McDonald's Is Bringing The Playplace Back, With Updates

The McDonald’s Playplace. The site of so many late afternoons spent frantically running around with your friends, while your parents watch on, hoping to god that you don’t bring up the burger and fries you just ate. A place of pure nostalgia. Of childhood memories. Of a time lost.

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Until now. McDonald’s has just announced that the Playplace is coming back – and its stores are also getting a revamp, too. The chain took a break from announcing Squishmallows collabs to unveil its new store design at McDonald’s Worldwide 2026, and we’ve got the lowdown. But first, let’s talk about what we’re here to talk about.

What Happened To The McDonald’s Playplace?

Anyone who was a kid in the ‘70s onward will remember the Playplace: A small, slightly daunting maze of slides, ball pits, and tube mazes attached to McDonald’s restaurants, where you could run around to your heart’s content before inevitably falling over and scraping your knee. For a few decades, they were the highlight of a trip to McDonald’s.

Then, things started to go downhill. The turn of the millennium saw more and more McDonald’s restaurants built without Playplaces, which, perhaps not so coincidentally, followed a $4 million fine from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for failing to log hundreds of kids’ injuries in the spaces. Then, a little thing called COVID-19 happened, and all Playplaces were closed. While some returned, it was really the final straw, and they did so in small numbers.

But…They’re Back?

Yes! Well, in theory, anyway. At McDonald’s Worldwide, the chain revealed its new store design as part of its NEXT initiative, and the Playplace featured heavily. While designs may vary from store to store, the roomy new space looks like it’s housed in a red-walled unit, with a big ol’ slide in the middle. It definitely looks bigger than some of the other Playplaces of yore, which were kind of an accident waiting to happen. I do have to say that the doom-red walls don’t necessarily scream “fun,” but maybe McDonald’s is going for a dramatic effect here.

And What Are The Other Changes?

I’m glad you asked! McDonald’s’ new store design (which presumably will be rolled out in both new and refurbished stores) feels open, modern, and spacious, with an emphasis on natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows. The signature colors are there, of course, but it all feels a little less, dare we say, garish than former experiences at the store. As you’d probably expect, McDonald’s has also incorporated new digital ordering methods in its design. Oh, and one of the pictures has a pretty prominent sign for its refreshers. It never misses a promo opportunity!