McDonald’s is a beacon of familiarity. No matter where the journey takes you, from small towns to cities, highways to strip malls, you’ll always find the same assortment of burgers, fries, and chicken nuggets. But for travelers in Orlando, Florida, one McDonald’s boasts a menu like none other, featuring an infamous relic of the company’s past. Back in the 1980s, McDonald’s was in a bit of an experimental phase, creating new menu selections left and right. One such creation was the McSpaghetti, a take-out box with marinara sauce, meatballs, and, you guessed it, spaghetti. The dish’s lifespan was short, getting axed from menus in the early ’90s. Due to its egregiously long preparation time and general inconvenience for on-the-go dining (Tomato sauce in the car? No thanks!), it’s a discontinued menu item we don’t miss at all. Now, more than 30 years later, the McSpaghetti is still a menu mainstay in Orlando.
Customers at the Sandlake Road restaurant, dubbed the “World’s Largest Entertainment McDonald’s,” order at digital kiosks, just like the company’s standard locations. But for those unfamiliar, its menu might come as a surprise. Pasta lovers can build their own pasta bowl, with choices like linguini, cavatappi, ravioli, and multi-colored tortellini. And unlike the McSpaghetti of the ’80s, you’re not limited to marinara sauce either. You can top your pasta with alfredo, basil pesto, bolognese meat sauce, or just olive oil and garlic. Even better, your pasta bowl is served with a side accompaniment of garlic bread.
A McDonald’s unlike any other
When it comes to unique offerings at this Orlando McDonald’s, the McSpaghetti is only the beginning. Just a short drive from Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, the restaurant-turned-bonafide-tourist-destination is one of the company’s coolest locations in the U.S., featuring two stories of sit-down dining, children’s arcades, and PlayPlace-style playground complexes.
While it’s unusual to see an arcade in a McDonald’s, it’s perhaps even more atypical to find an Italian brick pizza oven. Just like the McSpaghetti, the McPizza once existed on the McDonald’s menu. Though we may never get it back nationally, it’s still in Orlando. With an impressive amount of options, ranging from pepperoni to spinach, mushrooms, and onions, customers can create their own McPizzas, all for an affordable price.
In the mood for dessert? This McDonald’s has you covered. At the restaurant’s entrance, there’s a dedicated McCafé section, serving the typical McDonald’s desserts such as apple pies and McFlurries. Also included, though, is an entire display case dedicated to baked goods like cakes, cheesecakes, and pastries. The desserts aren’t pre-packaged, with desserts like the Peanut Butter Explosion Cake looking good enough to have come from your local bakery.
You might be wondering how this McDonald’s can offer such a vast menu. Well, McDonald’s uses a franchise model, meaning private owners can operate a restaurant under their own rules. As such, franchisors can include whichever menu items they see fit, pending corporate approval, and that includes those that are no longer offered nationwide.
