18 December 2025
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In the 1970s, Bob Bernestein created the Happy Meal to attract children to McDonald’s. Since then, there have been hundreds of Happy Meal toys included in the meal, but are they now counted as collectables? And which one has the highest value?
While many of them ended up in the bin, some of the original and rare Happy Meal toys are worth a significant amount of money.
Here are 5 of our favourite collectable Happy Meal toys.
Beanie Babies
In 1997, McDonald’s joined the Beanie Babies hype and released Teenie Beanie Babies as part of their Happy Meal. These were called Patti (Platypus), Pinky (Flamingo), Chops (Lamb), Chocolate (Moose), Goldie (Goldfish), Speedy (Turtle), Seamore (Seal), Snort (Bull), Quacks (Duck) and Liz (Lizard).
Part of this craze was that the toys would become collectors’ items, just like the actual TY Beanie Babies did. There was recently a listing on Etsy for the full collection of 12 selling for £2994.
Photo credit: TY Collector
Disney 100 Years of Magic
In 2002, Disney collaborated with McDonald’s to release Disney 100 Years of Magic set. This was in celebration of what would have been Walt Disney’s 100th birthday. 100 figurines were put in Happy Meals over the course of a few months.
Every figure was intended for collection and display. A collector’s dream! They stood on gold bases with their original Disney appearance date featured on the bottom of the stand.
All figures were numbered 1-100 so the desire to collect them all was even higher. A single figurine is now listed for £11 on Etsy, while a Happy Meal in 2002 would have cost £1.87.
Meanwhile, an unopened manager edition set of all 100 was listed on eBay for nearly £5232.80!
Photo credit: Kidsmeal Fandom
Suggested article: How Disney Cars Are Driving a New Generation of Collectors
McFurby
Furbys were huge in the late 90s. Another case of people queueing around blocks at 5am for a chance to get their hands on a Furby. McDonald’s used this to their advantage again and created a collaboration to get everyone talking; the McFurby.
Furbys could speak, making over 40 noises in their own language of Furbish, they could move and they could blink. Brand new technology for toys as we entered a new millennium.
The McFurbys were not electronic, with limited movement and no speech. But they were tiny and cute. There were 10 sets of eight launched in total and it was a successful collaboration. They were even brought back for a quick stint in 2019.
The more of the collection you have, the higher the value. A single set of eight is valued at £30 while a full set of 80 can come in at around £672.79. This is all depending on the condition of the toy.
Photo credit; Noa Solutions
Hot Wheels
The Hot Wheels Happy Meal toys were released in 1983, and since then there have been regular releases of Hot Wheels collaborations with the most recent one being in 2024.
The 1990 wave tends to be the most lucrative of the releases with a set of four sealed cars selling for £150. There was also a McDonald’s themed truck that sold recently for £200.
Photo credit: Hot Wheels Wiki
Minecraft
The collecting feel is not just a thing with retro Happy Meal toys, as this year’s Minecraft Happy Meal toys taught us. Minecraft is a hugely popular video game in this day and age, and with the release of the Minecraft movie it was the perfect time for McDonald’s to push a Minecraft themed Happy Meal.
There were toys that were characters straight out of the game, and McDonald’s mascots that appeared as if they had stepped out of the game. The McDonald’s mascots were a rarer find in the Happy Meal, meaning people are now willing to pay over £1,000 to complete their set with a Zombie Hamburglar. As well as the Grimace block selling for £1,025 on eBay.
If you want to start collecting, what better place to start by subscribing to Diecast Collector, now including Collectors Gazette!