It’s time for a little gratuitous and greasy fast food nostalgia. Lovin’ it or hatin’ it, McDonald’s is a permanent fixture of the modern high street, but the nineties were a particularly experimental era for the multinational corporation. Ronald & co were poised to push the boundaries of what a fast-food chain could achieve and make sure those golden arches followed us wherever we went – across country, over water, mountains and even into the skies. Climb aboard!
In 1993, McDonald’s was ready to expand its empire by partnering with German train line Deutsche Bundesbahn (or DB) to create a mini restauraurant “dining experience” for railway passengers. In order to transform a set of dining service cars on German trains, Micky D’s installed fully equipped kitchens including deep fryers, soda dispensers and ice cream machines. The restaurants on wheels offered a breakfast menu, followed by the lunch and dinner menu, but in addition to the standard fare of burgers and fries, they also wanted to add some more regionally specific items (like Viennese sausage) to entice consumers.
The venture came at a time when McDonald’s was hitting some setbacks and consumers were complaining that the food just didn’t stack up against competitors like Burger King and Wendy’s. Several marketing blunders and the loss of a contract with Disney lead to a decrease in profits and popularity. The U.S. market was struggling, however, abroad McDonald’s was charging full steam ahead, surpassing Coca-Cola to become the biggest brand in the world. It seemed like this was the perfect market for the McTrain to enter the stage and catapult the world famous burger chain to even greater heights and make up for US sector sluggishness.
So what happened to McDonald’s big dream of conquering the railways? Well, several things. First off, selling cheap hamburgers and fries is one thing in cities and quite another on cross-country railway cars. The McTrain’s journey followed the Hamburg-Berchtesgarden line, which was a long route stretching the length of the countryside. German passengers were accustomed to much finer dining during their scenic journey, so the inexpensive-comfort-food-novelty didn’t quite fit the mood.
More importantly, however, these rolling McDonald’s dining cars proved to be a money pit. Selling fast food on a train means that there are only so many passengers to sell to. Overall train ridership was down as more and more people were choosing to fly. The dining cars were also a huge power suck, using about 90 kilowatts of power; double the standard usage. Those McFlurries won’t freeze and mix themselves after all! Keeping track of inventory was a nightmare too. Reportedly, the McTrain dining cars resupplied from McDonald’s restaurants along the route, which proved to be a logistical nightmare. And if a train left early, or if the McDonalds-trained staff were running late and missed the train, there would be no one to run the dining car. Rolling McDonald’s restaurants just did not make the profits the burger giant had hoped for. But wait – since air travel was on the rise, can you guess where the fast food chain put its sights on next?
In 1996, Swiss air carrier, Crossair, teamed up with tour company Hotelplan, to create a McPlane. The first flight was from Switzerland to Greece, and the McPlane was kitted out in the golden arches and wrapped in the chain’s iconic red ketchup color.
Even the seats were red leather and embroidered with the “M” logo. Passengers could order all the classic menu items; nuggets, burgers, and milkshakes, but notably, not fries. The reason? No one wanted a grease fire while the plane was cruising at 30,000 ft. Sounds reasonable to us. Perhaps the only thing that will come close to the McAirplane experience today is in Taupo, New Zealand which put itself on the map with a decommissioned DC3 as their McDonald’s restaurant. Tables are set up inside.
But before either McTrain or McPlane, before fast food chain hit the train tracks or the skies – it took to water with the McBoat! First, there was the St. Louis barge restaurant built in 1980 to look like an old-fashioned paddlewheel that ruled the banks of the Mighty Mississippi for twenty years until it was unceremoniously decommissioned in 2000.
Then came the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, Canada, McDonald’s designed a unique floating restaurant. Showcasing the company’s innovation and futuristic concepts, it was an architectural marvel with a distinct nautical theme.
After the Expo ended, McDonald’s had plans to repurpose it as a permanent floating restaurant in Vancouver’s harbor. However, due to various challenges, including high maintenance costs and zoning issues, the project never came to fruition. The McDonalds was left abandoned, floating and neglected for years, slowly deteriorating while becoming a subject of curiosity for locals and passersby.
In 2015, the derelict McBarge caught the attention of a property developer named Howard Meakin. Recognizing its potential, Meakin initiated a plan to restore and transform the McBarge into a vibrant tourist attraction. However, the restoration efforts faced financial hurdles, and the project eventually stalled. As a result, the McBarge remained in a state of disrepair.
Currently, the exact location and condition of the McBarge are uncertain. It is believed to be moored somewhere in the Vancouver area, though access to the structure is restricted. Despite its faded glory, the McBarge continues to hold a unique place in the collective memory of those who witnessed its initial unveiling and the subsequent saga of its abandonment.
And we would be remiss not to mention the time McDonald’s put a restaurant in a UFO saucer in the UK. In 1993, the company took over the flying saucer from a failed alien-themed eatery chain and opened up one of the truly iconic McDonald’s locations.
Reportedly it was extremely popular, both with curious tourists and locals, as well as the military who had a base nearby. The McUFO had a then-futuristic ordering system (a screen at the tables), dark atmospheric interiors, and a nightmare of a drive-thru. It sadly closed in 2000 due to mountain maintenance costs and dwindling sales.
And while McDonald’s is the indisputable king of the highway drive-throughs, did you expect it to become a part of your ski run? Little known outside of Sweden, McDonald’s has a Ski-Thru restaurant! At “McSki,” located in the popular Swedish ski resort of Lindvallen, about 450 kilometers northwest of Stockholm, skiers can order hamburgers and French fries through a special window and ski off, munching as they go. The restaurant, which has actually been open since the mid 1990s (okay I’m a little slow) also has indoor seating for about 140 people.
Check out the advert:
Besides making McTrains and McPlanes, McBoats, McUFO’s and more, the company also experimented with some rather bold menu items, mostly notably the McPizza. Hoping to grow evening sale revenues by breaking into the dinner market, the chain released a full sized pizza at first and then introduced smaller personal pizzas.
But the demand just wasn’t there and costumers became frustrated with longer wait times between six and nine minutes. (It turns out that it takes longer to make a pizza than a burger). Despite investing a lot of money into developing the pizza menu and outfitting hundreds of locations with pizza ovens, by the end of the 90’s McDonald’s was forced to admit that the McPizza was not working and pulled the plug on the McPizza. Today however, if your heart truly desires this item however, you can find it in Orlando, Florida, home of the largest McDonald’s in the US. And of course, we can’t bring up the McPizza without an honourable mention of the McDonalds Pineapple Big Mac circa 1984. (Yes, this really happened).
If you prefer to keep things simple, don’t forget, the oldest McDonald’s on the planet is still active and located in Downey, California. It looks pretty much identical to the way it did when it opened in 1953…
