I am not a person who imagines McDonalds to have any kind of a blip on my radar, yet a visit to the McDonalds Museum was packed with nostalgia. And although Ronald McDonald feeds right in to my fear of clowns, childhood memories were sparked by seeing The Hamburglar, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese once again, alongside my favorite and original McDonalds mascot, Mr. Speedy. Well, what do you know, McDonalds IS on my radar!!
Although the museum is free to visit, we highly recommend leaving a donation in the little donation box by the door. The gentleman manning the museum was so charming and knowledgeable - this is clearly a labor of love, but I would love him to earn enough money for a few Chicken McNuggets on his way home.
Inside the museum, alongside the cases and cases of Happy Meal Toys from all over the world, you will find an enormous array of McDonalds's artifacts from uniforms to packaging to collectables and kitchen equipment, all far more interesting than first imagined, and outside are so many vintage McDonalds playground toys that my heart skipped a little beat. - and of course the front courtyard has a gigantic set of golden arches, and a neon Mr. Speedy.
The museum sits on the site of the firsts ever McDonalds store, opened in 1940, and the subject of the Michael Keaton movie, “The Founder” (yes there is quite a bit of memorabilia from that movie in the museum)
The museum is a City of San Bernadino registered historic site, and Route 66 roadside attraction. In fact, before you leave, take a look at the outside walls of the museum, which are home to another roadside attraction - “The Worlds Most Detailed Mural of Route 66".
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Southern California 160 -last visited June 2024