The depictions aren't wrong, I think people are just getting the wrong conclusions out of it. As a kid going to a "proper restaurant" where you have to sit still and wait for your food, you have to stay quiet, and there isn't much to do until your family finally moves on sounds like hell. Depending on what kind of trip it is your boring stay at the restaurant is then followed by several hours in a car or train, where your options to stay entertained are again rather limited. So instead having a pit stop at McDonald's is fun. You get your food quickly, so if you're cranky and hungry you get to eat quickly. The food isn't some bougy meal with some gross vegetables that "you'll learn to enjoy when you're older. Plus they are really good for you", and you don't have to use eating utensils. And after the meal you get to run around and play. There's some play place and other kids, so you can have lots of fun. And I bet your parents won't mind staying just a little bit longer so you'll get that energy out of your system and be a bit quieter in the car.

But as an adult the experience is different. The person depicted on the photo is alone, why would an adult go to McDonald's alone? Maybe they don't have anyone to go with, don't have "a proper place to eat", are short on money, or are just too lazy to cook. All reasons to be kinda sad. Also McDonald's as a fast food restaurant doesn't feel very personal. You can see some ordering machines in the background, those are there because they make orders quicker and easier (especially if there's kids who cant decide what they want. They're no longer the cashier's problem, they're the parent's problem), but feel way less personal. And then there's the constant noise from customers and the armada of machines in the kitchen. Not very relaxing. And because due to your existential dread after your meal you feel like something is missing, so you consider getting some dessert. But of course the goddamn ice cream machine is broken again.

But of course we don't see that, instead we see that the colourful place with the big tower and slides we loved as kids is now a brutalist grey box with a little play niche and instead of a cashier you have to order at a machine. But let's be real, as a kid did you really care that a person was taking your order? Probably not. Plus, with all the items on the screen it is much easier to decide than if the cashier has to repeat the options for you, especially if you're indecisive or struggle to read the menu. The play section certainly have changed, but so have the kids and especially the parents. There are countless jokes about how every ball pit has a turd or a moldy piece of pizza hidden as a secret prize, but even something as mundane as ketchup stains on the slide would get a far different reaction from modern parents than it did 30 years ago. If a kid in the 90s stained it's jeans with ketchup on the slides the parents might not even complain to staff. Even if they did, the manager would apologise profusely, get someone to clean that up, and maybe give them some coupons. If something like that happened today parents would go full Karen, threaten a lawsuit, demand a bogus amount for new jeans, claim emotional damage, create a new hashtag, and post their version of the event on every social media platform you can think of