Coral Reef or Cape May dinner

[cropper]

I know everyone has their preferences so give me your reasons please....

Coral Reef or Cape May


Our other ADRs are
Ohana
Crystal Palace (prior to Spectro)
Breakfast in Norway (1st visit)
Whispering Canyon (DD5 request)
Teppan Edo (1st visit)
Garden Grill (DD10 request)

 

[Carmell226]

If you have never been to Coral Reef I would give it a shot, just to see if you like it and to experience the aquarium while you eat. If you have been to Coral Reef then I would not go back. We had a terrible experience the last time we were there, the food was the worst of our whole trip and we sat down at 12:30 and did not leave until 2:00!!! But I think everyone should try something at least once
I have never been to Cape May but we are going in January and I am really excited, I have read gread things about it!

 

[chrismom3]

We've been to Coral Reef twice and had wonderful food and service both times. It is really an experience to sit and watch the fish in the aquarium while you eat. The desserts are great as well.

Cape May Cafe is a completely different experience. It's a clambake for dinner and a buffet. It also is a character dinner. The food is good but is not the best buffet on property.

I've been to both and personally enjoy Coral Reef better.

 

[ScubaCat]

We've been to Coral Reef twice and had wonderful food and service both times. It is really an experience to sit and watch the fish in the aquarium while you eat. The desserts are great as well.

Cape May Cafe is a completely different experience. It's a clambake for dinner and a buffet. It also is a character dinner. The food is good but is not the best buffet on property.

I've been to both and personally enjoy Coral Reef better.

Correction: Cape May is NOT a character dinner. The characters are only there for breakfast.

Having said that, I'd take Cape May any day! Every single thing on that buffet is delicious. Once I actually got to talking to someone on the bus about Cape May while heading back from a park and he said it's the only restaurant where you feel worse on the way out than the way in. But, in a good way..

 

[ElementCamper]

I have done both Coral Reef and Cape May, here's my .02 worth:

Coral Reef I thought was an excellent meal, I actually commented to the server that I have seen all the terrible reviews on various sites but I thought the meal and service was excellent! As to what I had, don't remember.
Having said that, I am not sure I would go back again, been there done that it was nice but...

Cape May is a must do for every trip I take, I have ressies there for my solo trip second week of December. The food is great, the variety is mind blowing and the desert table is a can't miss (be sure to go to the 'separate' table over to the side, it is easy to miss).

Coral Reef if you haven't done it but Cape May would be my choice.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We went to both 2 weeks ago.

We loved Coral Reef--maybe even better than LeCellier. Food and service were both perfect. We have ressie to go back in December when not on the dining plan. We had NY strip or Mahi Mahi. They also let you order smoothies instead of soda as your drink.

Cape May reminded me of a pot luck dinner at church--some good stuff, some yuck. We had ressie at opening and alot of the foods were not hot. The tilapia was not the white filet we buy but had a lot of dark slime in it. The carved beef was very fatty. I filled up on fruit salad and rotissiere chicken. The chicken nuggets were the kids ones like McDonalds, not the white meat tenders served in adult meals.
We do not eat clams or the other shellfish, so cannot comment.
I also did not like that the serving line went all the way around 3 sides--you could not pop in to get one thing but had to wait in a long line. I was not impressed with the desserts. We ate at Crystal Palace the night before, and the selection of food and dessert was not as good at Cape May.
The service was very good.

Our bill for 3 was about $140 at Coral Reef and $90 at Cape May. If you are paying OOP, this is a big difference.

 

[cropper]

We went to both 2 weeks ago.

Did Cape May have all you can eat crab legs then?

 

[cropper]

anyone know about the crab legs?

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Coral Reef

 

[Get me to Disney!]

Cape May, Cape May, Cape May.....we ate at 14 different TS last trip and this was our favorite. That is if you like clams, seafood, etc. Even the ceasar salad was the best! I liked it so much - we love seafood. Much happier here than Coral Reef. CR was great and all but basically the choice on the menu were which fish you wanted and it was great but I like all kinds of seafood. PM me if you have any more questions

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Totally different experiences.

I would go with Coral Reef, but only because I'm not a huge fan of buffets. The food is good and the atmosphere is great.

As buffets go Cape May is a good one, not the best on property, but good one none the less. It does get highly recommended.

So if you like buffets and the variety they offer Cape May is a good choice, if you prefer a traditional restaurant experience and cool atmosphere then Coral Reef may be a more fitting choice.

 

[hildarumpole]

Coral Reef would be the better choice. The food, atmosphere and service are excellent. We find it very relaxing after a hectic day in the park. We eat there every trip.

Cape May is only o.k. If you REALLY like clams and mussels and want to eat lots of them, then it's good. The rest of the food is nothing extraordinary. It also gets very busy and noisy, so if you like to relax, it's not the place to go. We ate there once and have no interest in returning. It's wasn't bad, just not noteworthy.

 

[ScubaCat]

anyone know about the crab legs?

I was there last June and our server told us that they generally have a "bonus item" (in this case the crab legs) whenever they have the increased holiday pricing. Now, I have no proof that this is true, but it does sort of make sense: They use the holiday pricing to "test" food for free (well, free for THEM! )

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Haven't eaten at Cape May but just ate at Coral Reef on 10/7 and it was one of the best meals of the trip in my opinion.

 

[yourMaire83]

I would do Cape May, personally.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

Coral Reef for us have all three couses and drinks already planned for next years trip.

 

[PearlySwan]

We ate at both places, thought Cape Mae for breakfast and Coral Reef for dinner. Both meals were good. Btw, Cape Mae is a character meal for breakfast only. As others have already said here, if you prefer the buffet style meals, then go for Cape Mae. However, if you prefer to dine in a really cool place with interesting theming, then by all means choose Coral Reef. My husband voted this his favorite restaurant during our last trip. He had the Mahi-Mahi. I had the halibut special. The kiddos had chicken fingers and pizza. We enjoyed our dinner quite a bit and it was nice to have the fish tank there to entertain our childen throughout the meal. Why not choose both? That way you have a basis for comparison.

 

[Minniekins]

I just read a thread that was updated a few days ago(actually started earlier this year, but posted in again this week), verifying that yes, the crab legs are back to stay, a permanent on the seafood buffet!! This was since May and they said that the CM at that time said they had been testing them and that there would be no crab crackers available on the table until they decided if the crab was a permanent item. Well, now there are crab crackers on all the tables and they are definitely back to stay !

 

[sss]

Hi,
With all due respect...I've eaten at both. My husband and I have eaten at both Coral Reef and Cape May. Coral Reef was, as my peeps say, an outrageous Shanda (to paraphrase, a terrible tragedy)...service was terrible, food was at best mediocre, the drink I ordered was not virgin but it tasted that way and for bad service and maybe mediocre food it was very expensive. DDs, ages 6,6, and 4 at the time, love the light up Tinkerbell that came with their drinks and the fish tank, of course. I would never go back there, no matter how much the kids begged, ew.
Cape May, for a buffet, I think is pretty good. With young kids, it's a lot of up and down BUT as far as food goes, there's something for everyone, it's very casual, and all round pleasant experience....haute cuisine, not so much but that isn't what it's trying to be. If I had to choose, it would be Cape May, hands down.
HTH
sss

 

[tyandbash]

I have eaten at both as well...many times. We love both places. My DH said that the steak he had at Coral Reef was the best meal of our trip last time. We also love Cape May. I am the seafood lover, but my DH finds more than enough food at Cape May and the kids love buffets.