NEED TO KNOW
California mom Kel Warner waited four-plus hours at Wendy’s for a Wednesday-themed drive-thru with her kids
The $6 “Meal of Misfortune” included spooky nuggets, fries, a Frosty and themed freebies
Despite online backlash, Warner says the unique, eerie experience was worth skipping Universal Studios
A California mom is setting the record straight after a now-viral TikTok revealed she skipped a trip to Universal Studios with her kids to instead wait over four hours in a Wendy’s drive-thru line for a spooky meal inspired by Netflix’s Wednesday.
On Thursday, July 31, Kel Warner, a Los Angeles local and theme park content creator, made the unexpected detour with her three kids, ages 10, 8 and 7, to check out the one-day Wednesday-themed Wendy’s pop-up in Norwalk, Calif.
The event, a collaboration between Netflix and the fast food chain, featured a custom meal and a fully immersive drive-thru experience — complete with eerie decor and surprise freebies.
“We drove an hour [and 20 minutes] from our house and then waited another four hours to get to the drive-thru,” Warner exclusively tells PEOPLE. “But I thought that Netflix and Wendy’s did a really good job with it.”
Themeparkmom/Tiktok
Wendy’s Meal of Misfortune
The family — who typically spends Wednesdays at Universal Studios Hollywood thanks to early school dismissal — traded roller coasters for a chance to try the limited-time experience and themed meal items.
For the drive-thru experience, customers were able to purchase the “Meal of Misfortune” for $6, which includes “Rest in 10-Piece” Nuggets, a small “Cursed & Crispy” Fries and a small “Raven’s Blood” Frosty that comes with a custom “Spoon of Gloom.” Warner hints at the “blood” being strawberry flavored.
Toward the end of the immersive drive, the family received their meals through a morgue-style drawer, and highlighted this feature as one of the best parts of the experience.
“My kids really liked it. They thought it was cool and spooky,” Warner says. “They gave them a bunch of cute free stuff,” including Wednesday-inspired Wendy’s logo stickers, a tumbler, mystery pins and a grim letter penned from the show’s namesake herself.
Themeparkmom/Tiktok
Meal of Misfortune letter
Despite some commenters criticizing the long wait time, which included a one-and-a-half-hour drive to Wendy’s from their home, Warner says her kids were unfazed.
“We had snacks. We had water. They picked the music. They always carry notebooks to draw in. So our kids were totally fine,” she explains, adding that they’re used to waiting in hours-long theme park lines in the heat. “We were in an air-conditioned car that they were sitting in; this was like the least of their problems.”
The only hiccup Warner notes is that the four mystery sauces were truly mysterious. Though the sauces have names — “You Can’t Hyde,” “This Will Sting,” “Grave Mistake” and “Nowhere to Woe” — there was no way of knowing the flavors or ingredients of each (although they all ended up being varying degrees of spice, Warner shares).
Though the kids haven’t seen the Netflix Wednesday series yet — “It’s a bit too intense,” the proud mom warns — they’re big fans of the Addams Family in general, especially her daughter, who she says loves the iconic Wednesday Addams character.
“It was worth it,” Warner says of the long day. “It was fun, unique and memorable. This is just what we do.”
The Meal of Misfortune releases nationwide in restaurants and on the Wendy’s app on Monday, Aug 4, in time for the season 2 premiere of Wednesday on Aug. 6.
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Read the original article on People
