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02/19/2007: Twelve fantastic McDonald’s tray covers.

New article, covering thirty years’ worth of McDonald’s history…as told by one dozen promotional tray covers. Once merely thought of as those sheets of paper that protected loose fries from tray grime, these tray covers are a window into fast food history, and a solid memento of those swank Batman Forever mugs McDonald’s used to sell. Read it and weep.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 252 comments

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Just had my first shamrock shake of the year. I don’t feel so good now, but it was still worth it.

Ghosted by Joel @ 02/23/2007 11:00 PM EST

terror and manimal: a huge congrats to the both of you!!
Erik: here in newfoundland, canada they still allow you to choose your own toy, which is pretty badass!
Joel: the shamrocks are out ALREADY?? damn dude, i must hit-up a McD’s, wont eat the food though!

Later Folks
El-Josh-O

Ghosted by JoshC @ 02/24/2007 12:02 AM EST

Looks like I’m joining the conversation late again, but I just gotta say 1.) good job, Matt(the Arch Deluxe placemat was especially hilarious), and 2.) good job Nickelodeon. Does Big Red have a myspace account? I want to be friends with her.

Ghosted by Casual Jeff @ 02/24/2007 12:33 AM EST

They let you choose your own toy here in the US of A too. You just have to tell them to let you do it. I can’t count the times my grandmother was like “let me see the box, he’s looking for one in particular.”

And then they’d let me rummage through the box of everything they had. It was sweet. It’s not hard to push people around, if you try

Ghosted by K- @ 02/24/2007 12:49 AM EST

I remember honey dipping sauce!

Ghosted by Justin @ 02/24/2007 12:55 AM EST

kidneyboy, chris, joel….Where?!?!?! I’m on LI so…I’d like to know if there are any around here.

Also, I finally went to Checkers today. It was allright, it didn’t give me that “I’m gonna die!” feeling McDs and White Castle usually give me. Checkers also currently has O’Hanlon’s Irish Creme Shakes now, and I’m pretty sure I’ll settle for this is I can’t find the Shamrock Shake. (I even have a coupon for 79 cents for the Checkers shake)

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 02/24/2007 12:58 AM EST

I never read the paper placemats. I was always to busy playing with the crappy toys that were in our happy meal to give a crap what they said. I remember “honey” sauce which i think was just real bee honey. More importantly all this McD’s nostalgia is making me think about McRibs.

Ghosted by Fowl @ 02/24/2007 2:38 AM EST

I’m going to have to check Matt’s dating on the chicken McNuggets. I personally have 1 degree of separation from the nuggets. In 1981, I started a rock band, and in early 1982, we found a keyboard player who’s dad owned a company named Imperial Foods. (This was in Northeast PA). And they made chicken McNuggets. Here is a secret about the recipe though. The McNuggets sold in the North were made of white and dark meat. But those sold in the south were all white meat. For some reason, market research showed that people in the South had more discriminating taste. So years later, when mcDonalds touted “McNuggets, now with all white meat” I thought “Ha! Maybe these commercials are only up north!”. I’m so friggin’ special…

Anyway, I seem to remember thatwhen my buddy told me that info in 1982, the McNuggets had been around for a while.

Whatever…

Ghosted by Alex @ 02/24/2007 6:14 AM EST

The Eleventh Comandment:
Thou shalt not doubt Matt.

Ghosted by johnny @ 02/24/2007 7:30 AM EST

I’m fairly certain there was a time when McNuggets were all white meat before they were dark meat mixed and then back to white meat. I say this because I remember quite well there was a time in the middle of my life that McNuggets, A.) Seemed darker inside than before and B.) Didn’t taste nearly as well.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 02/24/2007 1:55 PM EST

Let’s come up with names for the babies!

SuperFly
Evil-Lyn
Semprini
Habanerolita
Julius Strangepork
Mxyzptlk
Trogdor
Ju-On
Big Hunk
Arcee
Emil Medici Holloman (what I wanted the Doctor on Voyager to be named)
Sunny Gummi
O’Grimacey
Romanavratdalunda
Boogie Down Productions
Xena
Stands With A Fist
Suzy Chapstick

Who else has suggestions?

Ghosted by kingklash @ 02/24/2007 4:24 PM EST

Elita One
Moonchild
Buttercup
Alan Rickman (just because I love him)
Spike
Teela
Albert Rosenfield or maybe Chester Desmond

I think I’m out of names for now. I find myself in a wonderful mood this lovely Saturday…..It might be because I watched Drop Dead Fred, The Neverending Story and The Princess Bride yesterday. Woot!

Ghosted by MissJess @ 02/24/2007 5:06 PM EST

Josie
Selphie
Rinoa
Kairi
Penelo
Shion
MOMO……okay, too far.

Ghosted by K- @ 02/24/2007 7:02 PM EST

Does anyone know where I can download the entire coming out of our shells tour?

Ghosted by jester @ 02/24/2007 7:06 PM EST

Jester: I once found it on Bearshare, this was 2005 though, but you could stve it a shot!

El-Josh-O

Ghosted by JoshC @ 02/24/2007 7:17 PM EST

Sorry, that should be “but you could still give it a shot!”
appologizes for the double-post!
El-Josh-O

Ghosted by JoshC @ 02/24/2007 7:19 PM EST

Lord Madonna David Uncle Jellyfish

Ghosted by jazzy @ 02/24/2007 9:01 PM EST

I suggest dohopoki, that’s just me.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 02/24/2007 10:01 PM EST

Mcdonalds thase like shit for today.

Ghosted by Toonintvfor @ 02/25/2007 4:22 PM EST

Dear lord, I know for certain that I still have some of those Hot Wheels. I recognize at least 4 of them, they’re in a plastic bag stored away in a box in my parent’s attic. I would have been 11 in 1983, and I know I still have every toy that didn’t break or vanish, because I’m an unholy packrat. Unlike many of my plastic toys, Hot Wheels being made of “die-cast metal” as they were, tended to be much more durable. Its the same reason I still have so many Star Wars action figures; they were made of hard, hard, solid plastic unlike, say G.I. Joe figures, with their many screws that could rust and the rubber band in the middle that could snap. At least, with as rough as we played with them, that tended to happen.

Ghosted by The Kraken @ 02/25/2007 9:22 PM EST

Roc Donald’s brings back a -lot- of memories. I remember compulsively collecting the little house/car sets they put out for the movie. I was so anal about putting the stickers in ALLTHERIGHTSPOTS.

Ghosted by Jade @ 02/26/2007 1:53 AM EST

Those Batman Forever mugs look particularly high-quality. A couple of years back, I started buying old promo glasses from films like “Return of the Jedi” and “Star Trek III”, as well as my beloved “Camp Snoopy” glasses. However, time and many dishwashings have not been kind to these…I don’t buy them anymore since they inevitably disintegrate, regardless if you have a dishwasher.

Ghosted by Will @ 02/26/2007 3:06 PM EST

Ah, McDonald’s. Remember when McDonald’s was THE fast food place? I miss worshipping the place. I miss commercials for it that didn’t make me want to strangle Ronald because he’s being EXTREME or ACTIVE or some such crap. This article brought back a lot of happy Mickey D’s memories for me. Awesome job as always, Matt.

Like how I totally had (and probably still have, somewhere) a ton of those Hot Wheels toys. I too was a daddy’s girl and loved toy cars as much as my Barbies and My Little Ponies. Speaking of my daddy, I remember that he and I used to go out every Sunday morning for a period of time to McDonald’s for breakfast, just the two of us. This was pretty special because my dad’s always worked at least two jobs to support us and usually time with him meant time with my little brother and my mom, too. But those Sundays were just for us. I don’t remember exactly when this was but I know they still had the styrofoam containers because I remember eating hotcakes from them. We used to go to this really cool McDonald’s that had an actual carousel horse in the middle of the restaurant (I have no idea why). I hadn’t thought about those Sunday morning breakfasts in years…too bad my dad’s working nights now and sleeps on Sunday mornings, or I’d have to get him to go with me again sometime. Growing up sucks.

Was the Arch Deluxe dealio also the time when they changed my all-time favorite McD’s food, the Filet-O-Fish? Once I grew out of Happy Meals, I ordered those things all the time (they’re still my favorite indulgence from there). I remember being so pissed when they changed it to have lettuce (ew!), and some crappy bun that was always stale, and NO CHEESE, which is the best part! I think I boycotted the place for a while until they brought back the original Filet.

God, now I HAVE to stop at McDonald’s on the way home. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Shamrock Shake, so I must know if they exist around here. The boyfriend won’t be happy because we’re both trying to cut back on fast food (we’re too lazy to cook but we don’t have the money to eat out all the time), but I’m bringing home tons of work that I have to finish at home tonight, so I should treat myself. Right? Right?

Ghosted by Nicole @ 02/26/2007 5:34 PM EST

Hey, just in case anyone wants to complete their collection or something, I have both the Riddler and the Batman glass cups from the 1995 placemats. They do get used from time to time, but they are in perfect shape. Drop me an email if your interested, stljason1@hotmail.com

Ghosted by Jason @ 02/27/2007 12:04 AM EST

That reminds me… I’ve got the Batman and Robin glasses from that era, and I still use them occasionally. My friends love them, simply because they are so corny. I remember I got them before going to the Iona County Fair all those years ago… Time Warp?

So, is there going to be a Burger King place mat thingamajig? I do recall a pretty awesome Dale Earnhardt (RIP) place mat from ‘99 or ‘00 to promote his special Burger King model for a race at Richmond or Talladega. I only saw them when I was down south in Alabama and Florida on vacation, by the time I was back in Michigan, I never saw them again… I wish I had kept one…

Ghosted by Brad Y @ 02/27/2007 1:11 AM EST

Hey Matt, great article! This is what the internet is really for – making obscure ephimera accesible to the masses! Anyway, I love how you always put an amusing spin on what you are “reporting” about … lol. Now I can’t get the image of an annoyed Ronald McDonald plopping down in an empty theater to preview “Batman Forever” out of my head.
One question about the article, however. You say at the beginning that the article covers tray liners that span “over 30 years”, but the oldest one I saw was from 1981 (making it only 26 years old). Error? Or are there more liners to come? Whatever, its only 4 years off. I’m just too picky. Sorry for obsessing about details.

Ghosted by Too Picky about Errors @ 02/27/2007 3:51 AM EST

Wow this really takes me back. The food court at the mall in my town was building a McDonald’s when the Flintstones came out. Guess what? They turned it into a real life RocDonald’s! It was a completely stone aged themed McDonald’s with a huge T-Rex in the middle. All the seats were shaped like Tricerotops heads… the place was amazing.

I always loved the Flintstones because of that McDonald’s.

Ghosted by def. @ 03/01/2007 4:40 PM EST

Well im 13 now and that power rangers mat came out 2 yrs after i was born,but i live in england so i cant remember if they had the power ranger ones.But good review Matt!

Ghosted by Daza @ 03/02/2007 1:30 AM EST

Oddly, I have a few sets of those mugs, and then a few extras. The sets are boxed up from the last time I moved and the extras are in the bathroom. I think they see the most use when I clean the sink of the tub. They’re good for throwing water onto the tile to rinse it off, after all.

Why is it that everyone who ever ate from that Mickey D’s breakfast trayliner remembers it? I think it’s the connection to OJ.

Ghosted by Matt @ 03/13/2007 10:23 AM EST

I remember when I first had a McRib back in… I think 1992.

They were giving away basketball cards if you bought the sandwich, the commercial even touted the Michael Jordan card that one could get.

First sandwich I ever got…I got the Jordan card. Being only 6 at the time and having no concept of what a poker face was I screamed “I GOT A JORDAN CARD!”

Years later I learned these things weren’t worth a freakin dime.

Ghosted by Namrepus221 @ 03/23/2007 2:14 PM EST

Positively awesome. I just found your website today, and I tell ya, I’m not going to leave it until 2008.

Ghosted by Blair @ 03/25/2007 4:15 PM EST

I have like three of those batman mugs, all Robin unfortunately (I have two siblings). I remember as a kid when my dad got them with our food the cashier dropped one accidentally on the counter but quickly picked it up and said “They’re unbreakable you know”. My dad of course thought he was bullshitting royally, “They’re glass for christsakes!”. Well 9 or 10 years later I was emptying the dishwasher and accidentally dropped on on the tile floor. The glass was completely unscathed!…the same could not be said about the tile it landed on, which had to be replaced.

I also remember back in the early or mid 80’s there were these little wind-up cars that came with the happy meal. The kind you pull back across any firm surface and when you let go they zip off in whatever direction they were facing. Each one was different and driven by a different McDonalds mascot. If I remember correctly, they usually ended up spinning out rather than going in a straight line. Does anyone else here remember those?

Ghosted by Dave @ 03/30/2007 7:44 PM EST

You forgot the best tray liner of all time… the random, run-on paragraph/sentence that was the Micro-Machine man’s McDonald’s song. “Big Mac, McDLT, a Quarter Pounder with some cheese, Fillet o Fish, a Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Happymeal, McNuggets, Tasty Golden Frenchfries, Regular or Large in size…” etc.

God I’m a dork for remembering this shit.

Ghosted by Lifez @ 04/07/2007 5:25 PM EDT

Wow… Prodigy internet was around back in the beginning of ‘94? I remember just playing Sim City and a crappy Jurrasic Park game on our computer back in ‘94. We didn’t even get online until late ‘97.

Ghosted by wednesday @ 04/13/2007 4:30 PM EDT

The McDLT was wicked awesome! Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander sang and danced in the commercial for it. Except he had hair then. Sweet site.

Ghosted by G.O.B. @ 04/14/2007 2:21 PM EDT

I worked at McDonald’s once… we called them tray liners. There was 4 sauces, sweet and sour, barbeque, honey, and hot mustard; then they replaced hot mustard with honey mustard… it angered many….
I moved into a “furnished” basement suite with dishes, and all the cups were mcdonald’s batman glasses… bahaha

Ghosted by Awesome-o @ 04/17/2007 3:05 PM EDT

I love reading your articles, I lived throught the 80s too, and fondly remember a lot of those things- although I’m not from the U.S of A, but from New Zealand.
I can remember the toys quite fondly, and how todays kids get really shitty toys, i don’t remember if it was mc d’s or bk, but we had the hunchback of notre dame glasses, and they were pretty impressive as giveaways. And I remember the flintstones promotions with the little toys…ha ha they were pretty cool though.

We have a burger they are bringing back today called the kiwiburger….it is a massive thing with an egg in the middle.
I still love happy meals….theyre just the right size

But for some reason, mcd’s will always be the place I’ll stop if I’m out of town, in the middle of no where…

There was this thing about the colours used inside a mcd’s that said they were inviting, but only enough whilst you eat, and then you want to leave…

Ghosted by Victoria @ 05/08/2007 4:24 PM EDT

hey matt.. guess what i have a whole fridge full of {against my will}…

HONEY SAUCE. my mom loves it, and until i mov out and take the fridge with me, there it shall stay.

by the by, has anyone seen the MCDLT commercial with jason alexander? even then, je was mcdonalds bitch.

Ghosted by john nemo @ 05/13/2007 3:04 PM EDT

Boy do I ever remember those Atari ones. They’d really drive you nuts when you lost even food items. It usually was possible to nick an area and tell if it was gonna be a losing spot, and they’d never check that hard for small wins.

Ghosted by Jason @ 05/13/2007 7:16 PM EDT

What happened to the Chia Plot?

Ghosted by Mightystalfos @ 05/18/2007 4:33 PM EDT

Hiya everyone. Long-time reader, first-time commenter.

I just wanted to state that McDonald’s does indeed still have both Hot Mustard and Honey, if that hasn’t already been massively clarified by previous comments.

I love the Hot Mustard enough to want to buy it wholesale. Thank God for the Internet.

Ghosted by Toneh @ 05/18/2007 11:09 PM EDT

Believe it or not, they actually *do* wash those McDonalds trays — under a scalding-hot, high-powered washer hose…

I worked at Mickey D’s in high school, and one of the jobs was to stand at the sink *all* day long washing those trays…

Ghosted by theEvilAngel @ 05/31/2007 3:49 PM EDT

When I worked at McDonald’s in 2000 (I was about 17), I had to wash trays with the sloppy towel, as Matt described. It was so boring that I rushed through it just so I could do something else. So when I actually go inside a place to eat fast food, I don’t eat off the tray unless it has a liner or three on it.

Anyway, this article really takes me back. There’s just something about that orange/yellow/brown color scheme…

Ghosted by Annette @ 06/08/2007 2:54 PM EDT

I work at the McDonald’s distribution center outside of Chicago. The sheets are called Tray-Liners, so there ya go..

Ghosted by SmokeStack @ 06/16/2007 8:42 AM EDT

They gave me honey (along with a thousand packets of grape jelly. Gross. And some watery syrup. And /no/ ketchup) with my breakfast. The thing with the pancakes, the sausage patty that burns your mouth with spiciness, the hashbrown, the roll that’s so dry you gag, and the eggs that are so gross you vomit a bit? I love the pancakes, the sausage and the hashbrown, and make my own eggs. Sort of defeats the purpose but ah well. I can’t get that sausage anywhere else.

Ghosted by bp @ 06/25/2007 11:19 PM EDT

There’s also hot mustard here. The douches gave it to me by accident one day instead of honey mustard. Asses.

Ghosted by bp @ 06/25/2007 11:20 PM EDT

I was working at McDonald’s when the Arch Deluxe was released (though we never used those trays), & I was there when the Batman Forever glasses came out (I still have a full set). Man, the halcyon days of high school, working at McD’s. Good times. Anyway, loved the article – it brought back a few fond memories of using tray-liners to write little “love notes” to my girlfriend (who later became my wife). I think we still have a few of those (along w/ notes on the double-quarter pounder wrappers) lying around in a box somewhere =)

Ghosted by MetalFRO @ 07/19/2007 12:49 PM EDT

Who was looking for the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers American League Champions place mats from McDonalds? I have 5 of them with Ted Simmons, Don Sutton, Jim Gantner, Robin YountBen Oglive and Charlie Morre signatures. E-mail me

Dan

Ghosted by Dan @ 11/11/2008 5:32 PM EST

Does anyone have one of the liners from summer of 1996 with various people represented as customers: a mom with her daughter, a construction worker, a “teen”, et al. They each had a quote next to their picture about why they loved McDonald’s. I’d LOVE to see that one again!

Ghosted by Damon @ 03/03/2009 5:41 PM EST

Someone said they were looking for the set with Mayor McCheese: “Who’s round and jolly and full of fun? Who’s shaped liek a great big hamburger bun? Who’s got a job that’s a super breeze…? Who else, says Ronald, “But Mayo McCheese!”

E-mail me!

Ghosted by Shana @ 06/25/2009 10:47 PM EDT

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