Hi Kirsten!
Thanks for stopping by the Disney Parks Moms Panel with your question!
My family loves the Disney Dining Plan. We enjoy the convenience of knowing our meals are already taken care of before we arrive for our Walt Disney World vacation, and the ease of not needing to pull out our wallets every time we eat! With 100+ restaurants participating in the Disney Dining Plan, we can always find meals to please even our most picky eaters.
Guests that book 2018 Walt Disney World Resort vacation packages that include the Disney Dining Plan now have several beverage options available to accompany their meals. The
2018 Quick Service Dining Plan includes 2 Quick-Service Meals and 2 Snacks per night of stay for each guest in the traveling party. Each Quick-Service meal consists of 1 Entree and 1 Beverage (can be an alcoholic beverage for Guests age 21 and over). The Dining Plan description states that Guests under 21 years of age are able to order non-alcoholic specialty beverages when offered with Quick-Service meals. A single-serving specialty non-alcoholic beverage would include most artisanal milkshakes, fresh smoothies, premium hot chocolate, etc. Most wine, beer, and mixed drink offerings are included as single-serving alcoholic beverages, with a few exceptions.
I'm not sure why specialty beverages would not have been served with the Dining Plan, as you've heard, unless possibly it was served in a souvenir cup, or with a glow cube, which is not included.
I'm excited to check out the new beverage offerings on our next Walt Disney World Resort vacation! - Diane W.