The McDonald’s at Hamilton Road and Highbury Avenue! Let’s hear it for this awful “restaurant”, folks!
Sure, there are a lot of fast food joints that are dirtier or less-maintained than this one. Actually, I’m wrong-there isn’t much worse than this. Grimy and cheerless in general. But what really sealed the deal and earned my disapproving look was the ‘funzone’. It is not meant for children to have fun, it is meant for people who hate children to cackle as fun goes into the room and dies. Other than one sad puzzle board, there is nothing appropriate for a child under 8. Of course that’s hypothetical since the old lame video games in there were turned off, and there wasn’t a child to be seen for miles. This was at dinner time on a weekday, so there should have been a horde of tired parents looking to shovel quick food into themselves while the kids ran around like crazy pixies. Not one family was in sight (other than us, and we left when we saw how lame it was).
Oh, and the foosball and air hockey tables cost money to play. The cash earned goes to Ronald McDonald house, so that’s not so bad, but it still stinks to have something that costs money inside the kid distraction area. Luckily, the air hockey paddles were nowhere in sight so even if we had put money in the table, there would have been no fun taking place.
Smart McDonald owners know how much return business they get from frazzled families looking for a little break, and the playland is a big part of that break. Steer clear of this place unless you’re really desperate.
Chris Loblaw, Author 
Duly noted, and thanks for the warning! The only time I go to McDonald’s at all is with my sister and nephews (yes, there’s two of them now – remind me what to get a 8-month-old for Christmas?), so having a good play area is *important*.