Coral Reef ??

[OldSchoolDisney]

So is the Coral Reef worth the slightly higher price than some other sit down Epcot restaurants?.....Would be lunch for me, DW and three kids 9,8,4.......

 

[liamsaunt]

Coral Reef gets mixed reviews, but I had a very good meal here last month. I was with my DH, Dsis, and her kids, ages 4 and 6. They liked the fish tank. The kids menu is the typical stuff: pizza, mac and cheese, fish sticks, chicken breast. My DH and I had the mahi which was very fresh and good. My dsis was not as big on her meal (trout).

The service was great here. Our waiter was always there when we needed him (which, given the mood my nephew was in, was often!), and did everything he could to make them happy. He made the meal for us.

 

[cara loves the poly]

We thought it was extemely overpriced (dinner) for the quality and the portions. We could not get a seat near the aquarium. Our family felt it was the only bad experience at Disney. We went back to our room and ordered room service. Our kids (7 and 5) didn't like it a bit.

 

[CJ]

DH & I ate lunch there in August and were seated right by the aquarium. We both enjoyed our choices, and the Chocolate Wave dessert was TO DIE FOR!!!!

 

[Ilovestitch]

I've never ate at Coral Reef b/c it looks expensive and gets mixed reviews. But if I was on the Dining Plan I would probably eat there just to try it out.

 

[cara loves the poly]

DH & I ate lunch there in August and were seated right by the aquarium. We both enjoyed our choices, and the Chocolate Wave dessert was TO DIE FOR!!!!

lunch seems to get MUCH BETTER reviews.

 

[Jellybeana]

Lunch for sure! We ate there in October for lunch. (It was the only way to see the aquarium during the refurb.) It was far from our most expensive meal at WDW, but one of the best experiences. The tank was so fun for my DS9 and DD7. Our service was great as was the adult food. My DH had some deal that came with lobster bisque, seafood entree and dessert for $20. I enjoyed my veggie struedel. (I'm not a seafood lover.) The kids had typical kid menu stuff. Pizza and mac n cheese, I think. I would try to get a seating when they first open and request a tankside table. We had a 12:00 noon ADR and had no trouble getting tankside.

Have fun with whatever you decide.

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

Go for lunch. Same food -- better prices.

(Many Epcot restaurants have a large disparity between lunch and dinner prices.)

 

[CJ]

Forgot to mention how amazing the lobster bisque was! We each ordered the luncheon special (the waiter allowed us to bump up the dessert choice to the Chocolate Wave because it was our anniversary) and we both loved the lobster bisque! It really was great!

 

[cara loves the poly]

It sounds like you have a much better chance of an aquarium seat at lunch. I think with children, that can make or break it!

 

[donaldsgal]

It seems we are in the minority, but we have really enjoyed Coral Reef on two occasions. The first time was in September of 2003, and we had the old Dreammaker Silver package (similar to the current dining plan), so we each (2 of us) got steak and lobster. They were incredible! We had seats in the uppermost row, but it was still enjoyable. I think it's worthy of mentioning that even though we weren't "paying" for the food but instead got it on the package, our server was still attentive and didn't treat us badly like some restaurants have reported to do to the package diners.

The next time in Oct of 2004, and we paid out-of-pocket. I had the jumbo shrimp cocktail and the grilled shrimp entree, while my sister had the blackened catfish. I can't remember what dishes our mother and aunt had, but we all enjoyed our meals. We sat right next to the glass (I had asked for this when I made the (then) PS, and they said to ask at the counter. We did ask when we arrived and only waited 10 minutes. Our server was great, the food was fresh, and we really enjoyed the whole experience.

Undeniably this is an expensive restaurant. Part of our vacation splurge, however, are costly restaurants. We don't have a large variety in our hometown, so Disney meals are great. The only bad meal we've ever had a table service restaurant was at Fulton's our second visit (who we perceived, maybe incorrectly so, barely acknowledged us once we handed them the package receipts at the beginning of the meal). For those 2 reasons, Fulton's has been permanently replaced by Coral Reef.

 

[mamacass]

Can you be guaranteed an aquarium seat when you make your ADR?

 

[westcliffemom]

We enjoyed it the times we've been there. We've never sat right at the aquarium because we usually have a large party. The food is okay. I think we had a good experience even with out sitting by the aquarium because it was around opening time, and it wasn't really crowded yet.

 

[Savin4Disney]

We went for lunch in Nov. 2005.

DS and I had the catfish --- GROSS!
DS had the shrimp appetizer-- YUM
Sister had the Lobster bisque appetizer- YUM
I had the crabcake appetizer-- DOUBLE GROSS!
Sister had a pasta shrimp dish- OKAY

Dessert - Now that was YUMMY! with and extra YUM!

Would I pay for it! NO WAY - we had the dining plan. We also got to sit right in front of the tank!

 

[Uncleromulus]

mamacass:
I don't believe they will accept any table preferences when you make ADR--you'll probably need to say something when you arrive at the restaurant. Should ad that the aquarium is well seen from almost any spot in the restaurant---