Well, the object, though, is to force some adults to order more expensive meals. It is nothing more than a freakish twist of human nature that requires that more expensive meals to be larger portions. As much as some people react negatively to the way things are, just imagine if what adults were "forced" to order were smaller portions at effectively the same price?They are forcing some adults to order larger portions and meal sizes at the CS places than they normally would.
I think people have a choice: They can (1) consider meals pretty-much a flat fee, Dining Plan or not, providing up to a certain amount of food; or (2) just accept things as they are without thinking too hard about them; or (3) let it adversely affect their enjoyment of their holiday (but evidently not enough to make a different vacation decision).
Indications are that, for example, guests would be unsatisified about a $5.50 child burger a la carte that is half the size of a $6 a la carte adult burger, priced that way just to make up for the fact that many adult guests feel that they're entitled to order child meals for themselves, due to their desire to eat less or pay less, as Sammie alluded to. That flies in the face of the concerns about how families with young children are substantially price sensitive, and Disney's consequent need to offer full children meals (not just a burger) at the $5.50 price-point.Its not that they lose money on kids meals they just don't make as much.
However, it is less expensive to offer a burger that is of a size that will satisfy or more than satisfy the vast majority of guests, and then have the ones that want to eat less simply leave some leftover. Marginal differences in price between different sized burgers would upset more guests than it would passify. There is no up-side to Disney from making that offering.I may be wrong but I think the smallest burger an adult can order from any Disney owned CS place is a quarter pound.