Coral Reef Question

lovethesun12

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
We have a local restaurant with a fish tank and my kids *love* it.

We are booking Coral Reef but I've heard mixed reviews.

If we are willing to wait will we get a table by the tanks?

If we get a table by the tank, how crowded does it get? I really don't mind a few kids around watching the tank at all but wouldn't want to feel like it was hard to move my chair or anything.

Just wondering if it's worth it for kids that love that sort of thing? I'm really torn between here and Via Napoli (because they also love pizza :)
 
We ate at Coral Reef a couple of years ago. The food and service weren't remarkable (the service was actually terrible), but I do think it's worth trying at least once. I've even been tempted to go back, despite our bad experience.

We waited for a table with a view of the tank. I didn't notice a ton of kids right up against the glass, and I definitely don't remember anyone being in our space.

I'd recommend trying it, but you can't go wrong with Via Napoli, either!
 
We LOVED Coral Reef when we went two years ago.
Our waiter was one of the best we had on the whole trip, the atmosphere and fish tank was awesome (we weren't even right beside the tank but further back in a large booth and still had a great view) and the food was delish!
We were surprised at how good it was! My husband ordered steak, my Dad had pasta and I had the bisque - all were great. Kids had...I forget, but they were happy with it (normal kids meal stuff).
Don't let the iffy reviews deter you, it was well worth it for us.
(oh and btw, we went for lunch, party of 5, 1st week of november)

Enjoy whatever you end up choosing!
 


We went to CR back in May. The atmosphere was fun but we weren't seated next to the tank. We even asked about waiting but there was nothing available. So that was a bummer but the food was good. Not amazing but we were happy.
 
We love CR! We almost didn’t go due to reviews...so glad we did. The firsts time we were right by the tanks. No problems with anyone coming up and invading our space. We were super surprised with the food as we were expecting it to be worse (we went for the kids experience of the fish). We now go every year and it doesn’t matter where we sit. There’s always a good view of the tank.
 
We had the deluxe dinning plan and at a lot over 5 days and this place was a the biggest let down of the trip. Atmosphere was great food wasn't.
 


coral reef is an old favorite of mine, we go every few years in spite of bad reviews and always have a good meal.

my best advice for table by the tank guarantee is an early lunch. Book 11:30 when they open, show up 11:10 and request table by the tank. You will be first in line and sure to get one. I only eat lunch there for that reason.
 
The food is good , not great. But every seat has a good view of the aquarium, some really good and that makes up for the good to mediocre food.
 
If we are willing to wait will we get a table by the tanks?

1) Sometimes.
2) But, the best seats ARE NOT next to the tanks.
3) The bets view(s) are form the next row of seats.
. . . One sees fish and sees divers tending to the fish and tank.
. . . Best views are from the second seating level, not right up against the tank.
 
If your kids love the local restaurant with the fish tank, then I think they’ll really enjoy CR. I’d read quite a few bad reviews of CR as well, but I enjoyed it on my last visit. I wasn’t blown away by my meal, but it was still good.
 
Corral Reef is a family favorite...

Just in case you did not know, all of the tables face the tank and its like stadium seating, so no bad views... The tank is the whole wall.... Actually sitting right next to the tank is not the best view, also people will come stand and lean on you to get pictures of sea life...

What we do is ride the "Seas with Nemo and friends" then spend time at Sea Base Alpha checking everything out, we have spent over a hour just checking things out and enjoying the sea life...There is a lot to see and do in here. Then we head for dinner, the entrance is kinda hidden keep to the right going past the Nemo and Friends ride.

As far as the service and food, and I am speaking for us...of course.. We have had nothing but wonderful service, and great meals.. in a really cool dinning experience...
 
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Two trips ago we did CR. I found the food to be better than people had said. We did have an issue with a family that let their two darlings crawl all over us looking at the tank. However the waitress got them to run away by saying in a loud voice to me "Did you really want the fish with the head still attached?" God bless hard working waitresses.
 
We had a very nice lunch there May (2017.) The food was fine and the service was very good. The atmosphere at CR is considerably superior to VN.:earsboy:
 

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