I was a child in the public school system in the early 90s, so I understand the whimsy associated with "orange drink" - basically what children were given in lieu of proper juice because no one gave a crap back then.

When the Lubbock Pancake Festival switched to actual orange juice, I knew intellectually it was a much better, higher quality product. But for a split second, my corny sense of nostalgia made me sad about it.

There has always been a slightly more syrupy version of orange drink to be had at McDonald's: Hi-C Orange Lava Burst. But according to a memo leaked on Reddit, the drink is being phased out in favor of an exclusive flavor of Sprite that will only be available at McDonald's (kinda like Baja Blast is only at Taco Bell).

The new flavor is Sprite TropicBerry to be launched in July, but Hi-C is on the way out as early as May.

I tried calling around to local Lubbock McDonald's locations to see what they thought about the change.

The first one I called was "unaware" of the conversion, although it's possible they couldn't (or didn't want to) talk about it. The second McDonald's I called was pretty interesting. The manager on the phone told me he wasn't allowed to discuss anything with the press, which made me crazy curious as to why. Obviously I won't ever solve that mystery if he can't talk to me. Instead, I'll be making up insane conspiracy scenarios in my head for at least a week. (My current favorite theory is that location is actually haunted.)

The change is not without controversy, as many have taken to Twitter to express their disgust and disbelief

The good news in all this? They currently have Super Nintendo toys in the Happy Meals!

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