The Happy Meal is turning 40 and we’re celebrating in a big way

October 31, 2019

The Happy Meal is turning 40 and that calls for a celebration. So, we’re bringing back some of the all-time favorite Happy Meal toys in the limited-edition Surprise Happy Meal.

But before we give you the deets, we want to reflect on this icon.

The Happy Meal has been an essential part of our menu at McDonald’s for the past 40 years. For many, the iconic red box was a treat for good grades. Countless birthdays have been celebrated with Chicken McNuggets and a special toy.

And as time has progressed, the Happy Meal has progressed, too.

For example, in the U.S. alone, we’ve added apple slices or Yoplait® Go-GURT® Low Fat Strawberry Yogurt to every Happy Meal. We started featuring bottled water as a beverage choice, removed soda from Happy Meal Menu boards and we’ve removed artificial preservatives from our Chicken McNuggets and hamburgers, except the pickle, which contains an artificial preservative, so skip it if you like.

We are proud to share that through these changes, we’ve served more than 6.4 billion fruit, vegetable, low-fat dairy and water options in Happy Meals around the globe since 2013.

And while this progress is great, we’re continuing to push ourselves to provide balanced meals with the same craveable and delicious taste our customers love.

The Happy Meal is the ultimate example of the delicious, feel-good moments we aim to deliver to our customers every day.

In order to celebrate this extra special icon, beginning November 7 we are introducing the Surprise Happy Meal which will contain a throwback toy from the last 40 years at participating McDonald's around the world, while supplies last.

Are you ready to join the celebration?