You’ve pulled up to McDonald’s as a full-on adult. You absolutely do not need a toy with your meal, right? Joking. Of course you do. The fast-food chain is now selling boxed meals geared toward grown-ups, and each one has a cool, odd-looking figurine inside.
The meal has an odd name — the Cactus Plant Flea Market Box — that’s based on the fashion brand collaborating with McDonald’s on the promotion.
According to McDonald’s, the box is inspired by the memory of enjoying a Happy Meal as a kid. The outside of the box is multicolored and features the chain’s familiar golden arches.
Greetings, Cactus Buddy.
Meara Isenberg/CNET
The Cactus Plant Flea Market Box will be available in the drive-thru, in-restaurant, by delivery or on the McDonald’s app, while supplies last. You can choose between a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets. It’ll also come with fries and a drink.
The boxes will pack in one of four figurines. Three of the four appear to be artsy takes on classic McDonald’s characters Grimace, Hamburglar and Birdie the Early Bird, while the fourth is a little yellow person called Cactus Buddy sporting a McDonald’s shirt.
When I forked over 10 bucks for my own boxed meal on Monday, the toy was the best part. I liked that the prize came in packaging I couldn’t see through, prolonging the surprise. I ripped it open to find the happy yellow guy, which seems like something my on-trend, college-aged brother would display in his dorm room. So I’m setting it aside for him.
Pricing is set by individual restaurants and may vary, according to McDonald’s. When I attempted to order through the app from a McDonald’s near me in Charlotte, North Carolina, it cost slightly more to get the burger box over the nugget box, but both could be purchased for a little less than $10. (For this price, the item came with a medium fries and drink).
The basic prices for both boxes available to me in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Meara Isenberg/CNET
Purchasing the same edible contents and drink through the app from the location near me without all the razzle-dazzle (aka, as a regular ol’ meal) costs $7.49. So I basically paid $2.20 for the little toy and the nostalgia. You can decide if that’s worth it to you.
In other McD news, Halloween buckets could be returning to the chain this fall. So leave some room in your stomach for a return trip.
