Coral Reef with kids

[Petalnick]

I have booked into coral reef for lunch with my 3 year old and 1 year old. Thinking the novelty of the Fish etc would help distract them while we eat. We have the dinning plan. I keep reading bad reviews. Has anybody had a good experience with this place?

Any other suggestions for a good sit down meal at Epcot suitable with little ones. We have tusker house booked for the day before so would rather avoid a buffet.

 

[ari23]

We had dinner at coral reef last trip. My mom and daughter both loved it and so did I!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I haven't eaten at Coral Reef so can't comment on that...but as an alternate my suggestion would be Garden Grill. It's a character meal served family style in the Land pavilion, which is very close to Coral Reef. The restaurant rotates very slowly and offers views of Living with the Land. The characters you'll see are Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale and the food is REALLY good. It's all around our favorite character meal in all of WDW. Highly recommend!

 

[3gr8boys]

I wouldn't necessarily advise against Coral Reef....but I will echo the recommendation to consider Garden Grill. We had PPO breakfast last month.....great character interaction.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Third vote for Garden Grill. Best character interaction in the parks, in my experience, and the food for any meal is great!

 

[DisneyHardin]

We've eaten at Coral Reef twice and had a great meal both times.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The food is fine. If you want something a little more entertaining that isn't a buffet, consider Garden Grill or Akershus.

 

[alliecat523]

Agree with above. Coral Reef is fine. Garden Grill would be great for character interaction and The Land views.

 

[Dug720]

I ate there in February and loved it.

 

[DisneyPrincess1984]

Ate there once not quite two years ago and enjoyed it. Nothing negative to report at all. My kids liked it, too.

 

[TavieP]

Never had a bad experience at Coral Reef.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You might not be seated anywhere near the glass wall of the aquarium and might be seated at the far tier from it. Your kids might not be able to see the fish and you really don't want to disturb other guests dinners by taking your kids up to those tables just to see the fish close up.

 

[gharter]

I have never had a bad meal there. The food isn't outstanding, but it isn't bad.
I think your kids would enjoy it.

 

[Merida43]

Have eaten at this restaurant with our daughter for every trip since 2014. Coming up for our fourth next year and we adore the place. Never had a bad meal and have had two really outstanding ones, both in quality of the food and the experience in general. This included two visits when I was in a wheelchair and we elected to sit on the very top tier farthest from the glass as a result.

 

[Petalnick]

Thank you everyone. I think we will keep our coral reef reservation. The food at the Garden Grill does not appeal to me unfortunately as it seems such a great concept.

I would never allow my children to disturb other people enjoying their food. Hopefully we will get a table close enough that my children can see the aquarium. Would I be able to request this? Obviously would be willing to wait until a table was available.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thank you everyone. I think we will keep our coral reef reservation. The food at the Garden Grill does not appeal to me unfortunately as it seems such a great concept.

I would never allow my children to disturb other people enjoying their food. Hopefully we will get a table close enough that my children can see the aquarium. Would I be able to request this? Obviously would be willing to wait until a table was available.

You might want to show up earlier than the time of your ADR and ask for a table nearer the glass wall.

 

[Petalnick]

You might want to show up earlier than the time of your ADR and ask for a table nearer the glass wall.

Thank you. I understand it is a risk as I guess everybody wants those tables. I will go a little bit early and see what happens.

 

[Merida43]

I would never allow my children to disturb other people enjoying their food. Hopefully we will get a table close enough that my children can see the aquarium. Would I be able to request this? Obviously would be willing to wait until a table was available.

You can definitely request this but if it's particularly important bear in mind that you may have to wait a lot longer for your table. If you plan ahead with something to do to occupy the kids while waiting, it's totally doable. We did this for our last trip and were seated by the glass after waiting 30 minutes instead of 15.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We had a great experience at Coral Reef in February, my son LOVED it and I thought the food was surprisingly good. I did request a table close to the tank if possible and we got lucky with a table right next to it.

 

[cassie58]

Yes definitely request to sit near the aquarium! We had one of the first dinner times, which probably helped because we were willing to wait, but got seated fairly quickly, and ended up sitting right where the sea turtle settled in, and I think DD eat about 2 bites - most of our pics are the back of her head as she was glued to the glass!