McDonald's Will No Longer Serve This Fan Favorite Drink

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If you grew up loving Happy Meals, you know there are few tastes more nostalgia-inducing than the orange drink from McDonald's — otherwise known as Hi-C Orange Lavaburst. Unfortunately, that drink's run as your go-to beverage order at McDonald's came to end over the summer of 2017 when it was quietly phased out across the chain. 

The announcement came in April 2017 through an alleged company memo leaked on Reddit, which said the drink was being axed to make way for a new Coke beverage exclusive to McDonald's, Sprite TropicBerry. According to the memo, Hi-C would be discontinued May 1 and replaced with the new flavored Sprite over the summer of 2017, once each restaurant's Hi-C supply was depleted. So far, that announcement has only been partially true.

Cries of despair and outrage could be heard across the internet as fans discovered the drink's demise, and those cries were particularly loud on Twitter. 

User @GiornoPizzas tweeted, "I come back to Twitter to learn I can no longer get a refreshing Hi-C at McDonald's, I've never felt so personally attacked." Twitter user @TheMisterMarcus was obviously just as upset, tweeting, "McDonald's is getting rid of Orange Hi-C. My whole childhood is dead..."

The Facebook page McDonald's Worker Memes even changed their cover photo to an image of Hi-C Orange Lavaburst in memory of the drink, with some workers sharing their stories of unhappy customers — and others bragging about still carrying the elusive beverage. 

However, 2017 is coming to a close and Sprite TropicBerry has yet to be revealed to McDonald's customers. Instead, most McDonald's are serving Orange Fanta, most likely in an effort to appease those customers craving something orange to wash down their Big Macs. Unfortunately for the Golden Arches, it's not going over well. User @ms_princess_94 tweeted "I just don't understand the whole Fanta thing @McDonalds . You've ruined my life."

As of now, it's unclear whether Sprite TropicBerry will ever be revealed — or if Hi-C Orange Lavaburst will ever make it's way back to McDonald's. For now, however, fans of the drink do have other options. Twitter users claim to have found the drink at select Wendy's restaurants, and some blogs are keeping track of the Wendy's locations that serve it. You can also buy it on Amazon and at many grocery stores — but you'll probably want to enjoy that in the privacy of your own home, unless you don't mind driving down the street while sipping on a juice box.

Perhaps the best option for Lavaburst lovers, though, is Jack in the Box, who wasn't afraid to take advantage of McDonald's poor choices, tweeting, "Hi-FIVE!!! We still serve Hi-C! #HiCOrange #YoureWelcome." At least there's one fast food chain that still cares about your childhood dreams.