Hi-C Ecto Cooler has returned, dispensed from Coca-Cola Freestyle machines inside the Beverage Lab at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. That’s the only place it exists. It also isn’t green anymore.
Ecto Cooler is back. You have to go to Atlanta.
Coca-Cola confirmed that the Hi-C Ecto Cooler revival is limited exclusively to Coca-Cola Freestyle machines inside the Beverage Lab at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.
Not Georgia. Not Atlanta broadly. One room inside one attraction.
How to actually get it
The drink isn’t on the standard Freestyle menu.
Getting it requires unlocking a secret menu on the machines in the Beverage Lab, a process fans have been documenting and sharing since videos of the dispensers started circulating this week.
The World of Coca-Cola is a paid attraction in downtown Atlanta. So the full cost of a cup of Ecto Cooler right now is admission to a museum plus knowing a menu trick.
Coca-Cola has not announced a wider release or an end date.
It isn’t green
Longtime fans should prepare for this.
The 2026 version is not the nuclear green the drink was famous for. Coca-Cola skipped the slime-colored look entirely.
Slime green coloring is gone, but reports indicate that it tastes the same.
It started as a rebrand, not an invention
Here’s the part most people don’t know.
Ecto Cooler was never created for Ghostbusters. In 1989, Hi-C took an existing product called Citrus Cooler, which had been around for decades, and renamed it Ecto Cooler to promote The Real Ghostbusters animated series.
Same tangerine-citrus drink. New name, new box, Slimer on the front.
It outlived the cartoon by years
The tie-in worked far better than anyone planned.
The Real Ghostbusters ended its run, and the drink kept selling. Hi-C left Ecto Cooler on shelves long after the show that justified it was off the air, which is close to unheard of for a licensed product.
Eventually the branding ran out.
The slow name-change death
What followed is a case study in killing a product gently.
In 2001, Hi-C renamed it “Shoutin’ Orange Tangergreen” and reformulated it to remove certain coloring.
In 2006, it became “Crazy Citrus Cooler.”
In 2007, it was discontinued.
Then it kept coming back
Ecto Cooler has now returned three times, each tied to a Ghostbusters release.
2016: Hi-C revived it in juice boxes and cans for the Ghostbusters reboot. Slimer wasn’t on the packaging. It lasted about six months before disappearing again.
2021: A revival limited to an in-person giveaway at the premiere of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Not a retail release at all.
2026: The Freestyle version in Atlanta.
Each return has been smaller than the last.
Why the Freestyle version might give fans hope
Coca-Cola Freestyle machines dispense from concentrate cartridges rather than pre-mixed inventory. Getting a flavor into that system means Hi-C’s formulators have built a Freestyle-compatible version of Ecto Cooler that exists and works.
That’s the hard part. Once a formulation is in the Freestyle library, putting it in other machines is a distribution decision rather than a development one.
Theme parks are an obvious fit. Universal Studios locations run Freestyle machines, and a Halloween Horror Nights exclusive is the sort of thing that would move a lot of cups.
Coca-Cola has announced nothing, but it could happen.
Here’s hoping.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Sporked (Oct. 2, 2026), Griffin Parker’s report including Coca-Cola’s confirmation of the Beverage Lab exclusivity, the color change, the secret menu access and the full product history
Atlanta Ghostbusters, the social video documenting how to unlock the drink on the Freestyle machines
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