Coral Reef

[augusta1]

I've seen a lot of negatives for this restaurant. I realize it's personal opinion but would love to know why you do or don't like it. Thought my kids would like the atmosphere but I don't really want to waste a table service credit

 

[jillt2ph]

I just had dinner there for the first time on the 13th and really enjoyed it. We were in one of the curved booths on the lowest level, which I actually think is better than a table smack up against the tank since it lets you see a little more of the action. I ordered the NY strip steak well done, along with the mashed potatoes and broccoli (subbed in for the green beans). My steak was cooked perfectly, not charred at all. Plenty of flavor. The sides were tasty, too. All four of us in our party cleaned our plates - 2 of us had steak, one had the pork, and one had the grilled veggies from the vegetarian option but topped it with real chicken. You would never know we had been at Via Napoli just 4 hours earlier. The chocolate wave cake was a hit, but I was not wild about the turtle cheesecake. I would have been happier with a Mickey bar.

Also, there are fish spotting guides on the tables so you have plenty to do while waiting for your food. Like you, I was a bit on the fence, and even cancelled the CP package I had booked there in December because I was scared away by the reviews. I am glad I gave it a chance!

 

[jhaig]

There are better options food-wise for sure, but the kids would love it. It's worth a shot to try once.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Subjective. We love it.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

We have eaten there 3 times. The first time, it was not very good. My steak was dry and bland. The last 2 times we have eaten there, it was VERY good. My steak was tender & juicy and had plenty of flavor. The Jack Daniels Mousse dessert is very good as well. The atmosphere is great. This place does get a lot of mixed reviews, but I am ready to go back there any time based on my last 2 dinners there.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We've eaten there twice and really enjoyed it both times. Last fall we had a table right up by the tank and it was really nice. I had a seafood pasta dish that was delicious. DH had the steak and though it was also really good.

 

[Capang]

We didn't like it as service wasn't the greatest and we were far from the aquarium. Worth a try, though. FWIW we did Chef Mickey and loved it. So I think it depends on who is working that particular day.

 

[robndani]

The atmosphere is fun, so my kids loved it! Not my favorite meal, but it wasn't terrbicle. I think you go there for the view. I'll never go back, but I'm glad we went once!

 

[Mickey's Apprentice]

Always go to Corral Reef when going to Disney. Kids love it.

Love the lobster bisque and the steak is pretty good.

 

[bcarey2k]

My kids love it too.

They are now 18 and 14 and we still always go during our trip.

Full disclosure - we are at ease with the pace .... We share the food .... No rush and no issues.

Brian

 

[pa. dad]

BIG thumbs up here.
Some seats closer than others but you have a great view from all seats. I'd stay with the seafood choices as it is a seafood restaurant. It's not cheap but you don't mind that as much if the place is also good.

 

[Tonberry]

I was not impressed with it the last time we went. The service was painfully slow and the food was just ok. But the kids love it, and that's what counts the most in my book. We always request to be near the aquarium. It makes our wait for a table a lot longer, but that's on us.
Trip with kids = eat at Coral Reef.
Trip with no kids = eat some place else.

 

[UncleMike101]

When our kids were little they loved watching the fish and the divers in the tank.
Now our Granddaughter loves to watch the fish and the divers in the tank.
We eat there every year.

 

[kayteekt]

We've eaten there a handful of times of last 5-6 years. I think it's gotten better this past year. For some reason DH has always really enjoyed and kids love the atmosphere, I've always thought food was good, not great. However, we did dinner this past fall and then again in January, both times were great! If it peaks your interest, go! Def not a waste of a TS!

 

[OhThePain]

We have not eaten here in a few years. While the food was really nothing special and the service was pretty bad, those are not the reasons we won't go back (every restaurant has bad days). For us, it was purely fellow guests that keep us away. We were unfortunate enough to be at a table right on the aquarium wall, which was nice, until we were bombarded by guests. When you have people yelling in your ear back to their party, putting their hands all over your table when you are trying to eat, coughing on you, etc., it sort of ruins the whole experience, enough so to not ever want to return. And it wasn't just younger kids and it wasn't just one isolated party.

Once upon a time, CR was a nice, quiet, enjoyable meal, but now it's just a chaotic mess. There are better TS options in EC, there are better seafood options around WDW and there are better themed restaurants to dine in.

 

[CaliTex]

Oh gosh, what we each find "worth it" is such a highly subjective thing it is truly impossible to tell another person if it is "worth it". I would just say to go and try it, because what one person experiences may not be what you experience at all. I love these boards, and I have learned a lot over the 10+ years I have been on (and off) of them, and one thing I have learned is that opinions are simply just that. For example, there are many negative reviews of San Angel Inn and yet we love it and have never had a bad meal or experience there. ANd yet 10 years ago we ate at Victoria and Albert's and were seriously underwhelmed, so you just never know. I can't stand California Grill, but I love Tony's. Le Cellier--meh. Casey's Corner? Wouldn't miss it. Sometimes it is simply about the experience. Our perceptions. Sometimes we just have a bad experience--luck of the draw kinda thing.

My advice (my OPINION, lol) is to go to what appeals and interests you, and make up your own mind. That's what is so great about WDW, all the opportunity to try different and unique dining experiences.

We are actually trying Coral Reef for the first time in December. My DH is actually pretty excited about it.

Happy planning!

 

[Anal Annie]

We just tried it last summer for the first time. We use the TIW card not the DDP so that softened the blow on the price. We did it spur of the moment as a walk-up and waited maybe 30 minutes and lucked out with a seat right by the tank. Nice atmosphere from where we were seated. Food was good, not amazing, but good (kinda unmemborable I guess because I can't remember what any of us had except I think DH had salmon). Thought the portions were a little on the smallish side for the price but TIW helped with that aspect too....Worth trying at least once IMO.

 

[Lisa F]

Coral Reef has been getting bad reviews for as long as I have been going to Disney... but it was my first TS ever (my best friend and I went there for our one special meal on a high school trip and split 2 appetizers because it's all we could afford lol) and it's been on my list since then. I don't go EVERY trip but it's been a while and very much looking forward to it on my next trip in December. Traveling solo with 8 year old son, hoping to wait for a table close to the tank. I love the creamy lobster soup and chocolate wave, which have been staples forever.

 

[NuJoy]

it was my first TS ever

Me too! My husband took me to Disney in 2006, just the 2 of us. We walked right off the Boardwalk into Epcot, directly to Coral Reef for our first meal. I still remember exactly what I ate...Blue Glow-tini cocktail, Creamy Lobster Soup, and the Blackened Catfish. The best meal I ever had at Coral Reef. I had the catfish again in 2007; but in 2008, it was gone. We did have one very bad meal in 2014 that upset the tummies of everyone in our party so we skipped it last year. However, just husband and I are returning this September and we have CR booked again. I just love the cool blue interior colors and watching the fish. So relaxing and romantic for us!

 

[Lisa F]

Me too! My husband took me to Disney in 2006, just the 2 of us. We walked right off the Boardwalk into Epcot, directly to Coral Reef for our first meal. I still remember exactly what I ate...Blue Glow-tini cocktail, Creamy Lobster Soup, and the Blackened Catfish. The best meal I ever had at Coral Reef. I had the catfish again in 2007; but in 2008, it was gone. We did have one very bad meal in 2014 that upset the tummies of everyone in our party so we skipped it last year. However, just husband and I are returning this September and we have CR booked again. I just love the cool blue interior colors and watching the fish. So relaxing and romantic for us!

haha we were a bunch of dumb teenagers and it was like 1990 or 1991. damn now I feel old. I believe she had a raw tuna appetizer and I had the creamy lobster soup. We felt SO grown up and elegant... this was before sushi was commonplace so raw tuna was QUITE racy. She is still one of my best friends, lol.

I know people rave about yak n yeti but my one time I went there I did end up painfully projectile vomiting not long after. I don't know if it was food poisoning or dehydration (i was nursing my son at the time, he was about 6 months old) but I will never forget that "beat around the ribs with a baseball bat" feeling and it is forever connected in my brain to the feeling of projectile vomiting honey chicken and broccoli in my shower at AKL. I want to try it again but have not been able to make myself, lol. I was feeling so sick I was raving like a paranoid person, claiming that they had poisoned me on purpose because I had to see the chef about my son's dairy allergy (since i was nursing I could not have anything with milk proteins in it because it would make him scream). When I stopped feeling so sick I no longer believed that, lol. Luckily I didn't rant to anyone but my husband at the time or they might have locked me up. But those tuna nachos are calling to me!