As the price of, well, almost everything continues to rise, many people are taking to social media to find and share deals—especially on food.
Texas-based creator Leiela (@xolovelei) recently posted a hot tip on TikTok about a McDonald’s menu item: “$12 Dinner Box at McDonald’s is WORTH IT,” the text overlay on the video read. It went viral, racking up 6.8 million views and almost 372,000 likes.
In the video, the creator pulled into a McDonald’s drive-thru with her family. “Hi, you guys have like a dinner box?” she asked the person working the window. The restaurant did indeed have the meal and asked Leiela what kind of sauce she wanted.
Then, the creator showed viewers a large McDonald’s to-go box.
“We haven’t ordered this before,” the creator told viewers, but a commenter on an earlier video suggested she seek it out.
When unboxing the package, Leiela revealed two cheeseburgers, four small fries, a 10-piece chicken nuggets box, and two Big Macs. The creator displayed the receipt on screen; she was rung up for a MickeyD’s Dinner that cost $12.19 before tax.
“So if you didn’t know like we didn’t know, $12 will get you a dinner box. It’s not on the menu, so you’re probably just going to have to ask,” she said, adding that the dinner box didn’t come with drinks.
@xolovelei $12 Dinner Boxes at McDonald’s is worth it!! #budgetfriendly #mcdonaldshacks #fyp ♬ original sound – xolovelei
“All I heard was ‘can I have the dinner box’ and I called McDonald’s … the manager didn’t know what I was talking about,” one commenter wrote. Another viewer replied, “I think it’s only at certain locations cause mine doesn’t have it.”
That seemed to be the case for many viewers, who reported various availability and prices for the MickeyD’s Dinner Box across markets. In her video, Leiela did not specify what city she ordered the dinner box in.
“This dinner box is $22 here in Ohio idk where it’s $12???” someone wrote.
“We pay 27 for that in NY,” a comment read.
Another person wrote, “In AZ $12 wont even cover a Big Mac meal.”
“That’s crazy! I paid $7 today for 6 nuggets and a medium coke,” one person commented.
Another viewer chimed in, “the bundle box in NJ is $25.”
“I used to work at McDonald’s and it was the $10 dinner box that was maybe 4 years ago … the box has changed from where I’m from,” a comment read.
“Total $15.19 in NC! Just no fish fillets, bummer,” a viewer commented.
In a follow-up video, Leiela said that when she downloaded the McDonald’s app, she had to search for “dinner box” specifically to find the deal.
“If you go on the app click on shareables tab when ordering there are different packages,” another commenter wrote.
In the Daily Dot’s Austin, Texas, hometown, there’s no MickeyD’s Dinner Box listed in the McDonald’s app either under the Shareables tab or by searching for it directly. The restaurant does sell a Hot and Spicy BOF Chicken Pack in Austin, though, with four Hot ‘n Spicy McChicken sandwiches, a 20-piece chicken nuggets, and a basket of fries. So, there seems to be credence to the notion that these large meal deals vary by region.
In 2014, Business Insider reported on the exact dinner box that Leiela showed in her video. According to the outlet, the bundle boxes are likely a loss leader for the chain intended to get customers into the door.
In response to some commenters questioning why the creator still eats at the fast food chain, Leiela said in another follow-up video, “I think a lot of people still eat at McDonald’s. If you don’t like it, fine. If you want us to eat better because you think it’s s___, OK. Just send us money.”
“I come from a huge Polynesian family and have a lot of siblings and cousins,” Leiela told the Daily Dot in an email interview on Thursday.
When Leiela was younger, her grandpa would buy all the young kids in the family McDonald’s, because it was cost-effective for the amount of food needed.
“Fast forward to now, I have a family of my own, and with the way the economy is going, I try my best to do the same,” Leiela told the Dot. “I have always been into deal finding but recently decided to share what I find on TikTok in hopes to help out other families who may need help finding family-friendly meal deals.”
The creator previously shared a viral video about snagging a Texas Roadhouse family meal for $39.99.
The Daily Dot reached out to McDonald’s via email.