Do Kids Eat Free at Disney World?

For families with young children visiting Walt Disney World, eating can be one of the trickiest subjects to navigate when planning their trip. Parents are often forced to balance their desire to eat at some of the resort’s better known restaurants with the perhaps picky palate of their youngsters. This leads to some parents wondering whether their children can eat for “free” at Walt Disney World? The answer is somewhat… complicated.

Chef Mickey’s

We can already hear you asking “How can it be complicated? They either can or they can’t.” However, believe it or not, it’s not that direct.

As one of Disney’s panelists explains on their PlanDisney website, “I’m pleased to tell you that children under the age of 3 may eat for free at restaurants that feature an all-you-care-to-enjoy menu like Chef Mickey’s and Garden Grill Restaurant. These dining locations serve family-style, meaning that shared platters will be brought to your table. Your little one is most welcome to share in all that yumminess at no charge! At restaurants with a traditional menu that features multiple entrée options, children under the age of 3 may share from an adult’s plate at no charge, or order something from the children’s menu and be charged for the cost of that entrée.”

Minnie at Chef Mickey’s

So, essentially what that means in layman’s terms is this:

Children under the age of three eat for free at any of Disney’s buffet style or family style, all-you-can-eat restaurants.
Children under the age-of-three can can share plates with their parents at table or quick service restaurants.
However, if parents want to order something off the Children’s Menu at one of these table or quick service restaurants for their child under three, they will be required to pay for that meal.
Children over the age of three do not eat for “free” at Walt Disney World.

Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Have we done a good job of explaining the someone surprisingly complex answer to the apparently “easy” question of whether children can eat for “free” at Walt Disney World? Let us know in the comments below.

Do Kids Get Into Disney World Free? — Click here!