If your favorite thing at McDonald’s is trying out all the different combinations of soda, I’ve got some bad news. The chain is phasing out something customers have come to expect: self-serve beverage stations. That’s right McDonald’s is getting rid of a customer favorite!
This means that in the future, you won’t be given an empty cup to fill yourself according to Today. The good news is you’ll have a while to get used to the change. McDonald’s says they’ll be transitioning away from the self-serve soda machines in dining rooms across the country by 2032. While some Mickey D’s locations won’t be having employees pour drinks for close to a decade, other locations will be making that change sooner.

(Photo Illustration by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Why is McDonald’s is getting rid of this customer favorite?
The fast food giant says the move is intended to create a consistent experience for both customers and staff. It will help across all ways of ordering. So whether you order your Big Mac and a Coke through McDelivery, the app, kiosk, drive-thru or inside the restaurant, you’ll get it the exact same way.
I love the big soda machines. I like the enormous combinations you can get. Coke Zero has 20 choices alone. Lime, Lemon, Chery and Vanilla to name a few. I spoke with a franchise owner who told me the dispenser machines are cool, but a pain. He says customers are not likely to alert staff when different drinks run out. Instead they opt to find another flavor, assuming the restaurant already knows what’s empty.
I kinda like the idea of the service staff doing the whole job from start to finish. But I like a different ice ratio that I can only get when I pour the drink myself. If you have the server do it, the drink comes with a ton of ice, even if you ask them to tone down the ice haha,
So head into McDonalds and drink up the self serve while you can!