We have reservations to Coral Reef and T Rex...

[Clam Chowder]

Hello,
We are about a week away from our WDW/Cruise vacation and I have a few quick questions. My son is 7 and loves Dinos so T-Rex is a must. I've read and heard great things about it.
My daughter who is 6 loves fish and sea life so we wanted to try Coral Reef. It looks fantastic but the reviews as of late arn't so good.... I know its a bit pricey and I'm fine with that as long as we don't have to wait 45-50 min after our reservation time. Any info would be helpful

 

[OneinThree]

Never been to T-Rex. Coral Reef? Poor reviews are less a recent phenomenon and more the rule with the location. I really have always been a fan of the experience, but don't often go and temper expectations when I do. At the end of the day, it's all about just taking in the atmosphere there. If I do want good seafood, I'm trucking over a mile or so to Flying Fish or Bluezoo across the IG.

 

[OhThePain]

If you have never been and you are doing it for your daughter, then don't let other people convince you not to go. There are some people who love Coral Reef. If you go in with realistic expectations, it'll be fine. If you know there is a chance that you will wait after your reservation time, that the service seems to be really hit and miss and the food quality is about what you'd expect from Red Lobster (and that is being generous IMO), then you know what to expect. Anything better than that and you can consider it a win. Remember, in the end it is a restaurant choice for your daughter so the most important thing is that she enjoys it. It is a neat enough atmosphere for the kids.

With that being said, I HATE what Coral Reef has become, which is hard to say because growing up it was my favorite restaurant on property. Of all the restaurants at WDW, past and present, Coral Reef is the one that has been hurt the most by the dining plan, IMO. Pre-dining plan days it was a Signature quality restaurant with a quiet and enjoyable atmosphere (if you have ever watched Full House when they go to WDW you'll get what I mean). Now, the food quality is not that good, the service is way more hit and miss than a restaurant should be and the atmosphere has lost all the tranquility it used to have. After a few bad experiences, we will not return without a major overhaul. Like the PP said, we would much rather go to FF or bluezoo or even Cape May for seafood.

 

[Earningmywings]

We did Coral Reef in September for the first and last time. The food was easily with most bland and undesirable of our entire trip. We sat right next to the tank, so that was a bonus, but even the kids did not eat their food.
We did T Rex in 2017 and loved it. If my memory is correct I think there is a large tank in it, maybe jellyfish? The atmosphere is T Rex is definitely loud, but it was fun. There are different themes to the rooms (time periods I believe). We were going to go there again this past Sept and opted for Coral Reef instead, that was a mistake.
Keep in mind getting to DS can be tricky depending on where your coming from.

 

[HopperFan]

Not once in all our times were we seated anywhere close to our ADR time, so yes be prepared to wait for Coral Reef past your time, and if you get lucky and get seated promptly that is great. MOST tables are not at/near aquarium. There is no guarantee your table will be close to the aquarium wall, so if enjoying from afar is okay with you, another plus. Since the wall is lined with tables, there is no where for you to go look at it up close. We have eaten along the wall several times and up higher, there is a difference in experience for us. Add low food quality and service we experienced, it is now off our list but many still enjoy it.

Coral Reef is the same tanks you can see in Living Seas for free. Thought: It could be you check both boxes at T-Rex. They have an underwater section that is just beautiful. You could request you sit in that area and then you can walk all over the restaurant and take photos with the dinosaurs.

(PHOTO: Orlando Parent Mag)

 

[WDWangela]

We ate at Coral Reef in September as it was requested by my granddaughter. I had low expectations for this restaurant, but was pleasantly surprised. There were 6 of us and everyone enjoyed their meals.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have dined several times at CR and while I was never blown away by the food, it was okay. We booked it for our Candlelight Processional package meal, and had 8 people. It was not good. I have been disney dining for 14 years and whiel I have had some stumbles in a restaurant I have never been bombarded by my family about the server's behavior. I will accept a bad day in a restaurant, mistakes by servers, and general just "we don't like it" experiences. This was the first time I felt that I needed to speak to the concierge at my resort the following day. She never even blinked while she refunded our gratuity. I did nto ask for anything, but I was not happy.

The food was "okay" to "this is disgusting" to awful desserts, but it was the server who upset my family. Never again.

 

[robinmy]

I've ate at the Coral Reef twice and loved it. Both times we were there for lunch and were seated near the tank. I had the Grilled Mahi-Mahi and it was excellent. Others traveling with me had the steak and said it was very good. Desserts were very good, especially the Chocolate Lava Cake.

On my last trip we also visited T-Rex. I had some problems with it...mostly because it was SO LOUD. The waitress said the flashing lights and screeching dinosaurs would happen every 20 minutes. I swear it was more like every 10 minutes. The noise and the strobe lighting gave me a headache. It also scared the children at the table beside us (under 5 years old) and they started crying. I do have to say that the food was very good. I got some kind of large salad with grilled chicken. The others had Fish & Chips which they said was good. The Key Lime Pie for dessert was fantastic.

So, if you have young kids or people who don't like strobe lighting, I'd think twice about T-Rex. But, you can't go wrong with the food from either restaurant.

 

[KenHutch]

We ate at Coral this past June and since we were a party of 8 I knew would be seated away from the fish. Even so we had a very nice view and after reading a lot of reviews I was surprised at how good the food was. I have also eaten and T-Rex and while the 9 year old loved it the 18 year old has warned me about every making that reservation again. She liked the food she hated the noise.

 

[Dakota731]

We ate at TRex a few months ago and really enjoyed it. The food and service was great and our three year old wasn’t scared or bothered by the special effects at all. In fact he loved walking around and seeing all the different dinosaurs.

 

[WVU Disney Fan]

We’ve been to T-Rex twice in the last 3 years. Both times was great. Food was good not great but atmosphere is awesome. Also there is a family style desert option that is like s volcano which is awesome in both taste and appearance.

We’ve done Coral Reef once back 2014 and we’re very disappointed. Atmosphere is more formal than I imagined and food was not the greatest. Also unless you get a few select tables your view isn’t that great.

 

[LYSE]

Here is our review of coral reef:
https://www.mainstreetchat.com/2018/03/06/epcot-coral-reef-restaurant-review/

Tldr: We've had better experiences previously but our last visit turned us off for a bit. The atmosphere is great though and I would do it for your daughter.

 

[DduzDis]

We were not at all impressed with Coral Reef. If it were me I'd just do a quick service somewhere near The Seas with Nemo and Friends and let her wander around the aquariums there. My girls can spend hours there easily.

T-Rex was loud for us. We really thought the kids would love it there, but they were scared most of the time. But, if your son loves dinosaurs it really can't be beat.

 

[Araminta18]

It was just my husband and I last September, and we had a dinner ADR at Coral Reef. I was worried too, based on the reviews, but we had a fantastic meal. We asked to be seated right next to the tank and they said it would be a 45 minute wait, we waited only 15 minutes or so. The food was good, and the waiter was nice. I'd go back.

 

[team bradfield]

About 8 years ago Coral Reef started to go down in quality, it can still be good, just not as good as it used to be. T-Rex is a must for us, last year I had the seafood cioppino and it was one of the best I've eaten. DW swears by the mega bones (ribs) DD's love the lasagna, it is loud, but if you go to a Rainforest or T Rex, its gonna be loud, we like to be seated in the Ice cave.

 

[hammie59]

I’d go with TREX with young kids. Unless you’re seated right next to the tank, your kids may find CR boring. When we ate there many years ago, my 5 yr old barely noticed the fish (we were 3 rows back in a giant booth). And they’re the same fish you see when you visit the other side of the aquarium. TREX is exciting with pretty good food and used to be a must do for us every trip. My kids are a little older now so i guess the thrill has worn off and dh and I can’t take how loud it is anymore. But it’s a really fun atmosphere for sure

 

[Jetta8300]

Hello,
We are about a week away from our WDW/Cruise vacation and I have a few quick questions. My son is 7 and loves Dinos so T-Rex is a must. I've read and heard great things about it.
My daughter who is 6 loves fish and sea life so we wanted to try Coral Reef. It looks fantastic but the reviews as of late arn't so good.... I know its a bit pricey and I'm fine with that as long as we don't have to wait 45-50 min after our reservation time. Any info would be helpful

I've always taken reviews with a grain of salt. People are VERY picky with food and it's subjective. My son is obsessed with dinosaurs and we are going to TRex. I have heard it's fun but very loud. I'm sure it's typical chain restaurant food like Rainforest Cafe but we'll see for ourselves. As for coral reef I would definitely just look up the menu if I were you, and make your decision based on that. I had hoped to take my son there because he also loves sea life but the kid friendly options are strange and he won't eat anything on that menu.

 

[LovesTimone]

Hello,
We are about a week away from our WDW/Cruise vacation and I have a few quick questions. My son is 7 and loves Dino's so T-Rex is a must. I've read and heard great things about it.
My daughter who is 6 loves fish and sea life so we wanted to try Coral Reef. It looks fantastic but the reviews as of late aren't so good.... I know its a bit pricey and I'm fine with that as long as we don't have to wait 45-50 min after our reservation time. Any info would be helpful

Both are a great choice... We have taken our DGS to both several times, he will be 4 at the end of the month...

T-Rex is so fun, food and service are pretty good...at times a bit slow, and there's a lot to look at so not to bad... they have a cobb salad that I really like as I can only eat so much heavy food and it a really good size, with lots of goodies in it...

Coral Reef - I know that it doesn't get much love here. We have eaten here often, and have never been disappointed with the food or the service... The view of the aquarium is really something special... anywhere is a good spot as it is like stadium seating. They do run behind at times, I think that it just due to people sitting enjoying the view, maybe not rushing through the meal... It is very relaxing atmosphere... the sea life is amazing to watch... The longest we have had to wait is around 15 minutes to be seated...

 

[Clam Chowder]

Hi everyone, Thanks so much for the responses. We decided to skip Coral Reef. The cons out weighed the pros. Jetta8300 was dead on with looking at the menu. The kids are young and they are picky eaters. We went to T-Rex and it was awesome! The food was really good and it was just a really cool atmosphere. The kids had a blast!

 

[Jetta8300]

Hi everyone, Thanks so much for the responses. We decided to skip Coral Reef. The cons out weighed the pros. Jetta8300 was dead on with looking at the menu. The kids are young and they are picky eaters. We went to T-Rex and it was awesome! The food was really good and it was just a really cool atmosphere. The kids had a blast!

I'm glad you liked it! We have only 30 days left until we go, and Coral Reef still didn't add any super kid friendly items to the menu (they do change sometimes) so we are still skipping. It's nice to go to a place like T-Rex here and there during the trip that isn't disney owned, because there are so many kid friendly options at these places. It's actually amazing to me that a restaurant like Coral reef wouldn't have just one thing on a typical traditional kids menu.