Comment by wnissen

Just a note, the machines are not broken, they have shut themselves down for sanitary reasons. Ice cream, as a food that is very close to neutral in pH and without much in the way of preservatives, is a common source of listeria bacteria. To prevent serious health issues, the machine must be sanitized regularly. As I understand it, the process is involved, and any given McDonalds may not have a person with the time and skills to complete it. So the machine shuts itself down rather than produce an unsafe product. This is translated to "broken" when you order ice cream.