What We Learned Lining Up for McDonald’s ‘Frylus’ on Thursday

Hudson Valley customers who wanted to grab the latest must-have accessory had only a few local places to find it in limited quantities.

On Thursday McDonald's celebrated national "selfie" day by handing out free devices to help you snap a picture while eating a Quarter Pounder. The french fry shaped stylus is designed to be used on a touchscreen phone instead of your finger while eating a burger.

McDonald's only made the item available at select stores with the purchase of a Quarter Pounder. In the Hudson Valley, there were just four locations that were giving away the Frylus so I decided to check one out.

I arrived at the Mc Donald's on Route 9, across from Marist College, just 15 minutes before lunch was officially served at 10:30. After noticing an unusually full parking lot I decided to go inside to be ready to jump in line. According to the numbers posted on their website we calculated that each local McDonald's would only have a few dozen of the items to give away.

Expecting a swarm of people like the recent riot that erupted when McDonald's released a limited amount of Szechuan dipping sauces, I positioned myself close to the register to jump in line when the lunch menu was officially open.

At precisely 10:30 the breakfast menu screens briefly blacked out and flashed back on again, swapping out Egg McMuffins and pancakes for Big Macs and fries. I swiftly got in line and waited to be called on. Curious how long the line behind me was, I turned around to take a look. There was nothing. Not one person. Apparently, the Frylus wasn't as big of a draw as I thought.

Undaunted on my quest for the little plastic device, I finally made my order for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and smiled knowingly at the server, expecting him to understand why I was ordering that particular sandwich. After not getting any acknowledgment I started worrying that I was in the wrong restaurant. Is it possible this wasn't one of the four Hudson Valley locations offering the free Frylus?

I asked the server, "This comes with the Frylus, right?" The McDonald's worker looked back at me and said, "huh?" Thinking that he didn't hear me I repeated my question, leaving him even more confused. "What's a 'Pielus'?" he said.

This wasn't going well.

Just then a manager intervened and mumbled something to the employee about this being a special promotion. She turned to me and assured me it would be in the bag when I got my burger.

As I waited for my order I watched the line and noted that no one else seemed to care or know anything about the "Frylus." It was clear that this promotion wasn't as big of a deal as I anticipated.

After getting my sandwich I looked through the bag and found my burger, but there was no Frylus. Just as I headed towards the counter the manager came out and handed me a box with shiny lettering on it that said "FRYLUS." She apologized and quickly turned around to explain once again to the staff how the promotion worked.

I swiftly left the restaurant, excited to open up my Frylus. And it was everything I dreamed of: a cheap plastic french fry that I could use to push my phone's touchscreen. The box it came in could also be used as a makeshift cardboard phone stand, which is a nice bonus.

Despite the lackluster enthusiasm from Poughkeepsie McDonald's customers, it appears that some people are going crazy for the Frylus. Ebay is full of auctions for the device, with some of them going for big bucks. Personally, I'll be holding on to mine. You never know when a plastic french fry stylus will come in handy.

Did you happen to pick up a Frylus on Thursday? We'd love to hear about your experience. You can share your story in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.