5 Discontinued McDonald’s Menu Items of the 80s and 90s (That Aren’t Burgers)
McDonald’s has introduced many non-burger items in the past that have garnered major success and exist as staples of their menu to this day. Some of these triumphant munchables include the Chicken McNugget and Fillet-O-Fish. However, some McDonald’s menu inaugurations were not so well-received and soon discontinued. The last two decades of the twentieth century saw many attempts at marketing these new and interesting meals and snacks to no avail. Here are five of those menu items launched in the 80s and 90s, only to be kicked off the drive-through menu soon after.
McSpaghetti
I must admit now that, growing up in the 80s and 90s, I never saw any of the McDonald’s items on this list in in the U.S. market. This is likely because the items were released in limited areas and mine was not one of them. However, I was introduced to McSpaghetti as a visiting Navy sailor to ports in the Philippines. McDonald’s still carries McSpaghetti in the Philippines to this day with noodles and a very sweet, almost ketchup-like marinara meat sauce.
McDonald’s attempted to feed customers’ Italian food cravings in the 1980s with McSpaghetti. It was a carton of spaghetti, marinara, meatballs and cheese. Sounds good right? However, many consumers were a bit confused as they expected sandwiches and fries when walking into a McDonald’s. They didn’t expect an Italian noodle dish requiring a fork to consume. Moreover, it took a bit of time to prepare, which is not good for a restaurant touting the expediency of their food delivery. Also, people in the U.S. often made spaghetti and marinara sauce at home for a quick, easy meal and were probably tired of it.
Although it was soon discontinued, McDonald’s Philippines leadership was convinced that it would be a hit in their market. It was, and continues to be, a mainstay menu item in that country, albeit with a slightly modified recipe to fit local tastes.
McPizza
Having already cornered the fast-food lunch market, then becoming a successful breakfast spot for busy morning commuters, McDonald’s started eyeing the dinner crowd of which major pizza chains dominated. To compete with the likes of Pizza Hut and Dominos, McDonald’s introduced the family size McPizza in the mid-1980s. They went so far as to serve the pie on a raised rack to your table in genuine pizzeria style. That’s commitment!
However, the McPizza didn’t catch on all that well. Firstly, like many items on this list, it wasn’t really expected among McDonald’s customers. In fact, it was likely downright confusing. Additionally, it took about a quarter hour to prepare. One might envisage this kind of prep time in a pizza place but, again, McDonald’s was famous for its rapidity. Finally, the McPizza required specialized equipment which was unpopular with franchisees. To compromise, McDonald’s later conceived “personal size” pizzas more suitable for individual customers. Alas, this was proved ineffective and the McPizza was discontinued in its test markets at the turn of the millennium.
However, if you do have a craving for McPizza, rumor is it’s still served in Orlando, Florida. Keep that in mind for your next Disney World vacation plans.
Chicken Fajitas
In a very 1990s move, McDonalds went toe-to-toe with Taco Bell and introduced the Chicken Fajitas. The campaign included the slogan, “"a taste of Mexico ... without the sunburn." Additionally, they commissioned very 90s television commercials boding bright, pastel lime greens and purples (not too different from the80sand90s.com web design) and attractive young adults in very 90s outfits having a blast eating the new item. The Chicken Fajitas and corresponding marketing were very “to the MAX!” typical of the California-inspired aesthetic of the early 90s. It’s worth a visit for anyone wanting a pop cultural slice of the era.
Like all the menu items on this list, I do not remember seeing the Chicken Fajitas at my McDonald’s, either because it wasn’t there, or it was so short-lived that I just missed it. It’s a shame because, as a neon-wearing, preteen skater in the early 90s, I was probably their target audience. As it turns out, there were still fans of the item after it demise. In 2012, someone started a petition on chang.org to convince McDonald’s to bring it back. However, even the massive hoard of 57 petition supporters failed to convince the board of directors at McDonalds corporate.
If you do want some Mexican inspired items at McDonald’s today, they do sell breakfast burritos at the time of writing this. Just sayin’.
McHotDog
If there’s any dish that rivals the hamburger in its Americanness, it would be the good ol’ hot dog. In 1995, McDonalds wanted to augment its already chief ranking as an American icon with the introduction of the McHotDog . There is a solid reason I never saw this item in the Pacific Northwest. The McHotDog was introduced in the summer of ‘95 in the U.S. Midwestern region as a test market. It makes sense on paper. If anyone would adopt a hot dog, it would be Midwesterners right? Alas, the hardy people of the Midwestern states rejected the poor McHotDog and it was soon sent to the pound with the rest of McDonalds’ failed menu items of the 90s. I think this was likely due to the fact that many people in their test area were sausage coinsures with preexisting places to get their hot dog fixes. They may have done better testing in regions where wieners were not already pervasive.
McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc was probably happy to see the failure from his golden arches in the sky (he died in 1984). Ray was a fervent critic of the hot dog, saying of it in his autobiography,
"There's good reason we should never have hot dogs. There's no telling what's inside a hot dog's skin, and our standard of quality just wouldn't permit that kind of item."
Well, fret no more Mister Kroc. The McHotDog died and there’s no sign of it ever coming back.
McStuffins
The 1980s witnessed the rise of the Hot Pocket, a fast, delicious snack popular among kids and stoners (who were often one and the same). Wanting to tap into this popularity, McDonald’s introduced McStuffins in 1993. Like Hot Pockets, McStuffins was a breaded pocket with multiple filling options including pepperoni pizza, barbeque beef, cheese steak, and teriyaki chicken. Even though it tanked in its test markets, McDonald’s released the item on its menu more broadly anyway at a reasonable price of around $2. Needless to say, even though the company touted McStuffins faithfully as, “the best thing since sliced bread”, it flopped again and was recalled the same year.
I’m at somewhat of a loss as to why this item would fail. McStuffins seems to be a good portable, on-the-go snack. Perhaps like other non-burgers on this list, it just didn’t fit in at Mickey D’s. Moreover, many customers probably had a freezer full of Hot Pockets available to them at home. They came to McDonald’s for food they couldn’t necessarily make in their abodes in a matter of minutes.
Do you remember any of these defunct McDonald’s menu items? Furthermore, do these items still exist at a McDonald’s in your area? Contact me and let me know. With that, I leave you with this quote we can all relate to:
“All I know is that when I needed McDonald’s, McDonald’s was there for me.”
Check out this episode of The 80s and 90s Uncensored where we reminisce on peak McDonald's for kids: the 1980s. Ronald wasn't creepy, the play area was fun, and mom could enjoy a smoke.
October 25, 2022 - So, McDonald’s is saying that the McRib is on a farewell tour so I hadda take the next gen to the Golden Arches to get the last of that action. The boy thinks I'm weird, but he'll thank me years from now.
