July 1955 – September 1966
LOCATION
Tomorrowland – The Space Bar sat in the rear of Tomorrowland, to the right of Autopia. Today, this area is part of Tomorrowland’s huge circular building, home to Innoventions and the Star Wars Launch Bay.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Service Type – quick service
- Seating – adjacent patio
- Entertainment – none
The Space Bar was perhaps the park’s most futuristic restaurant – an “automat”. This style of ordering combined the accessibility of a vending machine with the flexibility and variety of a restaurant. Guests purchased each item of food separately, by selecting an item from a particular service window. Every meal was individually constructed, tailored to each diner.
CLOSURE
During its lifetime, the Space Bar was one of the more popular restaurants in Disneyland. Guests enjoyed its unique ordering style, and the sunny patio was a great place to people watch or wave to passing Skyway cars. But when Disney announced the major Tomorrowland renovation in the late 1960’s, the Space Bar was removed to make way for a brand new attraction: The Carousel of Progress. The Bar closed in September 1966, and “New Tomorrowland” made its debut less than a year later.
TRIVIA
Tomorrowland was initially supposed to be a representation of life 30 years into the future (at the time, 1986). The Space Bar was supposed to represent how a restaurant would operate in the not-so-distant future!