Gluten-Free Disney California Adventure: Quick Service Dining (Fast Food)

As a Disneyland local with celiac disease, I have spent countless wonderful days enjoying safe, gluten-free food at the Disneyland Resort in California. Disney sets the standard for accommodating guests with allergies and special dietary needs.

Of the two California parks, Disneyland and California Adventure, the latter is hands down my favorite for fabulous and quick gluten-free food.

Before your visit, there are several things you should know about eating safely gluten-free at Disney:

1. Disney has an allergy disclaimer that stresses its food is prepared in shared kitchens and that it relies on supplier labels, and cannot guarantee that a menu item is free of an allergen.
2. Disney uses the term "gluten/wheat allergy-friendly", not the term gluten-free. Not my favorite term, but see #1. Plus, Disney has a lot of lawyers.
3. Disney has excellent allergy protocols: training for special diets cast members, separate fryers for items on an allergy-friendly, separate containers, glove changes, and allergy picks.
4. Communication is key. Allergy protocols are triggered when you ask for them. Speak to a chef or special diets cast member. Specifically, order off of the "gluten/wheat allergy-friendly" menu when placing a mobile order or when ordering in-person at a restaurant with allergy-friendly menus available (which is most restaurants). Confirm your order is "gluten-free" at delivery or pick up. Look for an allergy pick in your food. Ask questions.
5. Mobile order off of the "gluten/wheat allergy-friendly" menu for the quickest and easiest dining experience. In an article on Gluten-Free Disney Tips, I cover how to mobile order from the gluten/wheat allergy-friendly menu in detail. I cannot recommend this enough. You will feel so normal. You will probably cry happy tears, and you'll definitely want to hug the developers of the Disneyland app.

And here's the Go Gluten Freely disclaimer: the best, safest, and most accurate information is from a special diets cast member at each dining location. Information changes regularly. Use the following information to plan, but please feel confident asking questions when you are ready to eat.

Let's dig into all of the wonderful quick service options at Disney California Adventure Park. (Note, if you are looking for the Disneyland side, I list those in a separate article on Gluten-Free Disneyland: Quick Service Dining. And if you prefer dining with waiters and menus, check out the best gluten-free table service in both Disneyland parks.)

Mobile Order with Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Menus

The following restaurants offer gluten/wheat allergy-friendly menus via mobile order. These are your best options for a fast food meal with essentially no hassle over the gluten-free

Avengers Campus

• Pym's Test Kitchen:
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Pym-ini Sandwich with marinara dipping sauce and arugula salad
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Kids' PB&J or Kids' Teeny Pym-ini Sandwich served with a mandarin orange and yogurt
  • Breakfast options: You'll have to speak to a chef, as there is no allergy-friendly mobile order available at breakfast. Meals that can typically be modified include: Calculated Breakfast, plant-based Impossible Quantum Garden Breakfast, and kids' Nano Eggs-periment 101.

Cars Land

• Flo's V8 Cafe:
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Ka-Cheeseburger with mandarin oranges or steak fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly plant-based Impossible Burger with mandarin oranges or steak fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Cobb de Ville Salad
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Club Sandwich with mandarin oranges or steak fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Kids' Micro Burger with mandarin orange and carrots
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Shake: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and Neapolitan

For Radiator Springs fans, it's fun to eat outside on the small side patio next to Radiator Springs Racers and watch the cars zoom by, especially at night.

Grizzly Peak

• Smokejumpers Grill:
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Double Cheeseburger with mandarin oranges and crinkle-cut fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Double Impossible Cheeseburger with mandarin oranges and crinkle-cut fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Grilled Chicken Sandwich with mandarin oranges and crinkle-cut fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Crinkle-Cut Fries
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Kids Double Base Camp Burger with a mandarin orange and yogurt smoothie
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Shakes: vanilla or chocolate
  • Breakfast options: It's not on the menu, but ask for a chef consult to order the breakfast sandwich (sausage, egg, cheddar, hash browns, sauce and green chile) on a gluten-free bun. The burrito can be modified to a bowl (sausage, bacon, egg, cheddar and hash browns with salsa).

My kids are in their teen/tween years and they often gravitate to Smokejumpers Grill. It is popular with gluten-free and gluten-eaters alike.

Paradise Gardens Park

• Paradise Garden Grill: The menu here changes seasonally more than any other quick service restaurant, so any menu items I list will quickly be outdated. Don't make that a reason to overlook this spot! Over the years, I've enjoyed gluten-free, Latin American finds, such as tamales, tacos, and Impossible albondigas soup. Lunar New Year specialties include whole Fish with rice and stir-fried vegetables for 2 and Korean-style BBQ chicken with rice and kimchi. Check current offerings online. There is usually one item on the Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly mobile order menu, and sometimes one or two additional items that can be made gluten-free with a chef consult.

San Fransokyo

• Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill:
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Street Tacos options:
    • QuesaBirria (so good!)
    • Carne Asada
    • Pollo Asado
    • Tacos Dorados de Papa
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Kids Pollo Asado Taco or Carne Asada Taco
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Lime-Cilantro Rice
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Frijoles Charros
• Lucky Fortune Cookery:
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Teriyaki Chicken with rice and vegetables
  • Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly Kids Chicken & Rice with vegetables

There's a reason San Fransokyo is always hopping. With several quick-service restaurants in one spot, it's the go-to place if your party has varying tastes and dietary needs. Place your Gluten/Wheat Allergy-Friendly mobile order with Cocina Cucamonga or Lucky Fortune Cookery, which both have delicious meals. Meanwhile, everyone in your party will find something they love nearby. Then, gather together at a table in the middle of San Fransokyo.

Quick Service Locations Where You Should Order in Person

As much as I love mobile ordering, some places don't offer an allergy menu via the app. In those cases, it's safer to order in person to verify ingredients and request allergy protocols.

For a small number of quick service locations, mobile order is not available at all, allergy menu or not.

Buena Vista Street

• Clarabelle's: Order hand-scooped ice cream in a cup with a special diets cast member. The cast member can go over gluten-free flavors and scoop your ice cream from designated containers in the back. For extra Disney-themed fun, order ice cream in a souvenir bowl like the "kitchen sink".

Cars Land

• Cozy Cones: While you can place a mobile order for the cozy cones, there are no allergy menus. For those of us who need to avoid cross-contact, I recommend ordering in person. Cone 2 has Route Beer Floats. Cone 5 (Popcone) sells popcorn. Verify that the current popcorn flavors are gluten-free.

Hollywood Land

• Schmoozies: There is no allergy menu. Speak with a special diets cast member or chef to review smoothie ingredients and request allergy protocols. Note, the chef at this site covers a few locations, so there may be a bit of a wait. On a recent visit, I confirmed that the Affogato and the Mango Madness Smoothie had no gluten ingredients. The chef also said he could modify the holiday shakes to remove gluten-filled cookies.
• Award Weiners: Gluten-free buns are available in person, not on the mobile app. Speak to a special diets cast member for allergy protocols.

Paradise Gardens Park

• Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta: This quick service location does not have a gluten-free menu, but a chef consult can get you gluten-free pizza, pasta, or a salad.

Pixar Pier

• Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats: Speak to a cast member to order lemon or mango soft serve in a cup.
• Bing Bong's Sweet Stuff: The colorful Glaciers (slushy drinks) are made with Coca-Cola products (Fanta, Minute Maid) and have no gluten ingredients. Toppings are usually gluten-free but can change, so ask cast members to show you an ingredient binder, if you are opting for the more inventive Glaciers. There is a lot of gluten and cross-contamination in the glass case. (If you don't have celiac disease or another reason to avoid cross-contact, the churro toffee square has no gluten ingredients, but is at high risk for cross-contact.)
• Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums: There's no mobile order here. Gluten-eaters and the gluten-free crowd all have to line up to enjoy cookies and milk from Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums. The popular Incredicookie has been known to sell out, so stop by this stand near the Incredicoaster early in the day if you have your heart set on one. Note, only the blackberry jam-filled Incredicookie is gluten-friendly (the Jack Jack Num Num cookie contains gluten). The Incredicookie contains a warning that it is not produced in a dedicated gluten-free environment.

For gluten-free cookies made in a dedicated gluten-free facility, look for bags of pre-packaged chocolate chip or lemon cookies under the brand "Snacks with Character". You can find them at Trolly Treats on Buena Vista Street or around the corner at Humphry's Service and Supplies, a small pit stop across from Soarin', which is a do-not-miss ride in my opinion.

• Poultry Palace: This little stand sells delicious crispy chicken, corn on the cob, cole slaw, and turkey legs, all with no gluten ingredients... except one of the sauces served on the side. I think Disney is missing an opportunity to promote the Poultry Palace as entirely gluten-free. In the past, gluten-containing chimichangas, were sold here, but this is no longer the case at the time of writing. This location does not have mobile order, nor does it have an allergy menu. Disney does not market these products as gluten/wheat allergy-friendly, so you still need to confirm ingredients at the time of your visit with a cast member at the Poultry Palace. You can ask to see an allergy binder or request a chef consult. If the latter, be patient, as a chef is not on-site and will have to walk over to assist with the special diets order.

Bars & Lounges (located in multiple lands)

• Hollywood Lounge (Hollywood Land)
• Mendocino Terrace (Performance Corridor)
• Pym Tasting Lab (Avengers Campus)
• Rita's Turbine Blenders (San Fransokyo)
• Sonoma Terrace (Performance Corridor)

These lounges do not have mobile allergy-friendly menus available, but mobile items include alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, some of which contain no gluten ingredients. I recommend ordering in person.

Please note, Lamplight Lounge, while it is called a lounge and serves alcohol, is a table service restaurant with a full menu, and requires a reservation.

Avoid

There are a few places in San Fransokyo Square that should be avoided. They are always bustling with people and gluten. There are much safer places to dine in San Fransokyo. Head to Cocina Cucamonga or Lucky Fortune Cookery instead.

• Aunt Cass Cafe is full of sourdough bread and a gluten-free disappointment.
• Port of San Fansokyo Cerveceria is full of gluten-containing beer
• Ghiradelli Soda Fountain: This is a rare non-Disney-owned establishment, and the staff does not follow typical Disney allergy protocols. I have been told they cannot verify that any of the ice cream flavors are gluten-free and they have a policy not to use clean scoops and fresh containers to accommodate allergy orders.

Skip Ghiradelli Soda Fountain's ice cream. Instead, visit one of California Adventures' other ice cream shops, which all offer allergy protocols: non-dairy treats at the Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats, soft serve and "route beer floats" at the Cozy Cones, hand-scooped ice cream at Clarabelle's, and milkshakes at Smokejumpers Grill and Flo's V8 Cafe.

More Disneyland Articles for a Magical Gluten-Free Visit:

• The Best Gluten-Free Dining at Disneyland: Table Service
• The 21 Best Gluten-Free Disneyland Snacks & Treats
• Disneyland at Halloween and at Christmas
• Gluten-Free Breakfast at the Disneyland Resort

Wishing you a magically gluten-free visit!