The McDonald's Restaurant Where You Can Eat Inside A Real Airplane
Since McDonald's shifted its design from vibrant, child-friendly hues to a minimalist aesthetic of muted earth tones, some critics argue the chain is less often visited for its atmosphere or experience. But there is one location in New Zealand where the physical setting is a big part of the appeal, featuring a real World War II-era airplane where patrons can eat their Big Macs and Happy Meals.
The unique McDonald's is in the town of Taupō, one of more than 170 Maccas, as New Zealanders call the chain, in the island nation. The Douglas DC-3 aircraft is located on the restaurant property, and customers access the interior via stairs in an outdoor area. There's room for approximately 20 people at tables running along the sides of the interior. Patrons can peek at the cockpit through a glass partition and read about the aircraft's history and the pilots who flew it in displays near the cockpit area.
@philippinozemtsev Did you know Taupo, New Zealand, has the honor of being home to the world's coolest McDonalds?😳 There are seats inside the plane for your dining enjoyment, and you can view the cockpit as well! #nz #mcdonalds #mini4pro #taupo
The twin-propeller plane's exterior has a distinctive paint scheme featuring the McDonald's branding. It rises over the parking lot, and cars are able to park under the wing.
McDonald's boasts unique global designs, from planes to spaceships
The DC-3 was made by Douglas Aircraft Company in 1943 as a military transport plane. It later carried passengers for airlines in Australia and New Zealand into the early 1970s, and was later used as a crop duster before being retired in 1984. Then-Taupō Mayor Rick Cooper discovered it for sale not long after and "bought it for around $20,000 [NZD]" for his Aeroplane Car Company car lot (via Stuff). When McDonald's bought the property in 1990, it came along with the deal.
The location offers a menu much like the one found in the U.S., which patrons can enjoy in the plane or the restaurant; this includes the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, which we consider the best burger on Mickey D's menu. There are also some special New Zealand offerings, like the Big Brekkie Beef Burger, a breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, cheese, a hash brown, a ¼-pound beef patty, and BBQ sauce, and a no-meat Salad Burger with cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions, pickles, and mayo-like McChicken sauce. There's also the Kiwiburger (which doesn't have kiwi), which periodically returns to the menu.
There are many other one-of-a-kind McDonald's among the more than 44,000 around the world. The McSki at Sweden's Lindvallen resort, for instance, has a window people can ski up to and place an order. There's one built to look like a flying saucer spaceship in Roswell, New Mexico, where conspiracy theories claim a UFO crashed in 1947. Several vintage train cars house a Mickey D's in Barstow, California, and the Sedona, Arizona, location has teal "Golden" Arches, a change the city forced it to make.