The McDonald's PlayPlace first appeared in
California in 1971, and debuted for McDonald's franchises at the 1972
Illinois State Fair. The world's largest PlayPlace was opened in 1976 in
Orlando, Florida. It is part of the
World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's, which features
family entertainment center-like attractions, including
arcade games and
pizza. In 1991, McDonald's created a chain of family entertainment centers based on PlayPlaces called
Leaps and Bounds, that eventually merged into
Discovery Zone and
Chuck E. Cheese. In 1999, the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission fined McDonald's $4 million after failing to report over 400 injuries that children sustained after using the Big Mac Climber jungle gyms. In March 2020, all PlayPlaces in restaurants located in the United States were temporarily closed due to health concerns related to the
COVID-19 pandemic. But most reopened in 2023. In the 2020s, PlayPlaces have appeared less frequently in new and renovated restaurants, reportedly due to factors such as health and safety concerns, decreased usage, families eating out less, a shift in marketing from kids and families to young adults, and McDonald's wanting to present a more "sleek and modern" image of the chain. ==References==