McDonald's Removes Happy Meal From Deal Menu

Customers buying their next McDonald's Happy Meal may be leaving with a frown and a heftier dent in their wallet.

After introducing the new $1 $2 $3 menu earlier this years, customers headed to the Golden Arches were able to score one of the best deals yet: a Happy Meal for just $3, marking a 25 percent discount. When they swing by to score the same deal now, however, they will have to shell out a little bit more cash, as McDonald's has removed the Happy Meal from the value menu, Brand Eating reports.

"The $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu was created to bring our customers better value with the intent to flexibly rotate menu items on and off over time," McDonald's representative Andrea Abate said in a statement to Business Insider. "Some markets may even offer slight variations to the menu that best fit the preferences of their local customers. While the Happy Meal is no longer part of the nationally advertised $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu, it is still available for $3 at some U.S. restaurants."

While some may be able to still find that discounted price, it has been reported that a Hamburger Happy Meal is now $3.99 in the Los Angeles-area, with the 4-piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal ticking in at $4.59 in that same market, a move that has left many customers disgruntled, much in the same way recent changes to the kid's meal left some angry.

In February, the home of the Big Mac announced that, in an effort to keep the Happy Meal healthier, they would be removing cheeseburgers and chocolate milk. The removal of the items meant that, on average, Happy Meals would contain 20 percent less calories, 50 percent less added sugars, 13 percent less saturated fat, and/or 17 percent less sodium.

The removed items were still available for ordering upon request, calming the swell of upset that followed the initial announcement.

While the Happy Meal may be the center of McControversy, customers shouldn't expect to see any other changes hitting their favorite deals. The remainder of the $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu is said to have remained the same, meaning that McDonald's goers can still score a Cheeseburger for $1, a Bacon McDouble for $2, and a Sausage McMuffin with Egg for $3.

Customers will also be able to nab the highly coveted and sought-after McRibs, which will be making its way to more than 9,000 restaurants in the U.S. The McRib, first introduced in 1981, was last on menus in November of 2017.