8 Changes I Wish McDonald's Would Make

Like most red-blooded Americans, I've been eating at McDonald's for my entire life. My love affair with the Golden Arches began in earnest after a restaurant opened one block away from my house when I was eight years old, and the fast food chain has essentially served over 99 billion burgers (and Egg McMuffins) to me alone since then. Still, like most red-blooded Americans, I'm also often dissatisfied with things in my life. And even after four decades of patronage, there are numerous changes I wish McDonald's would make at every nationwide location.

Is there any real hope that McDonald's will adopt my desired changes, either now or in the future? Well ... that's not really relevant to this article. After all, even if fast food dollar menus were largely extinct by 2025, I can still hope the conglomerate will one day reinstate its previously revered Dollar Menu — as in a menu where items are actually sold for $1 or less.

Of course, like every other change I'd love to see McDonald's make, a true-blue Dollar Menu is merely a fantasy for consumers as of this writing. So, as someone who continues to eat far more Mickey D's food than they should (or would like to admit), here are eight changes I wish McDonald's would make to its restaurants and operations.

To be sure, the odds of McDonald's — or any fast food chain — bringing back a genuine Dollar Menu are essentially zero as of 2026. The realities of inflation and economics led to its decline and eventual discontinuation, after all, with a so-named McValue Menu eventually taking its place. But a McDouble or McChicken tasted so much better when they cost a single buck, and I wish that legitimate bargain menu would return.

The difference in pricing for items on the old Dollar Menu compared to the current, mid-2020s costs is somewhat staggering. While a single apple pie runs somewhere between $2 and $3 (depending on where you order), you could previously receive two pies for a dollar. Considering you could walk away with three McDoubles or McChickens from the classic Dollar Menu for the price of a single sandwich today, it's sort of self-explanatory why anyone would want the real menu back.

Quite frankly, the restaurant can remind customers its food is cheap with budget-friendly deals as often as it likes. But unless the Dollar Menu is restored to its titular glory, I'll never be truly content with its so-called McValues.

Even years later, I find myself pondering why all-day breakfast at McDonald's ended. I can understand the logistical challenges encountered by individual restaurants and their employees, who had to maintain separate, and often-conflicting, menus available at all times. And as a human being, I'm glad the strain has been lessened on those food service workers. But I'm also here to discuss which McDonald's-based dreams I'd like to see come true, and nothing would make me happier than to see all-day breakfast available once more.

Since my stomach cravings aren't dictated by a circadian rhythm, I don't appreciate fast food joints denying my right to consume a sausage Egg McMuffin and a hash brown in the afternoon or evening. I'm not always eager to whip up breakfast-for-dinner from scratch (or dinner-for-dinner, for that matter), and it was lovely when McDonald's would do that work for me. I miss those days and wish they came back.

As it currently stands, the only wish that has any chance of actually coming true might be this one. The chain hasn't entirely removed self-serve soda machines from its restaurants as of this writing, having merely announced its intentions to phase out all such devices by 2032. So I implore you, McDonald's, to reconsider the folly of this corporate mandate and ensure self-serve soda machines remain in each location forever.

Maybe it's just me and my finicky preferences when it comes to how much ice I want with a fountain beverage. Even when a business's overfilling-with-ice tendencies are accounted for — more ice means less beverage in the cup, therefore increasing profits over time — I'm the type who only wants a little bit of ice with my soda or iced coffee.

But I also enjoy having the option to mix and match flavors as desired, like the childhood favorite drink (known by several morbid names), where you combine every available beverage in one cup. Losing that drink option would be akin to losing my inner child, which is why I'm wishing and hoping McDonald's changes its mind about self-serve soda machines before it's too late.

The entire point of the drive-thru window, as a customer, is to literally drive through a restaurant's parking lot by ordering, paying, and receiving your food without needing to park. If I'm forced to pull my car into a spot and wait minutes on end for the order to be walked out to me, then it defeats the entire purpose. I might as well stretch my legs and saunter inside when I'm guided from the drive-thru into a parking spot.

As minor as this pet peeve may be, I genuinely wish the restaurant ensured drive-thru customers never needed to park their cars. Maybe it's the underlying rationale that infuriates me so much about this practice. The theory, according to various fast food workers, is that workers are timed for each drive-thru order, and the staff are trying to avoid taking longer than mandated by the restaurant.

Now, I previously worked in the food service industry full-time for two years, so I feel for those workers struggling to meet a deadline. But rather than forcing me to do the one thing I don't want to do when visiting a McDonald's drive-thru (park my car), perhaps restaurants and staff could simply work to improve the pace and efficiency in the kitchen.

To be clear, I'm not here to argue McDonald's is obligated to offer healthier options beyond its standard burgers and fries ... but it still should. After all, the company can do whatever it wants with its menu, as evidenced by its decision to revive Snack Wraps in 2025. While I was thrilled to see that menu item return, the absence of grilled chicken put a damper on my personal excitement, which is largely why I want its grilled chicken back, too.

In fact, the main reason I wish grilled chicken was offered by McDonald's once more is for the Snack Wrap. The crispy chicken option is fine, but it's just not as delectable or satisfying as the grilled alternative. Yet I also always thought the larger grilled chicken sandwiches were tasty and satisfying, as well, and often opted for them on road trips and other occasions when McDonald's was the only option. Unfortunately, since grilled chicken was seemingly pulled from menus in 2020 because it underperformed with customers, it's unlikely to return to McDonald's in the foreseeable future.

I actually enjoy the baked apple pies offered by McDonald's. But the problem is the price point for the fast food joint's non-deep-fried pies. Because if I'm forced to pay $2.49 or so for a single pie (which was the cost when Tasting Table reviewed the briefly-revived deep-fried apple pie in June 2026), then I don't want an uninspired dessert served at room temperature.

It's not merely that deep frying elevates virtually any food taste-wise (though I certainly think it does). Actually, on second thought? It really is just that fact: Deep-fried apple pies are always more delicious than cold, previously-baked versions. The crispy outer crust developed from the fryer is unmatched, offering the sort of indulgent textures and flavors I inherently expect from a fast food restaurant. Even if the filling is under-seasoned or bland (as our writer noted in her review of the deep-fried pie), it still tastes leaps and bounds better when warm.

If McDonald's reduced the cost of baked apple pies to $1 or less, I might not wish for this change. But since I'm forced to pay a premium price for the chain's pies either way, I'd love to see the deep-fried versions restored to the menu full-time.

Does anyone else remember the poor man's Big Mac? I suppose it's not really a relic of the past, since you can still use an easy ordering hack for a more flavorful McDonald's burger. While the days of Big Mac-ified McDoubles for $1 may be behind us, receiving a customized burger that mimics the chain's signature sandwich is still doable — provided you order in person, or are willing to do the work yourself. Because the McDonald's app doesn't allow unlimited customizations to every item.

The limitations of the McDonald's app are a travesty in the digital world we live in. It's not like I'm asking for any and all item changes to be available free of charge (though I wouldn't complain if they were). All I want is the option to make any and all changes to my order in the app, then receive precisely what I ordered without needing to assemble it myself, or talk directly to a real person unless I choose to.

If I want to get ranch slathered on my Quarter Pounder with cheese before it's placed in its cardboard container (I don't, for the record), then I should be able to do so when ordering via the app. I don't want to receive extra items on the side that I'm forced to add to my burger manually, just like I don't want to speak to someone face-to-face — or through a drive-thru microphone — if I can avoid it.

Unlike Wendy's, McDonald's only offers never-frozen beef for one item on its menu: the Quarter Pounder (with or without cheese). Now, as a 6-foot, 4-inch former college football player, I've eaten enough Quarter Pounders in my life — both before and after the chain switched to using always-fresh beef for it — to say the latter option is far superior. And based on my own experience, I really wish the chain would start utilizing fresh, never-frozen beef for every one of its burgers.

Given the profit margins in the restaurant business are often incredibly thin, I don't necessarily begrudge McDonald's for only offering fresh beef in the Quarter Pounder. It's likely more cost-effective (and less potentially wasteful) to utilize frozen patties en masse. But my taste buds have never lied to me, so if it were up to me? Mickey D's would join the list of fast food chains that never use frozen patties.