if you had to choose between these two TS restaurants...

[pianoronni37]

Imagine a woman with an annoying voice encouraging children to participate in activities and also singing Hawaiian dities in the key of "shrill" as people throw food in no particular order on your table and on your plate.

 

[Buckalew11]

'Ohana

 

[TruBlu]

Coral Reef for sure! 'Ohana is on our "never again" list. I'd rank 'Ohana as annoying and Coral Reef as relaxing. We've also had some really good meals at CR.

 

[jlk806]

Thats a tough one as both are favorites of ours. But if I didnt have any kids with me and had to choose, Id say Coral Reef - it is quieter and more romantic and relaxing. Ohana has a lot of activity going on and parades and music for the kids, etc. The food is excellent at both and both are must dos for us, but for a couple with no kids, Coral Reef would probably be the better choice.

 

[princessmom29]

We really enjoy both, b ut for a couple with no kids I would say Coral Reef. Iti s a quiter more "romantic" experience. Ohana is more of a family entertainment type place. The food is good both places, but I am partial to seafppd so Coral Reef gets my vote. The last time we ate there was 2 years ago and i had full blown tonsilitus at the time. It was the first meal I had been able to enjoy in 2 days, so I may be remebering it as better than it actually was.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'd pick Ohana. The dessert alone is worth the meal there.

 

[eeyoresnr]

Been to Ohana twice (first time was lousy experience, just HAD to give it another try---hated it just slightly less than the first time) Imagine a woman with an annoying voice encouraging children to participate in activities and also singing Hawaiian dities in the key of "shrill" as people throw food in no particular order on your table and on your plate.

Coral Reef was nicer--though noise does reverberate in the restaurant.
Food is good--portions a tad on the small side.

If I had to pick, it'd to Coral Reef.

wow...at first i thought you were joking

 

[eeyoresnr]

we have eaten at both and are eating at both on our upcoming trip (10 days away) but 'Ohanas is our favorite and a MUST do every trip...Gary is our favorite server! when we go for my 50th Birthday trip in Dec we have 'Ohanas booked twice one of which is on my birthday

 

[hotcarib]

We have eaten at both. Our experiences were quite different than others who posted here. In general, both of these are quite popular and you will likely enjoy either one. One person's "favorite" is always another's "never again". All it takes is one bad server or an over cooked steak and the meal is ruined.

With that said, it is unlikely we will ever return to Coral Reef. We, unforunately, had very poor service (food was cold, wrong items brought out, waited 10 minutes for one of the kids meals after everyone else was served, no refills, etc). None of us enjoyed our food. It wasn't so much bad as it was unmemorable. We were also seated along the back wall (not close to the fish) and waited over 30 mintues for our ADR.

'Ohana, on the other hand, is our favorite restauarant at WDW (we have never dined at a signature). We had EXCELLENT service, fresh and delicious food, a window table with beautiful views and really enjoyed the atmosphere. We LOVED the sticky wings, steak/shrimp and the bread budding was to die for!

I have to say, I recommend 'Ohana!

I like the ambience of Coral Reef however the last two meals there have been spoiled by:
Screaming, wild children..and I mean screaming,running around whilst the parents chatted and sipped their cocktails. Seriously in both cases the parents were absolutely oblivious to the glares from fellow diners.
Also we are on the same page regarding the food, it was nothing special and some of it was just plain bad. Not to mention the staff at Coral Reef want to turn tables quicker than any other Disney restaurant...well, maybe on a par with Chefs de France.
Ohana..hmm, the food isn't fantastic and I could do without the floor show but that being said it's a true Disney experience! It's especially beautiful during fireworks when they pipe in the soundtrack. The staff here will try to rush you but once they realize you like to enjoy your meal at a slower pace they are happy to let you do so. I like the salad and the bread, could probably skip the rest. My husband and daughter like the potstickers (as I think they are not even close to being as good as mine) and noodles. I adore the bread pudding and ice cream with the rum sauce. Every visit we say we will skip Ohana but between the bread pudding,noodles,ambience (and I really do like the lapu-lapu) we find ourselves on the bus to the Poly
However it's true that (IMO) Disney dining has as much to do with the situational experience as the food
Either restaurant you are bound to have fun and create some memories

 

[newdeal]

The restuarupants are totally dissimilar. IMO ohana is better but it's a buffet of sorts except they bring you the food, the food is good but not great, they have a great Polynesian atmosphere and there are some nice opportunities to participate in Polynesian dancing. It's a good time. Coral reef is a plated meal, the amount of food you get is far less, there is no show aspect to it just dinner and an aquarium, so it really depends on what you are looking for. Personally I found i didn't get enough food at coral reef and my wifes fish was raw on the first try so we chose to do ohana again and not coral reef. I don't like the peole who count service in towards a restaurant because it depends on the employees and so will be different for every person on every day, so to me service is not taken into account

 

[iloveeeyore]

OP, we enjoyed CR very much when we went for the first time last month (we love 'Ohana, too, but seems you've already decided on CR).

Please stay away from the lasagna! It gets pretty bad reviews, and I tried to steer DS away from it, but he wasn't getting the hint. He was the only person at our table who was disappointed in the meal. The steak and the mahi mahi were delicious! The atmosphere was wonderful, so beautiful, and watching the fish was a real treat...very relaxing. Nothing loud or obnoxious was going on while we were there.