Universal's Islands of Adventure · Hogsmeade — Islands of Adventure
The outdoor Butterbeer carts in the village - the fastest route to the drink the whole land is built around.
Last verified July 2026
Universal operates outdoor Butterbeer carts in Hogsmeade street, selling the cold and frozen versions of the drink and, at some carts, the soft-serve. They exist because the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head cannot handle the demand on their own, and they are almost always the faster option.
Butterbeer is non-alcoholic, tastes of butterscotch and shortbread, and comes topped with a thick sweet foam. The frozen version is the one that works in Florida heat and the one most people prefer on a first try. The cold version is closer to what the books describe and divides opinion more.
Souvenir mugs are sold at roughly double the price of a normal serve and are not refillable, which is worth knowing before a child decides otherwise.
The single most iconic thing to consume at Universal Orlando, and worth doing once whatever you think of butterscotch. Frozen is the version that works; buy it at a cart, not inside.
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A butterscotch and shortbread-flavored slush topped with a thick sweet cream foam, sold non-alcoholic from carts along Hogsmeade street and inside the Three Broomsticks.
Our take: The single thing to eat or drink at Universal Orlando if you only do one. The frozen version beats the cold one comfortably in Florida heat and it is the reason the carts exist.
Butterbeer flavor as a soft-serve ice cream, sold in a cup or a cone from the Hogsmeade carts.
Our take: Better than the cold drink and worse than the frozen one. Good with two spoons and a child who has already had a Butterbeer and wants another.
No. Butterbeer is entirely non-alcoholic and children drink it constantly. It is a butterscotch and shortbread-flavored soft drink with a sweet cream foam on top.
Cold is a chilled soda-style drink with foam on top; frozen is essentially a slush with the same foam. In Florida heat the frozen version is substantially better, and it is what most first-timers prefer. The cold version is closer to the drink described in the books.
No. It costs roughly double a standard serve and comes with a single drink. Buy it if you want the tankard as a souvenir, not as a way of getting more Butterbeer.