Crews have started to replace the roofing and construct a new patio for the Lone Palm Airport Bar at Universal CityWalk Orlando.
Lone Palm Airport Bar
The Margaritaville bar closed earlier this month for construction, nine months after Jimmy Buffett’s plane, the Hemisphere Dancer, was removed from the patio.
When we last checked in on the bar, its old straw roofing had been removed, exposing the wood beneath. Crews have installed new weather-proof sheathing on the roof. The bar’s signage and some props remain attached to the frame above the roof.
A sign now points to additional seating by the waterfront.
There are several tables and chairs, some with umbrellas, making up for the lack of seating around the bar.
Behind the construction walls, where patio seating used to be available, dirt has been flattened and work is underway on new structures. Near the back railing is a wooden framework on the ground.
There are three circular concrete forms. These may be for new permanent structures — maybe new supports for Buffett’s plane.
When the Hemisphere Dancer was removed last summer, Margaritaville said in a statement the plane would return in 2025. According to the Lone Palm Airport Bar webpage, it is “being refurbished under the care of Buffett’s personal team”. The work around the bar may be to prepare it for the plane’s imminent return.
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