After years of asking and asking for the simple act of being able to order Butterbeer at Universal theme parks without the topping, vegans and those with food allergies are rejoicing as vegan Butterbeer is finally available at both Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood! We originally reported this back in August when you could get it without the topping, but now you can get a totally vegan version with the topping!
UPDATE: We now have vegan Butterbeer with topping! What follows is our original post from last August, with the news of the vegan topping below that – updated in March of 2023.
Due to issues with “trademark” and to keep the “integrity” of the Harry Potter universe, prior to now, Universal was unable to sell Butterbeer without the signature marshmallow topping, which contained dairy and also trace amounts of wheat making it non-gluten-friendly as well. Even though in the books Butterbeer was sold hot and in bottles, which already had to be changed to sell in theme parks, it took this long to get someone in legal to budge on this issue. We are now thrilled to report that this has changed and you may now order frozen and cold Butterbeer with no foam topping, which makes it vegan as is. The hot Butterbeer still contains dairy with or without the topping.
The funny thing is, when we went to order, the team member serving us said “it’s still not vegan even without the topping” and we asked if there was an allergy binder or list of ingredients. She called a chef for us, because she thought it contained “red dye” which wasn’t vegan. We know from experience with the Engagement Ring Cake at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that certain red dyes can be an issue, specifically when called carmine, crimson lake, cochineal (in the soy wraps on the Frushi served at EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival too), or “natural red dye #4.” The chef confirmed there was no red dye in either frozen or cold Butterbeer. There was a yellow dye, which does not contain animal products. So we all breathed a sigh of relief and took a swig of our first Butterbeer in years!
Huge thanks to the Protego Foundation for their petitions to get this changed, and Universal Orlando Vegans for spreading the word.
Below is video of our first vegan Butterbeer! Let us know in the comments which Butterbeer you’re most looking forward to trying!
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Now Accio Butterbeer!
UPDATE! In March of 2023, Universal Orlando quietly revealed that they now had a fully vegan – with topping! version of the iconic Butterbeer. See their post on social media:
Universal Hollywood soon followed suit and vegan Butterbeer now available on both coasts! But where can you get it? See the list below, because it is not currently available at the Butterbeer cart locations, just the restaurants:
- At Universal Orlando Resort, vegan Butterbeer can be found at the Three Broomsticks restaurant in Hogsmeade (Universal Islands of Adventure) and the Leaky Cauldron restaurant in Diagon Alley (Universal Studios Orlando).
- In Hollywood vegan Butterbeer is now available at the Hog’s Head pub and the Three Broomsticks restaurant in Hogsmeade at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Note hot Butterbeer is still not vegan as it contains dairy in its base recipe.
It’s great that you can also order this on the app and it’s the same price as regular Butterbeer! We’ll share our thoughts on it as soon as we try this new option! Thanks again to the Protego Foundation and Universal Orlando Vegans for all their hard work!
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LOOKING FOR VEGAN OPTIONS IN THE THEME PARKS, WATER PARKS AND DISNEY SPRINGS?
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LOOKING FOR VEGAN OPTIONS IN THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT HOTELS?
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I saw butterbeer first time and exciting to have it. How does it taste?
It’s very sweet! The cold is basically just cream soda and the frozen is like that only not carbonated. 🙂