Four Things To Know about Going Zero-Proof at Disney World

There are a ton of reasons to avoid alcohol at Disney World. It’s cheaper, or you’re pregnant, or you don’t do well with alcohol in the heat. Or, like me, your kid has a skit of “Mom drinking a margarita” in which they pantomime falling asleep on the table as the glass empties.

But for every coffee lover who tells you that if it’s decaf it’s not worth it, there are two who will tell you that it’s not about the caffeine, it’s about the experience. Mocktails and zero-proof cocktails are a rising trend, because the same “experience” note is true with adult libations and alcohol.

Here’s what to know about non-alcoholic drinks at Disney World. Whatever your reasons for abstaining, we’ll cover options for dry drinking and teetotaling at restaurants, lounges, and EPCOT Festivals. (And if you’re feeling like you’re in the wrong article, you could be looking for FAQ: Get to Know Drinking at Disney World)

1. Non-Alcoholic Can Mean For Kid or Adult Tastes

If you’ve gone out to eat with kids, you know that there are virgin piña coladas, Shirley Temples, and the like on many restaurant menus. Of course, you can make a Shirley Temple at home – but my kids would tell you it doesn’t feel the same, and it’s not only the lack of a glow cube.

These concoctions are invariably sweet, sometimes tooth-achingly sweet. Now, I am not implying that adults don’t like anything sweet; many umbrella drinks are just as sugary whether or not they’re high-test. But trends like Dry January and the rise of teetotalism have sparked a greater variety of flavors in non-alcoholic cocktails.

Citrus syrups and sodas, tea, non-alcoholic spirits, and less-sweet fruit syrups such as desert pear are increasingly found in Disney World’s non-alcoholic beverages. These are sips that are complicated, complex, and made for a grown-up palate. The zero-proof trend has made its way all the way to Victoria & Albert’s which has a complete zero-proof pairing! And you know that those drinks will not taste like cotton candy.

2. Your Expectation Should Be Based On Location

It’s not hard to find lists of “The Best 10 Mocktails at Disney World”, but I’m not planning a trip around something that I can only get in one location. I want to know what I can expect no matter where I’m eating. From that angle, you’ll find the trend matches what you’ll see closer to home – your options depend on what dining you’re doing. Let’s run them down from worst to first.

Quick Service Restaurant Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Quick Service (including Snack Carts and Stands) will have the least flexibility. Many offer kid-friendly non-alcoholic drinks such as frozen smoothies, flavored lemonades, or mixed juices. But these places typically don’t have an actual bar, and what you see is what you get. They will tend to be towards the sweet side, more like a punch. Still, there’s a fair variety of flavors. Here are a few examples to give you an idea.

• .You’ll find The Lava Smoothie at many Quick Service locations, pool bars, and even Table Service restaurants. It’s frozen pina colada mix swirled with raspberry puree, and it is yummy. I’m pretty sure one of my kids is addicted to it.
• Tatooine Sunset at Ronto Roasters in Hollywood Studios is Gold Peak Unsweetened Tea and Minute Maid Lemonade with Melon and Blueberry
• Pandoran Sunrise is at Satu’li Canteen in Animal Kingdom; it’s Pineapple Juice and Limeade with POWERADE Melon
• Wildberry Lemonade is at Restaurantosaurus in Animal Kingdom; it’s Wildberry Monin and Minute Maid Lemonade.

As a rule, the more banal the food, the more banal the beverages. The Wildberry Lemonade in the list above is a good example; throwing a shot of Wildberry Monin into a lemonade is the bare minimum you can do when your menu is amusement park basics but the park is known for plussing up Quick Service food.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks at EPCOT Festivals

Like Quick Service restaurants, EPCOT Festival booths (mostly) do not have bars; what you see on the menu is what you can get. There are some alcohol-free wines and beer, but you’ll also find versions of many Festival cocktails sans alcohol, and these can be quite tasty. There are also non-alcoholic specialty drinks designed for the Festival. Some are … interesting, like Food & Wine’s Pickle Milkshake, but many are Festival favorites that return year after year like the Flower & Garden Frozen Violet Lemonade.

The four Joffrey’s carts around the World Showcase offer a special drink each Festival (a different one at each cart) that are reverse mocktails. They’re designed as a non-alcoholic drink and also offered as a spirited version with alcohol added. My experience with these is that they’re hit or miss; they’re on the menu but it’s not uncommon to find they’ve sold out for the day.

Mocktails at the Pool Bar

The pool bars at Disney World are actual bars, and they have actual bartenders. Lava smoothies and standard virgin frozen drinks are common, but you can also go off the menu. Ask them to mix something that you know how to make, or they’ll usually have a couple of favorites if you ask what they suggest – and you won’t always get the same answer.

That said, these are pool bars. They specialize in drinks with umbrellas and swizzle sticks. They can make you something delicious, but they may have a more limited shelf that can’t replace specific liqueurs with zero-proof syrups or equivalents. So you’ll have the most success going off the books if you’re looking for something simple, or if you tell them what you like and let them surprise you.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks at Bars & Lounges

Many Disney Resort Hotels have a lounge, and some in-park restaurants have lounges as well. There are exceptions to every rule, but the sky is your limit here. You’ll often find interesting zero-proof options on the menu, and bartenders will have favorites of their own. If you want to go off-menu, you’ll usually find them with the experience and materials to put together whatever you’d like. These bars are also where alcohol-free spirits and distillations such as those produced by Seedlip, Lyre’s, or Ritual are most common. TL;DR: here you can find non-alcoholic mixed drinks that have tart, sour, or bitter notes.

Zero-Proof Options at Disney World Table Service Restaurants

Restaurants run the gamut. Many Table Service menus have a zero-proof or non-alcoholic section; they might even label it mocktails. Mixed-drink mimics are, as in the lounges, more likely to offer flavors that aren’t sugary. And restaurants that have attached lounges, such as Tiffins (Nomad Lounge) or the 50’s Prime Time Cafe (Tune-in Lounge) can bring you anything they can make in the bar.

If the non-alcoholic drinks are flavored lemonades, the lemonade itself is more likely to be house-made and not Minute Maid. Eateries that offer mixer syrups for Sprite in their non-alcoholic beverage section are usually happy to put those over club soda for you, reducing the sweetness. Or they may offer lemon or grapefruit sodas as a base.

Sometimes, you will still find that there is nothing non-alcoholic aside from soda, lemonade, or iced tea. You can still ask, and we have never been met with the answer “Sorry, only what you see on the menu”. But … that doesn’t mean there’s a secret mocktail list they just forgot to mention. The Boathouse told us they could do a blueberry lemonade, and California Grill (surprisingly!) didn’t have much to offer us except a flavored bar syrup over Sprite or club soda.

3. Tips For Off-Menu Mocktails

Sometimes you’ll be going off-menu because there’s nothing on the menu. And sometimes, it will be because you want to try something new and interesting. Depending on the circumstances, your strategy might be a little different.

It’s good to head in with a simple standard (or two) that you favor. Be flexible about components such as mint, lime, or lemon; stick to simple items that most bars will stock. The no-jito is a good example of a mocktail that almost any bar can put together: mint, lime, sugar, and club soda or Sprite. And if even that makes your server look a bit nervous, be prepared to back off. Pro tip: if your mint looks pristine when your drink arrives, don’t be afraid to muddle it yourself using a spoon against the side of your glass.

If you know that your bartender can meet your desire for creative mixology, be prepared to describe flavors you like. Sweet, sour, tart, bitter, subtle, intense, or spicy can all provide a guide to what you’re looking for. If you drink sometimes but aren’t drinking at this moment, listing a couple of your favorites can give some direction. A preference for cosmos will yield a very different glass than if you say you love gin and tonics.

4. The Meaning of Non-Alcoholic and Zero-Proof Varies

Yes, this is … unintuitive. Since alcohol is a naturally occurring substance that can appear in everyday products such as orange juice, overripe fruit, and yogurt, beverages can be up to 0.5% Alcohol By Volume (ABV) and still be labeled non-alcoholic. There is no consistency in the United States, or at Disney World, about how the terms mocktail, zero-proof, and non-alcoholic are used.

At Quick Service locations, the base ingredients of non-alcoholic beverages are juices, lemonades, teas, etc. that don’t have a hint of question as to their alcohol content. They are meant to be drunk by kids as well as adults.

Distilled non-alcoholic spirits, alcohol replacements, and non-alcoholic beer and wine are different. Sometimes, drinks that use these ingredients are set off in a separate section of the menu, like the example below from Sanaa which separates Non-alcoholic Beverages and Non-alcoholic Mocktails. (Side note: the Pink London Spritzer was yummy but we thought the Agave Garden tasted oddly of pickle juice. None of us liked it.)

In other cases, our server told us that the drinks in the Zero Proof section weren’t guaranteed to be completely alcohol-free. In yet other places, some drinks in the non-alcoholic section were labeled as “must be 21 or older to order”.

For many people, a spirit that could be up to 0.5% ABV and will be diluted even more with mixers doesn’t pose a problem. But if it’s a problem for you, for religious or personal reasons, you have options. Depending on the location, you can ask to see the bottle. Or, you can ask for an ingredient list and search sites like Halal Wine Cellar or DryDrinker.com to try confirming that all ingredients are 0.0% ABV. If uncertain, choosing another option can give you peace of mind.

What’s your favorite non-alcoholic drink at Disney World? Do you have any tips for creative mocktails? Let us know in the comments!