Is The World Record Attempt at Kansas McDonald’s Really A Record?

Want to be part of history? Or at least a footnote in trivia history? Then gas up your vehicle, point it towards Kansas, and set the GPS for the McDonald's in El Dorado.

Why? Because the El Dorado McDonald's at 2002 Central Avenue is going to try and break a world record at 7:00 AM CDT on Thursday, May 11.

They're going to try and break the record for most cars in a McDonald's Drive Thru in an hour. According to their Facebook event page, that record stands at 349 cars.

So what is the record for most cars in a drive-thru, McDonald's, or otherwise? Using Chat GPI I searched, "What is the record for most cars in a drive-thru in an hour?" Chat GPI told me the record is 245 cars and is held by the Raising Caine's location in Tulsa and they broke the record on March 27, 2021. Chat GPI cited Guinness World Records for the information.

That said, The Record Application search on the Guinness World Records site says there is no current record holder for "Most cars served in a drive-thru in one hour." The closest answer I could get to the same question I asked Chat GPI.

A Google search yielded a variety of different answers. There's a Chick-Fil-A in Lake Boone, North Carolina that served 474 cars in an hour according to the North State Journal.  A Chick-Fil-A in Fairfax, Virginia claimed that "The unofficial World Record for most Drive-Thru transactions in one hour is 349, which was accomplished by a McDonalds in Colorado Springs by selling $.25 Big Macs." This was back in 2016.

Searching Google for "What is the record for most cars in a McDonald's drive-thru in an hour?" yielded a YouTube video from Regemark Films that claims one McDonald's served 874 cars in an hour in what looked like some type of promotional thing that involved Coca-Cola and a radio station. You can check out the video below. They claim the previous record was 349.

The same 349-car claim from Chick-Fil-A came up in this search as well. As well as an article about a McDonald's in South Africa that served 450 cars from the Santon Chronicle.

That said, I didn't find any other data to dispute the claim that any McDonald's in America has beaten the 349 cars served by that Colorado Springs McDonald's I mentioned earlier.

The reality, these record-breaking attempts really aren't about world records. They're more about community pride, fun, and of course promotion.

In addition to trying to push 350 or more cars through the drive-thru in an hour, the El Dorado McDonald's will have a DJ on site, a bounce house for the kids, and one-dollar burritos all morning. The first 300 folks to go through the drive-thru will get a free T-shirt commemorating the event. And there will be a drawing for five value cards that will give winners the opportunity to enjoy a free value meal every day for a year.

For more, check out the Facebook event page.