Coral Reef - tell me about your experiences.

[moopdog]

I am second guessing my ADR's and think I might add Coral Reef. Keep in mind I've never been to Epcot, let alone this restaurant. I am wondering... do you REALLY get to see the fish in the tanks or do you need to get lucky with your table seating? Is the food really good? Does it make sense to go to Epcot & eat here on a day that is EMH/evenings if I don't plan to stay for the EMH?

Thanks.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Quick answer...You can see the fish but it's obviously better when seated right next to the glass. I believe it is just chance on the seating but it probably doesn't hurt to ask? We got lucky and were seated up front but one thing to remember which may or may not bother you is that a few will come stand by your table for a while to gaze and take a pic or 2 of the aquarium (didn't bother us at all).

As for the food...mediocre at best. Not bad but nothing to rave on either. Hope that helps.

 

[kimbac3]

Definitely go!! This was the best meal of my trip.

Yes, you can really see the fish. The fish tank is HUGE and you can see it from anywhere.

The food is awesome!! I even had a special request and it was no problem. Our waiter was excellent!!!

Epcot is really cool, it's definitely worth a visit. If you have an ADR then EMH really won't effect your dining.

Have a great time!!!

Kimba

 

[Tropical Wilds]

We did Coral Reef last November. The best way to describe the setup of the place is that it's kind of like a dinner theater setup with not-so-steep stadium seating. We sat in kind of the middle row, furthest right (when facing the tank). We had no problems seeing fish, or the tank, from where we were. That said, if you're seated in the way back, you can see the tank, but I'm not so much sure about how many fish you can see. I personally liked where we sat, since we were close enough to see, but not so close that we had a lot of foot traffic. Up front, a lot of people squeeze in to get a peek of the fish, which lead to a tantrum and food spillage of one of the folks out front.

As far as food goes (we were on DDP), we thought it was the best we had on our whole trip. I had a shrimp pasta in cream sauce, my husband had Mahi Mahi, my sister king crab, and I don't remember what my BIL had... But we all thought our meals were spectacular. Our waiter was awesome, super friendly, super fun, an absolute riot. I do remember my husband was not-so-impressed with the lobster something-or-other soup he got as a starter, but seeing as we're from New England, we're pretty hard to please on the lobster front.

Now, we had advanced reservations for (I think, 8:30) so we were seated for our meals in about 10 minutes, but when we ate there it was Epcot's EMH, and the waiting area was packed. I don't think that, if you're walk-in foot traffic, you're going to have a better shot at getting seats because of EMH.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We ate there a few years ago and DH and I had the steak and the rest of the party had fish...everyone wanted our steak it was that good!

With all the other choices at Epcot Coral Reef would not be my first choice but it was good.

 

[AppleSister1]

We've always enjoyed Coral Reef...even my young nephews. You can see the tank from almost anywhere in the room.

I would DEFINITELY make an ADR, since it's EMH night...but you are already planning to do that, I think.

 

[tiger4me2]

Not sure what time your ADR is for but when the place opens if lunch get there beforehand & ask to be seated near the fish etc. As far as the food it was okay. I guess I am bias as the last time I ate there I nearly choked to death. Seriously, I was eating & the piece of food went down wrong & I begin to turn blue. DH hit me on the back which made it worse, my poor DS was looking like oh no my Mom is going to die. My DIL said to call the CM & call 911. Well to make it short I went to the restroom & all was well. My DIL came with me along with our waitress. She said she called for backup oh joy just what I needed. LOL. Went back out & DH & DS was standing there first thing was my DS came over & hug me & said he loved me. He was 33 at the time. Then the rescue squad came & check me out & all was okay. Went back to our table & they brought out new food for us. But I told the waitress I just wanted something light lol. From then on I don't go near the Coral Reef to eat just me as I know it was a fluke but somehow, bad memories I guess. It was nice looking at the different fish & sting rays etc.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

We had seats right by the tank. The food was good the service was ok.
One thing annoyed me though, we were on the dining plan with tip included, we ordered drinks which were charged an 18% tip and on top of that the server kept our change. I don't mind tipping but she had already had the 18% for both the meal and drinks.