Excuse me waiter, I dropped my fork-July dining review with lots of pics! Update 8/8
- Thread starter Steelersfan
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Steelersfan
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- Mar 24, 2002
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After finishing up a good bit of the afternoon at Hollywood Studios, we caught the parade on the way out, stopped quickly at French Quarter then got the bus to do exactly what we did the day before, except go to the Grand Floridian for 1900 Park Fare.
I am not sure how boys would like this venue, but for a girl to get to meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the step family it is tough to beat. We did see Cinderella again at the end of the trip at Akershus, but there is never a guarantee she will be there. This is much more economical on the meal plan than using two TS credits at the castle.
The Grand Floridian and this restaurant are beautiful. We got there around 5:00 for our 5:20 reservation and were taken for our picture right away and went right in to be seated. There was no wait at all.
After getting our seats we saw and experienced first-hand a character meal issue. Cinderella and Prince Charming were introduced and because there were empty tables, were heading for us quickly. Then, the step family came out so we saw a steady stream of characters heading our way. We were afraid to go up and get food for fear of missing someone. It ended up not really mattering because several characters made it around twice.
Once we got to go up and get our food, here are some of our selections.
This was a salad I made right away:
My plate:
Another plate:
And some desserts:
Yes, that is a little piece of carrot cake!
Overall we agreed that we liked this restaurant but it seemed like it was missing something. I think it compares to Chef Mickeys in terms of food without the dominating desserts. What they had was good, especially the apple crisp and vanilla sauce, but soft serve ice cream would have put it over the top. It may have been that they had a salmon with dill sauce the last time that was MIA this time. Im not a salmon eater, but it had the wow factor last time and it was not there this time.
Right now we are on the fence as to whether this will be a definite the next trip. I think it will depend on our daughters interest in the Cinderella gang more than the food. Like I said, the food was good, just not really remarkable. There wasnt anything that Im craving or really remember for that matter. It still is a good choice, especially if you have a daughter that likes the princesses.
Coral Reef and Liberty Inn are next
I am not sure how boys would like this venue, but for a girl to get to meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the step family it is tough to beat. We did see Cinderella again at the end of the trip at Akershus, but there is never a guarantee she will be there. This is much more economical on the meal plan than using two TS credits at the castle.
The Grand Floridian and this restaurant are beautiful. We got there around 5:00 for our 5:20 reservation and were taken for our picture right away and went right in to be seated. There was no wait at all.
After getting our seats we saw and experienced first-hand a character meal issue. Cinderella and Prince Charming were introduced and because there were empty tables, were heading for us quickly. Then, the step family came out so we saw a steady stream of characters heading our way. We were afraid to go up and get food for fear of missing someone. It ended up not really mattering because several characters made it around twice.
Once we got to go up and get our food, here are some of our selections.
This was a salad I made right away:
My plate:
Another plate:
And some desserts:
Yes, that is a little piece of carrot cake!
Overall we agreed that we liked this restaurant but it seemed like it was missing something. I think it compares to Chef Mickeys in terms of food without the dominating desserts. What they had was good, especially the apple crisp and vanilla sauce, but soft serve ice cream would have put it over the top. It may have been that they had a salmon with dill sauce the last time that was MIA this time. Im not a salmon eater, but it had the wow factor last time and it was not there this time.
Right now we are on the fence as to whether this will be a definite the next trip. I think it will depend on our daughters interest in the Cinderella gang more than the food. Like I said, the food was good, just not really remarkable. There wasnt anything that Im craving or really remember for that matter. It still is a good choice, especially if you have a daughter that likes the princesses.
Coral Reef and Liberty Inn are next
4HppyCamprs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2009
- Messages
- 2,282
Enjoying your reviews thus far. I agree with you that keeping expectations on par with location helps to keep from being overly disappointed. That said I do see how when a restaurant says that they are "signature" or sets itself up to be top notch it needs to try to live up to that. I think a lot of people are also caught off guard by the price and then start comparing a 36.00 Disney steak to a 36.00 hometown steak and it is not apples to apples....
Anyways great reviews and waiting for more!
Anyways great reviews and waiting for more!
angelbear425
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- Joined
- Jul 18, 2012
- Messages
- 218
I love all of your reviews so far! I have to say that I completely agree about your review of Pizza Planet. I was there in 2009, and while I didn't eat there, it did have more of the Toy Story feel with TS character stuffed animals in the arcade machines (mini woody's in the claw machines, etc). I actually ate there last year and it was ok.. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back, but if I were hungry I would eat there again. I can't wait to read your other reviews.
.
Steelersfan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2002
- Messages
- 289
On Sunday, our second full day, I scheduled a “noonish” lunch at The Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot. It wasn’t an early entry day so we got an extra hour to sleep in and were able to ride Soarin’ twice (once with a fastpass), Living with the Land, and Captain EO (I hope they have a new 3D experience in there for the next trip…it wasn’t good or nostalgic for us since we never saw it originally).
It was pushing noon so we went in a little early. After a very short wait, we were escorted to our “temporary” table. Let me explain…
We had read some very “iffy” reviews about this restaurant and only made a reservation because our daughter had mentioned she wanted to watch the fish there if we ever went back to WDW. Since I booked this at 6:01am exactly 180 days out, our daughter had no idea we were going on this trip until her dance recital in June. We put it in the recital program as a surprise!
I actually booked it as a “throwaway” reservation in case the new Beauty and the Beast restaurant had a miracle early opening (all of the buzz in January said “2012” only as its opening date). So, as our trip date became closer we knew we were keeping this reservation and when our daughter found out in June, she was VERY excited and kept talking about “sitting near the window to watch the fish.”
This is where the “temporary table” comes in. That ENTIRE morning she was reciting a sob story she was going to lay on the cast members when we were being seated that went something like this except with sad “puppy dog in a crate at Petsmart on a Saturday take me home” eyes:
“Excuse me, but I never get to come to Disneyworld and I could have picked any restaurant but I picked this one and had to give up meeting Mickey at another restaurant so I could come here…can I PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE sit at a window by the fish?”
Now, like me with a three foot putt to win my golf league championship or the Steelers secondary vs. Tim Tebow in the playoffs… she CHOKED! I shamefully admit, Cliff Huxtable, Archie Bunker or Ward Cleaver would have bailed their kid out and just asked for them, but the place had about two other families there at the time and I kind of choked also… just figuring they would sit a little kid down at the window…NOPE!
We got a nice big semi-circular table and our waiter, Steve, brought over a kids menu with crayons when the waterworks started. Her bottom lip was out so far it almost hit him in the face and it was as if this kid just lost her best friend. We told her that if she wanted to sit by the window she should have asked (you could see just fine from where we were), but it didn’t help.
Steve was fantastic. He got us a new table right in front of where the stingrays hang out, so I got to eat with a stingray eyeballing me the whole time, but she was now the happiest kid (and most spoiled) on the planet! I couldn’t help but think that all the waiters and waitresses at WDW have a secret website where they use dining plan info to make a list of who gives big tips and Steve saw what I left at Chef Mickey’s and 1900 Park fare and felt he had a better chance with an empty table that with us. In all seriousness, he didn’t have to do this and I told him that I usually make a dining review on the Disboards when I get home and told him I would give a “shout out” for what he did. If anyone who reads this is heading to the Coral Reef and sees Steve, thank him again for me! Please!
Now to the meal… as I said, we had some reservations about eating here due to some negative info some friends had given us, plus my wife has a shellfish allergy which can limit your choices at a restaurant themed around seafood. Our “new” waitress, Elena, was fantastic. She was friendly and really on top of things.
First we had a basket of rolls with a salted butter that really had a neat texture as it was literally coarsely ground salt on top of a small block of butter. It was very good. I believe we each already grabbed a roll when I took the picture. Watching eight year olds have temper tantrums makes one very hungry evidently!
I am NOT a seafood fan at all. In fact I usually eat fish during lent and that’s about it, so the steak was calling my name. I ordered it medium:
This was the best steak I had in a long time. It was cooked perfectly and kind of melted in my mouth! It came with roasted potatoes and a spinach/onion “thing” as my vegetable. I only say “thing” because it tasted much better than it looked. I noticed some of the menus had a horseradish mashed potato as the side with the steak but they changed it. I would have liked to try those mashed potatoes, but these were good also.
My wife had the mahi-mahi, minus the shrimp. It came with a jasmine rice I believe that she said was “different,” but very good. She commented about how tender the fish was and it was so “non-fishy” that it almost tasted more like chicken. This was exactly what she wanted and expected:
Our daughter, now happy as a clam, got the kid’s meal. She also had mahi-mahi with broccoli, mashed potatoes, and a medley of green beans (her favorite food on Earth) and carrots. She ate almost all of the vegetables and picked at the fish. There was a lot of food for her to eat and she was full which is why she picked at the fish, not because it wasn’t good. Plus, every time she went to take a bite, a shark or turtle swam by to distract her!
I came in here expecting small portions for some reason but after we ate, we were all three FULL! Then came the desserts! I had to shift around a little to make room.
I had the crème brulee because in all my 43 years I have never tried it. I thought this version (if there is another) was really good. The top reminded me of a campfire marshmallow for s’mores and the inside was really good vanilla crème. I’m sorry the picture is blurry, I must have been excited.
My wife went with “The Wave.” This was off the charts! It was so rich and she was so full that I had to jump in and help her. If it wasn’t for chocolate cake being offered as a dessert at almost every counter serve I would have ordered this also.
My daughter had the Coral Brownie, which was kind of like a mini version of the Wave. She tried to eat most of it but I had to tag in on this one also. A guy I used to work with always said, “it is a sin to waste food!” Trust me, if they gave this brownie to me as an adult I would consider it more than enough as an adult dessert!
Here is another view so you can “see the little Nemo attached.”
Overall, this ended up being one of our favorite restaurants of the trip. The whole thing was just wonderful from Steve’s efforts, the fish and mostly the food. Maybe we got lucky and caught them on a good day. Maybe it was that we had a very early lunch and the kitchen wasn’t rushed. Maybe my advisor just had a bad day when he gave this place the thumbs down. I don’t know about that, but I do know that the Coral Reef has earned a return trip from us the next trip. I truly have nothing bad to say about the place.
Also, if memory serves, this was one of many "fork drops" by our daughter... hence the title of the thread!
Across the lake to Liberty Inn next…
It was pushing noon so we went in a little early. After a very short wait, we were escorted to our “temporary” table. Let me explain…
We had read some very “iffy” reviews about this restaurant and only made a reservation because our daughter had mentioned she wanted to watch the fish there if we ever went back to WDW. Since I booked this at 6:01am exactly 180 days out, our daughter had no idea we were going on this trip until her dance recital in June. We put it in the recital program as a surprise!
I actually booked it as a “throwaway” reservation in case the new Beauty and the Beast restaurant had a miracle early opening (all of the buzz in January said “2012” only as its opening date). So, as our trip date became closer we knew we were keeping this reservation and when our daughter found out in June, she was VERY excited and kept talking about “sitting near the window to watch the fish.”
This is where the “temporary table” comes in. That ENTIRE morning she was reciting a sob story she was going to lay on the cast members when we were being seated that went something like this except with sad “puppy dog in a crate at Petsmart on a Saturday take me home” eyes:
“Excuse me, but I never get to come to Disneyworld and I could have picked any restaurant but I picked this one and had to give up meeting Mickey at another restaurant so I could come here…can I PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE sit at a window by the fish?”
Now, like me with a three foot putt to win my golf league championship or the Steelers secondary vs. Tim Tebow in the playoffs… she CHOKED! I shamefully admit, Cliff Huxtable, Archie Bunker or Ward Cleaver would have bailed their kid out and just asked for them, but the place had about two other families there at the time and I kind of choked also… just figuring they would sit a little kid down at the window…NOPE!
We got a nice big semi-circular table and our waiter, Steve, brought over a kids menu with crayons when the waterworks started. Her bottom lip was out so far it almost hit him in the face and it was as if this kid just lost her best friend. We told her that if she wanted to sit by the window she should have asked (you could see just fine from where we were), but it didn’t help.
Steve was fantastic. He got us a new table right in front of where the stingrays hang out, so I got to eat with a stingray eyeballing me the whole time, but she was now the happiest kid (and most spoiled) on the planet! I couldn’t help but think that all the waiters and waitresses at WDW have a secret website where they use dining plan info to make a list of who gives big tips and Steve saw what I left at Chef Mickey’s and 1900 Park fare and felt he had a better chance with an empty table that with us. In all seriousness, he didn’t have to do this and I told him that I usually make a dining review on the Disboards when I get home and told him I would give a “shout out” for what he did. If anyone who reads this is heading to the Coral Reef and sees Steve, thank him again for me! Please!
Now to the meal… as I said, we had some reservations about eating here due to some negative info some friends had given us, plus my wife has a shellfish allergy which can limit your choices at a restaurant themed around seafood. Our “new” waitress, Elena, was fantastic. She was friendly and really on top of things.
First we had a basket of rolls with a salted butter that really had a neat texture as it was literally coarsely ground salt on top of a small block of butter. It was very good. I believe we each already grabbed a roll when I took the picture. Watching eight year olds have temper tantrums makes one very hungry evidently!
I am NOT a seafood fan at all. In fact I usually eat fish during lent and that’s about it, so the steak was calling my name. I ordered it medium:
This was the best steak I had in a long time. It was cooked perfectly and kind of melted in my mouth! It came with roasted potatoes and a spinach/onion “thing” as my vegetable. I only say “thing” because it tasted much better than it looked. I noticed some of the menus had a horseradish mashed potato as the side with the steak but they changed it. I would have liked to try those mashed potatoes, but these were good also.
My wife had the mahi-mahi, minus the shrimp. It came with a jasmine rice I believe that she said was “different,” but very good. She commented about how tender the fish was and it was so “non-fishy” that it almost tasted more like chicken. This was exactly what she wanted and expected:
Our daughter, now happy as a clam, got the kid’s meal. She also had mahi-mahi with broccoli, mashed potatoes, and a medley of green beans (her favorite food on Earth) and carrots. She ate almost all of the vegetables and picked at the fish. There was a lot of food for her to eat and she was full which is why she picked at the fish, not because it wasn’t good. Plus, every time she went to take a bite, a shark or turtle swam by to distract her!
I came in here expecting small portions for some reason but after we ate, we were all three FULL! Then came the desserts! I had to shift around a little to make room.
I had the crème brulee because in all my 43 years I have never tried it. I thought this version (if there is another) was really good. The top reminded me of a campfire marshmallow for s’mores and the inside was really good vanilla crème. I’m sorry the picture is blurry, I must have been excited.
My wife went with “The Wave.” This was off the charts! It was so rich and she was so full that I had to jump in and help her. If it wasn’t for chocolate cake being offered as a dessert at almost every counter serve I would have ordered this also.
My daughter had the Coral Brownie, which was kind of like a mini version of the Wave. She tried to eat most of it but I had to tag in on this one also. A guy I used to work with always said, “it is a sin to waste food!” Trust me, if they gave this brownie to me as an adult I would consider it more than enough as an adult dessert!
Here is another view so you can “see the little Nemo attached.”
Overall, this ended up being one of our favorite restaurants of the trip. The whole thing was just wonderful from Steve’s efforts, the fish and mostly the food. Maybe we got lucky and caught them on a good day. Maybe it was that we had a very early lunch and the kitchen wasn’t rushed. Maybe my advisor just had a bad day when he gave this place the thumbs down. I don’t know about that, but I do know that the Coral Reef has earned a return trip from us the next trip. I truly have nothing bad to say about the place.
Also, if memory serves, this was one of many "fork drops" by our daughter... hence the title of the thread!
Across the lake to Liberty Inn next…
tinkerbells mum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,045
Great to hear such a positive review about coral reef it's on our list for April but I've only seen negative reviews recently so glad you had a great meal, love that you had sharks swimming past and distracting you through your meal lol!
Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
Steelersfan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2002
- Messages
- 289
They were swimming by the whole time. It was really neat, but sharks are one of my personal favorite animals so I'm partial.
Gorillas are my favorites and we saw plenty of them the next morning at the AK!
Gorillas are my favorites and we saw plenty of them the next morning at the AK!
accountingbabe08
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2008
- Messages
- 1,668
Great review Steelersfan subscribing so I do not miss a thing
Steelersfan
Mouseketeer
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- Mar 24, 2002
- Messages
- 289
After eating our awesome lunch, we killed a ton of time in the Seas watching the fish, experiencing Turtle Talk and posing for some pictures with Bruce. It started storming so we killed some time into Journey Into the Imagination, then went over into the World Showcase.
We started opposite of our usual in Canada and stopped for a band in England and Mary Poppins there also. We also signed up for the Agent P adventure in France and spent quite a bit of time doing that also. It took longer than we wanted because by that time the entire World Showcase was PACKED! It was hard to hear the phone and just move around for that matter.
We finished that, checked out a few more countries and it was soon after 6:00 and time to eat again. We were going to walk over to China and try their counter serve, but we were near the American pavilion and decided to just eat at the Liberty Inn since we eat there every trip. They used to have a decent fixins bar here, but it was much more basic this time. That was a little disappointing, but we knew this before we ordered and decided to stay.
I usually get a cheeseburger there but saw a monster on the menu. They called it the smokehouse burger and it was a 1/3 pound burger, onion straws, BBQ sauce and a scoop of pulled pork on top of that all on one bun. It looked so bad for me that I had to get it. The guy in front of me got his pulled pork on the side, but I wanted to try it exactly as it appeared on the menu board. This thing was crazy. I have gone through many periods of unhealthy eating in my life, but this could have matched the worse things ever health wise but the best taste wise. This monstrosity was amazing. The burger patty was very juicy and all the toppings put it to a new level. I ate it without adding a thing and loved every minute of it.
Here is the burger with fries (forget the apples or grapes):
My wife went with the chicken nuggets and french fries. There were no complaints from her other than she had to go back up to the counter to get some ranch for the nuggets:
Our daughter went with the kids mac and cheese with fries and a milk.
For dessert I had the apple cobbler. It was much better than the pre-packaged desserts available everywhere.
My wife went with the Mickey rice crispy treat and my daughter had another cookie. Both went back to the hotel to eat later because they were full.
This meal is one I look forward to every trip. If this restaurant had a better fixins bar it would be right there with Cosmic Rays and Pecos Bills in terms of quality burgers. The burger I had really didnt need anything, so I have to still rate the Liberty Inn very high. If you are in the World Showcase and want good food that does indeed represent the good old USA, this is a nice choice.
Overall, our second full day was a major success not only in terms of getting things done in the park, but with the food as well. After this, the rest of the week had to be pretty good to match Sunday!
A Monday morning Tusker House breakfast is next!
We started opposite of our usual in Canada and stopped for a band in England and Mary Poppins there also. We also signed up for the Agent P adventure in France and spent quite a bit of time doing that also. It took longer than we wanted because by that time the entire World Showcase was PACKED! It was hard to hear the phone and just move around for that matter.
We finished that, checked out a few more countries and it was soon after 6:00 and time to eat again. We were going to walk over to China and try their counter serve, but we were near the American pavilion and decided to just eat at the Liberty Inn since we eat there every trip. They used to have a decent fixins bar here, but it was much more basic this time. That was a little disappointing, but we knew this before we ordered and decided to stay.
I usually get a cheeseburger there but saw a monster on the menu. They called it the smokehouse burger and it was a 1/3 pound burger, onion straws, BBQ sauce and a scoop of pulled pork on top of that all on one bun. It looked so bad for me that I had to get it. The guy in front of me got his pulled pork on the side, but I wanted to try it exactly as it appeared on the menu board. This thing was crazy. I have gone through many periods of unhealthy eating in my life, but this could have matched the worse things ever health wise but the best taste wise. This monstrosity was amazing. The burger patty was very juicy and all the toppings put it to a new level. I ate it without adding a thing and loved every minute of it.
Here is the burger with fries (forget the apples or grapes):
My wife went with the chicken nuggets and french fries. There were no complaints from her other than she had to go back up to the counter to get some ranch for the nuggets:
Our daughter went with the kids mac and cheese with fries and a milk.
For dessert I had the apple cobbler. It was much better than the pre-packaged desserts available everywhere.
My wife went with the Mickey rice crispy treat and my daughter had another cookie. Both went back to the hotel to eat later because they were full.
This meal is one I look forward to every trip. If this restaurant had a better fixins bar it would be right there with Cosmic Rays and Pecos Bills in terms of quality burgers. The burger I had really didnt need anything, so I have to still rate the Liberty Inn very high. If you are in the World Showcase and want good food that does indeed represent the good old USA, this is a nice choice.
Overall, our second full day was a major success not only in terms of getting things done in the park, but with the food as well. After this, the rest of the week had to be pretty good to match Sunday!
A Monday morning Tusker House breakfast is next!
cwcooper810
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2009
- Messages
- 184
the burger from Liberty Inn sounds amazing. Think I just found a new must try for our September trip
OThopeful35
Nurse by night, Princess by day
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2010
- Messages
- 1,042
i am sooo hungry for disney food right now
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