Cape May v Flying Fish

[eddieras]

ok - i'm sure this'll start a loud debate but i'm torn as to which restaurant to go to pre-illuminations next week.

i've read tons about both- cape may reviews are all over the board. flying fish has gotten good reviews but i'm unsure of the menu =-and it's pricey.

i do like the idea that flying fish is at boardwalk and we've never been there. thought it'd be nice to walk around after our meal.

about us - we all love seafood. son 11, daughter 8 and wife and me. we're planning on eating at one of them before illuminations. i have ADR thurs for both and want to cancel one.

give me your honest opinions and advice-- also, if we ate at cape may - is that near enough the boardwalk too? could we walk from the restaurant to there before the show?

thanks!

 

[gokenin]

ok - i'm sure this'll start a loud debate but i'm torn as to which restaurant to go to pre-illuminations next week.

i've read tons about both- cape may reviews are all over the board. flying fish has gotten good reviews but i'm unsure of the menu =-and it's pricey.

i do like the idea that flying fish is at boardwalk and we've never been there. thought it'd be nice to walk around after our meal.

about us - we all love seafood. son 11, daughter 8 and wife and me. we're planning on eating at one of them before illuminations. i have ADR thurs for both and want to cancel one.

give me your honest opinions and advice-- also, if we ate at cape may - is that near enough the boardwalk too? could we walk from the restaurant to there before the show?

thanks!

There are a diffrences between the two cape may is buffet style unlike the FF which is more of an upend fish meal so it depends on which type of resturant you are looking for. You can get to the boardwalk from cape may by simply walking around the lagoon and coming to the boardwalk over by the dance club or if you dont want to walk around the lagoon you can simply take the boat across the lagoon to the boardwalk hope these helps.

 

[Harambe]

We love Cape May - but we like the whole buffet, not necessarily just the seafood (being from the North Shore, we know what fresh is, so we steer clear, looking to not disappoint ourselves). And we love the dessert offerings at Cape May.

FF - we thought it was over priced, and the food was only okay. The restarurant is gorgeous, and the servers were lovely, but we wouldn't bother going back.

 

[Christine]

While Cape May is called a "seafood" buffet, in my opinion, it's not like the seafood buffets you get when you to Myrtle Beach or wherever. There are a few seafood items on there, more so than at the other buffets, but it's not 100% seafood. I'm not even sure if it is 50% seafood.

Having said that, it is one of my favorite buffets. I don't know how far of a walk it would be to the Boardwalk area. I know you can see it from there but that doesn't mean it's a close walk. I'm sure there's a boat that can take you.

 

[MickeyNicki]

If you are in the mood for seafood I would say go to Flying Fish. We love Cape May but the only seafood on it are the steamers, mussels, peel and eat shrimp, clam chowder and catch of the day (in Feb it was salmon and in April it was fried talapia).

We are huge fans of Cape May Clambake and make sure we go there on every trip

 

[madalex]

FF is a great restaurant (one of my favorites at WDW), but it is pricey, so if that is a concern, Cape May may be better for you.

If you want to visit BW, BC is right across the lagoon from BW and it is only a few minute walk. Don't take the boat to get from BC to BW. It will be much quicker to walk, as from BC you still have to walk to the boat dock, which is closer to YC, and you will have to wait for a boat, which could be several minutes.

From BC, it is easy to walk to BW by heading towards Epcot and then taking the bridge over the water. Despite an earlier suggestion, it is a much longer walk (relatively speaking) if you go by heading towards S/D and coming to the BW over by the dance club.

 

[jimmalru80]

We dine at both restaurants, and we'll be visiting both again in June. We enjoy them, but as the previous posters have said, the restaurants are different. For us, the Cape May is about quantity while the Flying Fish is about quality. Either way, you will enjoy yourselves.

 

[themudd4]

We adore Cape May...It is not a seafood buffet it is a clam bake. Keep that in mind. But they have other delious items as well.
We have never had Flying Fish. It was just not something we wanted to pay that much OOP for.

 

[ParrotBill]

Other replies are good guidance about the differences... Flying fish is fancy food and Cape May is family food in my simplified view.

But the thing I can address for you is the walkaround afterward. There isn't nearly as much going on outside at the boardwalk as there used to be... it's mostly the food stands and the stores and restaurants. It can be good for a dessert after dinner - gelato or a crepe for example.

Time is a factor though. Dinner at Cape May will be about an hour. At Flying fish count on closer to 2 hours.

From Cape May the walk is only 10 minutes, or you can take the next boat that goes straight across the lagoon.. which will in all probability also be about 10 minutes or even longer. If you walk go toward the swan and dolphin, walking the length of the Boardwalk, and then continue to the International Gateway of EPCOT.

But... remember your timing for finding a place to view IllumiNations. If you are needy about a really good viewing place and it is a busy season then people will be camping the good spots starting at 8pm. If you are not so needy and it is not busy season then 15 minute early is good enough.

Dinnner 6 to 7 or 8 pm
Boardwalk: plenty of time if done at 7pm, time is tight if you finish 8pm

 

[gatour]

Flying Fish and Cape May are vastly different dining experiences. Flying Fish is a fine dining type restaurant while Cape May is a buffet. I like good quality buffets,but I would consider Cape as medium quality at best and only go with the in-laws since they think all buffets are great.

 

[Paul in CT]

ok - i'm sure this'll start a loud debate but i'm torn as to which restaurant to go to pre-illuminations next week.

i've read tons about both- cape may reviews are all over the board. flying fish has gotten good reviews but i'm unsure of the menu =-and it's pricey.

i do like the idea that flying fish is at boardwalk and we've never been there. thought it'd be nice to walk around after our meal.

about us - we all love seafood. son 11, daughter 8 and wife and me. we're planning on eating at one of them before illuminations. i have ADR thurs for both and want to cancel one.

give me your honest opinions and advice-- also, if we ate at cape may - is that near enough the boardwalk too? could we walk from the restaurant to there before the show?

thanks!

We have dined at both, but have returned several times only to FF. There is no comparison in food quality, but that is to be expected since one is a buffet and the other is "fine dining" (and you pay for it). FF may be a few minutes closer by walking, but I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor.

We like to eat late so we usually make an ADR at FF for AFTER IllumiNations. We are usually one of the last parties to leave the restaurant, but they never rush us out.

 

[eddieras]

thank you everyone for the great info and advice!
i think i'm leaning to cape may

here's our plan -
we have ADR at Cape May for 630 on 5/17. Following dinner, i'd like to walk around the boardwalk and then go off to illuminations.

is this doable, with the dinner, walking to boardwalk and then off to illuminations?