The Teenie Beanies are miniature Beanie Babies that were offered as McDonald's promotions in Happy Meals from 1997-2000.
The Teenie Beanies were most in demand from McDonald's in the first year they were offered (1997), but demand steadily declined in popularity every year thereafter, even though more were produced each time.
During the peak of their popularity, which was in 1998, Teenie Beanies were the cause of many fights at various McDonald's locations, resulting in police calls, criminal charges, and injuries. among these incidents included a Miami area McDonald's employee, who was charged with the theft of the toys. Though originally acquired through the purchase of a Happy Meal (and for around 2$ additional charge for each release of specialty babies 1999 onwards) they were often sold for much higher prices on the secondary market after the promotion. Some McDonald's locations exhausted their supplies of Teenie Beanies before the promotion was over. Teenie Beanies returned to McDonald's in July 2009, featuring Beanie Babies 2.0, the subseries of Ty Beanie Babies. Consumers could log onto ty.com and play online with their new Teenie Beanie as a marketing decision to raise public awareness and garner interest in the Beanie Babies 2.0 virtual pets. Originally, there was a 30-day trial period for playing with the toys online, but now the company has decided to allow consumers to keep their virtual pets for an undisclosed period of time (albeit indefinite).
An all-new line of Teenie Beanie Boos, a miniaturized version of the popular Beanie Baby spin-off with large eyes, were introduced to McDonald's in July 2014 and late May 2017. Another line, called Teenie Teeny Tys, was released in late March 2019.
1997 Series
The 1997 series included 10 Beanies.
Patti the Platypus
Pinky the Flamingo
Chops the Lamb
Chocolate the Moose
Goldie the Goldfish
Speedy the Turtle
Seamore the Seal
Snort the Bull
Quacks the Duck (resembling Quackers) Lizz the Lizard (resembling Lizzy)
1998 Series
The 1998 series included 12 Beanies.
Doby the Doberman
Bongo the Monkey (named Mitch in European countries) Twigs the Giraffe Inch the Inchworm Pinchers the Lobster Happy the Hippo (named Percival in European countries) Mel the Koala Scoop the Pelican Bones the Dog Zip the Cat Waddle the Penguin Peanut the Elephant
1999 Series
The 1999 series, which consisted of 16 Beanies released from May 21 to June 3, included four bears, which were known as the International Bears One of those International Bears, Glory the Bear, was also given out (in different packaging from the one sold to customers) as an exclusive Teenie Beanie to McDonald's employees and Ty reps at the end of the promotion.
Freckles the Leopard
Antsy the Anteater (resembling Ants) Smoochy the Frog Spunky the Cocker Spaniel Rocket the Blue Jay Iggy the Iguana Strut the Rooster Nuts the Squirrel Claude the Crab Stretchy the Ostrich (resembling Stretch) Nook the Husky (resembling Nanook) Chip the Cat
International Bears:
Britannia (United Kingdom) Erin (Ireland) Glory (United States) Maple (Canada)
2000 Series
In 2000, there were 32 different Teenie Beanies produced in all. The first 29 of them came out in the spring, and the final three, which were the Patriotic Trio of 1996, were released in the fall. Unlike in earlier years, the 2000 series was divided into several categories. One of those Beanies, Millennium the Bear, was also given out (in different packaging from the one sold to customers) as an exclusive Teenie Beanie to McDonald's employees and Ty reps at the end of the promotion.
Lips the Fish
Slither the Snake
Flip the Cat
Dotty the Dalmatian
Lucky the Ladybug
Bumble the Bee
Spinner the Spider
Flitter the Butterfly
Tusk the Walrus
Blizz the White Tiger (resembling Blizzard) Spike the Rhino Schweetheart the Orangutan Neon the Seahorse Coral the Fish Sting the Stingray Goochy the Jellyfish Springy the Bunny Bushy the Lion
Super Stars
Dinosaur Trio:
Rex the Tyrannosaurus
Bronty the Brontosaurus
Steg (the Stegosaurus
International Bears:
Osito (Mexico) Germania (Germany) Spangle (United States)
Legends: Royal Blue Peanut the Elephant Chilly the Polar Bear
Humphrey the Camel
Others: Millennium the Bear (McHappy Day) The End the Bear (End of season's promotion)
U.S.A. Trio(released in Fall 2000):