Remember the Empress Lily?

[Honeibee]

I loved eating there! It was so elegant. I can't remember the name of the fanciest restaurant there, but I have a funny story....

I was there with my ex-husband about 15 years ago....They served sorbet between courses. You know, to cleanse the palette.

Apparently my husband was unaware of this custom.

He looked at the very small serving of sorbet and then up at me and said..."I guess they want to close up early so they are giving us dessert now".

I totally lost it!

On the way out they handed him a cigar. He looked at the maitre d' like .

OK so he wasn't the brightest, most cultured of men.

But he's the ex...so who cares!

 

[ducklite]

If I recall there were the Steermans Quarters and the Empress Room?

Hmmm... I must be getting old LOL!

Uncle Romulus will remember for sure!

Anne

 

[Janet2k]

We loved dining on the Empress Lilly: click here for MousePlanet information. The Empress Room was lovely to dine in. We enjoyed a wonderful meal there with friends.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Empress Lily-elegant? I don't quite remember it by that description. I remember it as the only place you could eat with Donald Duck in the late 80's. We still have the pictures.

 

[beccasmom]

Dinner was elegant by my standards.....towels to cleanse your hands after meals, the sorbet that was mentioned, a cigar for the men and a rose for the ladies on the way out.....our meal lasted 3.5 hours! This was back in 1985. We were on some type of meal plan and ate like kings and queens!

 

[Madhatter266]

Just last week, while cleaning out my kitchen cabinets, I found 2 plastic mugs from the Empress Lily Character Breakfast. I felt like I was remembering an old friend.

 

[ncbyrne]

My most memorable character breakfast was on Empress Lily! My DGD was just 7 months old and Minnie lingered at our table and loved on my little princess for the longest time. We have more photos of that meal than any other!

 

[BCV23]

We loved having dinner at both Steerman's Quarters and Fisherman's Deck. The decor at Fisherman's Deck was rather elegant as I recall...whites and blues. Both were great. We miss them. We dined at one or both each trip. They were open for lunch too although I think we usually went there for dinner.

But the Empress Room was the really elegant restaurant there. Jackets required, etc.. We never dined there as our children were still too young for that kind of dining. By the time they were old enough, it had closed.

One of the first character breakfasts was at the Empress Lily although we never went to that one. But I'm sure it wasn't held in the Empress Room so that is probbably why you don't remember it being elegant, Simba's Mom.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

TEN YEARS AGO, APRIL 1995

Taken directly from the Orlando Sentinel:
Walt Disney World is pulling up the gangplank on its famed faux riverboat so that it can undergo extensive renovations and reopen a few months later under new management.
Disney officials said the Empress Lilly's three restaurants and lounge will close April 23 in anticipation of a contract being signed in the next 30 to 60 days.
Disney would not identify the company, but sources say it's the Levy Organization, the Chicago company that operates Portobello Yacht Club and Fireworks Factory on Pleasure Island.
Disney spokesman Bill Warren said the boat is being closed before the contract is signed because Disney currently has other jobs available for its 135 employees.
Empress Lilly's popular character breakfasts are being moved to Chef Mickey's in the Disney Village Marketplace, but they may return to the boat depending on the final deal that is cut.

Walt Disney World has leased out its riverboat restaurant, which will reopen as a crabhouse.
By Jim DeSimone
OF THE SENTINEL STAFF
THURSDAY, July 13, 1995

The Empress Lilly, Walt Disney World's famed riverboat restaurant, will reopen before the end of the year with a new operator, a new name and a crabhouse menu.
The Levy Organization, a Chicago company that operates Portobello Yacht Club and the Fireworks Factory on Disney's Pleasure Island, announced Wednesday that it has signed a 20-year lease to operate the faux riverboat.
The restaurant, located between Pleasure Island and Disney Village Marketplace, has been closed for renovations since April.
Neither Levy nor Disney would release financial terms of the deal. Levy hasn't decided on a final name or menu for the 18-year-old landmark.
But Levy did say it will become a 700-seat crabhouse and be the largest of the company's 40 restaurants.
One thing that will survive the changes: Disney's popular character breakfasts will return, said Alison Hunter, a spokeswoman for Levy.
The breakfasts, where Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse mingle with guests, moved to Chef Mickey's in the Disney Village Marketplace after the Empress Lilly was closed.
Levy gets a choice location on Disney property, said Robert Nelson, a senior director at the Florida Restaurant Association.
Not only can the company count on theme park visitors as customers, Nelson said, vacationers tend to spend more when they go out to eat.
The riverboat lease also serves Disney's interests well, said Michelle Fisher, a spokeswoman for Disney.
Turning over the Empress Lilly to Levy is part of a strategy to recruit high-profile restaurant companies that complement the entertainment companies own restaurant offerings.
"We look for corporations that bring creative ideas and a unique market draw to Walt Disney World," Fisher said.
In addition to Levy, Disney has lured Planet Hollywood, House of Blues, a jazz club scheduled to open by the end of 1996; Wolfgang Puck's Cafe, scheduled to open in 1997; and Lario's, a restaurant-nightclub created by singer Gloria Estefan. Lario's also is set to open in 1997.

 

[mrslur]

We husband and I were at CBR for our tenth anniversary in 1981 and one of the highlights of our trip was our dinner at the Empress Lily.

 

[FOTM_Ring_Bearer]

I remember eating at the Steerman's Quarters and the Fishermans Deck. We always dressed up too. The Baton Rouge Louge was great. My DH and I had a wonderful time there on our honeymoon. I never did get to try the Empress Room. I haven't eaten there since it's been Fultons.

 

[Bracho]

I only had dinner there but we did several times and the room was very elegant. The service and food were great and the "COFFEE" was GOOD!! a hard find at WDW now...LOL

I was sorry they pulled The Empress Lilly, not only was it named after Walts wife but it was a nice dining room that was not connected to a resort.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Oh indeed I do remember the Empress Lilly!! We dined in the Empress Room twice, and also had dinners at Fishermens Deck and Steermans Quarters. As BCV23 said, the Deck was sort of a nautical "subdued" white and blue (and some pink as I recall). Reminded me a bit of what Ariels later looked like. The Quarters booths and chairs were in red "leather" with wood framing-perfect for a steakhouse. I never quite understood how Disney could get rid of a Riverboat/restaurant complex named after Walt's wife--and then compound the error by opening that god-awful Fultons!!
Everytime I walk by Fultons these days, I always visualize how nice it looked--and was--when it was Empress Lilly.
And-we also did the lounge there too--they had a fellow entertaining--some comedy, some music--he was quite good, but I confess I don't recall his name.

 

[tippytoe]

We also loved watching the guy at the Baton Rogue lounge. What was his name? He was excellent. That lounge was the first place I had those homemade potato chips that are pretty common now.

 

[Tea Please]

I remember eating at the Steerman's Quarters and the Fishermans Deck. We always dressed up too.

Us too.

 

[Hopefully]

Eating on the Empress Lily was a highlight of our trip. We were on what was then called the "Grand Plan" and dinner was included. It was so special. We loved the Baton Rouge lounge and the fellow entertaining too. I miss it. I have not, and will not eat at Fulton's It just wouldn't be the same.

 

[Micca]

DW and I enjoyed the Steerman's Quarters many times. We were sad to see it go.

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

OMG! I loved the Empress Lilly! My dad took me, my sister and the step-monster there for my 16th birthday. We had so much fun laughing that the waitress said to us "Y'all are having too much fun!"
What fond memories!

 

[lunsusie]

The Empress Lily was always a favorite of ours! The entertainer in the Baton Rouge Lounge was Denny Zavett.

 

[paras4ri]

You beat me to it lunsusie - I remember Denny Zavitt and the Baton Rouge Lounge. We first visited there on our honeymoon in 1986 and on several subsequent trips. I always remember his definition of EPCOT - Every Person Comes Out Tired!!! There was also a great piano player who performed with Denny and also at Caseys in the MK.

It's kind of eeire that this thread was started, just today I found some drink stirrers from the Empress Lily in a drawer in my kitchen!!!