Hey Coral Reef Haters... Can I ask you a Question:

[poeticdiabetic]

What time did you visit Coral Reef?

I've heard some crazy horror stories concerning Coral Reef about the lack of service, the quality of the food, etc. But then I read that some people just LOVES Coral Reef! It's like there's no middle ground. So I'm thinking that there must be something that's swinging opinions that bad. Maybe it's the time.

As for me and my family, we go to Coral Reef every single time we visit WDW. It's actually my DW's favorite restaurant at WDW, period. She's the reason why we HAVE to go every year.

But we've taken other people and they absolutely LOVE that place, too. And I've never had a bad meal there. Some people get upset because they want to sit close to the tank, but that's to be expected. Not everyone is going to be able to sit up there, and I've seen grown people sulk like they're toddlers because they didn't get to sit upfront.

But here's the variable for me: We always eat early when we go to Coral Reef. For whatever reason, we find ourselves having ADRs there between 4:30 and 5 o'clock. That's fine because we are East Coast and we normally eat around 5:30-6PM. But by the time we leave, that place is hopping!

So I'm interested: What time did you eat there?

 

[sydneysmom]

I'm not a hater, I'm a Coral Reef lova!!! I'm with you, I don't get all the negative reviews either....we've had nothing but great experiences. (sometimes the service isn't all that great, but hey, you can get that at home too).
All in all, it's a must on our list. We're going for lunch in Sept and are VERY excited !!

 

[LoriABil]

Not a hater, but maybe I could add to the times to LOVE IT list! It was our favorite restaraunt so far, and we are definitely going back!

We went on a Monday between 2 and 2:30 last year. (Definitely an "off" time). Maybe they can't handle the peak times well, although I would thing 5:30 would be the beginning of peak time?

Maybe some others can help shed some light on the subject... I will stay tuned!

 

[jlk806]

I love Coral Reef too and eat there every trip! We have always done lunch, around 12:30, this coming trip will be our first time doing dinner.

 

[OKW Lover]

You may want to read the review page for more feedback.

 

[lnh'smom]

I'll be honest, I am a hater! We will never go back again! Had reservations at 5:45. got there around 5:35 and checked in. Went and sat down to wait. 9 of us including a 17month old and a 21month old. At 6:10 a party of 7 showed up and said we had a reservation at 5:45 but because of the buses (some issue where something was found on a bus and all the buses had to go back and be inspected and it really messed up the transportation for awhile!) we are late. They seated them right away. We were ticked. Hello, same reservation time and we were already there! By this time I had taken my 17month old outside to run around cause he was tired of sitting and doing nothing. DH and DBIL went up to complain. They were told that we would be seated right away also. 5 minutes later they called our name. DBIL said where are the others? (Me and DS) The lady said sir, we will not seat you until your entire party is here and she turned and walked away. DH said no, we are all here, seat us now, DW is right outside the door. So he grabs me and we go and sit down. Right next to the late arrivals who are already enjoying their drinks in the exact same table setup that we had so it wasn't like the were a smaller group that used less space than us. DH complained to waiter who got manager and we got a free appetizer but by the time we left there, it had been over 2 hours and everyone was tired and crabby and it just wasn't worth it to us.
Sorry that was really long!

 

[squirrel]

Our reservation time was 1:20pm. We had a wait in the waiting area, not sure how long but it wasn't unreasonable.

We were shown to our table in a great location near the tanks. I had arranged for special menus for the kids (my niece, and my neighbours two boys). I also was given a diver (they no longer do this or the menus). So our meal started off really great. We ordered our food. This is where it started to get bad. My niece is lactose intollerant and it was on the slip of paper the server had. I had also sent in a list of all of our ADR's to special diets so the chef knew we were coming. The server said do I need to get the chef? I responded I'm not sure what she can have. So he didn't go and get the chef I had to try and figure out what she could have that was on the menu. When our order arrived there was a mix up of what the two boys had ordered. The server fixed that. Then I mentioned that the rice I ordered didn't have any cashews on it. He argued with me about what I had ordered (I wanted the cashew rice with out the chutney on it). Then we asked for refills of our pop. He also rolled his eyes at something my neighbour asked or said. I finally got a refill on my pop when the desserts arrived I still had half my meal (steak and rice as I couldn't eat without a drink). My niece didn't even get a dessert. Before our desserts even arrived, my neighbour (the dad) went to find a manager to tell him about our server. This was the slowest service ever. We were probably at the table for over 1 1/2hrs. We figure that the server wasn't even trying as it was an automatic tip with 6 people.

This is the only TS that didn't get the chef. We have been twice now (this happened on the first trip) and always the chef comes to the table. Even at the CS if you are unsure the chef/manager will help find something that will work.

I'm going again this year and Coral Reef is not one of our ADR's. Maybe in a few years I can get up enough courage to try it again.

We also dined at Sci-Fi and had a totally different expirence. Our food was not that good but the server was so good he made it great. My neighbour's went back again last year as they had such a great time-I tried out 50's Prime Time.

My nieghbour (the dad) was upset that we didn't get to Epcot until later into our trip (I planned the park days and the restaurants) as he was so looking forward to going to Epcot. After the meal at Coral Reef he couldn't wait to get out of Epcot. That's how bad it was. Last year he wasn't that excited to be going back to Epcot as our first park. I booked Akershus and he really enjoyed it.

 

[Pakey]

I'm not a Coral Reef hater as I've eaten here a dozen times or so. But there are certain aspects and times of Coral Reef that I do not like.

The place is horribly noisy. During peak lunch and dinner times, we often have listened to more than one screaming child with noise levels high enough that a conversation could not be had without shouting.

The seating is often way behind schedule and service is slow. For people with young diners with short attention spans, this can be excruciating. Drink refills can be a rare find here.

A once amazing and creative menu has been dumbed down to feed the masses. Although there are a still a few nice dishes on the menu, the majority of the really great items have been removed.

 

[brockash]

I don't hate Coral Reef, although I will say in our experience it generally has the worst customer service out of all our Disney meals. We've gone twice, both in the first part of Sept. Our ADR's have been around 6:30ish both times. Both times we've had to wait over 30 mins. after our ADR time (so showing up 15 mins. beforehand, puts us waiting at least 45 mins.,) and both times the staff just seems cranky. We haven't experience overly rude staff, but definitely not friendly staff either, from the hostess, to our waiter (and even seeing the interaction with other tables and their waiters. The food has been fine for us both times we've gone, although I don't really like the dessert options.
We've decided not to do Coral Reef this time, and honestly probably won't for a few years. I'm sure we'll be back, because I love the scenery, but for us I'm looking forward to having a break from it for a while.

 

[summerlady]

I don't hate it, we liked the food there very much. But, we won't be going back anytime soon: the wait for our ADR was almost an hour, it's extremely loud, and the service was very (and I mean VERY) slow.

 

[o2bnoz]

I have to agree with the posters who have said that the customer service is the issue.

We went last year and our food was fine. I wouldn't say that it was spectacular, but it was good. We had a great table right next to the tank, so the ambience was stellar.

HOWEVER... our server was horrible! He was disinterested to the point of being rude. My Mother is gluten intolerant, and as another poster did, I had let all of the locations know ahead of time, etc.. and ALL OTHER DISNEY RESTAURANTS were truly GREAT when it came to accommodating her. I mean, they went above and beyond, everywhere else! But at Coral Reef, the server acted like my Mother was "faking" her celiac's disease, and when he went to get the Chef, the Chef was rude, too!! It was as if he couldn't be bothered! And it wasn't a particularly busy time. We were there in October, and we had a somewhat off time reservation, so it wasn't that we were dragging the chef away from a horribly busy kitchen. We didn't even need to see the chef, because we could figure out the gluten thing without any help, thank you very much... but it was really aggravating!

Yes, we will probably go back, because I have to believe that there are good servers there, too, right????

Anyway.... this next trip we will be doing Chefs De France, Biergarten and possibly Garden Grill. No Coral Reef for a while...

 

[RachelsMommie]

12:30 for lunch.

The service was fine, but the food was just really mediocre to slightly bad. It was just not cooked well. And I loved every other meal we had...we did 6 nights of deluxe dining, so we had 2-3 TS meals a day.

 

[TARAMEOW]

We had ADR's for 7:30pm and were not seated until almost 9pm last trip. I finally reminded somebody there that we were still waiting on the couch when everybody else went in

Here is my DF pretending to sleep there !

 

[goofy4tink]

I love Coral Reef. My only issue was the time we went during free dining. There were a ton of huge family groups there at the same time. I have never heard it so loud in that restaurant. Our server was frazzled, there were little kids running all over the place, little babies were crying, parents were just ignoring them and continuing on with their drinking (yes, they were drinking...dinner was done, the adults just sat there enjoying after dinner drinks whilst their children melted down). We had been looking forward to dessert but were so fed up with the situation that we asked for our check as soon as we were half way done eating our entrees. And even then, it took the server 30 mins to get it to us.

Please, don't misunderstand me.....I don't think anyone should not be allowed to sit and enjoy their meal. BUT.....I have been to Coral Reef, at almost the exact same time of day, many times. And that one time, during free dining, was awful. There were a ton more little kids in there...and they weren't happy. I actually overheard one parent tell their child, probably about 6 or 7, to go squish behind someone's table down by the tank and look at the pretty fish so that mommy and daddy could have their drinks in peace!!!
I just think that many families that wouldn't normally head to Coral Reef, head there for free dining..it's a good deal since their prices tend to be pretty steep.

 

[AnnetteF]

The last time we were there was August of 2008. It was me DH and DD4. Our ADR was for 5:45. We rushed out of the pool which we were enjoying to make this reservation. It was also our last night. We got there and were told that there would be about a 45 minute wait. We were given a pager and told that we could not go any further than just a few feet outside the restaurant. This was unlike Rose & Crown and Biergarten, where you can be anywhere in that pavillion and the pager will still work. There were so many people all over also waiting there was no room to even sit. Those of you who are parents know how difficult this situation is with a little one.

At 6:45 we still hadn't been called. We checked with them and were told they were backed up and it would be a little longer. We finally got seated at 7:15. Now we waited 20 more minutes before our server approached our table. At that time, we attempted to give her our order but were told that "she could only take drink orders now". We got up and proceeded to leave. At that point she got the manager. I told him how long we'd been waiting and that my dd was hungry and tired of waiting and we were off to find a CS restaurant. He promised us that he would see to it that our food was out faster than we could go and find CS at that point. He apologized, told us that Disney overbooks that restaurant and won't listen to them. He also gave us complimentary drinks. The food did come out very quickly at that point and it was wonderful, but our whole evening was spent there, and we made it out just in time for Illuminations. We haven't been back to COral Reef since. We also are going again in August and it is not on our list of ADR's.

 

[vinotinto]

These reviews are really terrible! I'm re-thinking my dinner ADRs here and perhaps switching to lunch.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I'm not a hater. I've been to Coral Reef four times in the last four years, twice for lunch and twice for dinner. The only time I've ever experienced a long wait to be seated was the first time, when we went for lunch during the Food & Wine Festival in 2006. Our ADR was for some time between 1 and 2 PM and we were seated about 40 minutes after we checked in. It may have been a weekend; I really can't remember anymore. But the food and service were so outstanding that we decided we didn't care about the long wait; we knew that the restaurant would be a "must" for us on future trips. We haven't waited more than five minutes to be seated on any of our subsequent visits. Usually our dinner reservations are later in the day, around 8 PM or so. Lunches are generally around 1 PM.

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

Maybe I am an exception but we had great service at the Coral Reef. We had a very late ADR. I want to say it was at 9:10 p.m. We had to wait a while for our table but we enjoyed getting a chance to sit down and relax and be off of our feet. My DD21 and I thumbed through the pictures on the camera and deleted the bad ones. My DS16 an DH chatted. We were tired and had a late lunch so the rest was pleasant. We were seated about 20 minutes later.

It was the end of the day and Illumniations was going on so the restaurant was relatively quiet. As tables left they weren't reseating them so it got quieter and quieter. Because it was so late there weren't many little ones there. I don't mind children and have a high tolerance for noise but it was mostly adults or people with older kids.

We ordered our food and picked at it. I wasn't too hungry but we were on DxDP and skipped the appetizer and just ordered what I wanted. I didn't finish it. My family didn't eat too much either, not because it wasn't good but because we just weren't hungry againsince we'd had lunch at 2:00 (the pitfall, IMHO of the DxDP I thought 7 hours between meals would be enough. It wasn't)

Our server however was on the spot with drinks, water, suggestions of items on the menu that were most popular. She was concerned when our plates were still half full and we asked for the check. She asked if everything was ok? Offered to get us something else if our meals hadn't appealed to us. Asked if we wanted to a take out box, wrapped up our desserts to go. She was pleasant and friendly and attentive.

So my thoughts, go during Illumniations and at one of the last seatings if you can wait that late. It made it more pleasant for us. Our only caveat, my DH still contends there is a musty smell in the dining room. I didn't smell it but it rather turned his opinion and he asked me not to rebook there on this trip. Fine by me. I like trying new places but personally I'd go back.

 

[mickeymotto]

Sorry folks, but I'm a HATER on this one. My family refers to this restaurant as the CORAL REFUND.....

I was really excited about this meal when I planned it. One because it was our first time here and two, I had arranged for a personalized menu to be given to the boys. I sent photos that they were going to put all over the menu with their names on it. There were photos of them as babies and growing up Disney throughout the years. I was so excited because I kept this a secret even from DH for 6 months! I could wait for them to see it and be surprised.....

We get to the Coral Reef around 6:50 pm for our 7pm ADR. Once there, I was told by the CM that we would have to wait and they would call us shortly. 30 minutes later, the same CM calls me over to the front desk and proceeds to tell me that there was some error and they did not have my menus printed!

She asked me if it was a special occassion, I told her, well not really just that the menu was suppose to be a celebration of their trips here at Disney over the years. And that it would probably be our last trip together for awhile because our oldest was going away to college.

She told me she didn't know what happened if there was anything they could do....blah,blah,blah...

OK, whatever...can we be seated please!

15 minutes later!!!!! (45 minutes total)

Then we are seated in one of the booths...there are 5 of us now...no small children. (3 grown teenage boys and 2 adults) Everyone else in the booths were parties of 4 or less. Needless to say it was a little cramped.

Our food was tasteless. Seriously, it was so bland and the food was not cooked properly. The tuna and the steak was over cooked. The chicken was dry.

The service was also awful. It took forever to get our meals and our waiter had zippo in the personality department. Very UNDisney like.

We were also told that they would deliver our personalized menu with th photos to our resort for us later. We never got them. One thing I hate more than bad service is being lied to or promised something and not delivering.


Overall we gave the Coral Reef a (2-) on Food and a (1) on Service on a scale of 1-10.

This really was our worst Disney experience in dining ever.

Fortunately every other experience we had during that trip was fantastic and made up for the awful experience we had here overall, but we will NEVER waste our time here again. There are too many other fine dining locations throughout the WORLD to experience that risking one here.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

I remember the first time I went, we waited for about 20 minutes. They told me straight that they were really busy and apologized. But the food was pretty good and the service during the meal was OK.

After that, we normally get seated almost immediately. I didn't get to know our servers like I did the Yak and Yeti server that one time, but they were professional, did their job and kept out of the way. (With the Yak and Yeti server, she told me about her family and her issues with her son. She told me about her life's frustrations. I guess she really needed to talk to someone. I hope she's doing well.)

So I've never had a bad experience at Coral Reef. And that last time, that steak was seriously and surprisingly good!