Chances are, you’ve never heard of McPlanes, McTrains or McBoats, but the famous fast-food restaurant did once try expanding into the travel industry. However, contrary to most of its endeavours, McDonald’s’ original travel adventures weren’t all a success, forcing all of them to shut down in the end.
1. McBoat
It all started in 1980. Forty years after the fast-food chain’s launch, McDonald’s decided to not only conquer plates but waters, too. The floating restaurant, called McBoat, was located aboard an old-fashioned paddle steamer on the banks of the Mississippi River in St Louis, just south of the Gateway Arch. With a seating capacity of no less than 134 customers inside and 200 on open-air decks, the steamer was imagined by McDonald’s franchisee and dentist Dr Benjamin H. Davis Sr, who, at the time, already had three other McDonald’s locations in his portfolio.
“We have nothing like this in the whole world. A franchise operator in Hong Kong and Singapore…