Over the weekend, I traveled to Charleston on a girls’ trip. While the vacation was fun and a much-needed break, I noticed something on my pit stops.

I stopped at a sleek, new McDonald’s.

The restaurant was filled with silver, black, and brown designs and two Digital kiosks. No one was standing at the counter, and an older couple who had trouble working the kiosks asked if they could order at the counter. Unfortunately, that is no longer an option.

I understand this is the new direction McDonald’s has taken and many restaurants are considering following suit. While I disagree with that direction, there is another bothersome design choice to me- the cancelation of the indoor playgrounds.

At first, I thought the playgrounds closed due to the pandemic, but now that the restaurants are being renovated I’ve realized they are a relic of days gone by.

I know in the grand scheme of things indoor playgrounds disappearing are the least of our worries, but they remind me of a much simpler time, a much simpler childhood.

Kids today are stuck in the digital age. Unlike the older couple, they walk up to the kiosk, punch in their chicken nugget meal, freeze, and then stare at their iPad or tablet until their parent brings them the meal.

To them, it’s no different than another day.

Maybe they appreciate the fast food, but the experience of McDonald’s is lost on them.

As kids, my sister and I loved a specific Burger King on the opposite side of town.

It wasn’t even about their hamburgers, it was all about their playground.

It’s not like we didn’t have a swing set at home or a playground at recess, but Burger King’s playground was top-notch- crawling through the tunnels, meeting other kids, racing down the slides on trays.

Going to Burger King wasn’t some afterthought.

On Friday nights when my dad came home from work, we would beg him to take us to Burger King.

We didn’t want to spend our Friday night playing computer games or watching an iPad, all we wanted to do was go to BK.

If we had friends spending the night, we didn’t want to order pizza. Sleepovers consisted of Burger King for a few hours, then a movie back at the house.

Not only was the playground great, but it was a generally vibrant place to be. It was decked in purples, greens, yellows, and reds.

More than that, McDonald’s and Burger King were connected to kids. McDonald’s had characters, and I know Grimace has made a comeback, but everyone knew who the Hamburglar was and Ronald McDonald. Kids even had birthday parties there, where the characters would make appearances. It was like Chuck E. Cheese, minus the arcade.

At the McDonald’s I stopped at, there wasn’t a table large enough for a birthday party.

I recognize that I have no role in McDonald’s and Burger King’s long-term plans. In fact, they probably won’t even read this or know I disagree with them.

But, I wonder if they know the amount of kids who had memories at their establishments. I know McDonald’s is popular enough that they don’t need parents who had memories there to suggest that restaurant to their kids. They will go there regardless. Kids will still want the Happy Meal toys, but maybe that’s because they don’t know what they’re missing.

More than anything, I realize kids don’t pay the bills at restaurants, parents do. But, kids playing for hours prompted parents to buy more sodas or snacks while they waited. So, maybe the loss of the playgrounds didn’t really impact revenue, but coming from a soon-to-be 30-year-old, it does impact the experience.

This restaurant is no longer an experience, it’s a drive-thru at best, and it disappoints me for the kids who will never beg for a birthday party or Friday night there, all while staring at a screen instead.