Earlier today, Storytellers Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa at Disneyland Resort brought back their character dining breakfast.
There’s Minnie!
And while many meals that were formerly served as buffets in the Disney parks have been converted to family-style meals, Storytellers Cafe is actually serving up a BUFFET! While that buffet contains a bunch of options you’re used to seeing — Mickey waffles, bacon, etc. — it’s also got some drinks served in a unique way!
One of the cold selections you’ll find on the Storytellers menu is “Agua Frescas in a Bag and Breakfast Milk in a bag.” You may be wondering if they literally mean these drinks are in a bag, and the answer is yes, yes they do!
©Disney
If you peek at the buffet, you’ll find these drinks in a plastic bag with a straw in the middle and a tie holding down the drink inside. The Aguas Frescas are colorful and come in a variety of flavors including watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple. We actually really liked the watermelon one!
Aguas Frescas
Again, you’ll find the Aguas Frescas in a bag, as well as breakfast milk (which was essentially cinnamon milk). Drinking out of these bags was a fun experience, and could certainly be something great for kids to enjoy too.
Breakfast Milk in a Bag!
Aguas Frescas has been on the menu here for a while, but when we had them back in 2018 they were not being served in plastic bags. We’ve also had aguas frescas in several other spots around the Disney parks, including as a cocktail.
Agua fresca station in 2018
Never heard of Aguas Frescas before? Well, according to Vice, aguas frescas are cold, fruity soft drinks typically sold by street vendors across Mexico. And yes, as you might have expected, they’re sometimes (or sometimes used to be or can be) served in a plastic bag with a straw. Makes sense!
Agua Fresca at Storytellers
One writer for the Napa Valley Register shared details about one drink — chocomiles (made with strawberries, banana, and dairy milk topped with cinnamon powder) — which you can find being sold throughout markets in Mexico. The author notes how these were also often served using a plastic bag with a straw poking out. And they’ve even got a recipe on the Napa Valley Register for some agua fresca de fresa (strawberry), so you could try to make it at home!
According to Eater, several other countries, from places in Asia to South America, also use disposable bags of various types for some of their drinks.
Agua Fresca in Storytellers
So, if you’ve never seen a drink served this way before, now you know a bit of the story behind aguas frescas and how drinks in plastic bags is something that is sometimes done in several other countries too, at least according to the sources we noted above. Of course, things can differ.
Just be sure not to drop or spill these drinks — they may be tied in the center, but having a drink in a plastic bag can pose its own set of spill challenges!
Breakfast Milk in the Plastic Bag
We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more fun updates and stories to share with you from the Disney parks and let you know what we find.
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Have you ever had agua fresca? Tell us in the comments!
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Did they really put a drink in a plastic bag but use a paper straw?! Come on! They’re not even making sense with their own nonsense rules now!
How disappointing. So much plastic waste for no reason.
They have been serving the breakfast milk that way for at least a couple years (since they started offering it)- we go every December and in 2019 the milk was served in a bag. Makes it easy to grab it and take it to your table for sure and it’s a cute presentation.
I was hoping to read something like compostable plastic, but I am surprised they went there. So the fight on plastic is over? Come on, Disney!!
Hi. I live in México and that is not how agua frescas are served. Check your sources.
Hi, Teresa. We checked multiple sources that indicated this is a tradition — though to your point, it’s likely regional or in specific pockets. Incidentally plastic bagged drinks are also common in east Asian countries and are typically used as a cheaper vessel than cups or glasses.
I just came back from Mexico last month, Riviera Maya area. I asked several people there for an agua fresca. I got many strange looks and several people brought me plain glasses of water. I finally flagged someone down that spoke English naturally and was told, these drinks are not “real” Mexican drinks. Some people used to serve them as alcoholic drinks many years ago, but now are not recognized by very many natives. I was surprised, since the internet raves that these are THE drinks to ask for in Mexico. Not so much. The natives have no idea what they are. At least in the area I was in.
Candace, thanks for sharing this experience!
I mean, I can drive around Tijuana and take photos (with their consent) of agua fresca stands and how they serve them here and send them here to this blog?
Aguas frescas are great!!! PLASTIC BAGS ATE NOT!!! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING???
On a trip to Nicaragua a street vendor near where we stayed served sodas this way. We were told it was so he could keep the bottle to return it for the deposit.