Viral photo of McDonald's PlayPlace prompts superfan to reveal fast-food chain's stray from nostalgia

A McDonald's in Franklin, Tennessee, attracted viral attention last month after a customer called out the children's play area and posted a photo on X.

The photo showed a sitting area in the corner of the restaurant, with two screens embedded in the wall.

X user @NancyAFrench posted an image of the PlayPlace, writing, "This is so heartbreaking. I'm at a new McDonald's in Franklin, TN, and look at their 'play place' for children. Two screens/two chairs."

Gary He, author of "McAtlas," a visual social anthropology book about McDonald's, has traveled to McDonald's locations in over 55 countries across six continents.

"[McDonald's restaurants] come in all shapes and sizes; some of them have massive PlayPlaces, but most of them have nothing at all," He told Fox News Digital.McDonald's PlayPlaces, before the digital age, featured character-themed displays that were designed to attract kids and families. 

Some included playgrounds with ball pits.

He said the methods of play at the fast-food restaurants reflect the way kids are being raised in a digital world.

"Even the 'Largest Entertainment McDonald's' in Orlando, Florida, has modernized itself to include a large number of activities with screens," he said.

In his travels, He said he's noticed that McDonald's locations serve as "a sort of cultural mirror."

In Guatemala City, the Cajita Feliz restaurant is shaped like a Happy Meal box.

"The [PlayPlace] is sprawling, but it's located inside a separate concrete building specifically for kids' birthday celebrations," said He. 

He said that in Taupo, New Zealand, there's a "decommissioned DC-3 airplane that kids and adults alike can run around and peer into the cockpit."

"Here in the U.S., the vast majority of the company's business is drive-thru and delivery. It would seem that the restaurants are meeting the consumers where they are," said He.

Of all the McDonald's PlayPlaces in the U.S., there are two in particular that stand out in his view, he said.

In Roswell, New Mexico, the location is dubbed the "UFO McDonald's" with a flying saucer-shaped dining room. 

There is also a play area that includes a tube slide, physical activities and space-themed characters.

There are "hundreds of feet of tube slides, a ball pit and every type of game that you could imagine," said He. 

"Though the store has been toned down in recent years, it still resembles an arcade more than a McDonald's."