By: Talara Allphin, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
During a recent visit to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando, I decided to test each type of Butterbeer offered in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
While visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you have the option to try Butterbeer 4-5 different ways, depending on how you look at it. You can have Butterbeer cold, frozen, hot, as soft-serve ice cream or fudge. For my test, I chose to stick to foods I typically like, so Butterbeer fudge did not make the cut.
Anyone who has travelled to Orlando, Florida can attest to how hot and humid it usually is. The thought of an icy beverage is exactly what I needed on my first day in the park. I arrived at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in the early evening. The temperatures were still high, and I was already sweating from walking from the bus drop-off at Universal’s City Walk. I made my way straight back to Hogsmeade where I knew I could find the best tasting refreshment in the park, a nice frozen Butterbeer topped with cream. While it was so refreshing, I found myself with a “brain freeze” and realized I needed to slow down. This form of Butterbeer is one of my favorites. I like that you can easily mix in the cream topping with the rest of the drink. The cream by itself can be overly sweet in my opinion, but when mixed with the rest of the beverage it is fantastic. A frozen Butterbeer really hits the spot on a hot day!
My next day in the park I started early over in Diagon Alley (Early Admission perk of staying on- site or booking with Marvelous Mouse Travels!). I spent a couple of hours in this part of the park before I could board the Hogwarts Express for a ride to Hogsmeade. Once in Hogsmeade, I took advantage of that portion of the park just opening and the smaller queue for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike attraction. Once I finished this attraction, the heat of the day was once again starting to pick up. This time I opted for the basic cold Butterbeer which you can purchase from a small cart in the middle of the walkway of Hogsmeade in front of The Three Broomsticks or at a similar cart across from the attraction The Forbidden Journey (aka Hogwarts Castle). This option is like a butterscotch/caramel flavored soda topped once again by the deliciously sweet butterscotch cream. This option was great for a quicker drink option to grab and enjoy in between attractions. My only drawback of this Butterbeer option is that the cream doesn’t easily mix with the soda, leaving a large remainder of the cream to drink on its own at the end. As I stated before, the cream is very sweet and while delicious, not easy to drink on its own.
Now, you may be wondering, if it’s so hot already in Florida, then why would I try the hot Butterbeer? Honestly, it started as just a way to be able to compare them all. I say I started that way, because in the end, I will get hot Butterbeer every time I go regardless of the weather. Hot Butterbeer is now my new favorite way to enjoy this delightful drink. Drinking a hot Butterbeer to me was like drinking melted butterscotch caramel topped with the same delicious cream as it’s two sister drinks. IT IS SO GOOD! I got my hot Butterbeer in Diagon Alley at The Hopping Pot.
The last Butterbeer concoction that I tried was in the form of soft-serve ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. The flavoring was not quite what I was expecting. The vanilla ice cream with Butterbeer accent stripes did not have a strong enough Butterbeer flavor in my opinion. While this was a nice treat to enjoy on a hot day, I don’t know that I will get it again. The ice cream parlour had many interesting flavors that I want to try next time. One in particular was peanut butter and strawberry. Sounds delicious to me!
My personal rankings for these forms of Butterbeer are:
1- Hot Butterbeer
2- Frozen Butterbeer
3- Cold Butterbeer
4- Butterbeer Soft-Serve Ice Cream
Trying any of these forms of Butterbeer in my opinion is A MUST when visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando. They can also be found at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Please reach out to Talara, an agent with Marvelous Mouse Travels to plan your next vacation or you may contact Marvelous Mouse Travels.
