Fancy probably isn't the first word you think of when it comes to McDonald's restaurants.
However, there's more to it than just playgrounds and bright colors. So here are the top 15
fanciest McDonald's EVER.
McDonald's On 42nd Street
The McDonald's in Times Square is arguably one of the most iconic locations yet. Built
to look like a vintage theater, this McD's showcases glamor in all of its splendor. Even
though you pay a little more for your food here than at other McDonald's, the decor alone
made it worth while. However, the city that never sleeps was ravaged by the effects of
the global pandemic that struck in early 2020. The government-mandated lockdowns in places
like New York were particularly hard on restaurants, and the fancy McDonald's on 42nd Street was
forced closed in June 2020. The official story is that the fast-food giant had already
planned to close the iconic location before the arrival of the pandemic, so apparently,
we would've lost it anyway. What a shame.
Funnest Place On Earth
The city of Orlando, Florida, is mostly associated with a little amusement park called Disney
World. However, this sprawling piece of magic built on dreams and swampland isn't the only
giant attraction in those parts. Orlando is known as the city with the largest McDonald's
in the world and boasts 19,000 square feet of fancy fast-food fun. All those park goers
get hungry on the drive back to their hotels and stop in for a bite and a crack at the
fun center. This larger-than-life McDonald's features a 30 foot tall Ronald McDonald and
a host of games and activities, like an arcade and a bowling alley. The three stories of
food and fun is open 24 hours a day to accommodate the never-ending stream of tourists that flock
to the Orlando area to visit the theme parks. Disney parks might be the happiest places
on earth, but this McDonald's, if not the fanciest, might be one of the funnest places
on earth.
McPalace
If you really love McDonald's food, then maybe you already think that all their locations
are palaces. But in Madrid, Spain, there's a location that actually looks like a palace.
It's located on an elegant street with other palace-like structures that create a high-end
looking city block. "High end" and McDonald's don't always go together, but in this case,
it definitely works. But this McDonald's doesn't stop at just a fancy facade. This location
goes the extra mile for its customers and offers fancy chocolate dusted cappuccinos.
Fancy indeed. The McCafe menu usually consists of regular coffee drinks and pastries, but
this particular cappuccino is not offered on the standard menu. Even if your local McDonald's
isn't as fancy as this one, you can always hope for the chocolate dusted cappuccinos.
Keep It, Fancy
Porto, Portugal might not be at the top of your list when you think of fast-food, but
McDonald's makes the grade. This picturesque European town boasts one of the fanciest McDonald's
locations in all of the world. The fast-food giant pulled out all the stops and outfitted
this location with crystal chandeliers and stained glass windows. It really does look
like something out of a storybook. One of the first things you notice when you walk
in is the Art Deco style; the ornate friezes adorning the ceiling, and most famously, the
massive stained glass window behind the counter. The stained glass window is the centerpiece
of this McD's and was made by Portuguese artist Ricardo Leone. Not only is this McDonald's
beautiful, but it also serves a lot of delicious, exclusive menu items, like a "Miami Burger"
that promises to taste like America.
Back To The Diner
There are a lot of iconic scenes in the hit comedy Back to the Future starring Michael
J. Fox. One of the best would have to be the throwback to the classic 1950's diner. Des
Plaines, Illinois, would be perfect if you wanted to take a little journey back in time,
without actually having to go back in time! This was the home of a museum replica of the
very first McDonald's restaurant and was called the No. 1 Store Museum. This location offered
vintage artifacts like posters and even some red and white tiles from the original store.
Unfortunately, due to the expense of maintaining this property, it was closed in 2018 and then
demolished. This fancy location deserved to survive, but hopefully, the tiles and other
memorabilia found their way to other locations to be preserved.
McTrains
Trains used to be a very popular mode of transportation, but now they are mostly relegated to cargo
and commuter models. McDonald's came up with an interesting use of some old train cars
in Tennessee. Instead of rotting away in some old rail yard, the cars have been refurbished
to accommodate customers enjoying their Big Macs and fries. Train lovers and burger lovers
alike flock to this fancy McDonald's location to enjoy their favorite fast food as well
as a bit of Americana. If the idea of old train cars sounds ambitious, then you'll love
what a German franchisee came up with - a McDonald's car on a working train. This idea
was to have what was essentially a mini McDonald's inside a train car. This "McTrain" operated
from 1993 to 1995, but it was too expensive to operate and has since become part of German
fast-food history.
The Food Is Out There
A lot of people believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials. Recent disclosures by
the U.S. government seem to suggest there could be something to all of the sightings
and blurry photographs. Either way, the people at McDonald's aren't waiting around to find
out. Rosewell, New Mexico, the location of a rumored UFO crash in 1947, has a Mickey
D's that was designed to look like a spaceship. There is a lot of glass, metal, and neon lights
in this "McSpaceship" that mostly looks like it was inspired by a love of disco. Perhaps
surprisingly, this fancy McDonald's in the New Mexico desert was built in the 1990s,
even though the area had been known as a famous UFO hot spot for decades. Thousands of people
make their way to this area to soak up the extraterrestrial ambiance and visit the out
of this world McDonald's. The building itself is very cool, but there are also pieces of
art, signs, and even statues of little green aliens to make your experience complete.
Ahoy There!
If you're familiar with McDonald's, then you're probably familiar with a fried fish sandwich
called the Filet-o-Fish. But, did you know that the chain took this under-the-sea theme
one step further in Freeport, Maine? In this seaside city, McDonald's turned a classic
old house that used to be owned by a ship's captain - or a merchant, depending on who
you ask - into a restaurant. McD's thought it would be cool to turn this house into one
of its 36,000 locations and, they were right. This beautiful house is 150 years old and
has seen a lot of historical events. Since it was converted into a restaurant in 1984,
it has also made history as one of the fanciest McDonalds in the world. This fancy location
with classic New England architecture will bring you back to the 19th century.
Riverboat Ronald
The coach of the Washington football team is known as "Riverboat Ron" because of his
penchant for taking chances. McDonald's probably didn't think it was taking much of a risk
when it turned an old riverboat on the Missouri River into a fast-food restaurant. It's 40
years later, and the Riverboat McDonald's is still going strong in St. Louis. The city
council was initially skeptical about allowing the fast-food chain to use the location because
they thought it might cost the city valuable tourism dollars. However, it turns out their
fears were completely unfounded, and the restaurant pays about $100,000 dollars in taxes to the
city every year. So, in this case, it looks like everybody won when McDonald's decided
to put one of its fanciest restaurants in the Gateway to the West.
The Plane! The Plane!
There's an old television program called Fantasy Island. The show starred a mysterious man
on a tropical island who could seemingly make peoples' fantasies come to life. Starring
Ricardo Montalban, he had a small assistant who used to yell "the plane! The plane!" when
a new batch of guests landed on the island. Taupo, New Zealand, is sort of like a tropical
island, and it has a plane that is now one of the world's fanciest McDonald's locations. Most
people will agree that plane food is disgusting. However, this one might just be the exception
to the rule. The decommissioned DC3 airplane is a classic piece of aerospace history that
now houses the iconic Golden Arches. When McDonald's bought the land for a new location
in 1990, the plane was already on the site. So McD's decided to buy it to attract customers
- and it worked. And if your childhood dream was to visit the pilot in the cockpit, dream
no more because you can now do it aboard this McDonald's plane!
Buns and Circuses
Las Vegas is known for the Vegas Strip dotted with lights and glamour. You might even say
it's neon-fancy. The Circus Circus Casino is pretty fancy in its own right, but it's
not the only thing that stands out on the strip. McDonald's constructed the biggest
McDonald's in Las Vegas, right next to the unique casino. The more than 8,000 square
foot restaurant draws in huge numbers of customers - they must be hungry from all that gambling.
TV screens broadcast something called the "McDonald's channel." The modern decorum is
often compared to a Starbucks - in a good way. Two separate kitchens are needed to keep
this fancy location operating smoothly 24 hours a day. We all can't be lucky in Las
Vegas, but we can all get our fancy McDonald's fix.
Mt. McDonald's
Olympic Park, London was built for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games for athletes from around
the world to showcase their super talents. One of the most cool things about the construction
project is that parts of it became famous almost overnight. McDonald's was the official
food sponsor of the Games, and since it operated a very fancy restaurant in Olympic Park, it
has since become a big tourist attraction. Even though McDonald's operated the location
for only six weeks, it made quite an impression. The restaurant itself was recycled with many
of the materials being reused for other projects. Even the cooking oil was recycled and used
in biofuel to power McDonald's delivery vehicles. Although this might not be as fancy as other
McDonald's we've seen, it was still a pretty huge one!
McShiny
If you ever find yourself in the vibrant city of Ulsan, South Korea, you might want to
take a little side trip to visit this iconic and gigantic McDonald's. One of the interesting
things about this location is that it was designed primarily as a drive-thru location.
What makes it magnificent is the giant wing-like covering that hangs over the restaurant.
Not only is it a drive-thru, but it's also a gas station. It's very convenient to be
able to pick up tasty fast food meals and fill up your tank at the same time. This fancy
McDonald's structure is airy with shiny, high rooftops and plenty of neon lights that glow
bright well into the night - ready to welcome customers anytime they get hungry. This fast
food location/gas station is a good idea, and there's no reason that it shouldn't catch
on in the United States. Ok, so the gas pumps might not be a very fancy aspect of this McDonald's,
but it makes a lot of sense. Who wouldn't want to enjoy their favorite burger and fries
while filling up your gas tank?
Art For Fast Food's Sake
Art Deco was a popular design style in the 1920s and 30s that influenced interior design
as well as architecture. Buildings in the art deco tradition would have bright exteriors,
sharp angles, and were often quite tall for the period. The Chrysler Building in Manhattan,
New York, has been cited as a classic example of this style. However, you don't need to
go to New York to find cool examples of this unique style. The next time you're in Melbourne,
Australia, check out this McDonald's. It began life as the United Kingdom Hotel in 1938 but
was turned into a restaurant after its closure in 1988. A lot of people would agree that
this particular location is the most beautiful McDonald’s in Melbourne, if not in the world.
The three-story brick building represents the Art Deco era perfectly and is still very
relevant and fancy even today.
Happiest Place On Earth
We know that Disneyland likes to bill itself as the happiest place on earth, but the people
at McDonald's' might have had something to say about that. Many people from earlier generations
had a McDonald's experience of a different era. 1979 saw McD's roll out the very first
Happy Meals featuring McDonaldland cookies, and cool toys. They also used to offer that
awesome orange drink - or more like, neon orange drink! The little cardboard Happy Meal
boxes were colorful and covered with fun games, puzzles, and jokes to entertain kids as they
ate their burger and fries. Well believe it or not, Dallas, Texas once boasted a McDonald's
location that was shaped just like one of these classic Happy Meal boxes. Sadly, perhaps
due to pressure from people who hate it when other people have fun, McDonald's decided
to remodel this location. So it now looks just like a regular McDonald's instead of
an awesome, fancy, stand out location. This is sad, but while it lasted, it was definitely
one of the most humorous McDonald's locations around.
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