10 collectable fast food glasses we still want

Did you collect these glasses featuring Jedi, Muppets, cavemen, pandas, frightened knights and more?

Top image: AP Photo/Steven Senne

It's a challenge to raise a toast at your local Burger King. Tapping a plastic fork against a waxy paper cup just isn't an attention-getter. It's just one of the many reasons why wedding receptions are generally not held in fast food restaurants. 

Back in the 1970s and '80, however, having a family meal at the local Mickey D's was a classier affair. They served drinks in glass! Honest-to-god shatter-able glass. You could totally clink two tall glasses of Pepsi together in celebration. And there was reason to celebrate. The bigger fast food chains all offered collectible glasses featuring favorite characters. There were glasses for blockbuster movies and daily comic strips, Christmas and wildlife.

Let's take a look at some of our favorite. Did you collect any of these? No worries, they're easy to find on eBay.

1. Burger Chef's King Kong glasses

1976

King Kong is still a star, but Burger Chef is a faded memory now, best known as a Mad Men plot point to younger folk. This set of four celebrated the Jeff Bridges remake that brought the big ape to the top of the World Trade Center.

Image: Paxton Holley / Flickr

2. Burger King's Star Wars Glasses

1977, 1980, 1983

Jedi mind tricks were not needed. There are the glasses you were looking for. Every kid seemed to have a Star Wars glass from Burger King in his or her cupboard. A set of four was released with each installment of the original trilogy. We are particularly fond of the Empire Strikes Back set. Boba Fett and Lando keep a drink cool without ice.

Image: Paxton Holley / Flickr

3. Hardee's Looney Tunes glasses

1977

Pepsi offered Looney Tunes collector's glasses earlier in 1973, featuring its iconic cartoon characters. Those had just one character per glass. In 1977, Hardee's released this fun set that brought, say, Porky and Taz together in an amusing scene.

Image: YouTube

4. McDonald's Character glasses

1977

The McDonaldland characters — Grimace, Mayor McCheese, etc. — got into action poses on this set of six.

Image: jsutton6111 / eBay

5. Burger Chef's Endangered Species glasses

1978

Burger Chef went from fake apes to endangered ones with its wildlife series. There was an orangutan, a panda, a tiger and a bald eagle. 

Image: jamjameamon / eBay

6. Burger King's Character Glasses

1979

Not to be outdone by McDonald's (but to inevitably be outdone by McDonald's), Burger King launched its own set of fantasy characters. They were a rather sad lot, with named like Sir Shake-A-Lot and the Duke of Doubts. The Wizard of Fries, who was a robot, was pretty cool, though.

Image: 4danesnj / eBay

7. Arby's B.C. glasses

1981

Johnny Hart's daily comic strip B.C. was a big deal back then. It even had a Thanksgiving special. Arby's also offered up a Tiffany-esque stained glass design with its logo around this time.

Image: fluteflutemadness / eBay

8. McDonald's The Great Muppet Caper glasses

1981

Nobody rides a bicycle with more elan than Kermit. The 1981 movie was the only Muppet feature film directed by Jim Henson. It deserved some glasses.

Image: brenjay / Flickr

9. McDonald's Camp Snoopy glasses

1983

Bonus points if you took these home for serving snow cones from your Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine.

Image: hsiehdy

10. Taco Bell's Star Trek III: The Search for Spock glasses

1984

"Spock Lives," proclaimed the glass with Leonard Nimoy's face. Which was kind of a spoiler alert for those who hadn't seen the movie. Well, not really. Star Trek was not going to keep Spock dead for long.

Image: reflectionsonfilmandtelevision

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6 Comments

Pmhander 27 months ago
When my wife and I were dating in the 80s, Hardee’s had the Smurf glasses. We each collected a set (we were just dating you know). Then, we got married, and a friend of ours gave us another complete set! Kinda wish we would of kept a set.
LourieTownsStaton 37 months ago
I have the Camp Snoopy collection and the Great Muppet Caper somplete set, plus 3 of The BC Comic. I am looking to sell them if any one is interested.

Do you still have the complete set of the muppet and snoopy? If so I would like to buy them you can email me at [email protected].
idkwut2use 40 months ago
We have a glass Looney Tunes one and used to have a plastic Beauty & the Beast from Burger King. Loved collecting the Welch’s jelly jars and can’t figure out why they don’t make cartoon ones anymore. Had some Looney Tunes there as well, Pokemon... four Tom-&-Jerrys—of which we’re now down to the last Jerry. ;;
BrianAymer 40 months ago
I've got every glass collection in this post
TimBrown 64 months ago
We used to get these but my family members kept breaking them.
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