Top 10 '90s Fast Food Toys That Gave Budget

#10: Hercules

If there was one thing Disney was good at in the 90’s, it was merchandising. In spite of its underwhelming performance at the box office, the toys, apparel, and dinnerware made for the release of “Hercules” are still coveted to this day. Even the film’s fast food tie-in toys were surprisingly great quality. McDonald’s gave kids the possibility of getting ten different sets of toys with their Happy Meals, each containing a full color figure of one of the film’s characters and an accompanying statue. This included everyone from Hercules himself to lesser known characters like Hermes. One year later, the Greek hero would be promoted by the fast food giant once more, this time with working megaphones, sound sticks, and footballs.

#9: The Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection

Throughout the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, McDonald’s and Disney were a match made in corporate heaven. The fast food company promoted all of the studio's newest films in their Happy Meals, and even hosted two storefronts on Walt Disney World property. So when Disney decided to promote their home video Masterpiece Collection in the mid to late 90’s, it was a no-brainer to involve the golden arches. Each set of toys included an, often articulated, figure of a character from one of Disney’s “Masterpiece” films as well as a depiction of the film’s VHS - either as a case or platform. There were a lot of memorable toys in the promotion, including some representation of overlooked Disney films like “Pete’s Dragon” and even “Flubber.”

#8: Tamagotchi Toyz

With the introduction of brands like Moshi Monsters, Webkinz, and Neopets, the 2000’s quickly became the decade of the virtual pet. This unique digital revolution came shortly after the release of the Tamagotchi in 1997, which captivated a generation of kids with charming designs and addictive gameplay. At the time, McDonald’s was eager to collaborate with the brand, and managed to do so just one year after its North American release. Of course, a fast food toy couldn’t replicate all of the interactive aspects of Tamagotchi, but kids were still happy to own plastic keychains of their favorite pets to hang alongside the real thing. Nowadays, these would be sold in $9 blind bags…but in 1998, you could get them for free with your kid’s meal.

#7: The Flintstones

In the 90’s, live action remakes of cartoons were still something of a novelty, and “The Flintstones” boasted an all star cast featuring John Goodman, Rick Moranis, and Elizabeth Taylor. McDonald’s celebrated the occasion with a themed McRib, collectible glasses, and, of course, a brand new set of Happy Meal toys. Although there were only five different variations for this particular run of fast food kids toys, each set included one or more characters riding in a toy car and a colorful free-standing building. If you collected all five, you could build yourself your very own “Flintstones” town!

#6: Furby

Furbys took the world by storm in the late 1990’s. The controversial electronic pets had eye-catching, colorful designs and the unique ability to “learn” English over time. Of course, this supposed intelligence was simply preprogrammed speech, but the toys were still a little too technologically advanced for McDonald’s to give away comparable replicas for free. Instead, they offered kids the opportunity to get one of 80 different plastic Furby figures, which had a variety of different designs and actions. They could say simple phrases, wiggle their ears, or blink their eyes. It’s clear that a lot of time, effort, and money went into making these mini McFurbys fun.

#5: Happy Meal’s 15th Birthday

Promoting several different movies at once was nothing new - particularly when it came to Disney. But promoting a variety of different IPs, all from unique parent companies? Well, that was something special. For the Happy Meal’s fifteenth anniversary, McDonald’s released a set of fifteen different rolling figures, which connected together to create a celebratory train. This set included Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,” Sonic the Hedgehog, and E.T. - among others. If you were a kid in the 90’s, there was bound to be something you liked in this line-up. And, with the exception of the Sonic TV, all of the figures were lovingly detailed and full of personality.

#4: Pokémon: The First Movie

Coinciding with the theatrical release of the franchise’s first movie, Burger King’s 1999 Pokémon promotion gave a new meaning to ‘gotta catch ‘em all.’ Fans were given just under two months to collect fifty-nine toys of the popular pocket monsters - fifty-seven unique, with the opportunity for three different Pikachu variants. These tiny toys were all exceptionally good quality for a kids meal, ranging from rev tops to plush beanbags, and featured under-merchandised characters like Graveler and Muk. Moreover, the promotion included the option to purchase one of six gold-plated cards, which appealed to adult and child collectors alike. The toy line proved to be so popular that Burger King brought it back just one year later, allowing kids another chance to complete their collections.

#3: Halloween McNugget Buddies

While many of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys feature tie-ins with popular brands, films, and video games, the fast food giant has been known to occasionally throw their own original characters into the mix. Such is the case with the McNugget Buddies, originally introduced in the late 80’s and given a fun, fresh Halloween makeover in 1993. While the quality of the nuggets themselves weren’t necessarily up to par with their 80’s counterparts - being made of plastic rather than rubber - the costumes were a big improvement. They were far more durable, and the Halloween theming allowed for some uniquely fun designs. Three years later, another set was released using the same sizing and materials, allowing kids to mix and match their own original costumes.

#2: Teenie Beanies

In 1998, it wasn’t just children who were arguing over what toy they got in their Happy Meal. At the height of the Beanie Baby craze, McDonald’s released their second line of Teenie Beanies - mini versions of the popular plush toy - which were highly coveted by kids and adults alike. During this time, several incidents were reported across the nation, including physical fights and one theft. While we definitely think people went overboard, the toys were cute. They had the same simplistic charm as a real Beanie Baby, just in a smaller, handheld form. The Teenie Beanies would come back to McDonald’s just one year later, maintaining the same quality with an even bigger variety of teenie animals.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. 101 Dalmatians

What Better Way to Promote “101 Dalmatians” than with 101 Happy Meal Toys?

Snoopy World Tour

This Promotion Allowed Kids to Travel the World with Snoopy - From Jamaica to Japan

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

A Superhero Fan’s Dream Promotion, Featuring Detailed Action Figures and Fun Cartoon Cars

Animaniacs

These Pull Back Cars and Bikes Are Must-Haves for Any Animaniacs Enthusiast

Universal Monsters

When It Comes to Halloween, You Can’t Go Wrong with the Classics

#1: Inspector Gadget

It’s not uncommon for fast food companies to encourage kids to collect an entire set of toys, but for this release it was practically required. Kids who visited McDonald’s during their 1999 promotion of “Inspector Gadget” would be opening their Happy Meals to find plastic legs, arms, torsos, and backpacks. While these may not have been very exciting separately, when put together they created one of the best kids meal toys to date. This was a substantial action figure - the kind that would typically be found on the shelves of an actual toy store. Looking back, it’s crazy to think that a fast food toy this high quality was made for what is now a mostly forgotten movie.

What was the best toy you’ve ever gotten from a kids meal? Let us know in the comments!