Coral Reef and 50's Primetime Cafe

CinderelliCinderelli

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
69
I have heard not so great things about these restaurants. These are two places we have ADRs at. I ate at Coral Reef years ago and loved it but it doesn't seem as wonderful as I remember. I am just wondering if there was anything that people ate at either of these places that they actually liked??
 
We ate at both these places last visit which was this past September. We loved them both. I had the Mahi Mahi at the CR and my DH and DS had the steak. We all thought the food was awesome, the best of our trip. For PTcafe I had the port roast and my DH and DS had the fried chicken, again everyone loved the food. We all loved the atmosphere. My younger kids ate their kids meals at both places, but hey chicken nuggets and pizza are pretty much the same everywhere.:lmao: I think it just depends on who your waitperson is and how busy the restaurant is when you go. I say go and try it. It could be some of the best food of your trip.;)
 
I will always happily volunteer as a defender of both restaurants. :thumbsup2 We have eaten at Coral Reef in 2001, 2004, 2007, and March of this year. We've eaten at Prime Time in 2001, 2006, and 2007. We're eating at BOTH on our May trip.

I enjoy the atmosphere at Coral Reef. It can be loud, but we try to sit on the first level, either against the glass or in the booths on that level. I also enjoy the food. :)

At Prime Time, I actually really like the food. The appetizers are good (at least the onion rings and shrimp are), I love the pot roast meal, and the shakes are great! We've never had overbearing waiters/waitresses, but we'd be fine if we did.

My consistent caveat to threads about restaurants that go unheralded by the DIS: try the places you want. We have favorites that aren't generally endorsed here, including Coral Reef, Teppan Edo (which we do every trip), and California Grill (it's given mixed reviews). We also enjoy/love ones that ARE loved - Yachtsman Steakhouse, Boma, etc. We experience them for ourselves. It's hard to ignore when a restaurant is dissed by the DIS, but we try. :) Go and enjoy!
 
I'm not sure that people dislike Coral Reef for the food or the fact that it is often a very noisy place with terrible service. I ate here twice this year and I thought the Mahi Mahi was decent but I did not care for the Catfish/grits dish. Both of these dishes were heavy on the sauce which ruins the delicate flavor of the fish but the Mahi Mahi was less sauced and therefore okay.

I have never had bad food at 50's. It's not fancy but I've thought it was good. We took some first timers on one of the trips this year and they thought this was the best meal of their trip, better than the 3 signatures we ate at. We all had the fried chicken and it was better than it had been on prior visits. I also love the smores dessert here more than any other dessert on property.
 

PT 50s is an all-time fave of mine, and I dont spend a day at HS w-out a lunch or dinner there. The food isnt fancy, but it's tasty, and the atmosphere is fun. Very family friendly :thumbsup2
 
Coral reef is one of our favs! My steak I had there was very good. Best flavored steak I ever had. Go there and enjoy :) Oh and it was not nosy at all when we were there and we had great service.

Have not tried Prime Time yet but we plan on it in May.
 
I'm not sure that people dislike Coral Reef for the food or the fact that it is often a very noisy place with terrible service. I ate here twice this year and I thought the Mahi Mahi was decent but I did not care for the Catfish/grits dish. Both of these dishes were heavy on the sauce which ruins the delicate flavor of the fish but the Mahi Mahi was less sauced and therefore okay.

This was essentially our experience in October. The restaurant was so incredibly loud you literally had to shout to be heard by your table mates. I expect noise in a WDW restaurant, but this was craziness. Added to that, our server was simply terrible. She tried to talk me out of the entree I ordered because "a lot of people think that smells funny, are you sure you want it". She was also perturbed that we wouldn't order dessert when we ordered our entrees. She practically threw the menues back at us so we could order later. After that we did order dessert we didn't see her again for about 20 minutes so that we could settle the bill. Never again.
 
Our first experience with the Prime Time came in 2007, we loved it! fantastic and our server was great, October 2008, our server seemed alittle over the top and over bearing and we were uncertain if she was trying to be in character or just plain rude? We couldn't tell, it certainly does matter what server you draw at the 50sPT.
 
We had dinner at both Coral Reef and 50's PT and loved both places. The food and atmosphere were great at both restaurants.
 
I haven't eaten at Coral Reef in ages, but 50s is one of my favorites :thumbsup2 We like to go for lunch since there's a lack of good CS at HS. Last time I was there I had the Caesar salad with salmon. It was absolutely delicious! My Mom always gets a coke float and loves it. My parents the last time we were there each got a fried fish sandwich which they enjoyed. My Mom & I get the fried chicken a lot and my Dad likes the meatloaf...anything else ;)
 
This was essentially our experience in October. The restaurant was so incredibly loud you literally had to shout to be heard by your table mates. I expect noise in a WDW restaurant, but this was craziness. Added to that, our server was simply terrible. She tried to talk me out of the entree I ordered because "a lot of people think that smells funny, are you sure you want it". She was also perturbed that we wouldn't order dessert when we ordered our entrees. She practically threw the menues back at us so we could order later. After that we did order dessert we didn't see her again for about 20 minutes so that we could settle the bill. Never again.

Sorry you had such a terrible time. That would definitely put a big damper on my night. I wonder, though, if you'd consider going again - not because it pains me that you didn't like it, but just because it sounds like a crummy experience had a lot to do with a particular server, who you'd likely not get again. And maybe you were there with a boisterous crowd? In any event, hopefully you go back some day and have a MUCH IMPROVED experience!
 
I have to say I enjoy both, but for the atmosphere not the food. Being a picky eater I ate selections from the children's menu! ;)
Best thing at 50's PT - chocolate ice cream soda
Best thing at Coral Reef - Chocolate Wave
 
I have heard not so great things about these restaurants. These are two places we have ADRs at. I ate at Coral Reef years ago and loved it but it doesn't seem as wonderful as I remember. I am just wondering if there was anything that people ate at either of these places that they actually liked??

We simply love 50s Prime Time Cafe. The food is ok but the atmosphere is hysterical. Where else can you be admonished for not eating all you veggies and have your server feed them to you? My MIL had a malt with her meal and she said it was the best she ever had. The Vanilla Coke was just awesome. I've had meat loaf, pot roast, pork tenderloin and fried chicken on previous visits. Like I said the food is okay, all comfort food but its the atmosphere of that place that we really love. It's a must ADR for us every trip.
We also really loved Le Cellier at Epcot, Akershus Banquet Hall at Epcot, DW really like Tony's Town Square restaurant at MK and I really liked the Garden Grill at Epcot although DW didn't. Always wanted try Coral Reef but peanut allergy of DS3 stopped us from even trying.
 
Sorry you had such a terrible time. That would definitely put a big damper on my night. I wonder, though, if you'd consider going again - not because it pains me that you didn't like it, but just because it sounds like a crummy experience had a lot to do with a particular server, who you'd likely not get again. And maybe you were there with a boisterous crowd? In any event, hopefully you go back some day and have a MUCH IMPROVED experience!

Actually, I had been several years ago and didn't particular care for it. Although I can't remember what the details of that were. So, this visit was sort of a "let's give it one more shot". I would probably consider going again if there was something on the menu that really interested me...and I'd have to have a couple shots of something first to take the edge off. :rotfl2: I do know some folks love CR, which is great for them. Different strokes for different folks.
 
Never eaten at CR, but we've had ADRs for 50s PTC every trip. We love it. Simple food, but tasty. Great entertainment and a really fun atmosphere. It is always on our "must do" list.:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
 
I have no idea what I had at Coral Reef but it was good. We all enjoyed our meals and dessert. In fact all of our meals were pretty wonderful
 
Actually, I had been several years ago and didn't particular care for it. Although I can't remember what the details of that were. So, this visit was sort of a "let's give it one more shot". I would probably consider going again if there was something on the menu that really interested me...and I'd have to have a couple shots of something first to take the edge off. :rotfl2: I do know some folks love CR, which is great for them. Different strokes for different folks.

Gotcha! Well, so much for my well-meaning advice. Kudos to you for trying again. :)
 
We had a terrible experience at the Primetime Cafe. Would not reccomend.

It's good to have varying opinions on threads like these. Thanks for sharing that your experience was poor. If I may, though, it isn't helpful if you can't share more details. Of course no need to go into specifics, but can you say if it was the food? service? other patrons? Thanks. :)
 















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