Construction work appears to be done on Lone Palm Airport Bar at Universal CityWalk Orlando. The bar is usually home to Jimmy Buffett’s airplane the Hemisphere Dancer, but it was removed for refurbishment last June and has not returned.
Lone Palm Airport Bar
The bar, located across from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, closed in March for construction. It reopened in April but work was still wrapping up. The patio has now completely reopened.
The bar got a new straw roof. Some of its decorations were removed for construction but they’ve returned, including the pelican wearing sunglasses.
The Lone Palm Airport Bar signs appear to have been repainted. The colors look much brighter.
Tables, chairs, and umbrellas have returned to the patio, which was completely repaved. There were some bins and a cardboard box on the patio when we visited, apparently for cleaning before the bar opened for the day.
There’s a beach space in the corner of the patio with three lawn chairs.
Three green barrels sit in the patio where we previously noticed concrete forms. These may be future supports for the Hemisphere Dancer, which is set to return this year. After the plane was removed, Universal released this statement:
The Hemisphere Dancer has been temporarily removed from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville for refurbishment. She will return to CityWalk Orlando next year.
The Universal Orlando Resort webpage for Lone Palm Airport Bar notes:
Jimmy Buffett’s airplane, Hemisphere Dancer, is being refurbished under the care of Buffett’s personal team for the next several months. It will return to its home at Universal CityWalk once completed.
The plane is a Grumman HU-16 Albatross seaplane manufactured in 1955 and originally used by the U.S. Navy. Buffett purchased and restored it in 1995, at which time he named it the Hemisphere Dancer.
The plane is referenced in the song “Jamaica Mistaica” and heavily featured in Buffett’s memoir “A Pirate Looks at Fifty.”
Jimmy Buffett passed away in 2023 at the age of 76.
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