Coral Reef Birthday Lunch 8/7/06

[Silly Girl]

Our family of four had a wonderful birthday lunch for my DH's 40th birthday at the Coral Reef. I had spoken to Meredith about a week before and made all the arrangements and thankfully they all panned out. We arrived at the Coral Reef around 1:30pm and were seated rather quickly next to the tank. My DH received his very own menu with his name printed on it and a birthday message from the Coral Reef. After receiving our drinks and having ordered our lunch the BIG surprise came (I was the only one in on this one). A scuba diver came down next to our table and held up a sign which read "Happy Birthday Dad! Love, Abby and Hadley" it was a huge hit. The waiter and the guests around us then sang Happy Birthday to my DH. My DD's were also just thrilled. This is apparently something the Coral Reef will do free of charge and it is a big hit!!! My DH was very surprised. Our lunch was great. DH had the Mahi Mahi over couscous. I had the Lobster Soup and Ceasar Salad with fried scallops. DD 10 had Chicken Breast w/Mashed Potatoes and Broccolli and DD 7 had Pizza. We all enjoyed our meal. I then had previously arranged the Chocolate Wave to be given to my DH. It came out along with a chocolate "Happy Birthday" card. Everyone enjoyed it. All in all I believe this is a great place to have a birthday dinner just remember to ask for the scuba diver with sign.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

That must have been a great surprise!

 

[helenk]

Wow, what a great treat for your DH. I did not realize that they would do that. I will keep that in mind for a future trip.
I love the Coral Reef, I know it does not get the greatest reviews here, but I think that it is a great restaurant.

 

[dznymom1]

What a wonderful birthday surprise for your DH! It sounds like a perfect birthday lunch for your family It is always great to read good reviews of Coral Reef as it is one of our favorites, and seems to take a beating here on the boards.

 

[Silly Girl]

We have always thought the Coral Reef to be a great place to dine. I forgot to mention the scuba diver came into the dining room and gave my husband the sign. So we have that along with several pictures I hope to post soon.

 

[BlindTyldak]

Very cool! Coral Reef is one of my favorite restaurants. hehe, and I share a B-day with your hubby! (I turned 33 August 7th).

 

[tinaluis]

My oldest DD shares a b-day with your DH too -- August 7th. Thank you for your wonderful restaurant review. I've already contacted Coral Reef (had to leave a messgae) to see if they can do something similar for my DDs -- one turned 5 7/27, the other turned 10 8/7 and the third will turn 8 9/11. This trip we will celebrate all of their bdays but this would really make their day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tinaluis]

UPDATE!!!! Thank you so much for your post OP. I'd never even heard of a birthday greeting for Coral Reef, but I just got off the phone with Mangagment at Coral Reef and they will present a birthday message to my daughters on 8/20 at 4:30 pm!!!!!!! My daughters are going to be FLOORED!!!! Thanks again OP!

 

[Silly Girl]

tinaluis-- I'm so excited for you. I just read your post to my DH and he smiled and repeated how great it was to get the birthday message. I'm sure your DD's will just be floored. If possible have a video camera ready, the look is priceless. Let us know how it goes when you get back. I'm glad I could help.

 

[3princesses4us]

What a cool bit of info! Thanks for sharing. DH and DDs would all think this was really cool.

 

[madge62]

We did almost the same thing on August 9, our 20th wedding anniversary. Had a 3 pm ADR and they sat us tankside as I had requested. They then presented us with personalized menus, wishing us a Happy Anniversary which was a nice surprise. I had arranged for the diver with a Happy Anniversary banner which was really cool, got a good picture of her, and then she came out later in her diving gear and gave the banner to us.

Had a wonderful meal, chose the chef's special. My DH had the shrimp and I had the reuben sandwich. Awesome food, great service, I really enjoyed our visit here.

 

[kstinw19]

UPDATE!!!! Thank you so much for your post OP. I'd never even heard of a birthday greeting for Coral Reef, but I just got off the phone with Mangagment at Coral Reef and they will present a birthday message to my daughters on 8/20 at 4:30 pm!!!!!!! My daughters are going to be FLOORED!!!! Thanks again OP!

Can you PM me the number for Coral Reef? Can I just call them directly? Do you have to do it close to the date or can I call noe for our 9/20 ressie?

We are going to celebrate my dd's birthday and I would love to surprise the family with this!

Thanks

 

[rainy~daze]

Our family of four had a wonderful birthday lunch for my DH's 40th birthday at the Coral Reef. I had spoken to Meredith about a week before and made all the arrangements and thankfully they all panned out. We arrived at the Coral Reef around 1:30pm and were seated rather quickly next to the tank. My DH received his very own menu with his name printed on it and a birthday message from the Coral Reef. After receiving our drinks and having ordered our lunch the BIG surprise came (I was the only one in on this one). A scuba diver came down next to our table and held up a sign which read "Happy Birthday Dad! Love, Abby and Hadley" it was a huge hit. The waiter and the guests around us then sang Happy Birthday to my DH. My DD's were also just thrilled. This is apparently something the Coral Reef will do free of charge and it is a big hit!!! My DH was very surprised. Our lunch was great. DH had the Mahi Mahi over couscous. I had the Lobster Soup and Ceasar Salad with fried scallops. DD 10 had Chicken Breast w/Mashed Potatoes and Broccolli and DD 7 had Pizza. We all enjoyed our meal. I then had previously arranged the Chocolate Wave to be given to my DH. It came out along with a chocolate "Happy Birthday" card. Everyone enjoyed it. All in all I believe this is a great place to have a birthday dinner just remember to ask for the scuba diver with sign.

can someone tell me, also, a # to call to request this? was it direct to the restaurant to tell them it is a birthday, and request this? also is there a separate charge, if so, anyone know about how much? THANKS!!

 

[Silly Girl]

rainy-daze and kstinw19 -- the direct number to the Coral Reef is:
407-560-6784. I would recommend calling in the morning. I spoke with a woman by the name of Meredith.

 

[serendipity]

this sounds wonderfu. I'm so happy to see some good reviews of the restaurant. I've really been looking foward to going but have seen so many negative reviews lately that I've been wary!

 

[Silly Girl]

can someone tell me, also, a # to call to request this? was it direct to the restaurant to tell them it is a birthday, and request this? also is there a separate charge, if so, anyone know about how much? THANKS!!

I forgot to tell you there is no charge for the diver with banner!!!!

 

[ThreeAngels]

Oh, AWESOME! We are eating dinner at Coral Reef on 10/8 for DD's 7th birthday. I would LOVE to surprise everyone by arranging this. Thank you SO much for the info Silly Girl.

 

[Minniespal]

Thanx for sharing.

 

[catherine]

Thanks for posting this info. We're going to be at WDW for DD's 10th birthday, so I'm going to go ahead and phone them to see if we can get this done!

 

[tinaluis]

Just wanted to update you OP and let you know that the birthday greeting was the highlight of our trip. We had dinner at the Coral Reef on 8/20 complete with a birthday message from the scuba diver in the tank. My dauthers were over the moon! It was so AWESOME! Thanks again for taking the time to post about your experience. I would not have known about it if it weren't for you.