Grabbing a Happy Meal from the McDonald’s drive-thru was always great as a kid, but the real treat was getting to actually eat inside of the restaurant. Why? Because once you were done, you could go play in the McDonald’s PlayPlace, a magical area of plastic tube slides, and ball pits, complete with the addicting scent of french fries wafting through the air.
At least, that’s what they used to be like. One McDonald’s goer recently captured the “new” look of the McDonald’s PlayPlace, and it’s even more disappointing than finding out chicken nuggets are made from pink slime. Nancy French posted about it on Mar. 5., 2025, from her X account (@NancyAFrench), where it quickly went viral, with 13M views, 58K likes, 6.1K reshares, 4.2K saves, and 1.8K comments.
“This is so heart breaking,” she wrote in the caption of her post. “I’m at a new McDonalds in Franklin, TN and look at their ‘play place’ for children. Two screens/two chairs.”
The image she shared indeed does contain what looks like a small, three-walled room off to the side of the restaurant, where two black chairs face two horizontal touch-screens filled with what look to be options for games and/or entertainment.
One of the walls has a red and white decorative motif splashed across the back, with a Happy Meal box (complete with eyes and a squiggly, waving hand) and the words, “PlayPlace” written at a child-sized eye level.
“This ruined my day,” wrote X user @KassyAkiva in the comments.
“The shift in McDonald’s vibe from 90’s to today captures everything wrong with society,” added X user @itsadambrown.
What is the McDonald’s PlayPlace?
McDonald’s has always been popular with families, and one way to ensure customers stayed longer (and bought more food) was to provide them with an area for kids to play. These branded playgrounds started popping up in the 1970s, with the first one located in Chula Vista, CA, and grew into a staple of the McDonald’s identity ever since.
Originally these structures were built outdoors, like a regular playground, but as they grew in popularity and location, McDonald’s began to adapt them to be built indoors, for use all year-round and or in areas that had cold weather.
These playgrounds were plagued with safety issues, but continued to be a favorite feature of McDonald’s restaurants throughout their lifespan.
French posted the original PlayPlace design that had belonged to the McDonald’s location. It shows a large structure of tubes and tunnels enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
“Hey guys! This was the previous McDonald’s structure that had to be replaced due to fire,” she stated in the caption of the post. “The new ‘kids play place’ I posted below is to replace this enormous kids area,” emphasizing the clear downgrade in fun.
Why did McDonald’s change its Play Place design?
Like Happy Meal toys, the McDonald’s PlayPlace was another way for kids to activate their imagination through the fast-food brand. However the demographics of McDonald’s customers began to change in the 2000s; families with kids going to McDonald’s fell from 18.6 percent in 2011 to 14.6 percent in 2014, and McDonald’s executives didn’t feel there was enough market demand for these areas to continue building them.
As time went on and kids started playing less and less with toys, and relied more on technology for entertainment, the purpose of the PlayPlace began to wane. Many PlayPlace areas also closed based on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, for health and safety reasons. Few reopened, and many were fully removed during renovations and rebrandings.
French posted a follow-up in the original post thread, with a video showing more features of the revamped PlayPlace.
“I went back in to make sure I didn’t miss something,” French posted in the caption. “There was this column thing that might be for getting kids to exercise. But I don’t think this is temporary. I think this is it.”
The video shows a colorful, electric structure featuring a yellow cylinder in the center with two rows of yellow blinking lights in four places, and four circles on the floor connected to it. Footprints indicate kids should stand in these spaces. A beeping sound can be heard, and the lights flicker and move when you move your feet.
French also panned to a set of “Playground Safety Rules” nailed to the wall, which stated that “socks must be worn at all times” despite there not being any sort of real physical activity opportunities. The area also featured a wooden bench for people to sit and watch their kids watch the screens.
It’s not clear whether or not the pared-down PlayPlace is a nation-wide strategy or being tested, but whatever the reason, its purpose is completely different than before.
McFans share their favorite McDonald’s PlayPlace Nostalgia
Saddened by the stark image, it didn’t take long for X users to reminisce about their own PlayPlace experiences.
“For those too young to know, this is what it looked like in the 80’s and 90’s,” posted X user @proofofwork1 in the comments. “As a kid, it was so much fun. The McDonalds near me had an indoor playground with giant ball pit!”
They added images of several PlayPlace designs and features, like mini carousels and giant outdoor tube slides.
“Take me back to better days,” wrote X user @SystemicTexism with an image of an old-school, outdoor PlayPlace, which included a child playing inside of a cheeseburger tower.
“Never forget what they took from us,” joked X user @Mlondon83, who included contrasting images of the bright, fun-looking McDonald’s restaurant designs of the past, with the gray, modern-looking designs most McDonald’s became.
Though X user @markhlyon noted that McDonald’s had been inching towards more tech-friendly play options previously as well. “My favorite McD play experience was when they had Nintendo consoles,” they wrote, with an image of a video screen and two controllers positioned inside of a McDonald’s restaurant.
Is fun at the fast-food restaurant all gone and just to be forgotten? X user @LibertarianGenx sees a budding business opportunity…
“I mean, it KINDA sounds like theres a huge market opening for a family oriented fast food chain with an emphasis on play areas in the US, if an VCs are willing,” they posted in the comments.
The Daily Dot has reached out to McDonald’s via email and Nancy French via website contact form for comment.
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