This is the 12 minute promotional film made in 1972 for SetMakers, the original manufacturer of the McDonaldland playground equipment. Please see www.flickr.com/photos/jasonlie... for more information.
Sadly, I never got to experience one of these outdoor McDonaldland playgrounds. I was born in 1991 and by then, most of these outdoor playgrounds were gone from McDonald's restaurants, due to the large number of injuries children sustained from the hard, metal structures. My local McDonald's had a PlayPlace with the tubes and a ball pit. I enjoyed that when I was a kid. Now that's gone, as are most play areas in McDonald's and Burger King restaurants. Nowadays, it's rarer to find a restaurant that has a play area than one that doesn't. I can understand why because of injuries, griminess, bacteria and COVID-19. Not to mention, kids spend too much time on smartphones and tablets.
This was so much fun as a kid. I was born in 83' so I was lucky enough to remember this. I am 34 now and knowing McDonald's sadly is not about the children anymore is really sad.. Even all of the characters are a thing of the past including Ronald McDonald. Not sure if we will ever see any of these iconic parks or characters ever return. One could only wish. Sometimes I wonder if someone could bring back an updated 80's themed McDonald's someday with all of the characters and park rides.. that would be so awesome..
To be fair, McDonald's was always about families. It was never aimed directly towards kids, just the mascots. They still have Happy Meals and toys and playgrounds and you still see Ronald in certain places.
I was born in 2000 so I got to experience a little bit of it I remember they would have an open Firehouse every year in my neighborhood for kids and there was always all the McDonald's characters and a table full of McDonald's it was lit it's not like that anymore
Being a grandmother I love this I could take the grandkids out to lunch and they could play and then we went home and they took their naps it was great chicken nuggets fish sandwiches
Thanks to You Tube, I keep getting reminders that I was born at just the right time--1971! Unlike Eric here, I never remember a time when my town didn't have a McDonalds Playground. In 1977, at the age of 6, I had my first birthday party at McDonalds, and all my friends from school were invited. My mom still has a photo of me going to down the big, spiraling slide! It was one of the best birthdays of my childhood!
This is so awesome (or groovy I should say) I miss those mansard roof McDonald's buildings. They had so much character. Now, all the fast food restaurants have the same bland, sterile look.
True but it Would Creep Out People and plus these park Items could be vandalized but If theirs a security guard then that's a whole different story or they could have it Indoor
There's been so many covered up injuries on these things. They legally can't have metal playgrounds anymore. They disapearred because of that, lawsuits. Like when a giant ronald fell on a girl and she broke her leg and lost a finger.
This looks so cool, I'm upset that I grew up in the 2000's cause I never experienced this. :( I wonder what was with the random zoom in on the faces though XD
+epiccreepertnt They used to have these everywhere in NZ when I was a kid, And I'm pretty sure some of them were still around into the early 2000's That spinning thing would send kids flying, The slippery plastic tree that you'd fall from, The hamburger prison you'd get stuck inside, Although our version had the entire body not just the head. And Grimace, Grimace was awesome. Smashing your face open against the metal bars and the the big springs crushing anything that went underneath. It sucks it all gone.
I was born in 87 and I got a glimpse of the end of that era. I remember riding the carousel with the fry bush and the filet o fish characters. We also had them filet o fish and fry bush spring rides.
Well, 1) they ripped off Sid and Marty Croft, 2) you build playgrounds, with no supervision, kids are gonna get hurt, or puke in the ball pit. 3) are we really feeling nostalgic for a company who's only mission was to sell cheap food and non dairy gum based beverages go kids? Maybe we need to put away the nostalgia goggles and move on.
I was born in 1975 and remember the Playland they had at the McDonald's where I grew up in Connecticut, it was so fun for the whole family now is all gone. The metal slide was so hot cuz of the sun beating on the metal slide and you still went down the slide cuz you didn't care because was a kid you were invincible.
I don't remember these playgrounds but I do remember McDonald's back in the day the food was top Quality my friend practically Lived on big macs and fries Back in the day. The patties were pure beef And it was the best fast food Ever made when we were kids I loved being a kid in 1972 And miss those times back When McDonald's ruled Thanks for posting reminiscent of my childhood
I've been to several different Mcdonalds and when I was younger would see these props and equipment here and there like the train, the apple tree and Officer Big Mac climb up, but never the full whole set up altogether.
As a kid who grew up in the 70s, I love that Eric just wanders off to hang out with a clown in a secret grotto and his parents don't even notice or care.
A lot of this stuff would of been extremely inspiring to quite a few industries back then considering that was 50 years ago when that stuff would of been quite ahead of it’s time! :)
What a Great Time Like 1972 To be a Big Part of McDonald's! Wished That Every Franchise would of Thought Like That with the Kids' McDonald Land's Play Park! The Hamburglar Swing Set and The Apple Pie Tree were my Two of my Favorite things There! Kids Now a Days Don't Even Have the slightest Idea of what they have missed out on like the Things I had as a kid growing up in that Time Era! I Miss Both The McDonaldLand Cookies and Original Shamrock Shakes as well as the Late 1960s Wide McDonald's Sign being Grounded by the Expanded Double Golden Arches! McDonald's has phased out totally Everything Original That has to do with Ronald and His McDonaldLand! I Almost Don't Go there anymore!
You weren't a bit old there someone in the comment section that was born in 63 and he stated he was the same age as the kid in the vid so you being younger had the opportunity to play.
I was born in 66 and my grandmother used to take my brothers and I to McDonald’s play land. She lived in El Monte near Los Angeles but I don’t remember the city the play land was in.
Now I do remember a little about the mcdonaldland play area. Which I never got to play on. But what I know is there were alot kids running around, screaming and shouting, kids would be fighting at times, and food poisonings. and it was always crowded with kids and parents. Yes it was an outdoor play place. But one day it was left abandoned and no on site was there. As months went on the mcdonaldland was demolished and they were building an in door playground as the McDonalds I went to was remodeling. It sucks again that I never went and play there. But I knew few of my friends and people who played at Mcdonaldland. However this video describing it sure had nostalgia history for mcdonaldland.
There's a McDonald's across the street from Disneyland and it had such a playground. Of course it got upgraded the modern "play place" or whatever they call it now. But I can imagine really poor parents taking their kids there and trying to convince them that really was Disneyland. So they better have fun.
I grew up w/o having a play land at McDonald’s. It was always fun to go to. I think that it is the food. I did played in a play land but, I was a little bit too old when I was 12 years old.
Nothing is safe these days like it was in those days, instead of kids playing at McDonalds in playland, there are school shootings and mass murders every month. Sure miss the old days.
McDonald’s should bring back some of these old designs, it would bring in lots of customers young and old. The remodels are really bad, you don’t associate them with the McDs brand at all...
Without much of a strain, this can be viewed as one kid's first experience with LSD. 1:04 is when it all begins to kick in. "The colors! Talking hamburgers! I can step into the purple man's body! Look! A pirate! A glaring clown! I can swing from the striped man's arm chains! Everything is spinning. Oh my God! The playground is alive! The tree is laughing at me! WOW!" Mute the audio and watch it with some Jefferson Airplane.
2:17 "As much as I'd like to look around. I better get back to enjoy some milkshakes." "Sorry, Georgie. I'm afraid that option anymore." (This could legit be a start horror film.)
I love the billions and billions served sign, only one in USA have the real number of billions served with 3 digits, over 247 billion. I SEE THAT ON PHOTO, WHERE IS?
The krofft lawsuit was settled in 76 and I was born almost 10 years later and still played on this Intellectual property violating playground equipment at ALL our area McDonald’s until I was about 7 LOL. Love you puff n stuff your the only REal mayor
There is still the burger 🍔 thing in my hometown . Across the street from McDonald a day care center. I wonder if the daycare pulled it out of the trash the day the Cease and desist letter came in
Question, is this Public Domain? I think it might be, given it doesn't have a visible copyright notice on the film and I recall that was still A Thing during this period needed to register these things. Which I ask mainly because I know someone who does an MST3K-type riffing show that'd have a lot of fun with it...
Interesting story, we've all seen the playgrounds but never knew anything about who was contracted to make them; one thing I noticed - the kid gets up and wanders off alone - not good
Actually it is good. Free range children are better able to adapt to the world when they reach adulthood. They don't need safespaces to help them cope with reality.
@@skywishr1313 Some did, but most went outside and played with their friends. There was a good balance back then. Not like today where its 98% on the phone and 2% drinking Monsters at 10 years of age.
This was a great concept, get the kids all hopped up on that bug juice, orange kool aid crap, and jump off of playground equipment, they must've had a lawyer on speed dial.
