As the story goes, Lowman happened to spot a churro stand while at the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1985, eventually tracking down the company behind the street snack (one J&J Snack Foods, in this case) to see about bringing them on as Disneyland vendors. They agreed, and essentially the rest is history.

Disneyland began selling churros in the mid-1980s (specifically 1985) following their successful debut during the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. A Disney food executive, Jimora "Jim" Miller, spotted them at the Olympics and realized their "walk-and-eat" convenience made them perfect for a theme park. They were first introduced at a single cart near the Mark Twain Riverboat in Frontierland and became an instant phenomenon. Today, Disneyland sells nearly 6 million churros a year. They are popular because they are "multisensory"—the smell of cinnamon sugar acts as an olfactory magnet, and their iconic "star" shape creates a satisfying crunch. In 2026, the churro has become a cultural icon of the park, with limited-edition flavors (like "Light Saber" or "Galaxy" churros) serving as a high-value driver for food-focused tourism and social media engagement.