I'm old enough to remember when you could make a reservation for a birthday party at McDonald's, back when they still had play places and weren't all just trying to be starbucks.
Ah yes ! In a McDonalds near where i lived when i was young, there was a special corner, with many balloons and decorations,which could be closed by a glass door ! It was so cool
So I was wondering this too! And you can still have your birthday there! I looked it up and it's the same rules I remember as an 80s kid. You can have 20 kids, they give you a cake and a host/hostess and clean up!
I had my daughter birthday party at McDonald's back around 1993 or 94, a nice birthday party for around 35-40 dollars ❤The cake, and a happy meal for each child up to 10 kid's ❤
Yeah, cakes are primarily for employee birthdays, but are available for purchase for the average customer. We recently switched suppliers for the cakes and they no longer print Ronald on them anymore. Source: I’m a McDonald’s manager. (Also in charge of orders, so I actually order these when we need to restock them lol)
What if you pushed the cake? Some tape and copy paper signs saying "Did you know we have secret cake?" Become an anomalous store that sells 3000% more cakes than any other store, just for the lols.
@@Montgomerygolfgator The Big Mac was created by a regular guy who operated a few McDonald's locations... Theoretically, this guy could make a double-decker cake and turn it into the best selling menu item. For the lolz, ofc. Hold the mac sauce
I worked for 3 years at a McDonald's and I never saw them on the order list. Granted this was before COVID and at a McDonald's outing the middle of nowhere in the south. We didn't even get the schzhuan sauce when it came out
My dad has worked for McDonalds Corp for over 30 years and this was THE ONLY cake we ever got for our birthdays for as long as I can remember 😅. This typically has a screenprint of Ronald McDonald juggling on it, and I think a yellow icing border, so it's strange to see it blank like this.
@@mrsd8769me too! It was a perfectly fine sheet cake and tasted awesome frozen, we would purposely keep it in the freezer and take slices off. I actually never knew there was a chocolate version! Everyone in my family liked vanilla
But didn't they pretty much retire Ronald and all his McDonaldland friends when they decided to change their image as "healthier" food that isn't marketed towards children. After all those childhood obesity lawsuits?
If McDonald's was smart they'd start making a sheet cake half that size for the same price with an airbrushed image of the grimace on it and they'd offer it as a 'secret menu item'
My 90+ year old mother went there every Saturday for breakfast. On her 90th birthday we went in and the asst. manager overheard us talking and brought out a birthday cake with a Ronald McDonald decoration on it. We were both surprised. Mom really enjoyed receiving it. As you said, it was okay. But mom really enjoyed the surprise.
My mother went to McDonald's in her 90s for coffee and a sausage biscuit. Do they still offer those for breakfast? Just a plain biscuit with sausage. She really liked McDonald's coffee. She would have been thrilled to get a cake like that on her birthday.
My 21 year old son’s first birthday party was reserved and held at McDonald’s play place. The provided food, drinks, cake, ice cream and party favors for 10 kids minimum. It was actually very reasonably priced as well
That’s how I honestly read it at first. I had to read it three times before I realize, no, her 21 year old did not celebrate at McDonald’s. I’m still giggling… mind you, I’m obviously easily amused.
I had a birthday party at McDonald's in the 80s. I was so excited because the cake had the characters made of airbrushed sugar. I remember eating Grimace.
Those sugar characters were the highlight of the cake! I have never seen a cake decoration like that since. (And since you remember the characters, did you play the “stack the styrofoam McDonald’s boxes” game too?)
I used to host the parties at my McDonald's in the mid 90's! I would decorate and facepaint and offered to watch over the kiddos outside in PlayLand while their parents got a chance to eat without screaming kids 😂 The good old days!🎉
Before the Karens went on a witch-hunt against McDonald's for "poisoning" children, even though what their kids eat was only their own responsability. Yeah, good times
When my 30 year old daughter was just a little kid there was a local McDonald's with a huge play area. She loved it and would not slow down for a couple hours. More if there were other kids there. Those were the good old days!
When I worked at McDonald's (in the 90s) these were for birthday parties. They were plain Jane in the box, but we had one person who was the birthday party person and they would decorate the cake and the section of the restaurant where the party would be. They usually got a tip.
When I worked there, you had to order the party package. It came with balloons, party hats, and the cake. Usually in advance as it takes time to get the cake prepared. @@aliciamangar1513
Here in Australia, the cake at McDonald's birthday parties was actually an ice cream cake! I'm surprised they sold it separately- I'd have thought Maccas cake was something that was reserved purely for parties booked at MacDonalds
Former McDonald's Australia employee here, the Ice Cream cake is made by Peter's (owned by Nestle) I believe, the same as the soft-serve ice-cream supplier. (The neopolitan flavoured ice-cream cake they make for the grocery stores is virtually the same.) I remember for a little while you could order it separately from McDonalds online through door-dash or Uber-Eats. If you ask, you could still probably buy it.
The folks over at iFixit decided to look into this. They went out and bought themselves the same model of machine that you'd find in a McDonalds. They found that these ice cream machines do have 4 hour period where they can't produce ice cream but that wasn't all, they discovered that these machines are prone to errors and that the error codes they spit out when referenced to the manual make a lick of sense. It's almost designed to be purposefully cryptic. Well, the company making these machines, has a long standing contract with McDonalds essentially saying if they ever need service/repair, McDonald has to go through their technicians. In other words, it's a right to repair situation. They have a whole video up on UA-cam that I'd recommend people go watch.
Back when McDonalds used to have play areas, having a kid's birthday party there was pretty common. I believe the cakes were originally for that purpose. Once the play areas went away, they stopped advertising the cakes but they kept selling them. If you ever ask for a cake and they say they don't sell them, ask for a manager, it's likely that they just aren't aware of them. This has happened to me on several occasions.
Or is this like the thing when you ask for a milkshake and they say I'm sorry the shake machine is down they say oh no another person wants a cake and they don't want to bake one so I'm sorry we don't sell cake lol😂
@@liztrainer895Because the nags of the country organized a campaign to treat McDonalds’ like a cigarette machine. They accused them of being unethical for having anything that would appeal to children. They had to drop the entire McDonaldland concept. They also made a habit of shaming anyone who ate there. It worked.
As an employee, I have had those a few times. Our store would often get them autoshipped, but we didn't sell any. Every now and then, they would pull one out of the freezer and thaw it out for us. I also remember having the marble version of that cake. It is a basic cake like one would get at a bakery section in some supermarkets. The primary purpose was for locations that offered Birthday party packages. I have never seen a blank one until this video, must be the result of the aftermath of that global event.
We offered birthday parties at my store and still didn't sell any, but I've also never seen a blank one until now. My boss would've sold an expired cake before she fed it to us though 😂😂
That's one of the birthday cakes available for children's birthday parties at the McDonald's that had an attached playland. The cakes came in frozen and then one of the party coordinators would apply the sugar screen art on top before serving (it was a sheet of parchment with sprayed colored sugar on it that was put on top and then a little hot water was spread on it- the sugar released onto the frosting). I only remember it because of my nephew wanting a McDonald's birthday party when he was 4 - he's 24 now.
I remember getting my first McD's birthday cake back in the early 80's and I loved it. The cake and the frosting are like nothing I've ever had before. As a kind of joke, I got one every year up to my 30th birthday when my family couldn't find them anymore. I am so freakin' excited to know that they are back!
I’ve been getting McDonald’s cake’s for the last 20 years. It’s always been a yearly birthday tradition. They’ve definitely paired them back. They used to be for customers who had birthday parties at McDonald’s. They were decorated with chunky 3D sugar molds of the McDonalds characters. Then they dropped the sugar decorations and just did an edible printout of Ronald McDonald on the cake. And now… they’ve even dropped him. So, they are just plain to look at. But, regardless, they are very good! I’ve always enjoyed them. 🎉
These are for children’s birthday parties. There is a per child price for parties and it covers (or at least used too) a happy meal two games and a cake. There are McDonald’s branded games an employee will come out and facilitate with the kids attending. And often a tiny party cup of soft serve for each kiddo is also supplied. I worked there for years and these are kept in the freezer because otherwise they wouldn’t stay good long enough. These aren’t for employee birthdays. They are made with the average nine year old in mind.
This takes me back. When I was a teen in the early 2000s I worked at McDonald’s and I always did birthday parties. The cakes we used had an edible image printed on it.
The cakes are for customers to purchase. Not just for employees birthdays. You can get Chocolate or Vanilla. Most stores usually only have chocolate though. And it's usually got Ronald air brushed on it. That's a bummer that yours was blank. Sorry Emmy. But they usually have pictures on them. Hope you liked it well enough. Have a great weekend! Take care! Bye!
OMG. In the 70's and early 80's my single parent mom would have birthday parties at Mc-ee-D's. I felt so seen. And I think mom was happy because it was nearly zero effort for her. I think I remember little blue and yellow flowers. I cannot remember but it had more than just the white frosting. Thanks fro bringing back memories!
I remember eating these back in the 80's and 90's for birthday parties at McDonald's. I remember enjoying it as a kid right after scarfing down some nuggets, burger and fries. Good memories!
When my kids were little, many years ago, it was a great place to go for kids' birthday parties. I think they actually used to have Ronald McDonald party plates and cups and I think I remember them prividing party favors too, at a cost of course. I imagine, if reservations were booked enough ahead of time, the restaurant could provide the cake.
The McDonald's birthday parties also included a barrel-shaped insulated container of orange drink. It was sort of like orange Kool-aid or Freshee (a cheaper powdered drink of my 70s-80s childhood).
While the available sodas vary slightly by region, I'm pretty sure that would have been Hi-C. It's still on the menu today as a soda option... for some God-awful reason...
@thewiirocks Oh, sure, that's possible. I'm from Canada, though, and I can't buy Hi-C in the store - at least not in Montréal. But that wouldn't stop McDonald's from having a supply. Also, it was ages ago that I was a kid. So sometimes we have brands leave our market - like we're about to lose Kleenex if you can believe it.
@@willywilly72I have to say, loosing Kleenex is kind of messed up. Though I assume it's an attempt to protect the Canadian trees? I know that the US market for soft toilet paper has taken a huge toll.
They still do birthday parties at McDonald's (maybe not all, I'm not sure), but I would assume the cakes are for those. Makes sense that even employees wouldn't know about the cakes though since I can't imagine there are a lot of kids having parties at McDonald's anymore. If the employee is never involved in a party, then they wouldn't need to know about the cake.
I worked at McDonald's (Canada) as a teen in the early 80's and was hostess for several birthday parties. Our store had a big playground. I remember the cakes were supplied free of charge for a certain number of booked guests. They were great cakes - part cake and part ice cream and you could only get them at a party.
For my 15th birthday my mom had made me a luscious looking cake. When I came home from school, I discovered that our cat had walked through the middle of the cake destroying it. I called my mom at work which happened to be McDonald’s I told her what had happened, she broke out into tears when she came home from work she had that exact cake with her except mine did have the decal labeling at McDonald’s. Somewhere in my photo albums is me holding that cake. It was the best cake ever they used to have birthday parties for kids in their Mcplay places. You could rent out the whole space and they included the cake.
@@stacyrich113 It was on a cake stand in the middle of the dining room table. The f’ing cat had never given us cause to cover it more. My Mom said she didn’t have money or ingredients to remake it either.
This cake is absolutely delicious. My uncle used to work for McDonald’s in the early 2000s and every birthday he will bring this cake. It is the most delicious frosting and fluffy white cake in the whole world. It is a must have!😊
Back in the day you could have a birthday party for your kids. They would cordon off a section of the dining room. Each kid would get a Cheese burger or burger, small fries and a drink. Of course at the party givers expense. I had one for my daughter when she was a kid . The cake would have had a picture of Ronald and accents of red and yellow frosting.
So other people have said the same thing, but yes, you used to be able to book birthday parties at McDonald’s, and that’s the case you would get. It’s basically an oversized version of a Zingers cake, if you’ve ever had one of those. I had a couple of birthdays there as a child
When I was a kid, we had a McDonald's across the street from our house. I had several birthday parties there and each came with a cake. What I remember though about the decorations was the McDonald's gang airbrushed onto a large sugar medallion thing that they put on after the cake thawed. As a kid, I loved it! As an adult, it's a fond memory, but I wouldn't eat another one. 😂
I'm assuming that these cakes were a leftover relic for a bygone era when kids would have their birthday party at McDonalds. I'm a child born in the 80s and I went to a lot of birthday's at maccas. Though in Australia, the birthday cake was a layered icecream cake with sprinkles on top. It was always the highlight of the party and an icecream cake suited our climate well.
Oh yeah, back in the 80s McD would do birthday parties. One worker would run the parties generally scheduled every two hours. You had to remember to set the cakes out to thaw for the afternoon or you would have to put the box on top of the fry station to fast thaw. Every now and then, somebody would purchase just a cake, and they were $5 then. Good times!
This reminds me of when I worked on a psychiatric unit. The kitchen would send up 'a cake' for the patient's birthday. It was the square Pepperidge Farms frozen cake but in an unlabeled blank white box. I opened the box and it was a sad, plain white cake with white icing. Sometimes it was sent upside down and if you didn't check it right away the icing would defrost onto the lid and you'd have a bald cake. I felt so bad I started keeping a shaker bottle of sprinkles in my desk to shake on the cakes. Its bad enough to be in a psych unit on your birthday but getting a blank cake is not cool.
Never heard of the cake but when I worked at there in the 90s there was a secret menu item "Apple Pie Ala Mode" basically was an apple pie in a salad trey with ice cream in 2 corners and hot fudge on one ice cream corner and caramel on the other. with or without nuts. Was my favorite thing there.
I used to make those Ala Modes for customers all the time. You'd always get that new employee who would be confused by the customer's request and you'd have to be like, "ring up a pie and a sundae and I'll show you what to do."
They used to give mix for the orange drink and loan those big drink cooler/despersers to charities and schools. My elementary school used them for events. Do they still do that?
@@baxter1252oh man, I forgot about that! The giant coolers of Hi-C! Somehow I don't see most McDonalds being that plugged into their local communities anymore, but I imagine there are still a few rural stores where it happens.
They're for employee birthdays. The employee didn't know because they either don't do birthdays for employees there or he hadn't been there long enough. Honestly no one ever ate it, they would take it out and it would just sit there then be thrown away. I remember I got one and I threw it directly into the garbage after work.
McDonald's cakes have been around for many many many years because waaaaaaay back when we had birthday parties at McDonald's. 😂🎉 I know. I know. Lame. But here we are. 😂😂😂
At first I thought,"What a deal! $13 for a McDonald's birthday cake!" And then you opened the box. Nothing festive and colorful. Then I thought," That's not a deal. You paid too much!" 😆 Thank you so much though. It was educational. I had no idea.
I, actually glad it's so expensive for what it is. The fact that it exists has gone viral (which is so stupid, but hey, I watched the video, so), maybe the price and low quality will deter people from buying one for themselves.
@@AndrewMacLaine Most definitely. It is very small, plain looking and not tasty. I hope people see this and not buy it for children’s birthday party at McDonald’s. What a waste of money.
@@AndrewMacLaine Most definitely. It is very small, plain looking and not tasty. I hope people see this and not buy it for children’s birthday party at McDonald’s. What a waste of money.
It was a thing when I was young to have children's birthday parties at McDonald's, Burger King & other fast food places that catered to kids... It included a cake, harried mom's didn't have to worry about anything but the kids & keeping them from destroying the place...
That’s about what I expected 😂 Considering how many times I’ve had any sort of dessert on their menu I’ve always felt it wasn’t exactly…special? 😅 McHype is a very real thing that I just made up 😂
I worked at McDonald’s years ago as a manager and I always seen cake on the truck order screen. I was told that we use to keep them in stock when kid birthday parties were more common. Some managers will order the cakes and use them for employee birthdays. I did get them one time they come frozen exactly like that off the truck and are stored in the freezer with a pretty long shelf life xD
I remember having these cakes (or something similar at least. it had rainbow sprinkles and some yellow and red frosting around the edges) as a kid in the 80s and early 90s when people would book a reservation for a birthday party at a McDonald's play place.
I worked at McDonalds in the early 80s and my job was to do kids birthday parties in the indoor playground. The cakes were white cake, it came decorated, like you would see in a bakery. They came to us frozen like that. At the time I was 16 or 17. The cake tasted delicious to me back then. Not sure if I’d like it now.
I had the same Birthday Party Hostess job in the mid-80s as a teenager. Yes, the white birthday cakes were decorated and at the end of each party we were given a handwritten rating (hated getting these from grumpy customers).
Back in the 90's (in Australia) you could have birthday parties at Maccas. The cake you would get was an ice-cream cake. It was always so big that there was always left over but every parent would try and get the kids to eat 4 helpings so they didn't need to deal with a half melted mess.
Interesting. There’s a lady at church who’s a manager at a McD’s, will definitely have to ask her why she’s never brought one of these cakes to church or a BBQ. She’s pretty awesome and usually brings in apple pies, cheese burgers, chicken sandwiches, or whatever to randomly handout.
Probably because she knows what it tastes like and opts for something better. That and apparently up until recently Ronald’s face was on it, making it not so great for generic occasions.
Our original McDonald's restaurant had a basement with a walk-in freezer with a snowman inside. For the kid's birthday parties, they would take everyone downstairs to see it. (This was in the late seventies/early eighties.)
i used to work at a McDonald's and spent a fair amount of time in the walk-in and at least my location, we DEFINITELY did not have those sheet cakes or any box of that shape. Im guessing that it's blank by default and is supposed to get airbrushed right before a party?
I used to do birthday parties back in the 80's at McDonalds. The cakes used to have hard sugared characters (that you had to take off before cutting the cake) on them with grimace (maybe) holding a bouquet of balloons?
From what you described, it sounds like every kids restaurant/grocery store birthday cake from the 1980's. The gritty frosting texture sold it for me! Going to try to get one for my partner's next birthday! 😊
I'm 38 years old and I used to have my birthday parties st McDonald's, the cakes were always decorated. Growing up it was the only cake I liked. Back then vanilla was the only flavor available. My mom loved having my parties there took the pressure off off planning a party.
Also me being old enough to remember having birthday parties at McDonald's and, along with the party, you also ordered a McDonald's cake. They would decorate it for you. Every kid I know had a birthday there at some point and it was awesome! I never knew they had gone away so I didn't know this was a mystery item! 😂
Myself and my sisters, cousins, and friends all often had birthday parties at McDonalds back in the 80s and 90s. An employee (usually a manager) would "host" the party by setting up small games (like toss velcro covered balls at a target on the wall etc) and they would bring out the cake and light candles etc. I remember the cake having those candy/sugary molds of Grimace and such stuck on top and frosting with A LOT of food coloring. I remember distinctly how strongly it tasted of food coloring. It was never very good but sugar is sugar when you're a kid! lol I am VERY surprised they're still making them.... it makes me wonder just how old that cake is.. 🤔
I worked at McDonald’s as a teen. We never got a cake for our birthdays as employees, but I did host several birthday parties where we served the cake. Ours had the Ronald McDonald characters printed on them and a border too if I remember correctly.
Emmy you should try the Chuck E. Cheese’s birthday cakes , they are BOMB 💣 they are frosting made and really sweet but they definitely hit the nostalgia spot when it comes to that artificial flavors some of us grew up on 😆 and they are baked in store so you can’t get fresher than that 😆
Our local McDonald’s had a bingo competition one Saturday during the summer when I was a kid, and my prize for winning the “fill the board” finale level was a sheet cake! We took it home and had an impromptu non-birthday birthday party inviting all my cousins and other kids from the neighborhood. Thanks for unlocking this memory!
When I worked at Mcdonalds in collage in 2010, we got a free cake for our birthday. It had the airbrushed Ronald with a yellow border. Not sure if they still do the birthday cakes for employees or not. It was so good!
When I was a kid in the 90s it was common to book birthday parties at mcdonalds. They even had a themed train caboose in the lot where everyone would go to eat the cake, and usually grimace or some other mascot would be there. There'd be random party games that everyone would play in there. They'd then hide special birthday cookie bags in the ball pits of the play place for everyone to find, and sometimes even did scavenger hunts around the building and lot. It was a lot of fun. I remember not really liking the cake though, even as a kid lol
Back in the day, as a child I was invited to a birthday party at McDonald's. The restaurant used to offer a package for children's birthdays. It would be with cups plates napkins party favors and every kid invited we get a Happy meal with a toy and they would have the whole play place for their enjoyment, and I think this cake is part of their package deal.
When I was in grade school in the 80's, I had several birthday parties at McDonalds. I remember being allowed to help with the ice cream, and the birthday crown. Several of my friends had their birthdays their as well. I also remember having a birthday at a roller rink too.
Back in the 80s all the local major fast food chains (McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, etc.) would let you reserve a kids' birthday party. There would be a kid's size menu item with sides, a drink, party favors, and a cake like this. I went to a lot of them in my childhood. One interesting thing is that, where I lived at least, the party would also include a tour of the kitchen so you could see how the food was made. I remember seeing the Burger King conveyor belt where they grill the burgers several times.
I grew up in the late 80's/early 90's, back when kids would have their birthday parties at McDonalds. I specifically remember them having a cake with a characters (Ronald, Grimace, Fry Guy, etc) on it.
I had my 6th birthday party at McDonald's. That was in the 80s. I found out then that they would provide a cake. It had the McDonaldland characters molded from granulated dyed sugar (like sugar cubes) on top. That made it seem particularly special since that cake couldn't be bought elsewhere.
When I was a kid in the 70s McDonaldland Birthday Parties were quite popular. The restaurant for a birthday party and they would bring out the cake, I think it included balloons, and orange drink. Sometimes Ronald McDonald would be show up. It was charming and sweet and they probably will still do it.
I worked at McD in 1992 and we had cakes. They actually looked nice w/ the border and Ronald on the front. It tasted decent too!! I dressed up as Ronald in costume and played games w/ the kids and served food to them. I remember somebody gave me a $2 tip for an hour party and I was stoked!!!
Maybe it's an Australian thing, but we never had normal cakes at McDonald's. It was always an ice cream cake, which was amaaaazing! They'd also take your on a tour and let you go in the big walk-in freezer. The 80's and 90's were the best 👌
I remember having a birthday party at McDonald's when I was little. Early 90s when the seats were cushioned with the different characters on them. It was fun.
I remember having a birthday parties and going to parties (70s 80s) and there was cake included along with those small burgers, fries soda hats bibs we played in the play area. Not sure if they still do that
I've known about the birthday cakes for over twenty years. McDonald's was an affordable place to get lunch in my former city of residence. And I always saw birthday parties in the play area. I found out that McDonald's supplies the cake and decorations. Basically, if the McDonald's has a kids section, that location sells cakes.
When I was a kid, back in the 70’s, most McDonald’s had train cabooses on site. They could be booked for birthday parties. They supplied the balloons, party favors and a happy meal for each kid. Can’t remember a Ronald cake, but having a bday party in a real train caboose was an awesome experience!
When I was a teenager, I worked at MCDonald’s for 3 years. In the 90’s birthday party’s were popular at McDonald’s especially getting the special the cake 🎂. It was a simple yellow or chocolate cake with a yellow border, Ronald holding balloons and other characters with candles on it.
I saw a tv show about the history of different fast food chains and a woman who owned a McDonalds franchise in Mexico came up with marketing hosting kids birthday parties there to bring in more business and it became super popular and spread to the US. I vaguely remember having this cake at birthday parties as a kid.
To my knowledge it’s only available at the stores that have play place. Traditionally, people used to have birthday parties there, as they are generally bigger and can hold large gatherings, so they still have cakes stocked up in those stores.
I worked at McDonalds in college. They are for birthday parties that can be scheduled at the playplace. They ask about it when you book the party(or supposed to). That was what the one I worked at did, they weren't for employee birthdays there just for parties.
I’m a 90’s kid, we had these with birthday parties. They are bringing back the McDonald’s birthday parties again! I don’t eat there but it’s great for those that do.
In the 80's/90's these are the cakes that they gave you if you scheduled a birthday party at mcdonalds. Maybe thats how you get one with a stenciled one.
You have an Opinel Knife, you freaking rock!!!!!!!! You just went up a 1000% in my like category. Not only are you an awesome cook, with a clean channel, but you have one of my favorite knive to collect.
My mom was a manager at McDonald's in the 90s early 2000s. They were for birthdays for customers, back when McDonald's was more geared twords like family and fun. Most McDonald's don't even have them anymore, and if they do they just kinda use them for employees 😊
Back in the 80s/90s you could have a bday party at McDonald's. It included food, cake, and balloons. They usually went down at the McDonaldland play place. Never had one or went to one but I remember seeing them. Some restaurants probably still do them. Pretty cheap of them to not decorate that cake though.
OMG! My husband and I were talking about McDonald's cake over the weekend, and I couldn't remember it. He said he loved the vanilla cake that you could order when hosting a birthday party at the restaurant.
As a kid I went to many Mc D's bday parties with a cake and we even had parties for our kids in the late 90's. There was even a special birthday room at our McDonald's. I had forgotten until I saw your video. Nice trip back in time, thank you.
Back in the 70's and early 80's, kids could have their birthday parties at McDonald's. That's what the cakes are for, not for employees. They used to block off part of the dining room and decorate it a bit with McDonald's themed tableware and such.
I had a birthday at McDonalds in the early 00s! I loved it. I remember the vanilla cake being mostly yellow frosting with blue and red. My McDonalds had a birthday throne with a dial on the back where they'd spin the number to match your age. I had the time of my life. Loved the attention. 😂
I'm old enough to remember when you could make a reservation for a birthday party at McDonald's, back when they still had play places and weren't all just trying to be starbucks.
Yes and fullll of colors (i missss the colors)
Now they look like a midlife crisis
Ah yes ! In a McDonalds near where i lived when i was young, there was a special corner, with many balloons and decorations,which could be closed by a glass door ! It was so cool
So I was wondering this too! And you can still have your birthday there! I looked it up and it's the same rules I remember as an 80s kid. You can have 20 kids, they give you a cake and a host/hostess and clean up!
I had my daughter birthday party at McDonald's back around 1993 or 94, a nice birthday party for around 35-40 dollars ❤The cake, and a happy meal for each child up to 10 kid's ❤
Yeah, cakes are primarily for employee birthdays, but are available for purchase for the average customer. We recently switched suppliers for the cakes and they no longer print Ronald on them anymore. Source: I’m a McDonald’s manager. (Also in charge of orders, so I actually order these when we need to restock them lol)
What if you pushed the cake? Some tape and copy paper signs saying "Did you know we have secret cake?"
Become an anomalous store that sells 3000% more cakes than any other store, just for the lols.
@@Montgomerygolfgator The Big Mac was created by a regular guy who operated a few McDonald's locations... Theoretically, this guy could make a double-decker cake and turn it into the best selling menu item. For the lolz, ofc.
Hold the mac sauce
Ex manager, can confirm 👍🏼
How much are they?
I worked for 3 years at a McDonald's and I never saw them on the order list. Granted this was before COVID and at a McDonald's outing the middle of nowhere in the south. We didn't even get the schzhuan sauce when it came out
My dad has worked for McDonalds Corp for over 30 years and this was THE ONLY cake we ever got for our birthdays for as long as I can remember 😅. This typically has a screenprint of Ronald McDonald juggling on it, and I think a yellow icing border, so it's strange to see it blank like this.
That surprised me too, and we’ve liked the taste ❤
@@mrsd8769me too! It was a perfectly fine sheet cake and tasted awesome frozen, we would purposely keep it in the freezer and take slices off. I actually never knew there was a chocolate version! Everyone in my family liked vanilla
They don't have Ronald as there mascot anymore so they wouldn't need to advertise sadly 😢 I never experienced McDonald's cake before 🤔
But didn't they pretty much retire Ronald and all his McDonaldland friends when they decided to change their image as "healthier" food that isn't marketed towards children. After all those childhood obesity lawsuits?
Haha 😭😭😭😭😭
If McDonald's was smart they'd start making a sheet cake half that size for the same price with an airbrushed image of the grimace on it and they'd offer it as a 'secret menu item'
My 90+ year old mother went there every Saturday for breakfast. On her 90th birthday we went in and the asst. manager overheard us talking and brought out a birthday cake with a Ronald McDonald decoration on it. We were both surprised. Mom really enjoyed receiving it. As you said, it was okay. But mom really enjoyed the surprise.
My mother went to McDonald's in her 90s for coffee and a sausage biscuit. Do they still offer those for breakfast? Just a plain biscuit with sausage. She really liked McDonald's coffee. She would have been thrilled to get a cake like that on her birthday.
Yes they still have just a sausage biscuit. My local McD even has a special for it, a sausage biscuit and hashbrown for $1.59
Aw, what a nice surprise!
That is a very sweet surprise. Kudos to the assistant manager!
Aw that's lovely
My 21 year old son’s first birthday party was reserved and held at McDonald’s play place. The provided food, drinks, cake, ice cream and party favors for 10 kids minimum. It was actually very reasonably priced as well
This how I remember it had my daughters there
Your 21 yr old must have been a HUGE Ronald McDonald fan...most 21 yr olds want to go to a club and get drunk
You are so funny
That’s how I honestly read it at first. I had to read it three times before I realize, no, her 21 year old did not celebrate at McDonald’s. I’m still giggling… mind you, I’m obviously easily amused.
😂not me thinking his 21st birthday party was at McDonald's ❤
I had a birthday party at McDonald's in the 80s. I was so excited because the cake had the characters made of airbrushed sugar. I remember eating Grimace.
The grimace jail was my favorite part of the play place
Same!
Yesssss!
Those sugar characters were the highlight of the cake! I have never seen a cake decoration like that since. (And since you remember the characters, did you play the “stack the styrofoam McDonald’s boxes” game too?)
I remember this exact same thing, that and the orange drink they had
I used to host the parties at my McDonald's in the mid 90's! I would decorate and facepaint and offered to watch over the kiddos outside in PlayLand while their parents got a chance to eat without screaming kids 😂
The good old days!🎉
Before the Karens went on a witch-hunt against McDonald's for "poisoning" children, even though what their kids eat was only their own responsability. Yeah, good times
I remember going to one of those as a kid! I got to take home a huge coloring page with the mcdonalds characters printed on it
When my 30 year old daughter was just a little kid there was a local McDonald's with a huge play area. She loved it and would not slow down for a couple hours. More if there were other kids there. Those were the good old days!
When I worked at McDonald's (in the 90s) these were for birthday parties. They were plain Jane in the box, but we had one person who was the birthday party person and they would decorate the cake and the section of the restaurant where the party would be. They usually got a tip.
I think they are becoming harder to find as more and more McDonald's are ditching the PlayPlaces.
Cool info! I want to buy myself one next month for my bday, and decorate it myself.
I've never heard of this ever! In all the years my dtr spent her Birthday at McDonald's l never ever remembered then having cake for kids!!
When I worked there, you had to order the party package. It came with balloons, party hats, and the cake. Usually in advance as it takes time to get the cake prepared.
@@aliciamangar1513
@@tahneejenkins9444thats the cool part of having it plain white like that. You can do your own decorations or just have a nice classic white.
Here in Australia, the cake at McDonald's birthday parties was actually an ice cream cake!
I'm surprised they sold it separately- I'd have thought Maccas cake was something that was reserved purely for parties booked at MacDonalds
Now, that's my kind of cake!🍦
I just realised I left the same comment as you! I can still remember how it tasted
Haha I was expecting an ice cream cake too! 🇦🇺
Former McDonald's Australia employee here, the Ice Cream cake is made by Peter's (owned by Nestle) I believe, the same as the soft-serve ice-cream supplier. (The neopolitan flavoured ice-cream cake they make for the grocery stores is virtually the same.) I remember for a little while you could order it separately from McDonalds online through door-dash or Uber-Eats. If you ask, you could still probably buy it.
Yep I definitely had Maccas ice cream cake for my birthday parties. It was awesome!
The cake is probably such a secret because ice cream goes really great with cake, and well... we know the situation with the ice cream machine. 🤭
😂😂
😂😂😂😂
The folks over at iFixit decided to look into this. They went out and bought themselves the same model of machine that you'd find in a McDonalds. They found that these ice cream machines do have 4 hour period where they can't produce ice cream but that wasn't all, they discovered that these machines are prone to errors and that the error codes they spit out when referenced to the manual make a lick of sense. It's almost designed to be purposefully cryptic. Well, the company making these machines, has a long standing contract with McDonalds essentially saying if they ever need service/repair, McDonald has to go through their technicians. In other words, it's a right to repair situation. They have a whole video up on UA-cam that I'd recommend people go watch.
😂😂😂❤
😂
Back when McDonalds used to have play areas, having a kid's birthday party there was pretty common. I believe the cakes were originally for that purpose. Once the play areas went away, they stopped advertising the cakes but they kept selling them. If you ever ask for a cake and they say they don't sell them, ask for a manager, it's likely that they just aren't aware of them. This has happened to me on several occasions.
Or is this like the thing when you ask for a milkshake and they say I'm sorry the shake machine is down they say oh no another person wants a cake and they don't want to bake one so I'm sorry we don't sell cake lol😂
I guess they don’t have kids birthdays anymore, I don’t know why they changed from a kids restaurant to a restaraunt geared toward adults.
@@liztrainer895Because the nags of the country organized a campaign to treat McDonalds’ like a cigarette machine. They accused them of being unethical for having anything that would appeal to children. They had to drop the entire McDonaldland concept. They also made a habit of shaming anyone who ate there. It worked.
As an employee, I have had those a few times. Our store would often get them autoshipped, but we didn't sell any. Every now and then, they would pull one out of the freezer and thaw it out for us. I also remember having the marble version of that cake. It is a basic cake like one would get at a bakery section in some supermarkets. The primary purpose was for locations that offered Birthday party packages. I have never seen a blank one until this video, must be the result of the aftermath of that global event.
We offered birthday parties at my store and still didn't sell any, but I've also never seen a blank one until now. My boss would've sold an expired cake before she fed it to us though 😂😂
global event? did ronald break international law or something
@@brothebys Lol I'm thinking the same thing
@@brothebysI think she means covid
Wow, I loved all the comments!!! All these amazing stories stemming from a simple cake!!! Thanks everyone!
Go back for the white cake. It DELICIOUS and way better than the chocolate
That's one of the birthday cakes available for children's birthday parties at the McDonald's that had an attached playland. The cakes came in frozen and then one of the party coordinators would apply the sugar screen art on top before serving (it was a sheet of parchment with sprayed colored sugar on it that was put on top and then a little hot water was spread on it- the sugar released onto the frosting). I only remember it because of my nephew wanting a McDonald's birthday party when he was 4 - he's 24 now.
I remember getting my first McD's birthday cake back in the early 80's and I loved it. The cake and the frosting are like nothing I've ever had before. As a kind of joke, I got one every year up to my 30th birthday when my family couldn't find them anymore. I am so freakin' excited to know that they are back!
I’ve been getting McDonald’s cake’s for the last 20 years. It’s always been a yearly birthday tradition. They’ve definitely paired them back. They used to be for customers who had birthday parties at McDonald’s. They were decorated with chunky 3D sugar molds of the McDonalds characters. Then they dropped the sugar decorations and just did an edible printout of Ronald McDonald on the cake. And now… they’ve even dropped him. So, they are just plain to look at. But, regardless, they are very good! I’ve always enjoyed them. 🎉
Nice. I'd like to try the vanilla version.
I remember those sugar decorations!
These are for children’s birthday parties. There is a per child price for parties and it covers (or at least used too) a happy meal two games and a cake. There are McDonald’s branded games an employee will come out and facilitate with the kids attending. And often a tiny party cup of soft serve for each kiddo is also supplied. I worked there for years and these are kept in the freezer because otherwise they wouldn’t stay good long enough. These aren’t for employee birthdays. They are made with the average nine year old in mind.
This takes me back. When I was a teen in the early 2000s I worked at McDonald’s and I always did birthday parties. The cakes we used had an edible image printed on it.
The cakes are for customers to purchase. Not just for employees birthdays. You can get Chocolate or Vanilla. Most stores usually only have chocolate though. And it's usually got Ronald air brushed on it. That's a bummer that yours was blank. Sorry Emmy. But they usually have pictures on them. Hope you liked it well enough. Have a great weekend! Take care! Bye!
OMG. In the 70's and early 80's my single parent mom would have birthday parties at Mc-ee-D's. I felt so seen. And I think mom was happy because it was nearly zero effort for her. I think I remember little blue and yellow flowers. I cannot remember but it had more than just the white frosting. Thanks fro bringing back memories!
I remember. I had parties there too. Sprinkles on the cake and writing.
Ever seen the movie Mac and Me? The whole thing was basically a big McDonald's ad. Even with a birthday party scene that was way over the top.
Did you set the orange drink that didn’t take like anything orange? It was my favourite! 😂
I remember eating these back in the 80's and 90's for birthday parties at McDonald's. I remember enjoying it as a kid right after scarfing down some nuggets, burger and fries. Good memories!
When my kids were little, many years ago, it was a great place to go for kids' birthday parties. I think they actually used to have Ronald McDonald party plates and cups and I think I remember them prividing party favors too, at a cost of course. I imagine, if reservations were booked enough ahead of time, the restaurant could provide the cake.
The McDonald's birthday parties also included a barrel-shaped insulated container of orange drink. It was sort of like orange Kool-aid or Freshee (a cheaper powdered drink of my 70s-80s childhood).
While the available sodas vary slightly by region, I'm pretty sure that would have been Hi-C. It's still on the menu today as a soda option... for some God-awful reason...
@thewiirocks Oh, sure, that's possible. I'm from Canada, though, and I can't buy Hi-C in the store - at least not in Montréal. But that wouldn't stop McDonald's from having a supply. Also, it was ages ago that I was a kid. So sometimes we have brands leave our market - like we're about to lose Kleenex if you can believe it.
@@willywilly72I have to say, loosing Kleenex is kind of messed up. Though I assume it's an attempt to protect the Canadian trees? I know that the US market for soft toilet paper has taken a huge toll.
They still do birthday parties at McDonald's (maybe not all, I'm not sure), but I would assume the cakes are for those. Makes sense that even employees wouldn't know about the cakes though since I can't imagine there are a lot of kids having parties at McDonald's anymore. If the employee is never involved in a party, then they wouldn't need to know about the cake.
I worked at McDonald's (Canada) as a teen in the early 80's and was hostess for several birthday parties. Our store had a big playground. I remember the cakes were supplied free of charge for a certain number of booked guests. They were great cakes - part cake and part ice cream and you could only get them at a party.
For my 15th birthday my mom had made me a luscious looking cake. When I came home from school, I discovered that our cat had walked through the middle of the cake destroying it. I called my mom at work which happened to be McDonald’s I told her what had happened, she broke out into tears when she came home from work she had that exact cake with her except mine did have the decal labeling at McDonald’s. Somewhere in my photo albums is me holding that cake. It was the best cake ever they used to have birthday parties for kids in their Mcplay places. You could rent out the whole space and they included the cake.
Sounds like you have a good mom :)
Why was the cake left out for the cat to walk on?
@@stacyrich113 It was on a cake stand in the middle of the dining room table.
The f’ing cat had never given us cause to cover it more. My Mom said she didn’t have money or ingredients to remake it either.
This cake is absolutely delicious. My uncle used to work for McDonald’s in the early 2000s and every birthday he will bring this cake. It is the most delicious frosting and fluffy white cake in the whole world. It is a must have!😊
Back in the day you could have a birthday party for your kids. They would cordon off a section of the dining room. Each kid would get a Cheese burger or burger, small fries and a drink. Of course at the party givers expense. I had one for my daughter when she was a kid . The cake would have had a picture of Ronald and accents of red and yellow frosting.
So other people have said the same thing, but yes, you used to be able to book birthday parties at McDonald’s, and that’s the case you would get. It’s basically an oversized version of a Zingers cake, if you’ve ever had one of those. I had a couple of birthdays there as a child
When I was a kid, we had a McDonald's across the street from our house. I had several birthday parties there and each came with a cake. What I remember though about the decorations was the McDonald's gang airbrushed onto a large sugar medallion thing that they put on after the cake thawed. As a kid, I loved it! As an adult, it's a fond memory, but I wouldn't eat another one. 😂
I'm assuming that these cakes were a leftover relic for a bygone era when kids would have their birthday party at McDonalds. I'm a child born in the 80s and I went to a lot of birthday's at maccas. Though in Australia, the birthday cake was a layered icecream cake with sprinkles on top. It was always the highlight of the party and an icecream cake suited our climate well.
Oh yeah, back in the 80s McD would do birthday parties. One worker would run the parties generally scheduled every two hours. You had to remember to set the cakes out to thaw for the afternoon or you would have to put the box on top of the fry station to fast thaw.
Every now and then, somebody would purchase just a cake, and they were $5 then. Good times!
This reminds me of when I worked on a psychiatric unit. The kitchen would send up 'a cake' for the patient's birthday. It was the square Pepperidge Farms frozen cake but in an unlabeled blank white box. I opened the box and it was a sad, plain white cake with white icing. Sometimes it was sent upside down and if you didn't check it right away the icing would defrost onto the lid and you'd have a bald cake. I felt so bad I started keeping a shaker bottle of sprinkles in my desk to shake on the cakes. Its bad enough to be in a psych unit on your birthday but getting a blank cake is not cool.
I remember having birthday parties at McDonald’s way back in the 80s! 😂
Never heard of the cake but when I worked at there in the 90s there was a secret menu item "Apple Pie Ala Mode" basically was an apple pie in a salad trey with ice cream in 2 corners and hot fudge on one ice cream corner and caramel on the other. with or without nuts. Was my favorite thing there.
I remember the old apple pie with its dee fried goodness, so much better than the one they have now. It was so good with the ice cream.
I used to make those Ala Modes for customers all the time. You'd always get that new employee who would be confused by the customer's request and you'd have to be like, "ring up a pie and a sundae and I'll show you what to do."
I worked at McDonald’s in the early 1990s. Kids had birthday parties there, and I tried VERY hard to not be assigned as the host.
McD's used to provide the cake and that orange punch.
They used to give mix for the orange drink and loan those big drink cooler/despersers to charities and schools. My elementary school used them for events. Do they still do that?
@@baxter1252oh man, I forgot about that! The giant coolers of Hi-C! Somehow I don't see most McDonalds being that plugged into their local communities anymore, but I imagine there are still a few rural stores where it happens.
They're for employee birthdays. The employee didn't know because they either don't do birthdays for employees there or he hadn't been there long enough. Honestly no one ever ate it, they would take it out and it would just sit there then be thrown away. I remember I got one and I threw it directly into the garbage after work.
McDonald's cakes have been around for many many many years because waaaaaaay back when we had birthday parties at McDonald's. 😂🎉 I know. I know. Lame. But here we are. 😂😂😂
Years ago in the 70’s and 80’s McDonald’s had cake when kids would have their birthday parties there. It had the McDonald’s characters on it.
At first I thought,"What a deal! $13 for a McDonald's birthday cake!" And then you opened the box. Nothing festive and colorful. Then I thought," That's not a deal. You paid too much!" 😆
Thank you so much though. It was educational. I had no idea.
And really small. Definitely not Costco.
I, actually glad it's so expensive for what it is. The fact that it exists has gone viral (which is so stupid, but hey, I watched the video, so), maybe the price and low quality will deter people from buying one for themselves.
@@AndrewMacLaine Most definitely. It is very small, plain looking and not tasty. I hope people see this and not buy it for children’s birthday party at McDonald’s. What a waste of money.
@@AndrewMacLaine Most definitely. It is very small, plain looking and not tasty. I hope people see this and not buy it for children’s birthday party at McDonald’s. What a waste of money.
It was a thing when I was young to have children's birthday parties at McDonald's, Burger King & other fast food places that catered to kids... It included a cake, harried mom's didn't have to worry about anything but the kids & keeping them from destroying the place...
That’s about what I expected 😂
Considering how many times I’ve had any sort of dessert on their menu I’ve always felt it wasn’t exactly…special? 😅
McHype is a very real thing that I just made up 😂
The pies were very good when they used to fry them.
@@baxter1252 so true! I have not actually had a pie from them in while cuz they just aren’t the same…making me miss them now 😆
Back in the 70's you could have your Birthday party at Mc Donald's, cake and décor included.
I worked at McDonald’s years ago as a manager and I always seen cake on the truck order screen. I was told that we use to keep them in stock when kid birthday parties were more common. Some managers will order the cakes and use them for employee birthdays. I did get them one time they come frozen exactly like that off the truck and are stored in the freezer with a pretty long shelf life xD
I remember having these cakes (or something similar at least. it had rainbow sprinkles and some yellow and red frosting around the edges) as a kid in the 80s and early 90s when people would book a reservation for a birthday party at a McDonald's play place.
Hey👋, how are you doing ?
I worked at McDonalds in the early 80s and my job was to do kids birthday parties in the indoor playground. The cakes were white cake, it came decorated, like you would see in a bakery. They came to us frozen like that. At the time I was 16 or 17. The cake tasted delicious to me back then. Not sure if I’d like it now.
I had the same Birthday Party Hostess job in the mid-80s as a teenager. Yes, the white birthday cakes were decorated and at the end of each party we were given a handwritten rating (hated getting these from grumpy customers).
They were made by Sara Lee and they also made the hot cheese danish
Back in the 90's (in Australia) you could have birthday parties at Maccas. The cake you would get was an ice-cream cake. It was always so big that there was always left over but every parent would try and get the kids to eat 4 helpings so they didn't need to deal with a half melted mess.
I went to a McDonald’s birthday party in the 80s. Freakin epic!
Interesting. There’s a lady at church who’s a manager at a McD’s, will definitely have to ask her why she’s never brought one of these cakes to church or a BBQ. She’s pretty awesome and usually brings in apple pies, cheese burgers, chicken sandwiches, or whatever to randomly handout.
Those apple pies! Man, they are awesome!
Probably because she knows what it tastes like and opts for something better. That and apparently up until recently Ronald’s face was on it, making it not so great for generic occasions.
In the 80s you can have your birthday party at McDonald's. You got to choose the type of happy meals and they provided the cake.
Our original McDonald's restaurant had a basement with a walk-in freezer with a snowman inside. For the kid's birthday parties, they would take everyone downstairs to see it. (This was in the late seventies/early eighties.)
i used to work at a McDonald's and spent a fair amount of time in the walk-in and at least my location, we DEFINITELY did not have those sheet cakes or any box of that shape. Im guessing that it's blank by default and is supposed to get airbrushed right before a party?
I used to do birthday parties back in the 80's at McDonalds. The cakes used to have hard sugared characters (that you had to take off before cutting the cake) on them with grimace (maybe) holding a bouquet of balloons?
Hey👋, how are you doing ?
From what you described, it sounds like every kids restaurant/grocery store birthday cake from the 1980's. The gritty frosting texture sold it for me! Going to try to get one for my partner's next birthday! 😊
I'm 38 years old and I used to have my birthday parties st McDonald's, the cakes were always decorated. Growing up it was the only cake I liked. Back then vanilla was the only flavor available. My mom loved having my parties there took the pressure off off planning a party.
They used to have birthday parties and they supplied the cake
Also me being old enough to remember having birthday parties at McDonald's and, along with the party, you also ordered a McDonald's cake. They would decorate it for you. Every kid I know had a birthday there at some point and it was awesome! I never knew they had gone away so I didn't know this was a mystery item! 😂
Aren't they for the kids parties they used to have back in the day?
i love the little sound effects you add in every once in awhile lmao
Myself and my sisters, cousins, and friends all often had birthday parties at McDonalds back in the 80s and 90s. An employee (usually a manager) would "host" the party by setting up small games (like toss velcro covered balls at a target on the wall etc) and they would bring out the cake and light candles etc. I remember the cake having those candy/sugary molds of Grimace and such stuck on top and frosting with A LOT of food coloring. I remember distinctly how strongly it tasted of food coloring. It was never very good but sugar is sugar when you're a kid! lol I am VERY surprised they're still making them.... it makes me wonder just how old that cake is.. 🤔
Alas, McDonalds printed the date on the side of the box. (08 Aug 2023) Still a funny thought, though! 😄
I worked at McDonald’s as a teen. We never got a cake for our birthdays as employees, but I did host several birthday parties where we served the cake. Ours had the Ronald McDonald characters printed on them and a border too if I remember correctly.
Emmy you should try the Chuck E. Cheese’s birthday cakes , they are BOMB 💣 they are frosting made and really sweet but they definitely hit the nostalgia spot when it comes to that artificial flavors some of us grew up on 😆 and they are baked in store so you can’t get fresher than that 😆
Since when are they baked in store?
I hosted birthday parties at McDonald’s in the late nineties and early 2000’s I remember having to thaw out the cakes the day before.
I thought they gave cake when you threw a birthday party there.
Our local McDonald’s had a bingo competition one Saturday during the summer when I was a kid, and my prize for winning the “fill the board” finale level was a sheet cake! We took it home and had an impromptu non-birthday birthday party inviting all my cousins and other kids from the neighborhood. Thanks for unlocking this memory!
When I worked at Mcdonalds in collage in 2010, we got a free cake for our birthday. It had the airbrushed Ronald with a yellow border. Not sure if they still do the birthday cakes for employees or not. It was so good!
When I was a kid in the 90s it was common to book birthday parties at mcdonalds. They even had a themed train caboose in the lot where everyone would go to eat the cake, and usually grimace or some other mascot would be there. There'd be random party games that everyone would play in there. They'd then hide special birthday cookie bags in the ball pits of the play place for everyone to find, and sometimes even did scavenger hunts around the building and lot. It was a lot of fun.
I remember not really liking the cake though, even as a kid lol
Back in the day, as a child I was invited to a birthday party at McDonald's.
The restaurant used to offer a package for children's birthdays. It would be with cups plates napkins party favors and every kid invited we get a Happy meal with a toy and they would have the whole play place for their enjoyment, and I think this cake is part of their package deal.
When I was in grade school in the 80's, I had several birthday parties at McDonalds. I remember being allowed to help with the ice cream, and the birthday crown. Several of my friends had their birthdays their as well. I also remember having a birthday at a roller rink too.
Back in the 80s all the local major fast food chains (McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, etc.) would let you reserve a kids' birthday party. There would be a kid's size menu item with sides, a drink, party favors, and a cake like this. I went to a lot of them in my childhood.
One interesting thing is that, where I lived at least, the party would also include a tour of the kitchen so you could see how the food was made. I remember seeing the Burger King conveyor belt where they grill the burgers several times.
I grew up in the late 80's/early 90's, back when kids would have their birthday parties at McDonalds. I specifically remember them having a cake with a characters (Ronald, Grimace, Fry Guy, etc) on it.
I had my 6th birthday party at McDonald's. That was in the 80s. I found out then that they would provide a cake. It had the McDonaldland characters molded from granulated dyed sugar (like sugar cubes) on top. That made it seem particularly special since that cake couldn't be bought elsewhere.
When I was a kid in the 70s McDonaldland Birthday Parties were quite popular. The restaurant for a birthday party and they would bring out the cake, I think it included balloons, and orange drink. Sometimes Ronald McDonald would be show up. It was charming and sweet and they probably will still do it.
I’m guessing they are for kid’s birthday parties held at McDonald’s but like I said, it’s just a guess. 🎂
Yup. Probably a free cake for reserving space for a birthday party.
I worked at McD in 1992 and we had cakes. They actually looked nice w/ the border and Ronald on the front. It tasted decent too!! I dressed up as Ronald in costume and played games w/ the kids and served food to them. I remember somebody gave me a $2 tip for an hour party and I was stoked!!!
Maybe it's an Australian thing, but we never had normal cakes at McDonald's. It was always an ice cream cake, which was amaaaazing! They'd also take your on a tour and let you go in the big walk-in freezer. The 80's and 90's were the best 👌
They took children on a tour of the walk-in?
I work at GYG USA and would never want a customer to tour the walk-in.
They do them here in the UK I think. The Sun newspaper had an article about the cakes from February 2021, and the top of the cake has Ronald juggling!
Hey👋, how are you doing ?
I remember having a birthday party at McDonald's when I was little. Early 90s when the seats were cushioned with the different characters on them. It was fun.
Hey👋, how are you doing ?
Omg I miss these cakes. I worked as a PlayPlace coach back when we did birthday parties and that’s what we did for my 17th birthday.
All I needed to hear was "tastes like a Little Debbie." 😂 Great description.
I remember having a birthday parties and going to parties (70s 80s) and there was cake included along with those small burgers, fries soda hats bibs we played in the play area. Not sure if they still do that
I've known about the birthday cakes for over twenty years. McDonald's was an affordable place to get lunch in my former city of residence. And I always saw birthday parties in the play area. I found out that McDonald's supplies the cake and decorations.
Basically, if the McDonald's has a kids section, that location sells cakes.
When I was a kid, back in the 70’s, most McDonald’s had train cabooses on site. They could be booked for birthday parties. They supplied the balloons, party favors and a happy meal for each kid. Can’t remember a Ronald cake, but having a bday party in a real train caboose was an awesome experience!
When I was a teenager, I worked at MCDonald’s for 3 years. In the 90’s birthday party’s were popular at McDonald’s especially getting the special the cake 🎂. It was a simple yellow or chocolate cake with a yellow border, Ronald holding balloons and other characters with candles on it.
I saw a tv show about the history of different fast food chains and a woman who owned a McDonalds franchise in Mexico came up with marketing hosting kids birthday parties there to bring in more business and it became super popular and spread to the US. I vaguely remember having this cake at birthday parties as a kid.
To my knowledge it’s only available at the stores that have play place. Traditionally, people used to have birthday parties there, as they are generally bigger and can hold large gatherings, so they still have cakes stocked up in those stores.
I worked at McDonalds in college. They are for birthday parties that can be scheduled at the playplace. They ask about it when you book the party(or supposed to). That was what the one I worked at did, they weren't for employee birthdays there just for parties.
I’m a 90’s kid, we had these with birthday parties. They are bringing back the McDonald’s birthday parties again! I don’t eat there but it’s great for those that do.
In the 80's/90's these are the cakes that they gave you if you scheduled a birthday party at mcdonalds. Maybe thats how you get one with a stenciled one.
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My mom was a manager at McDonald's in the 90s early 2000s. They were for birthdays for customers, back when McDonald's was more geared twords like family and fun. Most McDonald's don't even have them anymore, and if they do they just kinda use them for employees 😊
Back in the 80s/90s you could have a bday party at McDonald's. It included food, cake, and balloons. They usually went down at the McDonaldland play place. Never had one or went to one but I remember seeing them. Some restaurants probably still do them.
Pretty cheap of them to not decorate that cake though.
Omg the belch. I loled hard. Didn’t expect that from sweet little Emmy 😂
OMG! My husband and I were talking about McDonald's cake over the weekend, and I couldn't remember it. He said he loved the vanilla cake that you could order when hosting a birthday party at the restaurant.
Hey👋, how are you doing ?
As a kid I went to many Mc D's bday parties with a cake and we even had parties for our kids in the late 90's. There was even a special birthday room at our McDonald's. I had forgotten until I saw your video. Nice trip back in time, thank you.
Back in the 70's and early 80's, kids could have their birthday parties at McDonald's. That's what the cakes are for, not for employees. They used to block off part of the dining room and decorate it a bit with McDonald's themed tableware and such.
Hey👋, how are you doing ?
McDonald’s was a common place for kids birthdays in the 90s. They had play areas.
Back in the day, you could book birthday parties there. It was always a great event to be invited when one was a kid in school.
I had a birthday at McDonalds in the early 00s! I loved it. I remember the vanilla cake being mostly yellow frosting with blue and red. My McDonalds had a birthday throne with a dial on the back where they'd spin the number to match your age. I had the time of my life. Loved the attention. 😂