The McChronicles TOP 10 BEST McDONALD's EXPERIENCES OF 2006

2006 has been an awesome year - so what better to do than look back and remind ourselves of The McChronicles' very best McDonald's experiences.The rules are simple, The McChronicles had to have some form of direct experience with the store/event during 2006. Here goes:Best Store (building): Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico: From the "curb appeal" to the building design to the materials of construction, this facility is VERY impressive. It reminded us...

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I'm INVISIBLE!!!

The McChronicles has noted a trend in several McDonald's recently. Here's how it goes:the crew person at the counter says, "Who's next?".the customer steps up and places their order.the order is taken, the customer pays and receives their change.the customer suddenly acquires super powers, becomes invisible, and the crew person acts as if the customer evaporated.the crew person says, "Who's next?"The McChronicles is kind of "hip". We "get it". So...

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The Holiday Rush

The Holiday season really packs people into the shopping malls. So, The McChronicles dropped by New Hartford, New York's Sangertown Square Mall to see how their McDonald's was holding up.As expected, the crowd was thick with hungry shoppers. And the queue at the McDonald's was long. The crew seemed to be handling things fairly well. But there was a bit too much confusion behind the counter to say things were going "perfectly". The stress must be...

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McChronicles named TIME MAGAZINE Person Of The Year!

According to TIME.com:"Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?" "The...

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The Obesity Debate

Two smart people debating the obesity /fast-food issue. Interesting. Please weigh in (pun intended) with your comments on this topic.The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's. Image: Donee Wh...

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McDonald's, New York City: Trans Fat Ruling

Trans Fat is in the news! According to an article in Forbes, New York City's "department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ... argues that the chemically modified ingredient (trans fat) kills 500 Gothamites each year".According to Reuters (yesterday): "New York City banned most artificial trans fats from restaurants on Tuesday, forcing national fast-food chains and mom-and-pop diners alike to phase out artery-clogging oils from their cooking.""The law...

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New Store in Stroudsburg, PA

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania has some excitement brewing. A brand new McDonald's is being erected this week.In these images (taken last Saturday at 330 Main Street) we can see a typical restaurant with what appears to be a PlayPlace, going up right before our eyes. The McChronicles can't wait for the restaurant to open!The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.Image: roving McChronicles reporter, Chr...

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San Antonio - Very Cool!

The McChronicles headed down to old San Anton' since we had heard of a McDonald's that offered up something unique. We're not talking about a new sandwich - we're talking about style.We noticed something interesting before we even entered the restaurant. This place is located in a very old, wild west-style building. It was built in 1897 and had previously served as a grocery, according to the managers.And speaking of managers - these people were...

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GPS Disappointment

The McChronicles was perusing some GPS units recently. We are now able to purchase a device that contains preprogrammed POIs (points of interest) such as gas stations, restaurants, etc.Our goal is, from wherever we are, to be able to find all the McDonald's in the area.Imagine our surprise when we viewed a unit that boasts over 6 million POIs and did NOT include a single restaurant when we asked for McDonald's.Interestingly, they did deliver the...

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World Children's Day: Ronald McDonald House Charities

Helping children in need is, indeed, a noble cause. The Ronald McDonald House Charities is well-known, worldwide, for providing a unique and meaningful brand of help.Quoting from the RMHC website, "In honor of World Children's Day and in support of children around the world, McDonald's will raise funds to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's charities around the world. "This event will be held in 100 countries throughout November....

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Big Mac Value Meal: Blended

The McChronicles LOVES A Hamburger Today. This is a burger blog with a passion!So, it is no surprise that we drop by for a visit frequently. Today they led us to something that, in a word, is COOL! A Hamburger Today led us to www.willitblend.com. WillItBlend is an ingenious online tool depicting the capabilities of Blendtec's line of extreme blenders.OK - so the point? You guessed it. Blendtec's Tom Dickson's uncle Floyd is Jonesing for a McDonald's...

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Pop-Up McDonald's

The McChronicles was tooling around Shenzhen, China and dropped into a trade exhibition at the city's beautiful exhibition center. Imagine our gleeful delight at:a) encountering a McDonald's within the exhibition center (exhibition vendors typically offer generic and horrid food)b) encountering our first-ever "pop-up" McDonald's!That's right fans, McDonald's dragged in a counter, fryers, cash registers, storage racks, and a freezer, threw a tent...

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McDonald's Receipts

The McChronicles was reviewing some paperwork in the office today and decided to toss out the McDonald's receipts we have been saving. We seem to have accumulated quite a stack so far this year - and this is only about half of the receipts we have collected.Our estimate, based on this collection and on our calendar of events, is that we have visited McDonald's restaurants approximately 150 times so far in 2006. That's "Lovin' it!"The McChronicles:...

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Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China

Beijing's Tiananmen Square McDonald's sports a semi-cheesy "famous western people" theme - almost EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE of what The McChronicles expected to see!We were disappointed at not seeing a high-class, inspirational China theme. And we were almost (though not) stunned to see Jim Morrison, Sean Connery, and a handful of famous western actors, singers, and performers hanging on the wall. By the way, these posters seemed to be tacked on the wall...

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Regional McDonald's Sites II

The McChronicles posted previously about interesting regional McDonald's sites.That posting elicited a response from Steven Wilson of great America Parks whotold us about ... McOklahoma! This site contains all the usual stuff found on other regional McDonald's sites, such as: local charities, jobs at McDonald's, national promotions, and more.So, add this to our list: McDonald's of Central New York and Northern PennsylvaniaMcDonald's of the Pittsburgh...

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Rome, NY McDonald's: "This store's a dump!"

Hot on the heels of The McChronicles visiting some extremely impressive McDonald's comes this disappointment. We are talking about the West Gate Plaza McDonald's in Rome, NY (store #2561 on Erie Boulevard).First off, the store was dark. Then, the service was slow. And then, it was dirty, and messy.DARK: this store needs some replacement light bulbs or a few more fixtures. In the middle of a bright sunny day it felt like something was wrong.SLOW SERVICE:...

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Zapopan

Mexico is home to many cool things, but maybe the COOLEST thing going in the home of the Aztecs is the Zapopan (2691 Avenue Mariano Otero - Jalisco, near Guadalajara) McDonald's. This place is awesome!The McChronicles has been hitting it lucky recently, visiting several incredible McDonald's restaurants. Let us share some info about this gem.First off, the sweeping multistorey glass dining area is almost breathtaking. The traditional corporate colors...

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Rosemont Rocks!

McDonald's store #13058, corner of Higgins & River Roads in Rosemont, Illinois, USA ... YOU are the best!Settle in, this one is going to take a few minutes.The McChronicles was making its way through town when it drove by a fairly typical-looking McDonald's. We made a mental note of the location, for future action. Admittedly we were intrigued by both the convenient location and the huge water tower right behind the store. But we were mesmerized...

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