McDonald's Mt. McDonaldland Shake Review: A Tasty Treat That Hits The Right Nostalgia Notes

For a certain generation, McDonald's wasn't just a go-to fast food chain in their childhood — it was also a magical place where characters like Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Byrdie, The Hamburglar, and Mayor McCheese roamed free, spreading food, frivolity, and fun. The place those colorful mascots called home since the 1970s was McDonaldland, but as the 21st century raged on, the McChain seems to have mothballed the map to this wondrous "land." As McDonald's has continually sought new avenues to lure in new customers (and keep old ones returning to the Golden Arches), it has lately leaned a lot on its past to create new food memories with such ideas as Adult Happy Meals, snack wraps, nostalgic collectors cups, and inventive shakes honoring the giggly Grimace and his birthday. As the summer winds down in 2025, McDonald's is still bringing beloved McDonaldland characters back to the forefront. This time, they're here to promote a new meal, which not only comes with a collectible souvenir, but also introduces a colorfully concocted shake that goes by the name Mt. McDonaldland.

The fine folks at McDonald's invited The Takeout to return to McDonaldland (which resided in Times Square for a day), shake hands with the costumed characters, and give this new shake a whirl. So, is Mt. McDonaldland the ultimate summit of all the McDonald's shakes, or is this shake not worth giving a fair shake to? After endless slurps and spoonfuls, we're ready to spill the tea in this sip & say. Buckle up, McReaders — hopefully it's going to be a smooth ride.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

McDonald's is returning in full force to its McDonaldland roots for the first time in more than two decades. The chain is reintroducing Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Byrdie, the Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, the Fry Friends, and more once-familiar faces in a TV ad to promote this new special meal celebrating the trip down memory lane. Guillaume Huin, Senior Marketing Director at McDonald's, noted on X, "Once again, McDonaldland is back because of you and particularly thanks to the insane amount of posts on @X asking for its comeback."

This meal has been affectionately dubbed "The McDonaldland Meal," and is headlined by a brand new shake called Mt. McDonaldland. The chain describes this sky blue "lava" and pink "cloud" topped treat as an "ode to one of [McDonaldland's] major landmarks – that offers a secret concoction as enchanting as the world itself. It's up to you to discover the surprise flavor." The meal is rounded out with a choice between the Quarter Pounder with Cheese or a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, along with a side of World Famous Fries, and one of six collectible souvenir tins containing postcards, stickers, and more fun. Outside of the restaurant, McDonald's is launching more fun to be found at McDonaldland.com, as well as partnering with Pacsun to sell McDonaldand merchandise like sweat sets and tees.

Starting August 12, the McDonaldland Meal will drop at participating McDonald's locations for a limited time only. Ordering the meal is the most direct way to purchase the new Mt. McDonaldland shake. The meal is available to order when breakfast ends, and lunch begins. It will remain available the rest of the day and night to order up, while supplies last. It is unclear how long the McDonaldland meal will remain on menus at McDonald's, as the company does not disclose end dates on limited time products.

The McDonaldland Meal (including the Mt. McDonaldland Shake) can be found on the menu by its name, under "meals," and on limited time offering submenus. The Mt. McDonaldland Shake is available in two sizes — medium or large — and can be ordered with or without whipped cream. While it comes standard with the McDonaldland Meal, a spokesperson for McDonald's confirmed that à la carte requests for the shake can be accommodated by speaking with a member of the crew at your local McDonald's restaurant.

The meal and shake can be ordered in-store at the counter, kiosk, or drive-thru where available. It can also be ordered in advance for delivery, curbside or drive thru pick-up, carry out, or dine-in through the McDonald's app or website. Meal pricing will vary per location, and additional fees may incur with delivery or orders placed through third-party sites. A full list of ingredients and nutritional values will be available on McDonald's app and website.

When one first comes in contact with the Mt. McDonaldland Shake, it's almost too intimidating to know what to do with it next. This shake, so the legend goes, was culled directly from the lava of its namesake mountain found in McDonaldland, and it's truly a gorgeously colorful sight to behold. Don't spend too much time marveling at its super cool blue base or dreamy, velvety, hot pink foamy top — the clock is ticking towards meltsville.

I leaned in for a whiff, and it had a very berry-forward scent to it. When I stuck my straw through the shake, the consistency was indeed a little loose. I'll chalk that up to a delay in trying it due to all that ogling, but luckily a quick sip revealed that it did still have a nice thickness to it. My first taste was indiscernible as to its exact flavor, and its vibrant bright hue made me believe I was actually experiencing what it was like to taste a blue sky. Further slurps brought out a wickedly sweet blueberry seasoning. I next focused my straw on the top adornment, which had more of a candy cherry flavoring, as if its was a whipped version of a slab of Tangy Taffy.

As the shake further lost its firmness, the pink top began to mesh with its blue bottom, creating a swirly combo akin to a galactic sherbet. In this new form, it was also a lovely substance to stare at. Taken together, the flavors called to mind a liquid berry cotton candy.

As a child of the 80s (dating myself here), I applaud McDonald's return to the magical world of McDonaldland, especially the dusting off of Mayor McCheese for the first time since 1983. The new McDonaldland meal seems perfectly catered to someone of my generation, especially with all the throwback love on its packaging and the totally fun-filled souvenir tin that resembles the McDonald's cookie boxes of yore. McDonald's (and the world at large) is a much happier place with Ronald, Grimace, and the gang frolicking about within it, spreading cheer and introducing new food items ... which is, after all, their reason for being.

The new McDonaldland shake perfectly captures the essence of the mythical land from which it hails. It's a new shake flavor that is berry-nice, but ultimately tastes like nostalgia, and one I was happy to slurp up, transporting me back to times more saccharinely sweet.

Ronald McDonald was actually on hand as a shake sommelier, and encouraged taste testers to dip any other item from the meal into the shake. Fries seemed like the obvious first choice, and the salty starch turned out to be a key partner to help offset that rich candied flavoring. When I brought McNuggets to the dipping party, their crispy coating worked even better as a savory delivery mechanism. I also had a Quarter Pounder with Cheese on hand, and shoved it into the depths of my Mt. McDonaldland plastic cup. The results were quite the taste sensation. A ticket to McDonaldland is just a short trip away, and this fun trip back down memory is so arresting, Officer Big Mac should be on high alert for many pleasurable offenses. And since we're going back to the future, can we also resurrect the Cheddar Melt and Onion Nuggets, please?