Former Restaurant // latest change 1996.03.10
The Landing · Disney Springs · Walt Disney World
Former Restaurant · the memorial record
This restaurant is gone, but its history stays documented — the full lifetime log is below.
◆ Latest milestone
The riverboat reopened in the same structure on March 10, 1996 under a new identity as Fulton's Crab House, permanently ending the Empress Lilly name; the deteriorated smokestacks and paddlewheel were removed during the conversion.
The Empress Lilly served its last meals as a Disney operation on April 22, 1995, after which the riverboat interiors were stripped out to convert it into a single restaurant under an outside operator.
Originally part of the Disney Village Marketplace, the Empress Lilly became integrated into the Pleasure Island entertainment district when that area opened in 1989.
The Empress Lilly, a static replica paddle-steamer riverboat restaurant moored on the lake at the Walt Disney World Village, opened and was named after Lillian 'Lilly' Disney, Walt Disney's widow. It housed three restaurants: the Fisherman's Deck, the Steerman's Quarters, and the formal Empress Room (the most elegant dining on property until Victoria & Albert's opened at the Grand Floridian).
Per the documented record, Empress Lilly at Disney Springs opened on May 1, 1977.
The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Empress Lilly is dated Apr 22, 1995: The Empress Lilly served its last meals as a Disney operation on April 22, 1995, after which the riverboat interiors were stripped out to convert it into a single restaurant under an outside operator.
The latest documented change (documented Mar 10, 1996): The riverboat reopened in the same structure on March 10, 1996 under a new identity as Fulton's Crab House, permanently ending the Empress Lilly name; the deteriorated smokestacks and paddlewheel were removed during the conversion.
4 documented changes, dating back to 1977 — the fan-kept restaurant changelog nobody else keeps.
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