Despite not having the rights to Ocean’s Eleven, the script for a smash sequel to the film franchise just wrote itself at Walt Disney World. In a ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ scenario, a scuba diver robbed a popular Disney Springs restaurant and escaped following the heist without capture. Here’s the latest, plus our commentary.
Investigators are searching for a Florida Scuba Man they say robbed Paddlefish restaurant by swimming up in scuba gear and a wetsuit and then swimming away after stealing tens of thousands of dollars. The robber hit restaurant shortly after midnight on Monday, after it closed to guests, according to a report released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and reviewed by WFTV 9.
As you might be aware, Paddlefish is a boat. Or rather, a boat-like building. Regardless, that’s what enabled the Florida Scuba Man to swim in and out of Paddlefish without being detected. Although this story would be even more bizarre and amusing if Florida Scuba Man elected to rob Morimoto Asia or Blaze Pizza. No one would’ve suspected a dude walking around in scuba gear to heist a restaurant on land.
In case you’re unfamiliar with it, Paddlefish is the former Empress Lilly. It’s a replica paddle steamer riverboat on Lake Buena Vista at Disney Springs. The “boat” is 220 feet long and 62 feet wide; a building with a submerged concrete foundation that’s shaped like a boat. It’s existed at Walt Disney World since 1976, first containing three restaurants and a jazz lounge.
Back when I was a youngster and this was the Disney Village Marketplace, the Empress Lily hosted one of the first character breakfasts at Walt Disney World. By the time I was a bit older, we had one of the fanciest meals of my childhood at Fulton’s Crab House. (I ate too much butter and got sick.)
Fulton’s closed in 2016, and a new restaurant called Paddlefish took its place. Paddlefish is fine, but lacking in personality and charm as compared with the Empress Lily or even Fulton’s Crab House.
Perhaps Florida Scuba Man targeted Paddlefish for his heist to protest the overabundance of greys and sterile, corporate look. Or maybe he used to reside in the Rivers of America and was evicted. Either way, no jury (of diehard Walt Disney World fans) would convict him.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies said the Florida Scuba Man found a place to store his wetsuit and scuba gear before walking into the manager’s office, where cash from the night was being counted and deposited into a safe.
The redacted report shows Florida Man (now minus his scuba gear) forced two employees to go to the corner of the room and told them to close their eyes. Sources familiar with the investigation told WFTV that he tied the employees up during the heist.
One victim told deputies she was standing in the doorway of the manager’s office completing paperwork when Florida Man came in, pushed them, and made them get on their knees.
She described the suspect as a man wearing all black, including a blue hat, rubber gloves, a ski mask, and socks, but no shoes. A second victim at the scene told a similar story.
While on land, Florida Man stole between $10,000 and $20,000 of cash; the exact amount is unclear. There are two charges on the pending OSCO report for robbery and grand theft.
The Paddlefish employees said he left within two minutes, and they called 911 after freeing themselves. Neither of the employees were hurt and the man did not brandish any weapons per the sheriff’s report. They referred to the event as a strong-arm robbery and grand theft.
After leaving the “boat” building, investigators believe the Florida Man donned his scuba gear, jumped back into Lake Buena Vista, and swam off into the night without a trace. A search for the man immediately after the robbery was reported yielded no results.
The Orange County Sheriff’s released an image of the suspect with reflective goggles and a completely covered face (above–not below). That image appears to show the suspect spray painting a security camera.
The employees described the man wearing tight clothing and a blue beanie. They said he was slim and approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
The restaurant opened as normal to guests at noon on Monday. There were no obvious signs of an increased security presence around Paddlefish, which seems like a mistake given the propensity for copycat Florida Scuba Men who will undoubtedly recognize the restaurant as a soft target.
Levy Restaurant Group, the third-party operating participant and owner of Paddlefish, referred all questions to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The OCSO said the investigation was ongoing. Detectives from Disney Tourist Blog report that they will be pursuing additional leads at the Boathouse (which is neither a boat nor a house) in the near future.
Turning to commentary, I really don’t know what to say about this. On the one hand, I’ve been disheartened by the rising number of Americans who have come out as unabashedly pro-crime over the last few years. As one of America’s most distinguished philosophers once said, “you do not, under any circumstances, ‘gotta hand it to’” the terror group ISIS.
On the other hand, maybe we kind of do have to hand it to Florida Scuba Man? I mean, no one got hurt, it’s an undeniably hilarious story (unless you own or work at Paddlefish), and it was an A+ heist idea. Aren’t the dudes from Ocean’s Eleven coded as likeable antiheroes despite being criminals? Although in that case, being good-looking probably doesn’t hurt. Jury’s still out on Florida Scuba Man in the looks department.
With any luck, the Florida Scuba Man will be caught by the week’s end (probably drunkenly bragging about his exploits while running around his neighborhood, pants-less).
And another week after that, his agent will be negotiating the rights to his life story for far more than $20,000 with CEO Bob Iger, who will make this heist into a Disney+ original or an Only Burglaries in the Boat-Building spin-off.
Ultimately, that seems like the best ‘everybody wins’ outcome to me. While we don’t normally report on the crime beat here at Disney Tourist Blog, I just couldn’t resist this one. The story is too good not to share. And although I’d normally leave the amateur sleuthing to Reddit, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out what’s probably obvious–that this sounds a lot like an inside job.
This isn’t even the first aquatic crime conducted at Walt Disney World in the last several years! During the COVID closure, Alabama Man was arrested for illegally camping on Discovery Island. Orange County officers conducted a search by foot, boat and helicopter and eventually found the man after he had been there for a few days.
Walt Disney World security Cast Members had seen Alabama Man making his way to Discovery Island using a company boat. Despite this, the man managed to evade detection for several days, sleeping in one of the island’s buildings. Once found, he was arrested on a trespassing charge, taken to jail without incident, and banned from all Disney properties.
Upon being arrested, the man told Orange County officers that he was “unaware” the area was off-limits and that he had been trespassing while on the property, and referred to Discovery Island as a “tropical paradise,” according to the arrest report. Discovery Island was gated off and has numerous “no trespassing” signs in place. In his defense, Alabama Man might’ve been illiterate.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on the Florida Scuba Man who heisted Paddlefish? Is he a loveable antihero, agent of hilarity and chaos; or a scoundrel deserving of the slammer? Hope this ends up being a Disney+ original series? What do you think of the Alabama Man who camped at Discovery Island? Agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
