McDonalds-Setmakers-1972.mp4

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.

[@benjaminvlz]

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.

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

I miss mcdonaldland ❤😢

[@HaleXF11]

As a kid in the 70s and 80s, I used to love this so much. My favorite was the hamburger you could climb inside. Thought that was so cool back then.

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

Grimace and hamburglar

[@Mark-yy2py]

I was born in 1963, so I was about the same age as that boy. Remember those days well, living in California!

[@ksmithkatcarving]

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

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

My grandmother was the same way!

[@artgamechanger3841]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Bigdreamer83]

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..

[@Lemuel928]

In a full circus protection tent?

[@matthewweatherford6566]

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.

[@brandonwayne2343]

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

[@jimkeskey]

@@matthewweatherford6566 There are no more playgrounds. COVID and liability issues destroyed all of them.

[@KatriceMetaluna]

Well they hooked you in as a kid and now you're STILL their target demographic. Your age group in particular.

[@jeffreyvogel3524]

I was born in 88 I'm happy I got a chance to enjoy a few of these as a kid!

[@mackpines]

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.

[@tjp2109]

Those roofs! Yesssss

[@benjaminvlz]

I agree! The mansard roofs gave McDonald's and Burger King restaurants character. Now almost all fast food restaurants look like a shoe box.

[@powerpup97]

McDonald's would really bring in a lot more businesses if they brought these back!

[@glitzen05dood]

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

[@final58fant58]

powerpup97 doubt it now kids want to be on tablets and smart phones

[@jakeystarsuper]

@@final58fant58 not true grampa ive seen kids wanting to play

[@thegrimacefan1012]

I agree! They should bring these back (my favorite is Grimace). I did a video on the retro playgrounds called Mcdonaldland playground retrospective.

[@vernorexia682]

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.

[@WaffleWhiffer]

Wow! This is a real gem!

[@bigboi5545]

This video is such an amazing time capsule. Glad it exists!

[@southwaco23]

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.

[@impalaman9707]

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!

[@dreamcicle19772006]

I was born in 1977, & remember these!!! I miss them!!

[@glitzen05dood]

If your talking about that infamous Ronald McDonald statue people like you don't have to miss McDonald land in my local McDonald's

[@QueenCosmos]

I remember this from the early 90s and having a birthday there. Man I miss this. It was so much fun.

[@salvatoredangelo7026]

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.

[@epiccreepertnt]

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

[@Cha4k]

+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.

[@jadsi]

epiccreepertnt You’re not alone

[@shanemarcotte2062]

McDonalds got completely away from the child friendly angle years ago. For a lot of reasons. Modern law suit happy people for one.

[@SpectrumAssociates]

And Universal. Mostly.

[@user-or6yn8pm3c]

Mcdonalds = Ghetto today.

[@southwaco23]

@@user-or6yn8pm3c ghetto and slow service

[@mikesilva3868]

@@southwaco23 agreed 📼

[@DanJackson1977]

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.

[@echosixtyfour]

7:21 this is pure nightmare fuel.. it's like they taxidermized his body and replaced his arms with metal poles

[@jalaneperry7643]

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

[@Fragosgaragedoorvids]

Wow that is such good quality!

[@Nina-fp3jv]

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.

[@darrylsmith1471]

Working at McDonalds is not just for teenagers anymore, many older adults work here and have started great careers working here.

[@alemmingsdeath]

Had my 7th birthday party there in 1981.

[@markleneker9923]

Those were the best takes they could get from that couple in the beginning?! Damn.

[@ivabender3564]

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!

[@edreid7872]

5:30...that carnival music was used to advertise every local amusement park during the 70's..

[@k.anderson5039]

I remember playing in that Hamburger cage. Also recall that equipment being really hot as it was metal.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Ah, memories!

[@michaelcaro1920]

Love the music in the beginning. Takes me back & wish there was a place that had HD quality.

[@jerrystogsdill4965]

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.

[@hollydierksen8156]

Before the indoor tubes and slides they had when I was a kid.

[@scratchdog2216]

Born in '65. I was a bit old, but remember my brother('76) playing on this stuff. His name is Eric too.

[@GODWITHUS0712]

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.

[@debbie1067]

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.

[@Techno-Universal]

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! :)

[@sarcasticallyrearranged]

My birth year. Nice to see how people dressed.

[@princessevie-topic7495]

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.

[@mauromesa78]

super cool! i miss all that this video is a rare classic history treasure of mcdonald's a true treasure of our child hood from the good old days

[@KatriceMetaluna]

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.

[@Tiqerboy]

Wow, neat to see those McDonalds signs in the 'low' billions served :-)

[@glitzen05dood]

:-)

[@darrylsmith1471]

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.

[@armorybrunotjr.3204]

Very nice McDonald's production film from the 1970s, when it was a family oriented burger joint.

[@Beth9228]

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.

[@BallparkHunter]

The kid was hallucinating and his parents were busy eating cheeseburgers.

[@miket7330]

The good old times!🤡💖

[@FreakyGremlinDK]

The dad choking on his burger several times in the beginning HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@TheElvisJamboree]

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.)

[@rexstick]

Just bought a Captain Crook slide today

[@glitzen05dood]

They’re selling the 1972 statues

[@WillCWilson]

They're selling a LOT more than that.

[@Mike-pj1kv]

The kid is talking to strange looking inanimate objects by himself.

[@MK-fc2hn]

He's middle-aged now, and has 7 years left on his prison sentence.

[@eascec8374]

I Have Some Pictures Of One Of The Virginia Beach (VA) McDonald's Including Its McDonaldland Playground Set From Like 1983 Or 1984.

[@moralcoach717]

Cartoon characters from the 1970's look so odd these days, it seems every cartoon back then had some yellow submarine vibe

[@sendit1158]

Miss this

[@stevegoff6576]

Mc.Donald's should bring this back!I have only been to the dumb indoor playgrounds,they're bad :(

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

I like when Mayor Mcheese and sheriff Big Mac are together

[@NoOne-sn2si]

This looks like it was filmed on Kodachrome... Beautiful colors, especially the reds...

[@mackpines]

Well, it did give us those nice, bright colors! Mama didn’t take my Kodachrome away because it wasn’t sold any longer by the time I was born.

[@janetmateo2464]

I was born in the late 80s i never saw mcdonalds play ground looking like that as a kid i remember the ball pit

[@meximouse]

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...

[@chloejoe1000]

so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so cool

[@LanceEhlers]

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.

[@emilianoarteaga7351]

0:15 emi inc 1972-2018 46th year anniversary thank you for cartoon

[@RickAiello]

Ours never looked like this!! They were just small playgrounds directly in front of the building.

[@Jessie-J]

With the right soundtrack, this film would be terrifying.

[@Omnipresence2.0]

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

[@Omnipresence2.0]

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

[@enriquerodriguezjr4466]

It's very strange this man still have clean cut hair well into the 70's

[@sonijam]

Good times!

[@danielroyer6005]

At 4:13,McDonald's wondered if this was in Leesville,Louisiana!

[@toshamartin2362]

2022 UPDATE Now your child gets to have fun jumping up and down trying not piss themselves while waiting for you to get a key or code FUNNN

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

Back then McDonald's was family friendly McDonald land

[@Titleknown]

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...

[@charlenelifechannel8299]

Mcdonalds is to amazing

[@mikesilva3868]

Cool 📼

[@jorgefigueroa4437]

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?

[@thomassullivan9692]

Is that the same kid who played Tanner Boyle in The Bad News Bears?

[@brandonwayne2343]

I wish I grew up without all this technology and social media it's fucked

[@e.tezani3877]

That kid is now approaching 60

[@darrensiegel6651]

why was the 70s so damn creepy even when it wasn't trying to be?

[@MK-fc2hn]

The directors were on acid and other hallucinogenic drugs.

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

The McDonald's glass cups collectibles

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

I always wanted one of those McDonald's cups collectibles now

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

Merry go Big Mac round

[@longfield0023]

We were all more innocent then. Including the adults. It's all gone to hell.

[@johndalton3180]

Trump needs to save us.

[@BrentColflesh]

I want to be trapped inside Grimace... forever.

[@katherinewooley2966]

I was there.

[@vielmaleo1970]

I wonder also if little Eric Williams & his parents are still alive today?

[@user-or6yn8pm3c]

Average McDonald's today is a crime scene.

[@meximouse]

By chance does anyone know what city this was filmed in?

[@katherinewooley2966]

Chula Vista California

[@augustalong9363]

My kinda of resturant

[@lynnleistinger854]

And he was seen again...one less thing to be sued over.

[@ivabender3564]

Not to Mention, Both The Original Hot Cherry and Apple Pies as Well!

[@Techno-Universal]

A lot of things like the apple pie tree and burger sculptures look like they should be from the mid to late 1980s and not 50 years ago! :)

[@MK-fc2hn]

That's what I tell myself when I look in the mirror. 😆

[@denniscosban6145]

Unpaded steel bars are so safe. And the mayor make cheese roundabout. Is 2 in above the ground. Made of fiberglass which is not dangerous at all😂

[@nicholasrabus4170]

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

[@MK-fc2hn]

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.

[@vielmaleo1970]

I wonder what location this is? Anybody know?

[@katherinewooley2966]

Chula Vista California

[@vielmaleo1970]

@@katherinewooley2966 Do you know the address? Is this McDonald's still there?

[@katherinewooley2966]

@@vielmaleo1970 I don't think so. Pretty sure it was on Broadway.

[@EastwoodproductionsAHHHHH]

The evil grimace can bounce and bend all day. Be maintained at a minimum cost, and is COMPLETELY SAFE FOR CHILDren

[@impalaman9707]

That toy was already gone when I came of age, because Ronald turned him from the dark side by 1975. I only ever knew Grimace as a "good guy"

[@shannonscrivner5174]

I remember the playgrounds--- I was born in 1973 so I remember from 1977 and so...this is really kind of...uh creepy yah that's it.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Shannon Scrivner I still liked the Big Mac Climber thingy I wanted to stay inside.

[@lynnleistinger854]

I ment he was never seen again. Seriously if a kid injured themselves it would be $$$ for any opportunist .

[@jimkeskey]

These days, kids that age would bored out of their minds with this equipment. They want a phone or tablet they can sit and stare at all day long.

[@skywishr1313]

As if kids in 1972 weren’t staring into televisions when they get home

[@jimkeskey]

@@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.

[@charlesrobinson7469]

Ba da da da da, THEY'RE KILLING US!

[@surferbri5346]

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.

[@glitzen05dood]

What Location?

[@willieotero2122]

glitzen05 dood culsa vista near San Deigo. Its still their big remodled

[@glitzen05dood]

Is a remenent still there?

[@vielmaleo1970]

@@glitzen05dood It's Chula Vista, not Culsa Vista & there's like 11 of them, which one?

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

What happened to McDonald's ? The mcdonaldland gone now they have Happy meals for kids

[@johnfitzgerald2339]

@ 2:24 "NO FOOD in PLAY AREA" ?!?

[@augustalong9363]

Yummy cheeseburger🍔🍟