Ariels Restaurant at the Beach Club

[GalDisney]

Hi
Does anyone know what this restaurant was (type of food, service, character?)and when it was in operation, and when it closed??

 

[PrincessKara22]

I just know that now its for private functions. I think maybe it was some sort of bar/lounge before. It might be open seasonally depending on crowd levels?
EDIT: Sorry that really didn't answer any of your questions did it!!! I remember walking past it a bunch when we stayed at BC & thinking it was pretty and wanting to sit in there.

 

[purple figment]

It was a table service seafood restaurant. We ate there back in the1990's when we were staying at the Yacht Club. According to allears it closed in May 1997.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I assume it was only in operation for a few years after Beach Club opened. I've heard it was mostly a seafood restaurant, but people were disappointed because the restaurant was named after the Little Mermaid yet it was fancy and didn't have characters.

Here's the only information I could find about it, from a 1991 article about YC and BC's opening:

"In the Beach Club, Ariel's restaurant offers such selections as baked Maine lobster stuffed with crabmeat ($29.50) and a "pasta nest" of lobster sauteed in lemon garlic butter ($26.50)."

 

[verret72]

My sister had her wedding reception here in 2002. It was only being used for special events. She had heard sometime after that they were closing it completely. not sure if that happened or not. Its too bad because it was beautiful. With the introduction of the dining plan they definatley could use some more restaurants.

 

[tortoni]

I think that the bar in Ariel's is sometimes open for cocktails.

 

[jodifla]

We ate there when the BC first opened. It was an upscale seafood restaurant. It's mystifying that it closed, while the Yachtsman Steakhouse is open all these years later.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

We ate there when the BC first opened. It was an upscale seafood restaurant. It's mystifying that it closed, while the Yachtsman Steakhouse is open all these years later.

I wish Ariel's was still around. I never tried it, but I always wanted to because I love seafood (and Ariel, she's my favorite princess ). It would really round out the Yacht and Beach Club's dining options. Yacht has the steakhouse which is a land-based option, and Beach Club would have a seafood-based signature of its own. Then there's the casual Captain's Grille, the fun Beaches and Cream for burgers and shakes, and the clambake/character breakfast at Cape May. I don't think 5 TS restaurants is too many, since they're split among 2 resorts. After all, GF has 5 TS on its own, Poly has 2 and the luau, CR has 3, AKL has 3 (including Sanaa at Kidani), and Boardwalk has 4.

I guess with Flying Fish so close, Ariel's would be kind of redundant now. But then again, Yachtsman and the new signature Le Cellier dinner are also quite close, and both seem to be doing fine.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We ate there 3 times while it was a seafood restaurant. If it were open today, it would rate up there with Flying Fish and Blue Zoo.

One year they actually had a 3-piece "combo" walking around the restaurant entertaining.

One rumor I heard was that the Boardwalk put it out of business-

 

[bluejasmine]

We plan on using Ariels for rehearsal dinner for our VR next yr.. Its perfect we are doing a under the sea theme and the reception is at the Living Seas Salon..Im going to do a site visit in about a month and I cant wait to see it!

 

[madalex]

I think that the bar in Ariel's is sometimes open for cocktails.

I've stayed at YC or BC 20 times since 1997, so I know the area well. There is a lounge (called Martha's Vineyard) next to Ariel's; that lounge is open daily. In all my visits, however, I've never seen Ariel's open to the general public for cocktails.

 

[Ace315]

I ate at Ariel's around 1996. It was a nice seafood sit down family restaurant. Pretty decor, kind of expensive, no characters, a nice big fish tank, and details like shell and star-shaped pats of butter. I remember food being good but nothing special really about the restaurant compared to other Disney restaurants. What stands out for me was the great service. My son fell asleep and the staff automatically put chairs together for him to sleep comfortably and I was very impressed

 

[TDC Nala]

Ariel's can still be rented out for special events. I went to one last October.

 

[jwall840]

Does anyone have an idea of how muchAriel's rubs per person??? Getting ideas for my wedding!!!

 

[elphie101]

We used Ariel's for our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding (we called it our 'Welcome Party' because we invited our entire guest list). All the wedding reception spaces at WDW have a food & beverage minimum that needs to be met to host a private event there (which can vary based on morning versus night and plated vs buffet).

I'm currently recapping my wedding in the wedding & honeymoon section if you want to see what our Ariel's party looked like - the post is here. We ended up having about 65 people with a buffet menu we built ourselves.