Empress Lilly Riverboat moored at Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World containing three restaurants—the Fisherman’s Deck, the Steerman’s Quarters, and the Empress Room, opened on May 1, 1977. Named after Walt Disney’s wife, Lilly Disney. Until the opening of Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian, the Empress Room provided the most elegant dining experience on the Walt Disney World property. The culinary delights were prepared by top chefs. The riverboat was originally considered part of the Disney Village Marketplace, but Pleasure Island was built immediately adjacent to it in 1989, so it became part of the new area. The boat closed as a Disney operation Apr. 22, 1995, later becoming Fulton’s Crab House on Mar. 10, 1996 and Paddlefish on Feb. 4, 2017.
