Welcome to those of you joining me from CAN DO IT MOM AKA Mouse Fan Diane and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the Final stop on our Magical Blogorail.
This month’s loop is all about helping readers find the BEST VALUES at Disney!
I just returned from Walt Disney World after being there for 9 days, so I was torn on what to write about, because there really are so many great values, but I finally settled on something that can save you BIG on your Disney vacation… ordering off the kids menu.
Really wanting to save some cash on your next Disney vacation? When eating quick service (aka counter service) order off of the KIDS Menu instead of the adults. 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 by clicking HERE!
Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Peach this month. We will be back Tuesday, April 3rd with an all new theme. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs.”
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st stop: 400 Miles to Disneyland
2nd stop: Disney in Our Blood
3rd stop: Joanna and her Amazing Technicolor Interwebs
4th stop: Can Do It Mom AKA Mouse Fan Diane
Final stop: Tips from the Disney Diva
This is GREAT! When we go in November, we’re staying off property for the first time in my adult life, and so that means no DDP. I always eat like a bird at WDW usually leaving half my meal to my hungry brother-in-law or the trashcan. This is a perfect solution. 🙂 Thanks for the tip! (Besides, I like the mini Mickey Waffles better than the large ones!)
Your tips are great, we had don’t something similar when we where there in January with my daughter who is considered an adult but eats like a bird. There would have been a lot of wasted food. But to save money I’m going to try it for us.
This is SUCH a great tip. Seriously, I do this all the time. Especially in the hot summer months, I don’t want a HUGE meal anyway. I just want enough food to keep me going! And the kids portions are pretty good, so it’s not like you’re missing out. I would definitely recommend this as well. Thanks for sharing!
Rosanne @ The Disney Point
Love this- the older I get, the less I can eat anyway!
great, great tip. I’ve never even thought of this before!
Great advice. Can you let me know where in your picture you were able to purchase a Mickey waffle within the Magic Kingdom gates?
Thanks!