McDonalds....Bring back the REAL Happy Meal to me...
@taki_takaishi (1279)
Philippines
January 17, 2012 6:49pm CST
When I was a kid, I always ask my parents that if they have extra money, they buy me a happy meal from McDonalds. A Burger McDo and Regualar fries did not matter much to me but what excites me the most was the toy.
Call me a kid, but I have always been a kid at heart. I did not have much toys when I was a kid, it has always been books and coloring stuffs. Whenever I get a toy I feel very happy that I get to keep them in my toy box. There was one promo in McDonalds where you get to collect 150 Snoopy figurines, and since I am a fan of snoopy that I wanted to collect them all, I started working for it. My parents would buy me some if they had extra the rest I did the earning on my own. Since a Happy Meal is P40 before, I told my classmates and friends that for every subject/homework I do for them they pay me P5. Since there are a lot of lazy kids who just hates homework they ask me to do it and the money I earn I buy the Happy Meal and since I did not care much about the food, I just gave it to my sisters. Because of the promo period, I have only collected 77 of them. It was worth it, and the Snoopy toys is still at my toy box.
But now, whenever I pass by McDonalds, and when I order food I check their Happy Meal section...their Happy Meal is not a Happy Meal to me. It's like ordering food and get a free toy that is just about it. I miss the days where you get to open them in the box. And the food is a bit overprice now, a Burger Mcdo meal is like P60 and the burger is so small... Well, it is not the same anymore... I would like to buy something worth the price like the burger should be big, not so small.
T_T I miss Snoopy... I miss the Happy Meal that I used to enjoy... Eating food at McDo before was much better than now because honestly, their meals are overprice for the size.
So..anybody still remembers Happy Meal? What toys did you collect in those days?
10 responses
@keihimekawa (2009)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Well, compared to Jollibee's Kiddie Meal, I prefer Mcdo's Happy Meal more but yeah, I do agree with your point.
During my time my dad frequently buy Happy Meals for me. I still remember that they used to put it in a special box where there's puzzles for kids to play. The food's cheaper and larger at that time. I remember collecting the "Dalmatian" toys and I get excited whenever there's "Hello Kitty" in a Happy Meal.
Oldest Happy Meal toy... I really can't remember... Maybe those "Cabbage Patch Kids" toys before? I know they're from Happy Meals but I really can't remember the time when I got them! Lol!!!
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Never liked the Jollibee's Kiddie Meal, but I like the food.
I don't remember the first toy that came out. If I had my collections right I have the Snoopy, Dalmatians, Pogs, Clays, Pokemon and some cars.
Ah! The funny story about the Hello Kitty Happy Meal is that when those came out, my aunt is the one paying for it, I had that reverse, she gets the toy I get the meal. So everytime we go to McDonalds, she orders 3 to 4 Happy Meals of Hello Kitty and I get the food. :)
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Ah! Yah that was also in the Happy Meals, I think that was around 1999. My sisters were the ones collecting those since they love those kind of Happy Meal. I remember I was only after the mug because grimace (was that spelling of the purple characters name?) was on it. Hahaha!
@keihimekawa (2009)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Oh-oh~ How about this one? I'm not too sure if they're from Happy Meals though... When I was young I remember having these cool mugs, plates and utensils from Mcdonalds. I don't know if they came from Happy Meals or my parents purchase them separately. I know Jollibee also offers the same items since I saw one or two Jollibee ceramic plates back home :P
@junel17 (16)
•
18 Jan 12
i still remember the mcdonalds fun book wich is a shoe shape a mcdonalds. I remember when im just a kid. I will cry out loud just to eat a chicken from mcdonalds. Ronald is one of the fasinating. Mascot of fastfood chains. A clown? Isnt it really weird? Well i think the founder of mcdonalds is a fan of clowns! Haha.
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
I also have those fun books. Yes, McDo is unique when it comes to their mascots. I think they are the only ones who has that. Never liked Jollibee mascot.
@anne25penn (3305)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
In the late 90's and early 2000 I was also addicted to the toys that McDonalds came out with their Happy Meals. I still have a few pieces from the 101 Dalmatians (it was available 1998/1999(?) around Christmastime). I also have the Hello Kitty doll and they are in pairs.
I haven't looked at their Happy Meals nowadays because the only time I go there to eat is when they come out with their twister fries. Also, their burgers and meals have become expensive. It's around P20 ($.50) more than the meal from our local known burger joint.
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Ah yes, the twister fries. I think they are the only ones who are selling twister fries on some season..
@katrinapaz (2436)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
when i was a kid, i remembered my mom and i ate at mcdo and they chose for me a happy meal. yes, i remember it was in a box and a child will be happy to open it and peer on the inside. all i got was a sticker but then i was already happy having it and eating the meal. :)
@Triple0 (1904)
• Australia
18 Jan 12
I really miss the old Happy meals! The ones you get now are tiny and worth so much! I remember Snoopy, I never knew there were actually 150 to collect! I only had like 10 Snoopies but I don't know what happened to them. 
I remember they use to have these robot dog toys too, I use to love them so much I had to buy a Happy meal at least once a week. I had a whole collection of those dogs. I really missed the toys back then, they use to be better looking and way bigger! One of my friends is still into eating a Happy Meal despite her age and I saw her Puss in Boots toy. It was useless and tiny! I remember my Snoopy toy can float on water in is tiny boat! It's really bad quality and the burgers have shrunk a lot! It's like bite size now, my burgers back then were huge and actually filled me up. Everything is becoming more expensive and smaller. 
I remember they use to have these robot dog toys too, I use to love them so much I had to buy a Happy meal at least once a week. I had a whole collection of those dogs. I really missed the toys back then, they use to be better looking and way bigger! One of my friends is still into eating a Happy Meal despite her age and I saw her Puss in Boots toy. It was useless and tiny! I remember my Snoopy toy can float on water in is tiny boat! It's really bad quality and the burgers have shrunk a lot! It's like bite size now, my burgers back then were huge and actually filled me up. Everything is becoming more expensive and smaller. @taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
It is not worth it to buy a meal that is so small. Nowadays I go to Wendys when it comes to burgers because they are still big no matter how you look at it. I only look at the happy meals if they interest me, like Pokemon though I like the old one versions where there were Ash's Pokemon set.
I did not have that Snoopy boat, because it was not always available in the branch I used to go to.
@tatzkie23 (770)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
wow, doing your classmates assignments just to earn money to buy happy meal. That's a cool idea for a very young age. LOL. I also love happy meal from Mcdonalds, That is always i order when we eat there. And it was only like P40 which is much cheaper, not like today. As you said, the burger became much smaller, and less fries. About the toys from happy meal, I usually just gave it to my little brother. I was only after the foods. LOL.
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Well, my classmates are more on playing in the playground than doing schoolwork. So, that idea came in mind since they do have a lot of money than me, :)
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
18 Jan 12
haha, you sound like eating too much Unhappy meals!
You might as well go to toy shops to buy those toys!
I think McDonald is really smart, since people think that they are paying for the meal, and not the toy.
Actually they are paying for the toy, not the meal.
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Hahaha! I guess I am... Well, like I said I ignore the food and just wanted the toy.. So yah, it felt like I was buying the toy.
@beamer88 (4259)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
When you think about it, you're not actually getting the toy for free although you just paid a very small amount for it. Yeah, the Happy Meal has changed a lot since I was a kid. Even the packaging here has changed. It used to be put in a paper bag or carton box with a Happy Meal sign printed on it. Now they just stash it in the usual bags that they put regular orders in. And I too think that the burger patties have decreased in size. Even the parts of the chicken they serve. But at least there's still one good thing about their Happy Meals. McDonald's has been very consistent with the quality of their toys. The materials used are far better than the other fast food joints offering toys also with their meals.
@taki_takaishi (1279)
• Philippines
18 Jan 12
Now that I think about it, if you buy those Snoopy figurines outside it would cost like P50 unlike in McDonalds before they would cost like P10, let's say that they still use the same materials in making the toys. What I do not like about the Happy Meals this time around is that they just point then get, not the one I miss point then put in the box then get then open.
The only meals I eat in McDonalds are Filet o Fish, Big Mac and the rest are no more. I used to eat Cheeseburger until they gotten smaller and the quarter pounder is almost the size as the cheeseburger..
@cearn25 (3456)
• Philippines
19 Jan 12
Speaking of food chains, McDonals is one of the most popular not just in the Philippines but all over the world. I am also like you who reminisces when we were kids though until now we are still kids, but at heart. My doesn't go for McDonalds for some reason. She goes to Jollibee. I can still remember that there were those toys and as a kid, I was really craving to grab that toy. It as if the only thing that will make us happy as a kid.
@Sebastion1234 (293)
•
18 Jan 12
Yeah those where the days I miss it too and all my toys are lost so sad :-(
