Has anyone eaten at the Coral Reef Restaurant?

[babesboo99]

My friend was telling me about this restaurant .. Would the kids like it?

 

[GingerJay]

They may but it depends a lot on the seating. If you sit next to the tanks, the kids will have a lot to oggle at. We ate there our first trip, and liked it, but it was more for the adults than the kids

 

[gerows]

Yes they will love it. We went with a large party (6 adults, 4 children and 1 infant) and it caused the meal to drag out way too long and caused some very long gaps between courses and after awhile the kids lost interest in the tank. If its just you and your family, dinner should move at a normal pace and they probably won't lose interest.

 

[Space Mountain Kid]

your kids would enjoy it you get to see all different types of fish and cool backround scenery

 

[Fabooliss]

My 2 1/2 and 5 1/2 year old both loved it! We booked an early ADR (5pm)... and then asked for a table by the tank. They said we may have to wait a little while... we were seated by 5:10.

The food is great and the fish are fascinating, we even had divers come by during our dinner. We are headed back again this trip.

 

[Coach81]

yes, a great place to eat for kids...

 

[ag98]

We went in 2008 and even though we weren't right next to the glass, my daughter (then 3) enjoyed it. My parents went with us and they thought this was the best meal of the trip.

 

[stitchfriend]

We just ate there last week on Tues for dinner. My kids (13 & 11) liked it. The food was good. My kids are adult meals, so they had the chicken. My husband had the Mahi Mahi, he said it was good. I had the Steak, it was a little dry, but good. At our table they give you a pamphlet on the different kinds of fish in the tank. So my kids where trying to match the pictures with the fish in the tank. I haven't eaten their for about 10 Years, so I thought our meal was very good. I would go back.

 

[OhThePain]

First, IMO, the food is not what it once was and has gone way downhill. It went from being a "must do" to an "it will be a long time before we do again"

As for the kids liking it, as a PP said, it all depends on where you sit. If you sit next to the tank or close enough to it where you can see everything, they will enjoy it. However, if you are not that close to the tank, it may be almost frustrating to them.

Also, if you do get an ADR and you don't end up near the tank, please please please don't let the kids go running around to the tank. There are people trying to enjoy a meal and it just erks me to see when a parent has no regard for other people.

 

[TakeMe2Disney]

The food is ok, hit or miss really.

The fish tank, however, is great. We've been lucky to have great views of the tank and DS had a lot of fun pointing out all the different kinds of fish.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We just ate there a couple weeks ago. The fish of the day was AMAZING. The steaks were overcooked and just mediocre.

We sat in the middle level and could see the tanks quite well. My kids spent some time messing around with trying to get good pictures of various things in the tank from our table (we really did get some great shots from our second tier table by messing with flash and zoom settings) as well as going through the pamphlet trying to find the various types of fish.

I felt bad for a family right up at the tank because when a tortoise came by and hung out near them a bunch of people were crowding right up to their table to get pictures and watch. There were kids and adults doing it. Talk about an invasion of personal space.

We made a whole evening out of it. We had taken a mid-day break, returning in time for dinner and after dinner we went over to the Seas pavillion, rode Nemo, saw Turtle Talk with Crush, then just explored the pavillion (including trying our darndest to get a picture of that sneaky dolphin who I swear is messing with people who are trying to get his picture LOL) for maybe an hour before leaving. It was a wonderfully calm and relaxing yet entertaining family evening.

 

[jemgumby]

My DD LOVES it and always request we eat there!

 

[babesboo99]

Thank you for all your answers. I appreciate them alot. We have booked at Chef Mickey's for dinner on monday and akererus for breakfast was trying to think of when I can fit this restaurant in..

 

[lsutiggergirl]

We love coral reef! We have dived the tanks and it was so much fun watching the kids faces when we swam up to the glass during dinner! The food is delicious too!!

 

[Ariel on Land]

Has anyone eaten at the Coral Reef?

Nope! No one on these boards....

Ok, sorry, the question just made me giggle since yes, clearly, there are tons of Disers who have eaten there!

But to reply to whether or not the kids would like it- Sure! It's not a "fun, excitable" atmosphere like Chef Mickeys or 50s PTC, but the fish are neat to look at, and the food is good. Although the last time we were there, we sat towards the back and our two year olds didn't even notice the fish. THis time we're going to ask to sit closer to the tank!

 

[DizGirl20]

We ate there just this past May with the kids (10 & 12)... we all loved it! Great food and really neat atmosphere with the big fish tank and cool lighting. I would highly recommend it. It's just around the corner from the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush so of course the kids are gonna love it!

 

[loislane]

We ate there on our honeymoon last September. We had an ADR, but requested a tank-side table, so we did have to wait about 15 minutes extra.

However, for us, the wait was worth it. We loved being tank side and having fish, sharks, turtles, rays, etc. swim past while we were eating. My husband had the grouper for dinner, and we just cracked up as this one grouper kept swimming up to our table and I swear it was giving my husband the stink eye!

Here are some shots from our meal.

Just be forewarned that if you sit near the tank, people will continually ask to squeeze in by your table to take pictures. We chose to be good sports about it and it really didn't bother us.

 

[MickeyNicki]

My nieces like the large tank but they hated the food...the kids pizza was a pita shell with some sauce and very little cheese.

 

[pianoronni37]

Eh..

DH and I ate here, and while the view was nice (not spectacular... nice), the food left something to be desired. Also, we waited about 45 minutes *past* our ADR time to be seated.

As a kid, I'd much rather spend that 2 1/2 hours in the park instead of staring at an aquarium and eating mediocre food - heck, as an *adult* I'd prefer that as well!!

But others have had great experiences, so don't take my word for it - if you're excited about the restaurant, definitely give it a try! It's the only way to know if you would really enjoy it!