Fulton's Crab House Closing for Six Months to become Paddlefish

[The Empress Lilly]

The simplest plan was to say to Levys, "we already have a seafood restaurant", rename it the Empress Lilly, or Empress Lilly: Jazz Boat and get the operating group who runs Jazz Kitchen to take it over.

With that you have hit your nostalgic Disney fans, open a new cuisine and be able to have a band playing again different style of music .... aaaarrrrrggggghhhhh

Right!?

 

[Mouse Detective]

Another rooftop outdoor lounge!

 

[Disney4family]

It fits the Disney Springs theme. Old industrial buildings that have been reworked into modern restaurants and shops.

Then shouldn't it be

 

[Next Big Thing]

The name is just absolutely awful.

 

[alissafalco]

View attachment 139563 Concept art from Mousesteps

God awful

 

[Jon81uk]

his first name dropped from movies

I agree with most of your post, but just a disagreement with this section. John Lasseter has actually named the animation studio Walt Disney Animation Studios, so his name is on more movies recently.

 

[raymusiccity]

There seems to be something paradoxal going on. WDW at once does pander hard with retro, while simultaneously eradicating its past.

Or maybe Disney is losening ties with the person Disney, gone for half a century this year. Walt's movie removed from One Man's Dream, his private office returned, his first name dropped from movies. And no desire to rename the ship in honour of his wife.

Pity, that would add so much history, depth, a link with Walt. Lillian personally christened the ship named after her. WDW doesn't have to build a fake history with convulated backstories. It has half a century of history, which in itself is rooted in decades more of a mainstay of American popular culture. That is unique, other theme parks forever look like the knockoff because of it. Any yet, TWDC mistakes it for silly sentimentalism rather than as a unique asset.

Agreed. I like this artist's concept much better!

 

[Bacon]

Paddle boat

 

[MarkTwain]

Agreed on the poor choice of name... a "clever" pun on paddle-wheel I guess, but just doesn't sound appealing.

I also have to agree that the choice to go with a seafood/yachting theme seems really redundant with just another seafood/yachting restaurant just next door. Meanwhile, there's virtually no Cajun or New Orleans food on property at all, save for the quick service at POFQ, which is really only cafeteria-style quality (especially sad since they shuttered their TSR Cajun restaurant there years ago).

 

[MarkTwain]

Looks like the exterior handrails will be removed, which I think is why the boat looks so bare in that rendering. Did people used to be able to walk around the outside of the riverboat? It looks like they definitely won't anymore, which may have been predictable from a liability standpoint (sadly).

And the addition of the large glass windows looks really odd. I really don't think they'll have any choice but to run with a repurposed "adaptive reuse" theme with a modern feature like that, but I guess the operators wanted to open up the view from inside a bit.

Ehh... I suppose the restoration of the smokestacks and paddlewheel will make it worth it, but it's a little sad and puzzling at the same time.

 

[articos]

It fits the Disney Springs theme. Old industrial buildings that have been reworked into modern restaurants and shops.

Yup. She won't look nearly as bad as the terrible rendering. She should have an homage to her history too.

 

[jt04]

Yup. She won't look nearly as bad as the terrible rendering. She should have an homage to her history too.

Great News! Thank you.

 

[dstrawn9889]

. Did people used to be able to walk around the outside of the riverboat?

you mean walk around the building

 

[WDWtraveler]

Photo update as of Sunday, May 1. The "Crab House" part of the sign has been removed, and construction work has begun at the top aft part of the ship.

 

[Djali999]

It's going to be brutal for all of us old-time Empress Lilly fans to see them ripping all this old wood off, but it's really very badly needed. I hope she ends up looking as beautiful as she once did.... end of an era!

 

[Mouse Detective]

Did people used to be able to walk around the outside of the riverboat?

Few did, but yes you could.

 

[MarkTwain]

you mean walk around the building

I meant around the exterior decks which wrap around the riverboat, visible behind handrails in the photo posted above. According to @Mouse Detective it sounds you could walk around them once, but it looks like they'll be removed during the renovation.

 

[Mouse Detective]

I meant around the exterior decks which wrap around the riverboat, visible behind handrails in the photo posted above. According to @Mouse Detective it looks you could walk around them once, but it looks like they'll be removed during the renovation.

I've only walked around the top deck. You could circle the entire "boat". The middle deck had part of the restaurant or bar in the aft section so it was not possible to walk an entire circle. I never attempted to walk around the front.

 

[DrewmanS]

I meant around the exterior decks which wrap around the riverboat, visible behind handrails in the photo posted above. According to @Mouse Detective it sounds you could walk around them once, but it looks like they'll be removed during the renovation.

Looks to me like they are pushing the walls out on the first and second deck to enlarge the interior. The bow still appears to have exterior areas, but the sides do not. Likely a much more open floor plan on the interior with better views through the large windows. Also, the restaurant is being called Paddlefish. With the return of the smoke stacks and paddle wheel, I would not be surprised if the Empress Lilly name returned to the 'boat'.

 

[wdwmagic]

PHOTOS - Construction work underway on changes to Fulton's Crab House