Is McDonald's Open On Thanksgiving 2024?

For many of us, Thanksgiving brings visions of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and other popular Thanksgiving side dishes dancing in our heads. But not everyone rings in Turkey Day with turkey. For alternative options to satisfy your holiday hunger, you might be wondering if McDonald's will be open on Thanksgiving in 2024.

Based on previous years, we can confidently surmise that most locations will be open this Thanksgiving. Also, in July, Today reported that a company spokesperson had confirmed the majority of Mickey D's keep their doors open on holidays. Still, holiday hours for McDonald's can vary by location.

In a Reddit forum for McDonald's employees from a year ago, some alleged employees said their locations were open 24 hours, while others confirmed they were closed all day. Other locations seemed to have varying hours, from only opening during breakfast to closing early in the afternoon. So, if you have the Golden Arches in mind for Thanksgiving, your best bet is to check directly with your local store using the store locator.

There's a reason only some McDonald's are open on Thanksgiving — 95% of the chain's locations are franchised, and owners can make their own policies on holiday hours. But it's easy to see why many decide to keep the doors open on the holiday. McDonald's is the top Googled fast-food restaurant for Thanksgiving in 16 states, according to a 2023 survey by Casino.

Maybe you want to stave off your hunger with a quick bite on the way to a family feast, or perhaps your Aunt Sharon is notorious for making a dry bird that rivals the imploding turkey in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." You could be one of those people who come up blank on ways to use all that leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Whatever the reason, there are plenty of people considering gobbling up a Big Mac on Turkey Day.

According to Casino's survey, most people were looking into a fast-food Thanksgiving meal because they were either "too lazy" to cook a big meal or they just didn't have the time to go all out. Just under 18% of them said they didn't even celebrate the holiday. Still, some had other reasons, including tighter budgets, avoiding food waste, or the fact that they would be traveling. Just know that if you have an urgent need for a Happy Meal on Thanksgiving this year, you should be able to snag one.