Adult Happy Meals are stressing McDonald's employees out
So you want the new adult Happy Meal from McDonald's? Get in line, pal.
No, seriously, get in line because it might take a while to get it. The meals, which come with toys designed by the streetwear company Cactus Plant Flea Market, have proven to be a hit, which is unfortunate for the McDonald's employees who are on the front lines. It looks like we may have a Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce debacle on our hands.
Employees are reportedly stressed by the number of people who file in to get the limited supply of the adult Happy Meals. The workers "are begging customers to stop ordering adult Happy Meals," Fortune wrote. "I can see the stress among my coworkers," a McD's employee told Kotaku.
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When you order the meal, you have the choice of a Big Mac or 10-piece nugget, and that includes fries and a drink, plus the limited-edition box and toy from Cactus Plant Flea Market. The nostalgia is making it a legit craze.
On a subreddit for McDonald's employees, people have been venting their frustrations over dealing with customers coming in for the meal. Read one comment:
first day we had them was the most stressed i've ever been at work. we had a huge storm too and were down 3 people in addition to the 5-6 that had called out. it was exhausting. we ran out the same night but got more today. can not wait for my next shift.
If there has been any saving grace for McDonald's employees, it's that they're running out of the adult Happy Meals. The subreddit was full of comments from people saying they were thrilled that their store had run out of the boxes and toys. Comments like, "everyone in my store was happy when we ran out of toys," are quite common. And, at least if the subreddit is to be trusted, lots of stores have run out.
Anecdotally, I've tried getting one to test out for Mashable since I wrote an article about the adult Happy Meal on Tuesday. My local McDonald's has been out the entire time. Here's how the app looks on my phone when I go to order the Cactus Plant Flea Market meal.
Still, it's not stopping people from trying. In fact, its exclusivity is only making it more of a hot commodity.
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It doesn't seem like interest is going to wane anytime soon. Apologies to the folks working at the McDonald's stores. People just can't resist a toy.
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Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
