11d ago

An "operating theater" is the perfect description. Everything is so sterile and clinical and utilitarian. It even smells like hospital-grade disinfectant.

It's not a space for humans to exist in, it exists solely to facilitate the process of exchanging capital for basic sustenance with optimised efficiency.

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u/SimilarStrain 11d ago

It looks to me like some dystopia prison ala squid game. The digital menu is for ordering your bland tasteless food to be delivered by a dude with a big M on his mask.

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u/Drakeytown 11d ago

It's not like the fun fiberglass tree was interfering with the quality of the coffee though.

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u/InvisibleMadusa 11d ago

The one near my childhood home also had the train carriage, and we would sneak in when staff would forget to lock it. It was the coolest thing ever. Then one day, in my late teens, we were driving by and I realize that the train carriage was gone. When was it removed? Had it been years? Why didn’t anyone say anything? It still makes me sad.

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u/NoTurkeyTWYJYFM 10d ago

Id say not so heavily advertising dogshit food to kids is a good thing

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u/Narissis 10d ago

We had one with the party caboose here too!

My parents rented it for my birthday party one year (in March, in Canada) and they forgot about our reservation and hadn't turned the heat on so it was freezing cold inside.

Typical party caboose experience, I think.

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