Anyone LIKE Coral Reef?

[jenjersnap]

So, DH doesn't even want to go to Disney. Too soon, he says, and we're going to Disneyland in January. He's humoring me, however, for the sake of free dining and I am in turn humoring him ... he's gotten to choose where we stay, etc. and I asked him to give me a wishlist of restaurants. His only request was Coral Reef because he thinks our boys will like seeing the fish.

We've attempted to eat there before but a pipe broke literally while we were waiting to be seated and the restaurant was pretty much closed the rest of our vacation. Reviews have been uniformly poor. So, I am looking for someone who has had a good experience there with the food, wait time and service. If I can't find some positives, I need to try to convince him it's not a good idea.

All of us, including the older boys, love seafood so the limited menu doesn't bother me.

Thanks!

 

[BlindTyldak]

I've eaten at CR more times than any other restaurant in the parks, usually several times per trip. The food has always been excellent, the servers in the "well above average" to "may we adopt you?" in quality, and the longest wait I've had with an ADR was ten minutes, most of the time walking in immediately. Make SURE you order the lobster bisque!!!

 

[Jessd]

We went in July last year and loved it! As a matter of fact, Coral Reef is the only input that he had into our ADRs this trip. He didn't care where we ate as long as Coral Reef was on our list. We will be going there for Christmas day lunch.

The portions weren't huge, but it was enough for us. DH said the shrimp appetizer was great and the beef appetizer was amazing.

The kids loved seeing the fish. A huge turtle went swimming by and the kids were thrilled. Divers were swimming by the window waving and trying to talk with people. Our wait was maybe 10 minutes.

 

[mollyseven]

Hey there. We went to Coral Reef in May for our first ever trip and it was our first official dinner there. Kids Loved loved loved it.
We sat very close to the tank and during dinner the divers were in the pool and the kids thought that was the best. The divers waved and swam by for what seemed like forever. Lucky for us cause the wait between appetizer and meal was about 50 minutes which is a long time for small kids. The waitress said it was because of my daughters well done steak request....but ?? The food was average but the waitress was good and we were seated within 10 minutes of check in. DInner took 2 hours and we probably wouldn't go again but definitely worth it once for the kids.....same can be said for CRT~ once is a must but not worth twice. Oh yes and of all our meals for the entire week including CRT(which is 2ts and Coral Reef is only 1) the Coral Reef was the most expensive..197.00 for the 4 of us for dinner. Luckily we had the dining plan.
Enjoy.

 

[rlrx]

We ate there last Friday. It was also the first meal of our trip and very good. It wasn't the best meal of our trip but was definitely great food. The atmosphere was great. We waited about 10 minutes but showed up early for our ADRs so it wasn't bad at all. I agree that it would be pricey if you weren't on the dining plan.

 

[jaycns]

The Coral Reef is the first choice for all of us on every WDW vacation...if we could only do one resturant...the Coral Reef would be it! We love the atmosphere. The shrimp cocktail is beyond good. The service has always been friendly for us and the fish/turtle/sharks are amazing!

 

[tabrizia]

We ate here last time we went (back in 2001 for our honeymoon). When I was planning our trip I asked hubby if he had any restaraunt requests, his only request was we had to go back to Coral Reef. Even as a 2TS restaraunt (which was changed to 1 before we made reservations) this was his main choice. When we went the food was good, and it was nice seeing the fish swim around you. The service was very good and the wait time was only 15 minutes or so and that was as walkups. Note this was 5 years ago so things may have changed some, but overall we really enjoyed the restaraunt when we went in 2001 which is why we are going back.

 

[Uncleromulus]

All the reviews aren't bad--here's mine from out trip in Oct. last year:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=10231352&postcount=1

 

[kaytieeldr]

So, DH doesn't even want to go to Disney. Too soon, he says, and we're going to Disneyland in January. He's humoring me, however, for the sake of free dining and I am in turn humoring him ...
Thanks!

From someone who "knows" (and apologizes in advance for responding to a non-restaurant portion of your post )... Please tell your husband that you NEED to visit the two parks in a relatively short period of time so you can do genuine comparisons while the features of the first park are still fresh in your mind

 

[ReallyFunMom]

I think the reviews might be changing b/c more people are on the DDP. You are more likely to get the small portions and too expensive comments from those going OOP and just ordering an entree.

 

[PamNC]

nope. It is cool seeing the fish, but we found the food to be, well....borderline awful. Service was good.

Sorry to have to say that.

PamNC

 

[BCV23]

We dined there on our April/May trip for the first time in some years. We enjoyed it very much.

 

[webmomom]

We love this restuarant. The service has always been good, and food also good. I love atmosphere of this restuarant.

 

[Gradar1]

Coral Reef is amazing! Service is good, the food is delcious, and the view of the aquarium is wonderful--if you've got picky eaters, their mac and cheese is delicious!

 

[Sazzo'sMommy]

We have never done DDP and always pay out of pocket! We go to WDW three to four times a year and eat at CR each time we go! It is in our top five must eats each time I make ADR's. I ask DH and DD(3) and they both say CR every time! We love the food, atmosphere, and wait staff! Last time we told our server that we were there just for the chocolate wave and in one minute he was back with the recipe for me! Now that's service!

 

[Buzzandthemermaid]

I ate there last September on the DDP (when it was 2 TS). The service was great. The atmosphere obviously can't be beat. The food was average. I assumed there would be lobster or crab legs, especially for 2 TS. Now that it's down to 1 TS, I would definitely recommend it. DW wanted to go again this year, but I vetoed to try Le Cellier. Gotta see what all the hype's about!

 

[liznboys]

I've posted many times that we had three wonderful lunches there last year. We love Coral Reef for lunch-we made our ADR's for right when they opened at 12 Noon, so we were one of the first groups of the day there.

Oh and our little boys love it there!!

 

[Vina]

I liked it there. The atmosphere is nice (sitting right next to the tank can make waiting for your meal go by quickly!) Some very fresh fish and, I agree, the lobster bisque is wonderful!

Only problem is some eager beavers thought it'd be okay sitting right next to the glass right by our table, butts close to our heads! Even more ironic is that their table was right across from our's, they were 2nd closest to the aquarium but that apparently wasn't good enough.

 

[pozey]

We had dinner there in May. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. The atmosphere was fabulous, the food was very good, service was excellent, and the price was not that much more than other places we dined.

My kids - DS(10), DS(7), and DD(3) - all loved it. They enjoyed watching the people scuba dive in the tank. In fact, my 10 year old just last night mentioned that he definitely wants to go back to Coral Reef on our next Disney vacation.

 

[scrump]

I really like Coral Reef, the tank is super cool. The food is good, we've always enjoyed the service. The Chocolate Wave was the most amazing dessert!