World’s McDonald’s So Extra They Built a Big Mac Airport and UFO Cafes
KEY POINTS
- •Between 2019 and 2024, Gary He visited over 100 McDonald’s in more than 55 countries documenting unique global locations.
- •The McSki in Sweden lets skiers order Big Macs on skis at Lindvallen since 1996, requiring a six-hour trek from Stockholm.
- •Notable spots include China’s first McDonald’s from 1990 with pagoda roofs, New Zealand’s 1943 DC-3 airplane McDonald’s, and a UFO-shaped restaurant in Roswell.
Gary He, a photojournalist with a Big Mac passport from over 55 countries, turned McDonald’s into a weird global tour guide by capturing the strangest golden arches out there. Among his favorites is Sweden’s McSki—yes, a ’ski-thru’ letting you snag fries mid-slope since 1996—because who needs warming huts when you can have fries with frostbite? Then there's China’s first McDonald's from October 8, 1990, rocking pagoda roofs and handling 40,000 lunch rush overflow in a 460-seat palace. In New Zealand, they turned a 1943 DC-3 plane, former crop duster-slash-flying pesticide nightmare, into a Big Mac lounge. Roswell’s McDonald's took the UFO obsession literally, opening in 2005 with neon-lit flying saucer vibes and an alien gift shop to satisfy your extraterrestrial cravings. Last but not least, Brazil’s Méqui1000 in São Paulo pulls off that ’White House meets kindergartner art project’ vibe with a facade that changes more than a reality TV marriage and celebrates Brazil’s millionth burger milestone.
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When McDonald’s goes global and confusing: from planes-turned-burger-joints to UFOs serving fries, even space aliens wouldn’t Filet-O-Fish this design audacity.
Forget plane food, now you can eat IN a plane without a single crying toddler next to you. McDonald’s, peak luxury.
Only McDonald’s could spin Soviet surveillance balloons and crop dusters into cultural landmarks. Capitalism goes weird, but vivid.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 1/26/2026 | Author: Priyanka Rajput
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