Coral Reef Restaurant?

[CruznHunter]

We will be taking our sons to Disney soon & wondered if those who've been to Coral Reef reccommend it? Do you really see a lot of marine life in the tanks (easily) while eating? Is it pretty neat to see, or not really much to see at all?
Thanks!

Me(35) DH(37) DS(8) DS(5)

 

[bas71873]

On our first trip in 2008, Coral Reef was our favorite meal. We, party of 5 (4 adults & one 4 year old) were seated in a "U" shaped booth with a direct view of the tank....sort of on the 2nd levelish if I recall correctly. We even got to see some divers in the tank. DD especially loved the build your own sundae that came at the end of her kids meal. I believe I also asked for a good view of the tank when we checked in for our ressie and was willing to wait for a good table if we had too.

 

[bellebud]

we LOVE coral reef! we've sat up against the glass, and also back further. Of course being by the glass is fun, but back further is ok too. I'd definitely go.

Enjoy!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We went on our last trip in 2009 and even though we were up on the second level, we could still see all of the marinelife in the tanks. It was pretty cool and the kids loved the huge turtle that kept swimming by! If I were to do it again, I'd want a seat closer to the tanks. Maybe you could try to request that.

 

[tzolkin]

We enjoyed it. (Kids were 11, 6, and 4)

We were seated on the second level at a table instead of a booth. We put the kids on the side closer to the tank and we saw a lot throughout the meal. Several animals (I mostly remember a giant turtle) came right up to the glass, so they were neat see how they move fairly close up. We also saw a few divers.

I think you would have a good view from any seat in the restaurant. Obviously some tables are farther from the tank, but then you have a better view of the entire wall instead of just the area right next to your table.


My kids also enjoyed the food. The "child" meals come with an appetizer, so my two little ones both had lobster soup, grilled fish for the entree, and the make-your-own sundaes for dessert. Older DD had the steak.

 

[marmalade]

This is one of our favorite restaurants. We have never been seated close to the glass but we have always have had a great view of the tanks. The tank is huge, it is the entire one wall so there really insn't a bad table in the restaurant. Our last visit Mickey even made a surprise dive.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

We really enjoyed it. The food was good and the sea turtle hung right by the glass for most of our dinner. At 6p a group of divers (~ 8 people) were in the tank too.

 

[annacali]

We are also fans. Our last visit in June my girls (ages 5 and 7) were enthralled by the shark that kept swimming by. There were divers in there at one point during dinner too. The make your own sundaes were a big hit for all the kids at our table too. All the adults were pretty happy with their entrees too.

 

[Fyrefly]

I thought it was fantastic. We got a tankside table, and there were starfish, other fish, but the highlight was this massive 3 ft grouper which swam right along our edge of the tank and completely distracted us out of conversation!

I would recommend doing lunch, and getting there early. We actually misread our reservation as 11:00 when it was 11:30, when the restaurant opened, and so when we got there 15 minutes early we were 45 minutes before the restaurant even opened!

But we were the first people in the restaurant so we asked the hostess if we could have a tankside table. So if you have your heart set on that, I would say get the earliest lunch ressie possible and then being there early. I think there are only 4-6 tank tables in the whole place. If there is nobody else in the restaurant when you get there, your odds are better than just showing up for dinner or some other time when there may or may not be a table, or other people may be waiting for them. Also lunch is cheaper.

Food was outstanding, we had a charming server named Alejandro who was perfect and professional in recommending what was freshest, best, and some of the stuff he said was better weren't the really *emphasized* dishes on the menus, so it was great to have that. We ended up spending almost two hours and all had appetizer, dish, and dessert... but I'm sure you can get out quicker than that - we were just having too much fun!

 

[epcotprincess]

Ate there 2 years ago. Tank side table.

Yes, lots of marine life. The food was "eh". The marine life made up for it for us. We were just the two of us at that point. I would probably take my dd and future kids if we were to go again, simply for the marine life, but only if we could get another tank-side table. Otherwise I wouldn't think it would be worth it.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Also, my best friend from college is planning a trip next December with the stipulation that everything is "new". That rule is being applied to the entire vacation with the exception of Coral Reef. It is the only repeat on her agenda.

 

[jennyleettu]

Coral Reef was one of our favorite meals during our first trip. We had DD who was 3 and my niece who was 7 and they really enjoyed it. We were there when the divers were in the tank and they were blowing kisses to the girls so they enjoyed it. The girls really liked looking for the different animals, and watching to see if the turtle ever moved! LOL!!

 

[CruznHunter]

Thanks for all the tips! I wasn't sure whether to try this or Via Napoli, which looks really good, but I'm thinking we'd better go for the more kid-entertaining option of Coral Reef : )



Smilie family:
Me(35) DH(37) DS(8) DS(5)

 

[2Tiggers]

Yes, I think you will love it, we did! The atmosphere is wonderful. My only tip is ask for a seat down in front by the tank, your boys should like that. I would recommend Coral Reef to anyone!

 

[bigeyeblue]

We go at least twice a year to Disney and have to say we were really disappointed with this one when we went on '09. First one my husband said, don't think we need to go back there. And if you don't get a table close to the tank (we didn't), really not worth it.

 

[danielephant]

This is our first DDP meal and i am super excited...never been there, but it is one of DH's great memories of Disney, and ever since i saw it on Full house i have wanted to go my self! lol and i was 6!

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I think I may be the only person in the "Never Again" file for this resturaunt.....

Mostly because I do not eat seafood. When my family visited Coral Reef in 2003 (My parents planned and payed for the trip so I had NO say in the details) the waiters didn't seem to care that there wasn't anything that I could eat on the adult menu and wouldn't allow me to order off the children's menu. I literally didnt eat.

It was cool however to see the tank but in my opinion it was sort of small? It was only on one side and I sort of imagined it to be multi sided and easier to get close to? I'm not dishing on it because lots of people love it but if you have people in your party who don't eat seafood dont go there!!!!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We liked Coral Reef and had a table right next to the aquarium window. I think other seats are fine too... I did a review (link in my signature) and here's a 1 min. video clip showing what we saw... sorry about my amateur video taping!

http://ourdisneyworldvacations.shutterfly.com/pictures/11

 

[stm61]

we didn't have a great experience at Coral Reef when we went. It's been about 3 years so the details are a little fuzzy. I do know we were early for our reservation and still had to wait about 40 min for a table. We asked for something close to the tank, since we had several small kids with us. We were taken to our table, which was on the 2nd or 3rd level, and off to the side. The kids couldn't see a whole lot so we asked if anything else was available. Waitress said she'd try, her supervisor said that was the only level for larger groups. At that point, a large group sitting against the tank, and a 2nd group sitting in the tier below us both started to leave. We asked if we could have one of those tables, we didn't mind waiting. The supervisor again said no, refused to listen to us or the waitress, it was just no, you're sitting where I want you to sit (pretty much her words). Then she proceeded to sit 2 small groups at the large tables. We gave up and sat where she stuck us. The small kids really couldn't see much at all. Food was alright, but not great. I remember that the people sitting at the smaller tables up against the glass were getting really aggravated because kids were crowding between the tables to get close to the tank. That and it must of been mating season because the 2 turtles were giving everyone quite a show lol.

 

[3_disprincesses]

Add our family to the "never again" list. Have been twice and disappointed both times. I enjoy aquariums but found this one very dull. My DD then 4 1/2 wasn't interested in the aquarium at all but her favorite ride at EPCOT was Nemo...The food was not good either.