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 decaf isn’t worth it, there are two who will tell you that it’s not about the caffeine, it’s about the experience. And yes! There are more and more mocktails, zero-proof cocktails, and non-alcoholic beer and wine at Disney World in the last few years, because the same “experience” note is true with adult libations and alcohol.

Whatever your reasons for abstaining, here’s what to know about non-alcoholic options at Disney World. We’ll cover what you can expect to find for 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 outside of Disney World. 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 missing glow cube.

These concoctions are sometimes tooth-achingly sweet. Now, many high-test umbrella drinks are just as sugary. 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. Zero-proof 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 many are in only one location. But I don’t decide where to dine based on chasing a top 10 mocktail. Just as you see closer to home, your options depend on what dining you’re doing. Let’s run them down from worst to first, including Quick Service, Table Service, Bars & Lounges, and even EPCOT Festivals.

Quick Service Restaurant Non-Alcoholic Drinks

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

• 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 flavors.
• 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 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 itself 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 beers, but you’ll also find many Festival cocktails with a sans-alcohol version, and these can be quite tasty. There are also non-alcoholic specialty drinks designed just for the Festival. Some of these 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 as reverse mocktails: designed as a non-alcoholic drink with a spirited version available.

Mocktails at the Disney World 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 limited shelf that can’t replace specific liqueurs with zero-proof syrups or equivalents. 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 Disney World Bars & Lounges

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

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 garnishes; stick to common items that most bars will stock, such as mint, lime, or lemon. The no-jito is 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. Alcohol is a naturally occurring substance that can appear in everyday products such as orange juice, overripe fruit, and yogurt, so 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 alcohol content. They are meant to be drunk by kids as well as adults.

Everywhere else, distilled non-alcoholic spirits, alcohol replacements, and non-alcoholic beer and wine are treated inconsistently. 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.

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 no more than 0.5% ABV that will be diluted even more with mixers doesn’t pose a problem. But if it’s an issue 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.

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