Not talking about having it in the play center or dining area. When I was a kid growing up the McDonalds near us had a special area just to cater to little kids birthdays. I’ve never seen another one but around the same time I would’ve noticed that else where was when McDonalds remodeled a lot of their locations to their more modern look. Was this a common thing?

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  2. I had several birthday parties in a caboose on the playground of McDonald’s that was just for parties. That’s the only McDonald’s I can think of, though, that had a dedicated party area.

  3. I probably went to at least one or two birthday parties at McDonalds every year when I was a kid back in the 70s. I don’t remember there ever being a special area for the parties. Maybe they just cordoned off one area of the dining room or something.

    I actually worked at two different McDonalds later on in the 80s for a few months. They still had birthday parties but no “party room” IIRC.

  4. Not that I remember.

    Chuck E Cheese or any similar local indoor playzone, arcade, putt-putt, whatever kind of place, sure.

  5. No one I knew had birthday parties at McDonald’s when I was a kid. Sleepovers or parties at the roller skating rink were popular.

    I did not go to a restaurant for kid’s birthday parties until the late 1990’s to early 2000’s.

  6. Born in 84. We had a few birthdays at Chuck E Cheeses, I was aware of the idea that McDonalds had a birthday thing but I never had one, went to one and do not recall seeing one.

  7. As a kid in the 80’s, yes, and I had one of my birthdays at a McDonald’s.

    I think at that age, McDonald’s is one of the best places ever, especially when they had the play center, and I’m sure it was also a good option for my mom to be able to afford hosting it and not have to deal with the mess that a dozen kids would make in our small apartment.

  8. I was born in the 90s and some friends had birthdays at Chuck E Cheese and Discovery Zone. Never heard of McDonalds birthdays.

  9. I had a birthday party at McDonald’s when I was a kid. It was a pretty popular choice for a child’s birthday where I lived.

  10. Back in the early 80s when I was in elementary school, McDonalds parties were definitely something many kids’ parents did. Not sure about later generations experience with this, but it was the height of cool to have one of those back then at least where I am from. The other go-tos were roller skating at the local rink, and sometimes bowling at the local alley with the arcade next door.

  14. Yes. I went to several when I was little. But the best birthday party I went to was when my friend’s parents rented out a theater so we could watch the live-action Masters of the Universe with Dolph Lundgren (and his sweet, sweet mullet) as He-Man.

  15. Yes. I’m 24 and my 4th birthday party was there. I used to go there all the time and play in the playhouse probably up until I was about 10. The more modern (boring) McDonald’s I feel like has only been a thing in my area in the past decade

  16. Nope, the standard was that you got traumatized by the mechanical rat band at Chuck E Cheese. Ate some pizza, and threw balls at each other in the ball pit… then the next day, you and 7 of the 20 kids have to stay at home because you got sick… ya know, the good times when a needle or pill wasn’t needed because something was “scary”…

  18. I remember a few that were meet at McDonald’s eat and do cake then go somewhere else for an activity like a baseball game or the petting zoo or something like that

  19. Yep, we still have a home movie of my 5th birthday party at McDonald’s back in ’89. They even had an employee who directed the event and led the games and such.

  21. I grew up in a tiny town that had a McDonalds, a couple churches, Walmart, and basically nothing else, but I don’t remember going to a party there. When I was 4 or 5 a friend had a party in a meeting room in the library. I asked my mom about it and she has no idea why they decided on that location.

  22. No, and neither did any friends of mine as far as I know.

    IHOP and I believe Howard Johnson used to give the birthday person a free meal. We always did IHOP and sometimes hit Howard Johnson for lunch as well.

  23. I think when I was a little kid I went to one, or one was happening at a McDonalds I went to.

  24. No, but I went to a few birthday parties at a chain pizza place and at the local bowling alley that both catered to kids parties. That was in the 80s/early 90s.

  25. I had a birthday party there when I was around 5-7 in the early 2000’s. I ate chicken nuggets and puked. That’s all I can remember.

    I vaguely remember having a McDonald’s themed cake with all the characters on it but I have an awful memory, and I was a kid.

  26. Yes, I was born in ’76 and our local McDonald’s had the birthday area with that freaky looking tree thing. I went to a couple birthday parties there, but i don’t think any of my birthday parties were there, I usually wanted mine at either the bowling alley or skating rink.

  27. Yep. Also chuck e cheese. There was also this place and I’m not sure if this was Nation wide but it was called the discovery zone. I think. That place was a kids best dream. And also had more safety hazards than a construction zone. Which is why I don’t think I’ve heard or seen of the place since the nineties. Anybody else remember this or did I get the name wrong?

  28. I’ve seen that area before in pictures, but my local one didn’t have it. However, I did know kids who would have their birthdays there and the employees would help parents decorate. Circa early 2000s

  29. I worked at a McDonald’s in 1989-1991 as a teen. Our location hosted birthday parties on occasion. One of the older ladies who worked there would host them. There was a set of procedures she followed. I knew we would be hosting one when a birthday cake would should up as part of our food deliveries.

    The kids would get some kind of small toy , cake , play a game or two and a happy meal from what I remember.

    We did not have a special party room. They would just put cheap plastic table cloths on a few tables in the corner.

    I don’t remember this happening very often. When I was a kid I don’t remember going to one at all.

  30. I did that once in elementary school back in the 80s. The cake was pretty decent.

  31. I grew up in the 80s; I remember those birthday areas with a talking tree on the wall at McDonald’s

  33. Fuck yes. Born in 74 and getting to have your party at McDonald’s was HUGE until Chuck E Cheese came along.

  34. When I was that age in the late 80s, only the wealthy kids got to have their birthday at McDonald’s.

    My how times have changed.

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