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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 |
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California Adventure is the theme park about California, located in California. And what could be more Californian than feasting on a genuine McDonald’s Big Mac or Double Cheeseburger? After all, Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard (“Dick”) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s “Speedee Service System” restaurant in 1948 in San Bernardino, California. The park’s website promises “an out-of-this-world selection of burgers, fries and drinks.” Out-of-this-world, perhaps—but not out-of-the-ordinary. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Follow Route 66 to Burger Invasion. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Approaching the unusual building |
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Burger Invasion isn’t like the McDonald’s restaurants in the communities surrounding the park. This one has no Quarter Pounders or Filet-O-Fish Sandwiches. Here, a side of McDonald’s Fries is $2.79 (one size only). There’s no inside seating. And this McDonald’s looks like a cross between a flying saucer and a giant hamburger (with lettuce, onion, cheese, and a beef patty with portholes). |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 A burger or a flying saucer? Or both? |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2008 McInvasion |
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Of course, it’s not called McDonald’s either. It’s called Burger Invasion, and you won’t find another one like it anywhere else. There are even sesame seeds on the exterior “bun.” After all, you paid a lot of money to get into the park, so you wouldn’t want to see a typical McDonald’s. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2008 Food menu |
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Order a traditional Big Mac with Fries, a Double Cheeseburger with Fries, a Crispy Chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato, or a meal-size Chef Salad. Oddly, you can’t get a hamburger similar to what’s depicted by the building’s architecture—a thick, single-patty burger with cheese, onion slices, and lettuce leaves. Go to Taste Pilots’ Grill if you want that. The Happy Meals here come with Apple Dippers, a toy, and your choice of a small bottled water or apple juice. If your child prefers a less healthy (but possibly more tasty) Happy Meal, you can request McDonald’s Fries and a soda in place of the Apple Dippers and healthier beverage. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 “McTreats” menu |
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There’s a separate window for McTreats. You can order a McFlurry dessert topped with genuine Nestlé toppings (Butterfinger or candy-coated chocolates), a Triple Thick Milkshake (chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry), or a Baked Apple Pie. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Order at an order stand |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Pick up at a window |
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It’s usually not crowded at Burger Invasion—but that might just be due to the light attendance here at the original California Adventure. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Condiment barrel |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Themed table |
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Get some extra ketchup and a find a square, blue table decorated with Burger Invasion logos. There’s not much shade. And you’d better hope it’s not going to rain. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Paradise Pier billboard |
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Burger Invasion even has its own billboard over in the opposite corner of Paradise Pier. Actually, if you’re over there, why not just eat at Malibu-Ritos or Strips, Dips ’n’ Chips instead? At least you’ll get theme park food, not McDonald’s food. |
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Burger Invasion officially opened at Disney’s California Adventure on the park’s opening day, February 8, 2001. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2000 Paradise Pier construction (2000) |
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During the construction of California Adventure, photos showed a giant hamburger facing a pink dinosaur, with a Wild Mouse ride between them. The California Adventure Preview Center had nothing about McDonald’s being part of the new park, but it seemed likely. After all, since January 1997, McDonald’s Corporation and The Walt Disney Company had been looking for opportunities to benefit from a “10-year multi-divisional, multi-national relationship.” Walt Disney World already had several locations selling McDonald’s food. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2000 The amazing backside of a hamburger (2000) |
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Less than a month before the opening of Disney’s California Adventure, it became official. The hamburger-shaped restaurant would sell McDonald’s food. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition (“McDonald’s to Launch Burger Invasion at Disney Park” by E. Scott Reckard, January 16, 2001): McDonald’s Corp. confirmed Monday that it will open a restaurant at Disney’s California Adventure. The fast-food chain said the food served inside the new park, opening Feb. 8, will cost less than Disney hamburgers but more than at McDonald’s restaurants outside the park. McDonald’s, a major promotional partner of Walt Disney Co., said the restaurant, Burger Invasion, will be the eighth of its food outlets at Disney amusement parks in Anaheim, Florida and France. This latest one will have the broadest menu. A Big Mac, French fries and drink at McDonald’s across Harbor Boulevard from Disneyland costs $4.50. At Burger Invasion, a Big Mac and fries without a drink will cost $4.79. And a soda is $2.19. Still, McDonald’s food “is a value inside the park,” McDonald’s spokeswoman Nancy Izquierdo said. For example, a double cheeseburger and fries cost $4.59 at Burger Invasion, compared with $5.79 for a cheeseburger and fries at Don the Beachcomber, a Disney restaurant at California Adventure. The ten-year, global promotional agreement between McDonald’s and Disney ended on January 1, 2007. The Golden Arches stayed around Disneyland for another 20 months, but then it was over. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 After McDonald’s |
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Burger Invasion closed on September 2, 2008, along with the two McDonald’s food locations at Disneyland Park: Conestoga Fries in Frontierland and Harbour Galley in Critter Country. By the time Burger Invasion closed, the high prices for McDonald’s food at Burger Invasion had increased. In 2001, a Big Mac with McDonald’s Fries (without a drink) was $4.79. In 2008, the same thing cost $5.99. The price of a Coke went from $2.19 to $2.69 in the same period. That meant the equivalent of a Big Mac Value Meal was $8.68—and that was back in 2008. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 Blue panels behind the glass |
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Burger Invasion never reopened, but the defunct burger restaurant lasted another two years. The Burger Invasion logo, with its Golden Arches and hamburger rocket, was replaced by a red planet. Blue panels behind the glass prevented guests from looking into the empty kitchen. In mid-September 2010, workers set up construction walls around Burger Invasion, Pizza Oom Mow Mow, and the S.S. rustworthy so the area could be rebuilt as a new 800-seat dining area—with a consistent, charming style replacing the previous hodgepodge. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Paradise Garden Grill |
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The former Burger Invasion became Paradise Garden Grill, originally featuring a Mediterranean menu. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Paradise Garden Grill menu in 2013 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Lemon-Oregano Chicken Skewer with Tzatziki from Paradise Garden Grill |
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The menu at Paradise Garden Grill has changed often over the years. Sometimes it’s just to keep the menu fresh and interesting. Other times it’s for a seasonal celebration. Still other times it’s because another restaurant is closed for refurbishment, so Paradise Garden Grill offers items from that restaurant’s menu. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2021 Paradise Garden menu on July 17, 2021 |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2021 Coco-themed Plaza de la Familia at Paradise Gardens (September 3 – November 2, 2021) |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2021 Paradise Garden Grill’s temporary menu during Plaza de la Familia celebration |
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No Big Macs. No McDonald’s Fries. Just good food in a very pleasant setting. People who still want McDonald’s food can find it at more than 39,000 McDonald’s restaurants around the world. |
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Yesterland has more about “McDisney.” Please take a look: |
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© 2012-2021 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated September 24, 2021 |
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