9 of the best McDonald's Happy Meal toys you'll remember from the 80s, 90s and 2000s, and their value today

• The Happy Meal has been with us for nearly 50 years
• They have included some amazing freebies over the years, particularly during the 80s, 90s and noughties
• How many of these Happy Meal toys do you remember, some of which could be worth £100s?

There have been some amazing McDonald's Happy Meal toys over the years | Getty Images/https://www.ukphotoarchive.org.uk/

The McDonald’s Happy Meal has been around since 1979, and it has contained some amazing toys over the years - as well as some less impressive ones.

The first Happy Meal toys included a McDonald’s-themed stencil, a wallet and a spinning top.

But over the years the gifts became more elaborate and were often designed to tie in with the latest movie release or craze.

Video games, action figures and toy cars are just some of the goodies children have found inside the boxes down the decades.

In recent years, McDonald’s has started phasing out plastic toys in favour of more sustainable items.

But what is the best Happy Meal toy of the last 46 years, and how much are the most sought-after goodies now worth?

Below are nine of the most popular Happy Meal toys from the 80s, 90s and noughties, some of which are listed for sale for £100s, while others can be snapped up for just a few pounds.

TY Teenie Beanie Babies

Stretchy the Ostrich was part of the hugely popular range of Teenie Beanie Babies toys which came with Happy Meals during the late 90s | https://www.ukphotoarchive.org.uk/

These adorable mini soft toys first landed in Happy Meal boxes in 1997, at the height of the Beanie Babies craze.

There were huge queues at some McDonald’s restaurants, with the tiny toys appealing to adult collectors as well as children. There were even reports of fights breaking out, such was the demand.

The popular characters included Patti the Platypus and Pinchers the Lobster.

A complete set of 12 unopened Teenie Beanies toys from 1998 is listed for sale on eBay for more than £420, but they are listed elsewhere for much less.

Changeables

The McDonald's Changeables toys, which transformed from food items to robots or dinosaurs, came with Happy Meals in the late 80s and early 90s | https://www.ukphotoarchive.org.uk/

These popular Happy Meal toys were released in the late 80s and early 90s, when Transformers was all the rage. They converted from food items like a burger or fries into dinosaurs or robots.

They first came out in 1987 and proved a huge hit, with new versions released in 1989 and 1990.

Many people claimed these were the best Happy Meal toys ever, with one going so far as to call them ‘absolute legends’.

If you have one and are hoping to cash in, though, you might be disappointed. The going price for a set of four Changeables on eBay appears to be around £30.

Hot Wheels

McDonald’s first teamed up with Hot Wheels to include model cars in Happy Meal boxes in 1983, and they have produced some classic vehicles over the years.

One car from the original collection, a Cadillac Seville, is listed for sale on eBay for just over £50.

Inspector Gadget

The Inspector Gadget toy produced to tie in with the 1999 movie, starring Matthew Broderick, is another favourite among Happy Meal fans.

You had to collect all eight parts to complete your Inspector Gadget action figure, but those who did said it was worth it.

One person recalled: “Loved it. Was one of my core memories with my grandma. She did a lil skip when we got all the pieces.”

One set of all the pieces in their original wrappers is listed on eBay for just under £1,100, but elswehere on eBay what appears to be the same collection is listed for a little over £40.

Toy Story 2 figures

The Buzz Lightyear figure given away with McDonald's Happy Meals in 2000 to mark the release of Toy Story 2 | https://www.ukphotoarchive.org.uk/

The mini action figures given away with Happy Meals in 2000 to tie in with Toy Story 2 are another of the most fondly remembered toys from over the years.

They included Woody, Slinky Dog and Buzz Lightyear, which was the one every child wanted to get.

A set of six toys from that collection is listed on eBay for £25.

Sonic games

McDonald’s first gave away Sonic the Hedgehog handheld games with its Happy Meals in 2003. They included a racing game and a basic adventure game where you had to collect the rings.

They were designed for small hands, and the screen was so tiny that you needed amazing eyesight to play them too, but they are still fondly remembered.

One fan called them ‘epic’ and another branded them ‘awesome’.

A set of four of the original 2003 games in their original packaging is listed on eBay for around £35.

In 2023, McDonald’s gave away click-together cardboard Sonic toys together with a QR code enabling you to play much more sophisticated games than those from 20 years earlier on your smartphone.

Lego Motion

These basic Lego toys were given away inside Happy Meals in 1989, with models including a helicopter, a race car and a sea plane. You can pick these models up for around £5 each on eBay.

In 1994, similar toys called Lego System were released. A set of four of these toys is listed on eBay for just over £50.

Back to the Future Delorean

The Back to the Future Happy Meal toys were released not to tie in with the films but with the cartoon series which came out in 1991.

They included Marty McFly on a hoverboard but the most sought-after of the four toys was undoubtedly the time-travelling DeLorean car with Doc Brown at the wheel.

You can pick up the Marty McFly and DeLorean toys together on eBay for around £25.

Batmobile

The Batman Returns Happy Meal toys given away to tie in with the 1992 movie proved controversial, as some parents felt it was unsuitable to promote a film with such adult themes in meals aimed at young children.

The toys themselves were great though, especially the Batmobile, which shot out the front part like a missile when you pressed the button on top.

One person recalled: “Let’s face it, if you got a Happy Meal with any of the others besides the Batmobile in it, you were at least a little bit disappointed.”

How many of these Happy Meal toys do you remember and what do you think is the best gift the boxes ever contained?