Welcome to The Yacht Bar.

First, let’s get one thing straight. If you think The Yacht Bar is a fancy cocktail lounge where Ensenada Race skippers sip martinis after sailing back to Newport Beach, you need to change your idea of what The Yacht Bar is.

The Yacht Bar is a snack bar — the kind of place where you can get tasty hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and golden brown french fries. If any of the guests are skippers of yachts, that’s just a coincidence. The “Yacht” part of the name is due to the restaurant’s proximity to the Tomorrowland Lagoon and its exterior panels, which are painted like nautical flags.

Photo by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor

The Yacht Club near the base of Matterhorn Mountain

You should plan on spending around a dollar for a meal. For example, a chili dog is 40 cents; french fries are 25 cents; a piece of pie is 30 cents; and a cup of hot coffee is 10 cents. That adds up to $1.05.

How about fresh baked pizza for 65 cents and milk for 15 cents? That adds up to 80 cents.

A submarine sandwich is 75 cents; a large Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola is 25 cents. That adds up to $1.00 exactly. Yes, you can actually choose between Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola. Your other soft drink choices are root beer, orange soda, or grape soda. A small soft drink is 15 cents.

Would you rather have a snack than a meal? How about a thick, frosty shake for 40 cents, or popcorn for 15 cents?

Photo by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor

Coral chairs with small tables attached

After you buy your meal, have a seat in a coral-colored fiberglass chair. You won’t need to look for a table because each chair has an attached side desk. After all, this is the Space Age, and traditional tables are old-fashioned.

The Yacht Bar served Disneyland guests from summer 1955 until September 1966, although its orignal name was The Yacht Club. It was next to Tomorrowland Lake, home of the short-lived Phantom Boats attraction.

The other two eateries in early Tomorrowland were the Space Bar and the Dairy Bar. The latter, sponsored by the American Dairy Association, was also called the Milk Bar.

Still from Disneyland U.S.A. © 1956 Walt Disney Productions

The Yacht Club in 1956 from the air (in the center of the left half)

The 1956 CinemaScope film Disneyland U.S.A. begins with a helicopter tour of Disneyland. The Yacht Club is seen in its original location and orientation.

Map from 1957 Disneyland souvenir guide book © 1957 Walt Disney Productions

Disneyland’s Tomorrowland in 1957

The artist who drew the map of Tomorrowland in the 1957 Disneyland souvenir guide book chose not to label the eatery — despite having no problem labeling the other two “bars” in Tomorrowland. Skyway cables and one of the Astrojet “jets” mark the top and bottom of The Yacht Club.

Tomorrowland was constantly changing during its early years. To make way for the Viewliner attraction and a new pedestrian walkway, The Yacht Bar was lifted, moved, and turned in a different direction on April 15, 1957.

Excerpt from 1964 Disneyland souvenir guide map © 1964 Walt Disney Productions

The Yacht Bar, again without a label, in the center of this snippet from the 1964 Disneyland map

The Viewliner only lasted from June 1957 to September 1958. The Yacht Bar survived bigger projects nearby, including the 1958-1969 construction of the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride, the lagoon for Submarine Voyage, and the beam for the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail. The Yacht Bar would not survive the next huge update to Tomorrowland.

When the New Tomorrowland opened in 1967, The Yacht Bar was gone. Coca Cola Tomorrowland Terrace, a much larger counter-service restaurant, extended around the CircleVision building from its east side to its north side, where The Yacht Bar had been. Tomorrowland Terrace was best known for the ascending and descending stage. The large counter-service restaurant became Club Buzz June 2001. It reverted back to Tomorrowland Terrace in September 2006, and then became Galactic Grill in November 2015.

You don’t have a choice of Coke or Pepsi anymore. The Coca-Cola Company is now the exclusive provider of soft drinks (such as Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid Light Lemonade, Barqs Root Beer, and Fanta Orange) and bottled water (Coca-Cola’s Dasani brand) at the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line.

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Updated January 24, 2025