McDonald’s

This blog is primarily for those of you who stay at the All Star Resorts. The McDonald’s located on Buena Vista Drive was built specifically to cater to these three hotels.

As you might recall, this McDonald’s once had enormous caricatures of a hamburger, fries, and a shake on its roof. For whatever reason, the powers-that-be decided it was time for a change and both the exterior and interior of this restaurant received a major makeover. Here are a couple of pictures of the new exterior. Gone are the fanciful figures to be replaced by sleek, modern lines.

McDonald's Exterior

McDonald's Exterior

The outdoor seating area has been given a casual feel complete with some comfortable wicker chairs and palm trees.

Outdoor Seating Area

Outdoor Seating Area

The ordering station and beverage bar received only minor changes.

Ordering Counter

Beverage Station

The seating area is more festive than its predecessor. This is accomplished by using white tables and chairs of primary colors. In addition, the overhead panels now display sporting scenes, also in colors that coordinate with the chairs.

Indoor Seating

Indoor Seating

Two “group” seating areas are clustered together under light colored wood canopies. Four flat-screen TVs can also be found within this setting.

Group Seating Area

The inside ordering counter and dining room are open daily from 5am to 1am. The drive-thru is open 24 hours.

Note, this McDonald’s is extremely busy for breakfast and dinner. At lunchtime, it’s practically deserted.

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28 Replies to “McDonald’s”

  1. This is a shame…McD’s do allow themed restaurants, there is one here in the UK at a theme park called “Chessington world of Adventure” it is themed like a horror movie vampire cave to go with the vampire roller coaster it sits underneath.

    There is a “plain” McD’s at Downtown, this was special, and this “makeover” is a backward step.
    How sad to see it go.

  2. Thank God I have pictures of my kids in front of the old one!!! That exterior made us smile everytime we saw it! It paired so well with the over sized theming of the All Star hotels. How sad that it’s gone.

  3. I am so diappointed in the new McD’s! Some of our most beloved memories are eating breakfast and watching the old Disney Cartoons while the anticipation was building getting ready to go to the parks.

  4. Guess I will join the crowd and say that I too am disappointed in the new look. When you drove past the old restaurant, it felt special. It was larger than life. I also can’t believe they took out the pictures from around the world. They could have updated them, or added new sights.

    I am sure that we are all just being grumps and fighting change, which is inevitable. Nothing stays the same. One day this new look will be outdated and re-done as well. I just don’t see as many people being disappointed by it.

    This “modern” look will not hold its appeal as long as the larger than life characters did. Maybe once it is a time for another remodel, we can get a “retro” look, and bring back the old look that everyone loved.

  5. We always made a point of eating at this McD’s each trip to watch the fun old Disney cartoons. Sigh – no more cartoons. One cashier told us that Disney decided that they would no longer allow McD’s to show them – who knows? We won’t be going out of our way to stop here again – it’s just another McD’s now.

  6. Ate here frequently in June and kept asking ‘did it always look like this? we were just here in december, i THINK??’ now we know..
    do NOT expect to get a milkshake here. The employees state the machine hasnt worked in months..

  7. It looks like IKEA! This is Disney, things are supposed to be whimsical. Its really nice.. I’d love to have one like that near me… but here? Don’t think so. And getting rid of the play place? What’s next.. the Happy Meal?

  8. If anyone is looking for a McDonald’s with more character, check on the one at 6875 Sand Lake Road just south of I-4 (near Universal Studios). It supposedly is the “World’s Largest Entertainment McDonald’s and PlayPlace,” and it was insanely crowded for lunch on Sunday, July 5, when I was there. Note that in addition to standard McD’s fare, you can get made-to-order pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and paninis. Plus, they have enchiladas, chimichangas, and great ice cream and desserts. This franchisee aims to provide unique McDonald’s restaurants, and this one certainly qualifies.

  9. We saw the construction when we were there in March and I’m a bit disappointed. I generally like moderninzing, but just not at this particular McD’s. It was fun to see the giant food sticking up, you could even see them from the road above.

    A couple of trips ago, we spent several hours there as the battery in our van went out, as did our cell phones! The very nice managers there let us use their cellphone and we called Disney for help. Luckily we got charged, then a new battery and everything was fine. I’m glad we atleast got to spend that time in the fun “old” McDonald’s!!

  10. I am SO disappointed in this renovation!!! We had stopped by this McD’s several years ago when my kids were little and the things they loved most about it were the characters on the building and the “big umbrellas” outside over the tables. To this day they still refer to this place as “the big umbrellas”. We would always stop by here first before checking in to our resort.
    When we were there in April they were working on the refurbishment, and we were disappointed then. I can’t imagine what the kids’ reactions will be to these pictures!!!!!
    I doubt we will be stopping there any more!

  11. Thank you, Jack for the pictures. It’s sad that the “characters” aren’t there anymore. You have to wonder if it’s due to real renovation or is McD’s “detaching” themselves from Disney and taking their toys home along with the fry carts? I’d like to think that it’s just corporate America being corporate America and not being poor sports.

    Jack’s Answer:

    I don’t see anything ominous here. McDonald’s is reinventing many of their restaurants. Also, when you sign a contract with Disney, one of the provisions is that you keep your business looking good. This eatery had been here over ten years. It was probably time for a major makeover.

    Now whether we like this makeover is another story. Personally, I do. However, I understand that this is Disney World and this McD’s caters to kids on vacation. Perhaps the Imagineers and the McD designers could have given more thought to this particular eatery and come up with a more kid-friendly design rather than make it look like all the rest of their restaurants across the country.

  12. Wow this Mickey D’s looks incredible! Love the comfy chairs. I always wanted to stop here, now my next trip I will for sure. Didn’t know the drive thru was open 24 hours, that’s good to know since we usually go to the one at the Crossroads Plaza, which can be quite nuts late at night. Thanks for the tip!

  13. Does it have wifi yet? We were there in March 2009 and it did not. Kind of a bummer. And I do like the new design; very classy.

    Jack’s Answer:

    I tried to find out if they have WiFi but had no luck. I didn’t think to ask while I was there and when I call them directly, they don’t answer. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

  14. Can’t complain about the changes from “Super-sized” to “Ikea-sized” because I don’t remember seeing the old one, but I would think WDW would be the place where instead of a contemporary feel they might have chosen to go way old school to the original 50’s style McDonald’s that Ray Croc opened. That would have been cool to see. This one looks like it should be adjacent to the Bay Lake Tower.

  15. Personally, I love the worldwide redesign mcdonalds is making. I mean, their food may still be crappy, but that doesn’t mean their style has to be. The new look feels cleaner and more modern–I know the McDonalds I knew as a child always had a dirty “old” feel to them, like they hadn’t been touched since the seventies.

    While I am usually all about this sort of modern Scandinavian design, I’m not so sure if it’s very “family-oriented” or appropriate for this location.

    I think they are almost on the right track, but it feels a little too corporate / business like. Keep the colored chairs, nice clean wood features, and hanging globe lights. Ditch the monochromatic sports photos and bring some of the MCD characters into the location. I think a middle ground could have been found between this new style unification and the fun old giant characters.

  16. I couldn’t tell for sure but did I still see the pictures inside of all the other McDonald’s from around the world? The first time I went in there I thought that was really cool to look at and my son wanted to go see what I had been talking about!

    Jack’s Answer:

    No. All of those old McDs pictures have been replaced with “sports” photo to emphasize an active and healthy lifestyle.

    Sorry.

  17. It looks nice and very grown up! But when your at Disney you want to feel like a kid and this just does not do that! How sad 🙁

  18. BLAH, thats all there is to say. Just another boring McDonalds. Now the exterior looks as bad as the food tastes…

  19. our family, has a rule we eat very little fast food & no Mcdonalds! But when we were hungry & had no choice but Mcd, we told the kids it’s bad unless it’s at disneyworld, so look forward to going here everyvisit! lol!

  20. I can’t beleive this!! We have the best memories of my, then, 3 year old son when we drove by this McDonald’s. He remarked that it was “the biggest McDonald’s he ever saw”. We would always remind him of that when we drove by it again. I am going to be sad when we drive by it next….yet another childhood memory gone. I have to check my photos to make sure I took a picture.

  21. Thanks for posting this! I’m REALLY disappointed with the change. A HUGE part of the fun of going to Orlando is seeing things that are different, and over the top. This change is a huge step in the WRONG direction 🙁
    Why oh Why would someone suggest “let’s go modern”?

  22. I am very disappointed in the new look. I liked the old look much better. You are going to Disney not some snooty, upscale, hideaway. It makes me think that I am there for business not to have fun. Where is the fun in this… I am sorry but this is not what I would expect out of one of the most famous fast food restaurant for “kids” at Disney.

  23. I don’t like that all the McD’s are getting streamlined! We need some creativity, especially when you are right in the middle of the Magic! My kids loved to look for the oversized characters. Could they at least give us some Mickey ears on the “golden arches?”

  24. Does it still have WiFi?

    Jack’s Answer:

    I called Walt Disney World General Information with your question, but they didn’t know. They connected me directly to the McDonald’s restaurant. After letting the phone ring 20 times, I hung up as there was no answer. I looked up McDonald’s and called directly. Still no answer.

    Since you asked do they “still” have WiFi, I have to assume yes. There would be no reason to take it out.

    Sorry I couldn’t give you a more definitive answer.

  25. Aawww…I don’t like it! My kids always look for those big characters when we go!

    We always liked to take first-time visitors by there to see this fanciful Mickey Ds.

    Dang…why’d they go and make us try to grow up? Especially at Disney!

    Darn them! 🙁

  26. Hi Jack,
    Although I did like the the large figures on the roof this makeover is a very nice. I love the palm tress!

  27. Thanks for the update! I think my kids will miss seeing the large characters out front. But we still love to see that McDonald’s… because it means we’re almost “home”!

  28. We stopped at this McDonald’s for the first time a few years back as we were leaving AKL. I had told my son (3 at the time) that we were going to McD’s and he couldn’t wait to play on the playground. All he could think was that if Disney World was the best, then they would have the best McD’s playground in the WORLD!! Imagine his disappointment when he saw that it didn’t have a playground. It was really pitiful. To this day, he still says, “There’s the bad McDonald’s without a playground,” when we drive past it!