Ah, the Happy Meal! Boy, did I love those!
There’s no doubt that McDonald’s knew exactly what they were doing when they decided to include toys inside their Happy Meals.
Spring forward a few decades, and some of those toys are worth a fortune!
So, after reading through our list, you might want to dig around your attic, as you could be sitting on several hundred dollars worth of Happy Meal toys.
Table of Contents
The 15 Most Expensive Happy Meal Toys
The list of Happy Meal toys and figures mentioned below have been compiled from various sources around the web, such as the Mirror & Wikipedia.
These are the 15 most expensive Happy Meal toys:
15. Hot Wheels (1983)
Estimated Value: $40
Hot Wheels were introduced by American toy manufacturer Mattelin 1968 to compete with Matchbox.
The brand of die-cast cars became one of the most popular toys of all time, and in 1983, McDonald’s decided to jump on that bandwagon and release a set of 14 Hot Wheels cars in their Happy Meals.
A few decades later, each one of the 14 toy cars is now worth around $40.
14. Clone Wars Happy Meal Box (2008)
Estimated Value: $50
In 2008, McDonald’s released a Star Wars-themed Happy Meal to ride the wave of the Star Wars: Clone Wars series that ran in 2008 and 2009.
If you find yourself in possession of one of the cardboard boxes the meal came in, you could be looking at a sweet $50 in your back pocket, as they’re now deemed a highly desirable collectible item.
13. Transforming Food (1987 & 1989)
Estimated Value: $70
McDonald’s produced a series of Transforming toys for their Happy Meals between 1987 and 1989 called “Changeables.”
The toys were able to transform into food items from the companies menu, such as burgers, chips, sodas, and ice cream.
Now, some of the Changeables are estimated to be worth $70 each.
12. Potato Head Kids (1987)
Estimated Value: $100
In 1987, McDonald’s released a line of miniature Mr. Potato Head dolls with their Happy Meals.
The toys proved super popular among their target demographic.
And now, if you can get hold of a full set of Potato Head Kids, then you could expect to sell them for around $100.
11. Jerry the Minion (2013)
Estimated Value: $120
Jerry the Minion was released into McDonald’s Happy Meals in 2013, to coincide with the release of Despicable Me II.
Given how popular the movie franchise is, it’s no surprise to find out that these little plastic figurines are worth a fair bit today.
If you have an unopened Jerry the Minion figurine in your possession, then it could be worth as much as $120.
10. Furby (2000)
Estimated Value: $120
Throughout the 90s, children across the United States were fascinated with these tiny stuffed toys.
McDonald’s caught on to the trend and released a range of them in their Happy Meals.
Today, a clippable Furby from the Happy Meal series could sell for as much as $120 on auction sites like eBay.
However, if you’ve got a full set, you could be looking at a lot more money.
9. Snoopy (2000)
Estimated Value: $180
McDonald’s brought out a set of Snoopy toys, to include in their Happy Meals, in the early 2000s to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Collectors around the world believe the toys to be extraordinarily collectible and are therefore willing to pay as much as $180 to get their hands on a complete set.
8. 101 Dalmatians (1996)
Estimated Value: $220
In 1996, McDonald’s released a series of 101 Dalmations figurines with their Happy Meals to tie in with the release of the movie.
The toys proved immensely popular, and people were lining up outside McDonald’s restaurants to try and get their hands on a complete set of Dalmatians.
Today, a full set is worth in the region of $220. But, even one or two individual figurines on their own are worth a bob or two.
7. Mario (1994 & 1998)
Estimated Value: $250
Being one of the most popular video game characters of all time, it was only right that McDonald’s introduced a series of Mario toys in their Happy Meals.
Well, in 1994 & 1998, McDonald’s decided to capitalize on the Mario saga by launching eight different Mario figurines in their Happy Meals.
In today’s market, you’ll be able to get the most bang for your buck if you’ve got a complete set, as sales have been known to reach as much as $250!
6. Fraggle Rock (1992)
Estimated Value: $300
Fraggle Rock was a children’s puppet television series, released in 1983, that followed a group of interconnected Muppet creatures.
The show proved to be relatively popular with kids, and so McDonald’s released a range of Happy Meal toys to ride the Fraggle Rock hype.
Nowadays, these toys are so rare that they’re almost impossible to find.
So, if you do manage to find a set of four, you can expect to sell them for around $300!
5. Inspector Gadget (1995)
Estimated Value: $350
Who doesn’t like Inspector Gadget?!
McDonald’s new how popular the original cartoon series was, so they decided to release their own Inspector Gadget Happy Meal toy in 1995, to coincide with the Inspector Gadget movie.
The toys are now tough to find, which is why you’d be looking at paying around $350 for one.
4. Power Rangers (1994)
Estimated Value: $350
A complete set of ‘Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, including all vehicles, is now worth around $350.
The Power Rangers were such a massive hit and loved by millions of kids around the world that McDonald’s couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get in on some of that hype.
The figurines were included in McDonald’s Happy Meals in 1994, right at the peak of the Power Rangers mania.
3. Robots by Diener Keshi (1979)
Estimated Value: $400
Released in 1979, it’s still unclear what these Happy Meal toys are supposed to be, however, several decades on, and they’re now worth mega bucks!
Because of their age and obscurity, any one of these Happy Meal Robots can fetch approximately $400!
So, have a rummage around in some of your old boxes and see if you’ve got any lying around.
2. Underwater Monsters (1979)
Estimated Value: $400
These Happy Meal toys were from the same series as Robots by Diener Keshi and are currently valued at $400 as well.
Again, just like the Robots, not much is known about these tiny plastic figurines, except that they’re meant to be some kind of underwater aliens, but no one knows for sure.
1. TY’s Teenie Beanie Boos (2000)
Estimated Value: $450
The most expensive Happy Meal toys are TY’s Teenie Beanie Boos.
The toys are similar to their Beanie Baby cousins and were included in McDonald’s Happy Meals on June 13, 2000.
Over the years, they’ve become increasingly desirable among collectors.
Individually, they’re not worth that much, but if you happen to have a complete set of mint-condition Beanie Boos, then you could be looking at selling them for a whopping $450!
Summary
We hope you enjoyed our list of the 15 most expensive Happy Meal toys.
You’d never of thought that a toy which was given out for free could now be worth several hundred dollars, right?
Well, I guess we’ve just proved that theory wrong, as that’s exactly what happened to some of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys over the years.
If you enjoyed this list, check out:
- The Most Expensive Hot Wheels Cars
- The Most Expensive Beanie Babies
Here’s a quick recap of the 15 most expensive Happy Meal toys:
- TY’s Teenie Beanie Boos (2000)
- Underwater Monsters (1979)
- Robots by Diener Keshi (1979)
- Power Rangers (1994)
- Inspector Gadget (1995)
- Fraggle Rock (1992)
- Mario (1994 & 1998)
- 101 Dalmatians (1996)
- Snoopy (2000)
- Furby (2000)
- Jerry the Minion (2013)
- Potato Head Kids (1987)
- Transforming Food (1987 & 1989)
- Clone Wars Happy Meal Box (2008)
- Hot Wheels (1983)