McDonald's

[Leo656]

Well, when a person has the opportunity to say, "I think it's safer in NJ" for any reason whatsoever... probably time to think about relocating, skip.

[Voltron]

Yeah. Probably a good idea to scram if they have McRoofies on the dollar menu and you're a hot piece of ass.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I felt like I was living in the future. No more cashiers and now robots or machines take your order. I couldn’t believe the giant kiosk touch screens they had with every food item on the menu and you just select what you want. God it’s like The Jetsons or Futurama.

You know, I have to agree with you there Cubed. I can kinda envision my 80's child self being completely blown away by seeing those 'futuristic giant screens' where you literally touch and choose your food.

[Leo656]

I'm personally furious that I don't get to dictate my food order directly to the floating on-screen head of either Michael Jackson or Ronald Reagan. We still have a long way to go.

[Andrew NDB]

To prove my point... merely Google "des moines wa mcdonalds shooting" and you'll see multiple examples. I work right next to it.

[Voltron]

Looks like a perfectly fine McDonald's to me.

[CyberCubed]

I remember as a kid being so excited to see what toy they gave away with each happy meal order every month. Some months were Ninja Turtles, others were Batman, others Mario or Pokémon toys, etc.

God I miss the days of going into Mcdondalds and getting a happy meal toy and playing with a cheaply made Ninja Turtle or Batman toy from the kids meal. I remember they always had toys based on whatever popular movie was out at the time too.

God why can’t it be 1992 again. There was something magical about McDonald’s back then, it wasn’t just a place to eat but you would jump in the giant ball pit or climb those damn maze like tubes you could never find your way out of.

[IndigoErth]

Not to mention back then it was a new one each week, not just random like it is now, so you could actually try to collect all of them.

[AquaParade]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I remember as a kid being so excited to see what toy they gave away with each happy meal order every month. Some months were Ninja Turtles, others were Batman, others Mario or Pokémon toys, etc.

God I miss the days of going into Mcdondalds and getting a happy meal toy and playing with a cheaply made Ninja Turtle or Batman toy from the kids meal. I remember they always had toys based on whatever popular movie was out at the time too.

God why can’t it be 1992 again. There was something magical about McDonald’s back then, it wasn’t just a place to eat but you would jump in the giant ball pit or climb those damn maze like tubes you could never find your way out of.

No! Never!

1992 looks great in retrospect but who wants to go back to being forced to sit still in a classroom all day with no agency or freedom to just walk up and go to the bathroom? To once again lose the freedom that a car allows or to go back to eating only what is made available to you by your parents??

Being a kid isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I remember as a kid being so excited to see what toy they gave away with each happy meal order every month. Some months were Ninja Turtles, others were Batman, others Mario or Pokémon toys, etc.

God I miss the days of going into Mcdondalds and getting a happy meal toy and playing with a cheaply made Ninja Turtle or Batman toy from the kids meal. I remember they always had toys based on whatever popular movie was out at the time too.

God why can’t it be 1992 again. There was something magical about McDonald’s back then, it wasn’t just a place to eat but you would jump in the giant ball pit or climb those damn maze like tubes you could never find your way out of.

Oh, it still is in some areas. The one I work at still has the playland, the real cashiers, and all the rest. Of course, a lot of these new innovations are only being done in test markets, particularly in high-density population areas. With Burger King on the downslide, they figure they have the burger market mostly cornered now. But in some ways, technology can't replace a real person, since kiosks can break down, cup chip readers (? This is the first I've even HEARD of these, and I WORK for the company!) can malfuntion or give false readings or whatever, and a major part of the point of fast food is service. It's not really serving your customers if they have to do everything themselves! So, I guess, just don't believe every story about how this is the future of the company, or fast food in general, because a lot of it is inflated or is flat out wrong. Some test markets have tried these new ideas, to be sure, but that doesn't mean the company thinks they will work in all areas, or that such things will even be permanent if they get bad reactions from customers.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Not to mention back then it was a new one each week, not just random like it is now, so you could actually try to collect all of them.

They still do. Most of the last five or six months worth of toys have been things like Secret Life of Pets, Hot Wheels, Barbie, Pokemon, or currently, Frozen 2. And that is just the last few months. We had a HUGE set to collect for Endgame- 24 toys! There are still sets to collect, and now they even come with scan codes to use for interactive play using their kids app. The toys have actually kind of evolved in a way.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

There was something magical about McDonald’s back then, it wasn’t just a place to eat but you would jump in the giant ball pit or climb those damn maze like tubes you could never find your way out of.

Right? This is what I'm talking about. My daughter is the age I was when I enjoyed that stuff, but it simply doesn't exist anymore.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Don't be so sure. Many of them DO still have these things. One of themain reasons that some have ditched the playlands, is insurance cost and maintenance costs. Insurance especially has caused a few to close or remove them. It's just not cost effective for some franchise owners to keep them going when they could renovate and use the space to serve more customers.

[Leo656]

Plus those ball pits are generally infested with urine. "JUST" urine if you're lucky.

I kid, but I know a lot of parents who won't let their kids do stuff like that anymore because it's not hygenic. Everyone is such a germaphobe nowadays, I can see a general lack of use and interest being a factor as well. It's a lot of maintenance and money for something like that, and if it's just gonna sit there, then yeah.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Ours doesn't have a ball pit, but it is used every day. Sometimes heavily. But yeah, sanitation issues can certainly be a factor, especially when very young kids are involved. Like little excited puppies, sometimes they just- can't contain themselves....

[Andrew NDB]

I forgot about the burger seats!

https://www.throwbacks.com/mcdonalds...and-heres-why/

[MikeandRaph87]

I miss Grimace, Birdie, and Hamburgler. Today's McDonald's are MTO and Starbucks wannabe.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

I miss Grimace, Birdie, and Hamburgler.

They brought back the Hamburglar 4 years ago:
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdo...burglar-2015-5

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

They brought back the Hamburglar 4 years ago:
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdo...burglar-2015-5

Yes, I remember the ad in the Spring/Summer of 2015 I was thinking it would go beyond a one off and be a part of a revamp of the characters.