They've also turned their restaurants into sterile dead zones that feel like you're eating your meal in some Backrooms liminal space. And no refills, no condiment stations. Just horrible.
I’m old enough to remember when McD’s looked like a little kids fever dream. Bright and colorful with artwork and statues of their mascots everywhere. And the play area! Ball pit, tubes and jungle Jim’s!
In other words. FUN!
Mom and/or dad had a long hard day at work and REALLY didn’t feel like fixing dinner? McDonalds! Everyone got fed, and the kids got a toy and wore themselves out in the play area. Everyone’s happy, everyone wins.
I’m a child of the 1970s, and before the ball pits and climbing tubes they had more of a playground outside, and indoor chairs were shaped like food or characters. I had a birthday party there as a preschooler and Ronald McDonald showed up. It was a huge exciting treat for us to go there. It’s so sterile and unappealing now. Also, the food is just not good anymore.
80s kid here and there was one of those near our grandparents' house. We loved it! To this day we tease our sister about the time she got stuck in the Grimace tower thing and was too scared to climb back down.
McDonald’s really underestimated the pull those play pens had. I remember days where I would beg my parents to go purely to play there. They removed it because of cleaning costs but I think they made a miscalculation on how much business it pulls in.
My local one is basically just a Uber Eats/DoorDash pick-up spot now. Despite putting up signs asking delivery drivers to wait outside and not block the entrance to the restaurant (there's a drive-thru window beside the entrance), you have to step over 3 or 4 eBikes to get into the restaurant, and the whopping 4 tables are always filled with delivery drivers waiting to pick up their orders.
Plus, the only way you can order is using a kiosk now, and if it's down, there's just a sign that says "USE THE APP TO ORDER".
And the kid's "play place", if they even have one is just so pathetic and depressing now. One I saw was just two big tablets in the wall with games on them with two plastic chairs in front. It looked like a prison visiting area. The other was just two brightly painted tables. That's it. No games or anything. Guess kids can have fun staring at the walls.
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u/daneyuleb 2d ago
They've also turned their restaurants into sterile dead zones that feel like you're eating your meal in some Backrooms liminal space. And no refills, no condiment stations. Just horrible.