The new Espresso Martini Milkshake at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios started as one Walt Disney World cast member’s idea. Dan Laske, a beverage concept and program manager who first joined Disney through the Disney College Program in 2015, came up with the coffee and ice cream shake while managing a resort food court, then took it through about 10 rounds of testing before it joined Disney World’s new fall lineup of frozen slushes and shakes.
Walt Disney World Communications shared Dan’s story with Fantasy Land News. It comes one day after we told the story of Festival of the Lion King fire knife dancer Alema Vaiaoga, who went from performing at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to appearing in Disney’s live-action Moana.
Disney’s story about Dan leaves out the one thing guests will want to know, which is where to order his drink. The Espresso Martini Milkshake is on the menu at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, where Disney describes it as Absolut Vodka and Mozart Chocolate Liqueur blended with espresso and hand-scooped vanilla ice cream, topped with sweet cream. It is an alcoholic drink, so it is for guests 21 and older. Sci-Fi Dine-In is a table-service restaurant, so book a dining reservation in the My Disney Experience app if you want to try it.
It is a fitting home for this drink. The idea started at a resort themed to the movies and landed at a restaurant built like a 1950s drive-in, where guests eat in booths shaped like classic convertibles while old sci-fi and monster movie clips play on a big screen under a starry ceiling. Sci-Fi Dine-In opened at what was then Disney-MGM Studios on April 20, 1991.
Disney’s story also names two more new drinks from the fall lineup. The Peaches and Cream frozen slush blends Minute Maid Peach Purée with lemon, vanilla and oat milk under a sweet cream cold foam. You can find it at Backlot Express at Hollywood Studios, The Friar’s Nook at Magic Kingdom, Flame Tree Barbecue at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the snack cart near Creations Shop at EPCOT, The Daily Poutine and Marketplace Snacks at Disney Springs and Lottawatta Lodge at Disney’s Blizzard Beach. The S’mores Gelato Milkshake, made with Belgian chocolate and French vanilla gelato and topped with toasted marshmallow, a chocolate bar and graham cracker, is at Connections Eatery at EPCOT.
Coffee fans have one more option. Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge serves an Espresso Martini Gelato Milkshake made with Absolut Vodka, Mozart Chocolate Liqueur, espresso and French vanilla gelato. Disney has not said whether Dan had a hand in that version.
From the Disney College Program to Disney World’s Drink Menus
Dan, whose name tag lists Chicago as his hometown, started at Walt Disney World in 2015 through the Disney College Program, which began at Walt Disney World in 1980 as the Magic Kingdom College Program. His first role was in housekeeping at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.
After he finished the program, Dan came back and moved into food and beverage roles at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside. That is where he found what he wanted to do. “I fell in love with the creative side of developing beverages and experimenting with flavors,” Dan said. “I’ve carried that with me ever since.”
The milkshake idea came to him while he was a guest experience manager at World Premiere Food Court, the main dining spot at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, which opened in January 1999. Surrounded by coffee and ice cream every day, he paid close attention to what guests ordered and what they said about it, and he started thinking about a drink that could bring those two flavors together.
Today, Dan supports beverage programs across Walt Disney World and works with food and beverage leaders on future offerings. Disney calls it a full-circle moment, since he now helps other cast members develop their own ideas.
10 Rounds of Testing to Get the Recipe Right
Once Dan pitched the idea, he teamed up with Disney World’s Food and Beverage Concept team to work through sourcing ingredients and finalizing the recipe. He also went to the frontline cast members who would be making the drink, asking whether it would fit into daily operations and whether they could make it the same way for every guest.
“Operators know their location,” Dan said. “They’re the subject matter experts on the flow of the restaurant and the small details of how they operate. On the other hand, the Concept team can share best practices while offering advice and resources. It’s a tag-team effort.”
Dan estimates it took about 10 rounds of testing to reach the final recipe, with changes to ingredients, proportions and preparation along the way. Every version was written down and refined before the next one. For Dan, that was the best part.
“I had the most fun playing with the flavors, tweaking the recipe and getting it to taste perfect,” he said. “Sometimes I would adjust an ingredient by only half an ounce, taste it and realize that I had gotten it exactly where I wanted it. That’s a good feeling.”
His advice for other cast members with an idea is simple. “Don’t be afraid to speak up,” Dan said. “Even if you think it’s a crazy idea, pitch it and then find a version that works. Learn the process and be as creative as you can.”
If Dan’s story has you thinking about working at Walt Disney World, Disney posts food and beverage openings, along with Disney College Program roles, on Disney Careers.
Dan’s story joins our look at the people who keep Walt Disney World running, including the Hackett sisters and their three-generation family legacy, the cast member brothers pursuing degrees through Disney Aspire, the holiday services leader who started in overnight custodial 23 years ago and why some cast members stay for 50 years.
