Disney has gotten better and better at upping their gluten free options in and around the parks. This year, the 2019 Food and Wine Festival at Disney’s California Adventure has the most gluten friendly options ever!
Here I've listed the 5 “Disney-offered” Gluten-Friendly food items, the items that could be MODIFIED to be gluten-friendly (at your own risk), the GF non-alcoholic beverages, and GF alcoholic beverages. I've listed individual prices on them as well. These food and non-alcoholic beverage items can be purchased a la carte OR with the Sip and Savor Pass (see above, I'll get into that below). Alcohol must be purchased a la carte.
DISNEY-OFFERED GLUTEN-FRIENDLY FOOD ITEMS*
1. Berry Patch - Strawberry & Coconut Rice “Frushi” with Sweet Oikos Yogurt Wasabi Sauce ($5.50)
Sweet sticky rice with strawberries. Refreshing yet filling!
2. Peppers Cali-Ente - Verlasso Sustainable Salmon Peruvian Poke with Cucumber-Lime Salad and Aji Verde Salsa ($7.50)
A good amount of salmon with a crunch and a kick. Lots of onions. Delicious! And apparently (bonus) Verlasso Salmon is environmentally friendly...
3. Off The Cob - Shrimp Boil Tacos with Andouille Sausage & Fresh Corn ($7.50)
Blue corn tortillas with large chunks of shrimp and spicy sausage.
4. Citrus Grove - Meyer Lemon Blue Diamond Almond Macaron ($5.50)
HUGE! And jelly filled. So much yum.
5. Golden Dreams - Chocolate Peanut-Caramel Parfait ($5.50)
My favorite of the day! This tasted like a Snickers. Looks small but I actually couldn't finish it. Sweet and light with some crunch. So good.
FOOD ITEMS THAT COULD BE MODIFIED TO BE GF
1. Veggie, Veggie, Fruit, Fruit - Grilled Asparagus Chicken Caesar Salad - Ask for no croutons when you show your receipt. These are added at the end and they don't have to be! ($7)
2. Avocado Time - Petite Impossible Burger with Guac and Pepper Jack Cheese - Ask for no bun. It's petite but a great savory vegetarian option. - ($8)
3. Paradise Grill - Impossible No "Meat" ball Submarine ($11.99) ask for no bun
4. Nuts About Cheese - Creamy Oikos Yogurt Cheesecake - if you don’t eat the crust and you ask for no crumble topping ($5.25 ) *This is probably not a smart idea for those with a strong allergy, maybe just for those with a slight intolerance*
5. Uncork California - California Artisan Cheese Selection, choose between Point Reyes Blue or Fiscalini White Cheddar— The crackers come on the plate but you could eat around them ($8.50) *Also probably not for those who worry about cross contamination*
NON-ALCOHOLIC GF BEVERAGES
1. Berry Patch - Strawberry Float with Vanilla Ice Cream and Whipped Cream (ask for no crunchy cereal garnish, $6.50)
2. Avocado Time - Suja Organic Pineapple Passionfruit Kombucha ($6)
3. Cluck-A-Doodle-Moo - Watermelon Lemonade with Watermelon Garnish ($5.75)
4. Off The Cob - Peach Tea with Peach Garnish ($5)
5. Golden Dreams - Yippee! Mickey’s Cotton Candy Soda (Sprite with Cotton Candy Syrup, half rimmed with buttercream and a pineapple cotton candy garnish, $7)
For an extra sugar rush, dip the cotton candy into the soda.
ALCOHOLIC GF BEVERAGES
1. Festival Beer Garden - Divine Science Brewing, Third Contact, Gluten-Friendly IPA, Anaheim (6.8% ABV) - This is from Southern California’s FIRST gluten-free brewery. So excited that Disney is offering it. Love it! ($13)
2. Peppers Caliente - Jalapeno-Lime Margarita ($13.50)
Jalapeños give it the perfect kick.
3. Avocado Time - Kombucha Mojito Cocktail with Fresh Mint ($13.50)
4. LA Style - Tiki Cocktail (Aged Rum, Falernum, Bitters, Lime, and Grapefruit Juices, $13.50)
5. Garlic Kissed - Bloody Mary with Garlic-stuffed Olive ($13.50)
6. Wine - There’s so much wine at this festival. A white wine flight, a red wine flight, a mimosa flight, a Davis Bynum Sauvignon Blanc, a Matanzas Creek Fume Blanc, a Nielson Chardonnay, an Olelo Cabernet, Chandon Brut, plus all the wine that’s normally at DCA. If you’re a wine drinker at DCA, you’ll be all set. (Hot Tip: I recommend the wine flights. They are $17 for three tastes, but sometimes they are generous with the pours and you seem to get more bang for your buck than by the glass, which is $12-15. Plus wine tasting is SO Californian, right?)
Hot tip - The lines at the carts can be LONG. If you want food from various booths like I did, find the shortest cashier line and ORDER THEM ALL AT ONCE! You’ll get a receipt for each item, so when you’re ready for that item, head straight to the window with your receipt to pick up your food! What a time saver!!
The Sip and Savor Pass
The 2019 Sip and Savor Pass is $54 (including tax) and consists of a commemorative credential, a lanyard, and 8 coupons redeemable for eligible food and non-alcoholic beverage offerings. Have an Annual Pass? You will receive a reduced price ($49) on your S&S Pass, a special souvenir AP lanyard, and access to the AP Corner - located at Blue Sky Cellar from 12-6pm daily until March 31st - where you can snag a special photo opportunity and an exclusive button. Fun!
The S&S pass can be purchased at multiple locations:
Trolley Treats
Elias & Co
Seaside Souvenirs
Sip and Savor Cart
Festival Marketplaces
Festival Gifts and Artist Corner
and Studio Store (Hollywood Land)
So if you see a line at one - because a lot of times people have questions and are doing math before deciding to purchase - move on to the next!
Hot tip - Don’t remove the food coupons yourself. The cast member has to do it for it to be valid.
While you’re purchasing, pick up a free Tasting Passport, which has a map of the festival booths and a menu of all the food and drink offerings (alcohol as well) which INCLUDES some icons for Vegetarian, Vegan, Kid Friendly, and Gluten-Friendly faire. (Thanks, Disney! More of this!) However, it doesn't list all of the options I found above. If you have service on your phone, you can see the menus with prices on the Disneyland app, but it doesn't list the icons.
So...Is it worth it for a Gluten Free person to get the Sip and Savor Pass?
Let’s do some math:
The $54 Sip and Savor Pass makes each of your 8 items $6.75 each (Or $6.13 if you have an Annual Pass)
There are basically 15 items (10 food and 5 beverage) a GF person can choose from.
If you were just going to buy all 5 Disney-offered GF food items without the pass, that’s $31.50.
For $22.50 more, you could get the Sip and Savor Pass and add 3 more items.
Of the 9 other items you could enjoy (GF non-alcoholic beverages and the GF food that could be “modified”) their prices range $5 - $11.99. IF you got the 3 most expensive ones, that would equal…$58.
In conclusion, buying the Sip and Savor Pass
might save a GF person about $3.
Or $9 if you have an Annual Pass.
My advice? Use my lists above to decide what you’re going to purchase beforehand and do the math. Then, remember to buy it all at the first cashier so you don’t have to wait in other cashier lines throughout the day!
Me, I could not have drank/eaten 8 items in one day on my own. In truth, I was stuffed after four! But I’m an AP holder so I knew I'd be back, I wanted the button and the lanyard, plus the food/beverages I eventually wanted to try added up to $55, so for me it was worth it to spend $49!
Here's a gift from one GF person to another
Finally, I've designed this helpful guide showing what a GF person can enjoy at each cart, since the Tasting Passport only lists the 5 Disney-offered GF foods. I recommend doing a screenshot of it so you can easily access it in the park without needing phone service. I've added a $ after the alcoholic beverages to remind you these are items you can't use the S&S Pass for.
Hope it helps you have a fun DCA culinary adventure!
And one last thing for you with strong allergies and Celiac...
*Reminder that Disney takes steps not to cross contaminate but they do not have separate allergy-friendly kitchens for the Food and Wine Festival. You can always ask to speak with a chef, lead supervisor, or a trained cast member if you have concerns. You can also email special.diets@disneyland.com with specific questions. If your allergy is life threatening, I would recommend planning an advanced dining reservation instead and explaining your allergy at the time of the reservation.