I just returned from Walt Disney World after being there for 9 days, and I wanted to make sure to tell you about something that can save you BIG on your Disney vacation… ordering off the kids menu.

If you are really wanting to save some cash on your next Disney vacation then when eating quick service (aka counter service) order off of the KIDS Menu instead of the adult menu. You can read more about counter service HERE.  Let me see if I can break it down for you with an example:

Pecos Bill’s in Magic Kingdom is one of my favorite places to eat! I love love love the burgers.

The adults meal is a little pricy. It is an Angus burger, about 1/4 pound and the smallest version of the adult drink goes for $11.58 (pre-tax).

The meal comes with a burger and fries. That’s it. You have to pay for that drink separately.

The kids burger meal goes for $5.40 (pre-tax). It includes a burger, fries (if you want them), an additional side item (I had grapes) AND a small drink.

So lets compare.

• Both have burgers. You can see from the picture that the adults is larger, but not by all that much.
• Both have the same amount of fries (you can see they’re on the same size plate).
• Kids meal comes with an additional side item.
• Kids meal comes with a small drink. (Pecos does not have re-fillable drinks but there are many others that DO have refillable drinks so size doesn’t matter there at all).
• Adult meal costs $11.58, Kids meal costs $5.40

So for those of you who are not math genius’ (like me) that’s more than DOUBLE for the adult meal than the kids meal.

If you were really hungry you could actually buy TWO kids meals if you were really hungry and have:

• - TWO drinks (which would equal the same amount of one adult)
• - TWO burgers (which together would be significantly more than the adult burger)
• - DOUBLE the amount of fries
• - AND get a bag of grapes AND A COOKIE

AND YOU’D STILL SAVE .78 on the adult meal!

This applies to breakfasts too!

The adult version of the breakfast I wanted was a single mickey waffle (which was smaller than the two individual ones combined) with bacon and it was $5.69.

The kids version? 4.99 which is .70. No big deal alone, but you missed something. With an adult you’d still have to buy a drink unless you’d pre-paid for a resort mug. With the kids meal I got that chocolate milk, AND applesauce, along with my bacon and mickey waffles. I got more food for less money.

And this is the norm. It’s not that much difference in amounts of food and a big difference in the price. So this is a great tip especially for people who are light eaters.

So why don’t more people do it? Well I think they’re worried they’re “going to get in trouble”. Let me reassure you… (because I eat off the kids menu all the time), the people checking you out don’t REMOTELY care what you’ve ordered or how old you are. The table-service people do because they make a tip off of your ticket, but they wouldn’t let you order off the kids meal anyhoo!

So, you want a big value that will save you a lot at Walt Disney World and Disneyland? Order off of the kids menu when eating quick service and then if you’re still hungry spring for one of these bad boys!

PS. This doesn’t work if you’re using the Disney Dining Plan. They’re going to take adult credits anyway so you might as well eat “bigger” (but this also makes me question if the dining plan is REALLY worth it. (to be discussed HERE at a later date so stay tuned!

You can get many more money saving tips from the Disney Diva by clicking HERE!

Related articles

• Oops, I Did It Again! Unexpected trip to Disney World (chipandco.com)
• Top 10 Table Service Meals at the WDW Parks (chipandco.com)