The world’s largest McDonalds is a much more stressful experience than you may think, with a soft play centre and a huge arcade being the backdrop to your Big Mac
Over the past 50 years McDonalds has grown and grown to now be a behemoth of the food world which feeds approximately one per cent of the world’s population every day – that’s around 80 million people every 24 hours.
But while the golden arches in the UK all seem to follow a classic formula, sitting as a drive-thru on the edge of an industrial estate, or crammed into a corner of the high street, over in the company’s homeland they go even bigger.
In fact, the world’s largest McDonald’s looks much more like a mini-hospital or a huge office block than just one fast-food restaurant. A giant, white two-storey tower, claims the title, made up of more than 19,000 square feet of prime McDonalds real estate to devour a happy meal in.
Sitting in the Florida wetlands, just a short drive from Disney World in Orlando is the world’s largest McDonalds. Open 24 hours a day, the restaurant is way more than your typical Maccies, instead including arcade games, a “play place” and even a McDonalds pizzeria.
On a recent trip to Orlando with his family, British influencer and reviewer Alex Dodman made his way over to the restaurant to see how it matched up to it’s counterparts on this side of the Atlantic.
Posting on Instagram Alex said: “I watched a Youtube video a while ago of someone reviewing this place and the guy on there made it look like a really nice relaxing experience.
“It was empty so he must have filmed at around 6am because trust me it’s far from a relaxing experience.”
Although as he arrived at the restaurant despite its 1,700 square metres he was less than impressed than it’s somewhat plain style.
The site was originally opened in 1976, but has gradually transformed into something more akin to an entertainment complex with a cinema, than a fast food outlet.
He added: “If someone hadn’t told you it was the world’s largest McDonalds I don’t think you’d look twice. I mean don’t get me wrong it is big, but it’s a little bit underwhelming considering it’s the biggest one in the planet. I mean it just looks like a reasonably sized NHS walk-in centre to me.”
Outside of the pizza dishes, and one rogue pasta dish, the menu is largely the same as the UK and nearly identical to the rest of the US, with a Big Mac and Quarter-Pounder with cheese remaining practically untouched across the globe.
Upstairs however is what makes the Orlando McDonalds unique, with half of the giant area being made up of a huge soft-play area, whereas the other has the neon glow of a classic arcade.
Alex added: “Now you’ve got your food, if you do like eating your McDonalds to the relaxing sounds of kids screaming and having meltdowns, then this is the place.
“Not only do they have a massive soft play,” Alex went on “but they’ve also got arcades galore that put Blackpool to shame.”
