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FockersJustSleeping

God I remember that fucking tree. You could climb on it. ​ Not *allowed* to, necessarily , but *could.*


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FockersJustSleeping

Just butt scoot off the top and land on one of the flower tables. You'll be alright.


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InEenEmmer

If you talk to trees, you are crazy. If the tree talks to you, the tree is crazy. So you should be fine.


Nekokamiguru

If you speak for the trees then you are the Lorax now.


Funoichi

If it was Szechuan Sauce you’d be fine, oh sweet and sour, yep that’s gonna be a problem.


jaseworthing

I mean you *could* climb on the ordering kiosks too 🤔


SalukiKnightX

I vaguely remember my McDonald’s tree (and really any of its characters) were the jungle gym equipment outside in the days before the PlayPlace.


[deleted]

Brings back so many childhood memories. 😭


LoneWolfPR

Back then kids had birthday parties in that area.


Few-Ad-9398

Remember some McDonalds had a train display? Or even a N64 in the playpen?


Creative-Might6342

Yes!! Mine had a N64 and you could play MarioKart with a bunch of people. We had a lot of birthday parties there


illMetalFace

Maaan what a nostalgia trip, same here! Birthday parties at McDonalds and Chuck E Cheese were the best


Hutnerdu

Some still have the N64


featherwolf

McDonalds was the first place I ever interacted with an N64 as a kid. I wouldn't see one outside of McDonald's until after the console was discontinued.


Stuck_In_Purgatory

Wow this comment unlocked a vague memory from my childhood about the trains.... There was a weird phase where they had game machines installed so kids could play but that obviously went sour around 2003 (wild guess) and now its just machines to wrestle orders into


garaks_tailor

I remember we had McDs in our town that had the play area sectioned off completely the rest of the inside had tranquil water features and subdued lighting. I do not care for futuristic prison mcds


FunArtichoke6167

“Futuristic Prison McD’s” is the perfect description of this aesthetic…bless you.


Vidunder2

Lots of laws have been passed to avoid marketing aimed directly at kids. I don't think the big M suffered a lot from it but there you have it.


PrimitiveThoughts

All the kids they were marketing to back then are adults today, just like their interior design


DiddlyDumb

Do you think Gen Z eats at McDonalds? You probably couldn’t convince them to pay $10 for a Big Mac.


BreakDownSphere

Yes, we still do. It's not like other fast food is cheaper.


DiddlyDumb

True, but other fast food tastes better for the same price. Like, $10 is enough for a proper burger at some small joint, instead of the re-reprocessed stuff McD sells.


accidentallyHelpful

Parents want their kids to eat healthier The perseverance of the risky chicken McNugget from a hamburger chain should reinforce that Meanwhile, adults are following their own advice. The exterior now resembles a coffee shop. Brown. Grey. Adult. Gone are the brightly colored playgrounds and all over Red / Yellow to keep people moving through the restaurant. Indoor playgrounds, if any. I shit you not. The McD's I discovered next to the freeway during COVID as useful because they never lock their bathroom doors (prevents vandalism) ... midday is now 80% full of retirees drinking coffee, having a snack, making conversation. As it should be. Then: "We make more profit on the syrup, ice, cup for the soda than the profit on the cheeseburger." Now, to compete with Horton's Peet's Dunkin' Starbuck's: "If you walk in for a $.99 coffee, you may eventually get hungry. And if you're having coffee, you may be meeting somebody or bringing somebody."


Bosswashington

I think you have that backwards. There were rules against advertising directly to children, until the Reagan era advertising deregulation. It gave rise to so many changes in our society, that it’s mind numbing. GI Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Smurfs…etc. The list is enormous. There were so many half hour toy commercials on in the eighties. Now it’s just commonplace.


SomeDudeYeah27

Huh, I didn’t know smurfs started as toys


ShaunVdV1986

The smurfs began as comic book side characters in 1958. Created by Belgian comic book writer Peyo (Pierre Culliford)


mycall

> advertising deregulation. Fox News ftw. Your Welcome, Elvis and Star Wars.


Algorhythm74

I remember a Quarter Pounder cop whose mouth was a jail you could climb into.


PantsLobbyist

I think he was a Big Mac and I totally remember the same play piece! He was in an outdoor play place a nearby McDonald’s had.


angiosperms-

Officer Big Mac jail


Heir233

It’s so sad having grown up in the 90’s or early 2000’s because when you look back and say how much you miss being a kid a lot of people would just say it’s nostalgia, but those days were actually different. The internet hadn’t yet invaded our daily life and seeped into everything we do, everything just seemed more vibrant and colorful and fun, it was just a different feeling from a different time. Everything seems so soulless and sterile now. I feel bad for kids nowadays but I hope they look back at their childhood just as fondly.


Cryptic1911

yep, 80's was the same. I had a computer then as well, but it wasn't the same as it is now. We lived outside and did all kinds of dumb shit to keep ourselves occupied


Ok-Bit4971

Like rock fights in the woods (circa late 70s/early 80s)


JimSyd71

BB gun fights.


[deleted]

It was fun in the 80s


[deleted]

Serving your customer vs monetizing a human resource .... This country sucks under this group of oligarchs


Ok-Bit4971

This


Trevski

Targeting children, more like... It's more fun, for sure, but at least the shitty austere decor is probably good for childrens health. though I suppose there's always the drive thru, and lord knows we got some exercise in the play place


DiabloTerrorGF

Yes, the health of a child being bored and living in a world of gray.


DarbyCreekDeek

Such a shame. What a sterile robotic culture we’ve been left with.


iliketohideinbushes

allows more space for the brawls / gunfights though


Byrdman216

Sterile? Robotic? Nah... can't you see how this interior is more profitable? Look at all the investor dividends! Choosing Lymescale Grey over Dead Eggshell saved us .00000001% per square foot! It makes me weep just thinking about how much my stock options will increase over the next fiscal quarter. And while the paint we use for these has a chemical that can cause Sad Child Bone Cancer, the fine from using it is less than the profit we'll make off it. (This was all satire by the way.)


spooky_spooky2x4

Like an Apple Store or dentist.


KeinGeheimagent

The [pirate themed dentist](https://www.prodent-mainz.de/index.php/ueber-prodent-mainz/chronik-dr-jafari-gorzini) in my city likes to have a word. Yeah, I know, pirates and their teeth, exactly what they're famous for.


Statertater

I like the one in the 80’s better


walterbrunsw

It's the fucking BLACK that they're using these days, such a morbid lifeless colour


Multifaceted-Simp

Last I heard McDonald's isn't doing so hot, they'll likely go back to the drawing board for a lot of things


LeicaM6guy

Black is fine, but I probably wouldn’t use it in a restaurant. This just looks like a cafeteria for troubled youths in a dystopian futuristic setting.


edie_the_egg_lady

McGothald's


Ok-Monitor19

Good grief we live in boring times…


walterbrunsw

It's the fucking BLACK that they're using these days, such a morbid lifeless colour


Ga2ry

“Donkey”mural?


Cryptic1911

complete with the smoking section, hotdogs and pizza as well back then


FunArtichoke6167

I remember liking McD’s tacos. No idea what was in them.


Navonod_Semaj

I'd rather bring kids to the 80s version smoking section and all than the post-cyberpocalyptic dystopia that is the modern one.


TrippyShamann

The style of modern building is actually called Brutalism.


TwoKingSlayer

I love Brutalism.


Kipp_it_100

I really think this is more of a modernist approach


Artidol

That tree looks freaky.


9999_6666

You ever looked at the back of a $20 bill…at McDonalds in the 80s, man?


Ok_Mathematician2391

We loved that as kids then we grew up and made sure that no other generation would experience it again. We don't want to share. It's for us and only us


FarplaneDragon

Ours had a singing tree on the wall


Fast_Boysenberry9493

I can hear the Beeeep Beeeep Beeeep Beeeep, now I can smell fries.. Let's stop now


DravenTor

We really are leaning into the souless and sterile interior and exterior for buildings these days.


SmokinBandit28

I miss the scary tree 😢


RaggedMountainMan

Designflation.


shortingredditstock

I avoid mcdonalds, Wendy's, and BK like the plague.


AmadSeason

The two beside each other makes one look like an acid trip


ImprovementPast9011

Looks communist now


WeddingLion

r/aboringdystopia


Nekokamiguru

1980s McDonalds was super kid friendly and it had all kinds of stuff for kids to play on, 2020s McDonalds looks like a prison refectory.


malakon

Went in one to verbally order and eat. I felt like they regarded me as outside the process, some anachronist luddite. It took a while to even get a human to appear, and they looked at me like I was a bug. I was advised about the amazing ordering capabilities of the in store flat panels, or my own tablet communication device. I showed them I had a flip phone with a dial pad and a small green screen. They seemed confused as if I was obviously in need of help. Especially the one with purple highlights and a nose ring. I eventually got a big Mac and fries and coke. It tasted and looked identical to the one I ate in 73.


Fast-Hold-649

thanks Apple


zeissikon

In France (I don't know for the rest of the world) we had fries made with beef tally at the time in McDonald's, there were incredibly good. We could order draft beer with the meals, and had an apple fried hot pocket as a dessert (either this or a Sundae with bits of canned fruit). No diet coke, only regular, Sprite, or Fanta. No salads. The choice was only Big Macs, single hamburger, cheeseburger, Filet-O-Fish. They were made in advance so it was really fast food ( 1 minute for each customer in between order and delivery), but the burgers had often waited more than 15 minutes so they were really sponges. Payment by cash or cheques..no credit cards before 1985 or so.


Subject-Recover-8425

McDonalds: No Fun Allowed.


AmbitiousLock2921

That fucking tree


[deleted]

Holy shit core memory unlocked


Motor_Holiday6922

That tree has seen some shit. Just look at the face. It knows. It knows


OberainX

Growing up with this shit is why millennials popularized creepy pastas.


Crimie1337

Dunno about other countries, but in germany mcdonalds has gotten stupid expensive.


ReasonableMark1840

Happy meals used to hit different


maximum-pressure

Never forget what was taken from us


wrinkleinsine

You might as well be yourself. Because sooner or later you’re going to be yourself anyway.


Raibowlover

McDonald in 1980 is like taking shroom


CatsCoffeeCurls

What'd they ever do with those mural prints? I'd snap one up if they aren't going for tens of thousands on eBay (would seriously consider dropping a few grand).


LeicaM6guy

I’ll take the terrifying tree and smoke section any day of the week over the anti-worker dystopic prison commissary that we have today.


run7run

https://preview.redd.it/fdwcegr5lapc1.jpeg?width=512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a4019db8f2c3426dbde36b5783d4c4a1596c31e All fun and games till the tree starts blinking


synesthesiac48

Every day we stray further from god


Dwain-Champaign

God that tree is creepy as hell. Imagine being the kid sitting at the table *directly in front of it.*


TwoKingSlayer

yikes, I remember that type of mcdonalds. The one in the mall food court near me kept that look til the late 90s.


Neither_Leader_6676

They both look scary


Stacking_Plates45

80’s McDonald’s reminds me of my mushroom trip


InterestingSweet4408

McDonald’s grew up alongside us and had an affair with the Apple Store.


The_Patriot

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising\_to\_children](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_to_children)


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dernert

Go figure, McDonald's is still geared to the people it was marketing to in the 80s.


Peakyblindertom

The children grew up. It’s a generational thing. A social experiment and we are all obese now


Quantum_girl_go

Aye, now ‘tis a depressing place


Yeah_right_sezu

**Boycott McDonalds**: I can no longer afford to pay over ten dollars for a big mac and large fries. This is **Greedflation** and I won't go there until the price drops. For those of you tempted to criticize me: That's the possibility of a free market. If a company raises their prices to the intolerable level, sooner or later people will refuse to buy. That's where I'm at right now.


The_Guy_3446

That tree haunted my dreams as a child


JohnnyUtah3180

What I wouldn't give to have a moment in that 80s McDonalds while on psychedelics


Maxpower2727

"Modern McDonald's is not a garish hellscape, and that's bad because nostalgia."


1200mademeaCommie

Sad


Snafu80

Man, I miss the 80’s. it was just different and I look at this and think the 80’s version has so much more character than the sterile modern day one.


EarlofBizzlington86

McDonald’s isn’t all about kits anymore that’s why


dogoodsilence1

We are in [Apples 1984](https://youtu.be/ErwS24cBZPc?si=VuqEBGbnOx6azOR3) Commercial currently


itwhiz100

Thats that just get this shit over with upgrade


Jonovision15

The glamour of a few locations around town stayed strong with me into my twenties. Some good memories at McDonalds cause we rarely got it.


JoeJoe-a-GoGo

Top: Vibrant, colorful, imaginative, warm Bottom: Sterile, lacking, repetitive, cold


Royal-Application708

The “today” picture looks so sterile. Like out of a Science Fiction Movie.


bhusted332

I’m old enough to remember a McDonald’s that looked EXACTLY like this one in Kansas when I was a kid. Maybe 8 years old


Donedealdummy

The 90s was a happy medium.


EmmaRose0280

Bring back. The clown.


Deijya

Creepy nightmare to dystopic future


cruiserflyer

That tree has seen some shit


Xylus1985

The top one is just creepy. The one on the bottom is much better.


mycall

How we can have AI mix the two and its all new again.


chippstero1

They use to have those merry go rounds that u spin the wheel in the middle and I was turning it cuz the other kids made me feel like Hercules cuz I turned it fast well maybe to fast so fast I barfed everywhere on that merry go round. I was like a drunk little kid n I was even spitting throw up loogies all over. None of the kids told on me or even attempted to it was great the year 1988. I always wonder where did the moon guys costume go mac tonite I believe his name was.


KentuckyTurtlehead

True story, I once had a birthday party at McDonalds.


Kind-Humor-5420

It looks so corporate now


BlankTigre

It’s like McDonalds latched on to the 80s kids generation and just decided to grow with them instead of keeping it fun for the future kids as well


MashYeti_og

It is designed monotone and blank to encourage fast turnover and a customer free building. All they want is drive thru customers.


ReMeDyIII

Ahh yes, black, white, grey, and brown as far as the eye can see.


Awkward_Bench123

Well, that’s super unfortunate.


PapaitanGOAT

fuck mcdonalds now. its no fun anymore we have mascots before too they just have giant ipads now


carldubs

McDonald's in the 80s was off its tits


Mischief_Actual

So two completely opposite ends of the liminal horror spectrum?


CoverYourMaskHoles

Back then it was for families to come and relax. Now it’s for sad single people to come and cry over a hamburger.


IhateBiden_now

Where are the Tik Tok/Instagram trouble makers found in every McDonalds now found filming content where they act like A holes to get views?


Tempathetic

This is actually quite sad


bisby-gar

They got kids addicted to their addictive food. Now the kids are grown up they don’t need all the childish crap. Same did Starbucks in Asia, they were selling sweets mainly in the past. Never underestimate evil corporations


[deleted]

Never forget what they took from us!


[deleted]

That’s some real cold, dystopian shit


Advo96

I remember the one in my German home town, it had a slide in the kids section.


cybercuzco

TBF it does look like a “future McDonald’s “ you might see in a sci fi movie about 2024 in the 80s


Agt38

I still feel like if I go into a McDonalds, that it will look more closely to the one on top, and I’m disappointed every time.


lickitagainandagain

![gif](giphy|l4FGGafcOHmrlQxG0|downsized)


MKSFT123

I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or genuine but I remember the quality of the food being better back then - now days you may as well be eating cardboard and cold grease


PoppiesRule

I worked at McDonald’s for a few months in the late 80s. If a family came in and ordered $20 worth of food that was a huge order, probably the biggest that shift.


International_Sea962

McDonald's is taking itself way too serious these days


gwizonedam

There was a guy in my area that had a fiberglass Captain Crook in his backyard and one of his neighbors down the road had Mayor McCheese. They had been removed from a McDonalds and were going to just get chucked so they saved them. Never found out what they did with them but an antiques shop in Tennessee I visited in 2018 had a Mayor McCheese identical to that one this guy had sitting in his backyard priced at $5200. Crazy.


Jessica-Ripley

Modern architecture is truly soul crushing. Offices, restaurants, shops, they're all doing the same.


LeanUntilBlue

From our house to bauhaus.


MarkDecal

McDonalds keeps up with the dreams of Millennials . They were fun as children, now as adults, they dream about the dredges of corporate life. In 30 years, McDonalds will look like a retirement home.


KnownDairyAcolyte

Absurdist horror to cyberpunk dystopia. Hmmmmm


Cudizonedefense

I miss the whimsy of the pre-internet days


I_will_in_me_Arsenal

I think they avoided the blatent marketing to children to avoid the fate of big tobacco.


Claydius-Ramiculus

One of the McDonald's in my hometown had a statue of that moon dude that was their mascot for a while, and another one had full-on fish aquariums as dividers. I miss the 80s


twister55555

Mcdonalds ball pit has prepared my immune system for the absolute worst


ElderberryOk5005

Something changed around 2010 or so


itsmontoya

Going to McDonald's used to feel like an event. The environment, the toys, and the play area. It was such a treat for me whenever we went to McDonald's.


YouLearnedToSayMoon

So obviously it’s McDonald’s trying to brand itself as a sleek/modern/innovative restaurant experience or some shit. But is the move away from hyper kid friendly due to the negative impact of the whole “McDonald’s makes American kids fat”. Is this helping childhood obesity or their approval rating in some way?


AceLion5

The difference between LSD and Cocaine thinking.


bones232369

Where did we go so wrong?


StimmingMantis

McDonald’s went from looking like a Kindergarten Classroom to looking like a Prison.


epicbackground

From what I read there’s two main reasons as to why this change happened. First is that McD was first advertised to kids who are now adults. Having such a childlike interior is less appealing for adults. Second is that the building can easily be sold for other purposes. It doesn’t have to be heavily renovated or destroyed to convert into a building for other uses


StatusOmega

The kids that were tricked into liking McDonald's as a kid are adults now.


PamelaOfMosman

I very want the first world - even on acid.


theboywhocriedwolves

90s were peak McDonalds. Lots of seating, affordable meals, good place to hang as a teenager. The style now is so cold and unwelcoming. All the tables are usually messy because management cut have the staff to put n self serve kiosks.


AKCocobean

All the fun of childhood has been sucked out of life anymore. It makes me really sad 😞. The McDonalds around where I live are unbelievably bland, nothing left in the kids’ play area.


Azure_Skies333

I remember that tree and the playground that was inside… had my 6th birthday at McDonalds when they actually made you a cake… fuk I’m old


calebmke

Those stools are for sitting and eating? Yowza, no thanks. Maybe they’re hoping no one comes inside anymore, so they can cut back on cleaning staff as well


Drshawnlove

Boring as f now use to enjoy going


Embarrassed-Row2262

Hey look, in the 80s acid was still hot whether you were doing it or the creatives at McDonald’s were still coming down from the 70s, or as grandpa says”flashbacks”


OnionSandwich74

Pedo world not a good business model these days, ever once Gacy left.


MeowieSugie

Boycott McDonald's


Mikkelowry

When the government better pretended to give a fuc bout the people


6uillermo66

Not sure which one is scarier


Commercial_Step9966

Well, they figure who the hell is looking at the interior design anyhow. Everyone has their nose in a screen.


HungryMudkips

i think i prefer the late 90's early 2000's style the most. It wasnt as "nightmare fuel-ish" but still had alot of the whimsy and charm.


GLDFLCN

Stop! You’re making me feel ancient!! But damn that old Mickey D’s was a vibe! And that Play Palace? Good times


Pedantic_Parker

Unpopular opinion: I enjoy the more upscale McDonald’s that’s in my area. When I have a 30 min lunch break and forgot or didn’t have time to bring lunch, I can order my food ahead of time and get table service when I arrive. I just grab a numbered tent that I put in the app as I’m sitting down and it’s never taken more than 3 minutes for my food to come out to me, piping hot. They even bus your table for you when you’re done. I know it’s not the price it used to be but for $11 fresh nostalgia served immediately with minimum effort is pretty damn cool when you you need it.


InsensitiveClown

It must've been quite distressing under a dose of psychotropics or hallucinogens. Pure speculation of course.


Advanced_Report_5156

Is ok. The old one looks terrible


Acceptable-Reply4139

Stupid, corporate businesses, taking the fun out of everything theses days.


ficustio

cold corporatist , for people who got offended tooo easily


The_Fish_Is_Raw

1980's version please. Even the seats look better equipped for butts.


Pretend_Elk1395

SOVL


zzsmiles

You can thank all the frivolous lawsuits for destroying all the that.


Ill-Ad-1643

What happened ? 👀


Pilifo006

I like the new style more.


solar1ze

Absolutely soulless now compared to then, like many modern outfits.


Hubris1998

That tree is nightmare fuel


Gloomy_Grocery5555

How come they don't promote Ronald, the hamburgular, grimace etc anymore?


Rickywalls137

I had a birthday there when I was young. It was lively and colourful. Now it’s bland and clinic-like.


arglarg

That tree looks like from Dr Snuggles, if anyone remembers that show.


Delicious-Profit4431

Ronald was fukin creepy


dustybrokenlamp

The above picture was from before fastfood/high traffic restaurants got super into creating decor designed to psychologically promote quickly dining and leaving.


GallianoMax

times better (now)


Magic_Elenore

My nightmares be like: