by Stephanie Haefner

Created on: January 04, 2009

The Coral Reef- Dining Under the Sea

During every Walt Disney World vacation we take, we like to try at least one new restaurant we haven't eaten at on a previous trip. One of the new locations we tried this last trip was The Coral Reef. I'd read rave reviews online and thought it would be a fantastic addition to our list of Disney reataurants we've eaten at.

Our wait was minimal as we made an Advanced Dining Reservation for five o'clock. Early by most people's standards, we like to keep our meal schedule on vacation similar to our home schedule. We were seated at a four person table on the highest tier. I was a little upset that we were not tankside, or even close to tankside, but the upper seating area allowed a great view of the entire restauant and all the tank windows.The restaurant itself was very pretty inside, the walls done in a mosaic with pieces in varying shades of blue and green.

We were given standard restauant menus and also a custom personalized menu that I had arranged ahead of time. The Coral Reef will print a special menu for your party and include a message and pictures. Along with my travel agent, I designed ours as an anniversary surprise for my husband and included pictures of our life from the start of our marriage to the present. He was surprised and I was pleased with the menu, but disappointed that we were only given one for the entire table, rather than one for each person.

We placed our orders and sat back and took in our surroundings. We saw sea turtles, sharks, all kinds of fish, swimming to and fro, a very relaxing atmostphere. Every so often we'd see divers who'd wave to the diners and even hold up signs for special diners. I tried to do this as well as my personalized menu, but waited too long to call about it.

Our food arrived and the sight and smells pleased us. I chose the grilled pork loin with green beans and sweet potatoes. Every bite was delicious! I am not real fond of sweet potatoes, but these were very tasy. The pork was unlike any pork loin I'd ever had, very tender and juicy. My husband chose a NY Strip Steak and was very pleased. My daughter, age five, chose a grilled chicken breast. It wasn't fancy, but most kids meals are not. She enjoyed it.

Dessert was possibly the best part of the meal. When doing my dining reserach, I'd come across many posts from diners who loved The Chocolate Wave dessert. I just had to know what the fuss was all about. The rich chocolate cake had a creamy, almost custard-like, warm center that was to die for! The brandied cherries on top were very good, but wow, they pack a punch! Don't share those with the kids! My husband enjoyed his Jack Daniel's and Bailey's Mousse and fruit was the dessert of choice for our daughter.

Our bill was aproximately $93 before we added the gratuity. Luckily for us, we always purchase the Disney Dining Plan and felt this restaurant was a great value for our meal credits.

Also, service at this establishment was very good.

Overall, we had a wonderful meal at The Coral Reef and would most definitely go again!

Pros: Great atmosphere, very relaxing, beautiful, very good food

Cons: If you're not near the tank, you can't see things very well

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