you know the moment McDonald's you can't get a Big Mac all you can get is the chicken Maharaja Mac
there's no Big Macs or McNuggets on this list here are the 10 biggest McDonald's menu failures of all
time two thumbs down the hula Burger it's like a hula hoop right one of the oldest discontinued
menu items on this list the hula Burger dates back to the 1960s when McDonald's innovator Ray
Kroc noticed that sales were lacking in areas with large Catholic populations on Fridays when
Catholics are supposed to refrain from eating meat in response to this he came up with an alternative
the hula Burger which was a bun and cheese with a grilled ring of pineapple in the middle much like
pineapple on Pizza this wasn't the best idea and was soon discontinued no pineapple anywhere the
Hawaiian flavor would not Inspire customers at the time though again much like Hawaiian
pizza it would later gain popularity among people whose tastes are sometimes questioned luckily for
McDonald's another franchise owner Lou Groen from Cincinnati came up with another meat alternative
sandwich the phileo fish growing in Croc had a friendly wager over their two meatless ideas
with the pair deciding that the item that sold the most in a day would be added to the menu
according to groan when the Fateful Friday came he sold 350 Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and growing said
that Croc never even told him how his sandwich did apparently only six of them were sold luckily for
Croc the right sandwich made the grade but as for his hula Burger idea it was Aloha and goodbye the
mick Lobster I don't want to see a menu I know what we're having we're having Lobster lobster
rolls are one of the most beloved Foods found all along the east coast of North America along
with other Seafood favorites like clam chowder back in 1993 mcdee's tried their hand at this
delicacy with the aptly named mclobster in the late 80s and early 90s there was a boom in the
population of Lobster in areas on the coast such as Maine and Massachusetts leading to McDonald's
pursuing this idea made with chunks of Lobster lettuce and a special lobster sauce it was an
interesting and intriguing choice for a new item however the price of six dollars for the sandwich
was considered very steep for McDonald's and the time and subsequently it didn't sell very well
sorry you guys but I can't pay that it's too much money the sandwich however did stay on the menu in
areas of Canada and New England but in 2017 due to overwhelming demand in the Canadian Lobster
Market the mclobster was no longer a viable item and was discontinued a spokesperson for McDonald's
Canada stated unfortunately the increased price of lobster per pound means we are currently unable to
offer this menu item at a reasonable price for our guests the mclobster became a favorite for
many Canadians so there is still hope that the item May return one day but for now lovers of the
lobster will must look elsewhere to get their fix the mcdlt well what do you want Michael I make DLT
I already told you they don't make those anymore keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool
this was The Credo of the now infamous mcdeal LT featured in a song sung by priest Seinfeld
Jason Alexander in a memorable 1985 commercial the mcdlt stood for MC Deluxe lettuce and tomato
and was essentially McDonald's answer to Burger King's Whopper good luck with that but there was
a gimmick and that was the packaging a styrofoam container with two compartments one that separated
the bottom Sesame bun and meat keeping them hot while the other held the top bun lettuce onions
pickles cheese and tomato keeping them cool the mcdlt was discontinued in the early 1990s due to
this decidedly impractical packaging that was less than environmentally friendly in some regions in
the late 90s the mcdlt was replaced with another lettuce and tomato burger called the big and tasty
in order to have another sandwich that competed with the Whopper they wisely chose a different
packaging than the original mcdlt those who saw the original commercials were transfixed and
interested in the mcdlt however it's unlikely to return any time in the near future no McDonald's
makes the mcdlt anymore Nick hot dog what's up with all the ketchup thank you for asking
Rosa it's for my hot dog burgers and McDonald's go hand in hand and the two are intrinsically
linked with the iconic items becoming Staples of popular culture hot dogs are always associated
with Burgers as well however despite this they are not featured in the world's biggest burger
restaurant however McDonald's did give the item a try multiple times including in the summer of
1995 in the Midwest region but it proved to be unsuccessful they tried again in various other
locations as well including in the UK in 2002 the Toronto Zoo and the sky dome in 1999 as
well as Philadelphia in 2007. it failed in each of the locations every time it was brought back
the one exception to this rule is Japan where the MCH hot dog remains popular in numerous
locations as a tasty American snack it seems Ray Kroc was right on this one when he said in
his 1977 biography that there was a good reason to never have hot dogs at McDonald's since there was
no telling what's inside and the restaurant's standard of quality just wouldn't permit that
kind of item it's safe to say Ray Kroc was not a fan though many people might crave a hot dog
to go along with their burger from McDonald's Ray crock's philosophy is one of the reasons
the company has been so successful sticking to menu items that customers can rely on and be
satisfied with the failure of the mick hot dog once again reflects his vision for the company
that led them to much success make spaghetti did you know that the food you eat becomes energy
yeah boom that's spaghetti the majority of the items that we've talked about so far at least
fit in with the overall McDonald's menu and it's not entirely surprising to see why they were at it
the next item however is an incredibly different and out their choice for mcds the Mixed spaghetti
introduced in the late 1970s was McDonald's attempt to break into the Italian food market
ah squishy Peter what are you doing speaking Italian there was little positive response to
this item as most people will not want to take a trip to McDonald's for a nice authentic Italian
meal surprisingly the item actually did explode in popularity in one location the Philippines where
it remains a side item to McDonald's Fried Chicken another surprising item that is usually associated
with other chains this perfectly illustrates the diverging Taste of McD's menu items found around
the world while You'll Always Find the Mainstays one of the cool things about trying McDonald's
internationally is that the menu changes in different parts of the world while this 70s
menu item is rightfully left in the past in most locations in addition to the Philippines the mixed
spaghetti is also strangely featured as a menu item in some locations in Orlando in any case
mixed spaghetti lives on through the internet with various memes and people talking about its
strange nature on Twitter as well make pizza time from one classic Italian food to another the next
entry on our list is the ill-fated mcpizza this item was introduced in 1989 to compete with pizza
chains such as Pizza Hut and Domino's as well as to attract the dinner time crowd to McDonald's
restaurants since it was only available after 4 pm at most locations the problem however was the fact
that the pizzas were made fresh to order taking a much longer time than typical items on the menu
and not providing the expected fast food service that you normally receive at McDonald's what is
taking so long I've wasted all day in addition a large number of consumers were not impressed
with this item and once again would rather go to an actual Pizzeria if they were hungry for
pizza rather than McDonald's known of course for classic Burgers and Fries the mcpizza was
subsequently discontinued in 2000 however unlike its cousin the mixed spaghetti the mcpizza has a
considerable fan base clamoring for its return and sadly McDonald's has no not brought it back
yet the closest that we got was a tease in 2021 where the official McDonald's account tweeted
the thing you have been asking for will arrive on August 31st this led to many believing that
the mcpizza was returning however it was later revealed to be spicy chicken McNuggets much to
Twitter's disappointment time will only tell if we will ever see the mcpizza on the menu Again mix
salad shakers Ron would you like some salad since I am not a rabbit no I do not back in 2000 a trend
in fast food chains toward healthier options in restaurants emerged and McDonald's capitalized on
this by releasing their attempt at salad at the time mcsalid shakers this curious and slightly
strange item contained a salad in a clear plastic cup with a lid on top that you would shake up the
idea behind the packaging was to cater to people's busy lives by having a salad they can apply to
dressing too easily and quickly and be able to eat on the go easy peasy three varieties were
offered Chef grilled chicken Caesar and garden and salad the chef variety included a green salad
mix turkey ham chopped eggs tomatoes green onions and cheddar the Caesar variety contained a caesar
salad dressing sliced chicken breasts and shredded parmesan cheese and the garden variety consisted
of a garden salad dressing Green Mix tomatoes and onions this was a novel and creative idea
however it did not prove to be popular enough to stick around being discontinued shortly after in
2003. mcsalid shakers were eventually replaced by more conventional salad items which continue
to be served in many locations to this day though these quirky salad shakers were clearly
not the most successful McDonald's item of all time countless people who grew up in the early
2000s are nonetheless nostalgic for them today Mighty Wings dude I need some Mighty Wings they
make me want to dance one of the most recent items on our list was also one of McDonald's
biggest flops in recent memory McDonald's Mighty Wings were introduced in 2013 and discontinued
one one year later in 2014 they were traditional bone-in chicken wings covered in a bold and spicy
dressing yeah why this move was likely to compete with popular chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken
and Popeyes and the wings were available in 3 5 and 10 piece options there were several reasons
for the downfall of the Mighty Wings one of them being its price point they were introduced at a
time when the economy was struggling at a price of three for three dollars and sixty nine cents
five for five dollars and fifty nine cents and 10 for 9.69 this was not very competitive in the
fast food market additionally the spicy flavor of the Wings was thought to be too much for
some customers further putting them off the item finally the references of the Wings appearing as
McNuggets with bones was off-putting for many as well and all of these factors led to the untimely
demise of the Mighty Wings in terms of McDonald's and chicken the classic McNuggets and McChicken
still appear to reign supreme though there are also a plethora of other chicken items that have
been added and stayed on the menu in recent years as well to make Africa see they're McDonald's
I'm McDonald's the next item on our list is certainly one of the most controversial menu
items McDonald's has ever released and failed at this burger was sold in 2002 and locations
in Norway and Denmark in celebration of the 2002 Olympic Games the make Africa contained
beef cheese and tomatoes wrapped in pita bread and McDonald's made the dubious claim that it
was based on an authentic African recipe at the time of the release of the burger there was an
ongoing famine taking place in numerous countries across Africa the item was swiftly met with harsh
criticism from various groups including the Norwegian Red Cross who had a representative
remark it's inappropriate and distasteful to launch a hamburger called the mick Africa when
large portions of southern Africa are on the verge of starvation I'm very disappointed in you
despite the enormous backlash in regards to the item McDonald's did not remove the item offering
it for the rest of its advertised run McDonald's spokesperson Margaret brusleto offered an apology
however they also allowed Aid agencies to put up posters and donation boxes in McDonald's locations
during that time this Gaff is one that shows what can happen when companies are not aware of larger
issues in the world especially in hindsight this comes across as a very insensitive and tone deaf
move by McDonald's the arch Deluxe yes it deluxe package this might just be the biggest menu item
failure in McDonald's history the arch Deluxe this burger was sold at McDonald's restaurant
starting in Canada in 1995 and expanding globally the following year the item was marked it as being
a more adult option containing a quarter pound of beef on a split-top potato flour sesame seed
bun topped with a circular piece of peppered bacon leaf lettuce tomato American cheese onions ketchup
and a dijon-esque sauce concoction the item was part of one of the most massive marketing
campaigns in the history of the company as an effort was underway to move away from the image
that McDonald's was a kid's restaurant I'm not a baby I'm a big boy however I as is evident by its
spot on the list the burger was a massive failure as a majority of customers were disinterested in
the Burger's high price point High caloric count and unconventional advertisements the
burger was still available at selected stores in 1998 and 1999 but by the year 2000 it was
discontinued completely it has been estimated that McDonald's spent an approximate total of
over 300 million dollars on the development and marketing of the arch Deluxe making it one of
the most expensive flops that the food industry has ever seen McDonald's would later return to
more adult oriented items with salads and wraps this time with much greater success good for them