Didn't Like Coral Reef?

[LSchrow]

we've eaten at almost every WDW restaurant, & chose CR for our 25th anniversary.
in multiple visits, we've found both the food & service excellent (we did not sit by the aquarium everytime, which we expect as "someone" has to sit further away ).
rose & crown, tat a PP raved about, is the only WDW we will never return to (food was digusting at best, service was a drawn out 5 hours without any beverages, dirty utensils, etc)

 

[AKADrea]

it wasn't that great for me....it was REALLY loud, the food was mediocre and the service wasn't that great either....I guess it all depends on the person and the day. I won't be going back though, I'll be trying NEW places!

 

[emmabemmainc]

We've been there twice and both times were nothing special. My dd(7) wanted to go back again, so I gave in, but I told her no more.
The food was bleh, except for the Land & Sea appy, the waiters were rude both times, the wait was incredibly long both times. The aquarium is ok, but nothing special.

To the person who "explained" what ADR's meant--that's all find and dandy, but when there's a restaurant that is constantly overbooking, that's a problem. When you have to wait 45 minutes to over an hour PAST your ADR time, that's a problem, especially when they tell you to arrive 15 minutes early. Coral Reef should be closed for a while, so they can get their act together. They could turn it into a much nicer place.

 

[goofy4tink]

Our first trip to CR was in mid-August '07. We were seated right up against the tank. It was a wonderful experience. Our server was wonderful, the food was terrific. So, when I got free dining last Sept, my dh asked if we could return to CR. No problem...I booked it. We waited about 45 mins to be seated. I didn't have a huge issue with the wait, it was really crowded. But, once we got seated, it was nasty. We were seated along the top tier, but along the outside wall area, not against the inner wall. We had a great veiw of the tank. But, unfortunately that didn't make up for the rest of the evening. There had to be more families in there than usual. I would imagine that the free dining contributed to that. It was about 7pm, but still full of kids. And those kids were not happy kids. They were yelling, screaming, crying...it was just not good. Kids were running up and down the aisles, while their parents finished eating/drinking. The noise level was incredible. I could barely hear my dh across the table from me!!
Our server seemed to be good, but very stressed! He appeared at our table almost as soon as we were seated, but then he was gone for a good 20 mins before returning with our drinks!! Then, when our meals arrived, they were just barely okay. My steak was badly overcooked, dh had fish that was just okay vs the great meal he had before (exact same dish!!).
It took forever to get our check. We didn't even want to wait for dessert although I had been really looking forward to trying the Wave dessert. I just had to get out of there and someplace quieter. I think it took almost 25 mins to finally get the check.

 

[Markstudy]

Trip #1 We had great table and loved it. Good food, good service.

Trip #2 We had bad table, and now we are not in a hurry to go back

Lesson learned- If they start dragging you to a table that is a mile from the fish tank, stand your ground and demand a better table, even if you have to wait some more. Not worth blowing that amount of money and time to have a bad seat.

Plus they sat us next to a group of 12. Bigger tables way in back. And the 12 people made 100's of small request to our waitress, so we never saw her. I hate people that try and let their kid order..... "Timmy, tell the lady what you want". The 5 year old took 10 minutes to try and order food because he doesn't know what he wants...(then 4 more young childern after him got to play the guessing game). We sat with no drinks for 30 minutes while we watched the train wreck. The place was packed! When its busy, Please don't let your kids order, if they don't know how to. The parents thought it was cute that their young ones where talking to the adult waitress