Coral Reef Restaurant, bad day or?

[DisneySurprisePA]

We just came back and besides our resort choice being a downer, one restaurant was as real let down...Coral Reef. Did we just hits bad day and bad server, or did I pick a lemon?

We had a 7:30 reservation for five. Three adults and two children. We waited for 45minutes. Our little one was out cold and asleep in the stroller. We planned to have one adult stay with him outside and switch off so he didn't have to come in. My kids are slow eaters so it usually works out well.

Our server knew we had a little one outside and we would switch off at dessert, so we said he wouldn't be in nor would we order anything for him.

She took our order, brought our drinks and proceeded to clear a table next to us in a hurry. She left several dirty dishes from someone else' table on our table. Left them there until it made it to her TO DO list to remove them. Who does that? I don't want to sit with dirty dishes especially someone else'!

I mentioned it to the manager when I finished my meal and went out to my son so my husband could enjoy dinner. He apparently said something and we received absolutely no service from that point until it was time for the check.

Guess what? On my check is listed six people. She listed my infant as being at the table and listed she gave him water. Really??! I pointed out to her that he was never at the table or even on the reservation, how did that entitle her to 18 percent automatic tip? She said "That is the way we do it"

The food was nothing special. The floors really needed swept. I know it is near the night's end but there seemed to be a lack of concern all the way.

We are going back next January. Did we hit them on a bad night or are they as bad as they seem? YUK! So excited for this restaurant!

 

[fractal]

You never sit people at a table with dirty dishes. Never.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

I have been there 2 times the last time was last Sept. I love THE FOOD and atmosphere it was amazing. We have had bad service both times. We had a man he was Korean or Asian maybe? He was a terrible server but after I spoke to a manager he perked up a bit. I would try it again trust me! Its a shame they did that with the dishes and I would have been very upset if that was me! Hope next time is better.

 

[wdwmagic]

Wow not good.

I have to say, I rank Coral Reef at the bottom of the Epcot dining. I would not return.

 

[katieee]

I love coral reef we love the food and atmosphere

 

[sxeensweet]

Went once and will probably never go back. Best was the atmosphere but food and service did not impress.

 

[Ali in Wonderland]

The food is nothing to write home about. Not bad, not good. Just okay. I do enjoy the atmosphere and I have never had a bad experience with service there. If you liked the food and the atmosphere, give it another try. Sounds like you just had a crummy server. There are much better dining options at Epcot and at the resorts though.

 

[Wildflower]

Years ago the food was fantastic, currently it seems to be average (it went through a "poor" part in there for a bit too). Service is hit or miss. To us it's not worth what always seems to be a long wait for an expensive meal (even with ADRs which we always use) that might or might not be just ok.

 

[Konor]

In our first trip our family really, really looked forward to our night at Coral Reef. I won't bore you with details but let's just say it hasn't made our reservation list since.

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

I'm assuming you disputed the bill, right? What did the manager do? I have found that the few times I have had a problem with service at WDW that the managers have gone above and beyond to rectify the situation, even giving us credits that were certainly unasked for. There is no excuse for them charging you the tip for the 6th person. That is ridiculous.

 

[mousehockey37]

I'm assuming you disputed the bill, right? What did the manager do? I have found that the few times I have had a problem with service at WDW that the managers have gone above and beyond to rectify the situation, even giving us credits that were certainly unasked for. There is no excuse for them charging you the tip for the 6th person. That is ridiculous.

Agreed.

I would have never left the restaurant until something was done about it. The fact that there was a charge for a person who was never included in the reservation is fraud. Pure and simple.

To @DisneySurprisePA , you say you just got back? Back home or to your resort? If you're still in Disney, take it up with them IMMEDIATELY!!!! Make sure you have the receipt and the name of the server and I hope you took some pictures at dinner of the table status. This server knew they did a crap job and that by your admission of the 6th person being asleep in a stroller outside, gave them the gull to put that said little being on the bill to get the automatic tip, instead of being tipped what would be "suggested" or in this case "earned". Even if you are back home, they have records of all the transactions and they do take these instances seriously. Like I said, this is basically a form of theft and fraud for them knowing that they did a crap job.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Service and food wasn't terrible but with that said. Why would you waste a servers time and table/turnaround for them to make tips when you ate one at a time, leaving one person outside with a kid. Either cancel your reservation or wake up the child up to eat with you. It is not fair to the people waiting for the table or the people waiting on you. And you wondered why you had to wait 45 minutes. Sounds like other people do the similar thing with switching off and on eating.

 

[Ali in Wonderland]

Service and food wasn't terrible but with that said. Why would you waste a servers time and table/turnaround for them to make tips when you ate one at a time, leaving one person outside with a kid. Either cancel your reservation or wake up the child up to eat with you. It is not fair to the people waiting for the table or the people waiting on you. And you wondered why you had to wait 45 minutes. Sounds like other people do the similar thing with switching off and on eating.

I think the 6th person was the baby who never came into the restaurant. At least that's how I took the post. I could be wrong. In that case you are correct. From what the post said, it sounded like the baby was "the 6th" though.

 

[mousehockey37]

I think the 6th person was the baby who never came into the restaurant. At least that's how I took the post. I could be wrong. In that case you are correct. From what the post said, it sounded like the baby was "the 6th" though.

I found this in a search:

CAN MY KIDS EAT FOR FREE?
Walt Disney World Resort Restaurants consider a child to be ages 3-9. Most restaurants have a separate children's menu with selections geared to children's tastes. Most children's meals are priced under $8, although some restaurants may have higher-priced offerings.

At table service restaurants, there is no charge for children under 3 who share from an adult's plate. However, if you order from a menu for a children under 3, you will be charged the menu price.

So maybe someone can interpret that in regards to this situation.

 

[DisneySurprisePA]

Actually, yes, the sixth is the child outside. We switch off at dessert time. I skipped dessert so husband could come in to grab dinner. He ate his entree while the girls finished dessert. We had three adults and two children at the table. We take as much time as it takes for the girls to eat their meals. I would rather rush my meal and skip dessert to take a turn with a sleeping child than be the family with the fussing child next to you. Sorry if my post was confusing.

The kids get to enjoy their entree and dessert. We skip dessert, but no one but us is rushed or inconvenienced by a crying child.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Wow. I would seriously write to Disney about your experience. Give them the date, the reservation number, and the names of any of the CMs you spoke to. Here is the link to the contact form:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/email/

As for going back, no, I would not go back. Coral Reef for me is a hit or miss. There are far better options in Epcot.

 

[DisneySurprisePA]

The manager had his hands full with a family that had DDP and was disputing something. I was trying not to make a huge deal out of it, but was sooooo disappointed. That is why I posted the question, 2nd try or is it just a lemon of a choice. We plan to return next January and figured it was worth asking about it while it was still on our minds. Thanks for the input for those that replied.

 

[mousehockey37]

The manager had his hands full with a family that had DDP and was disputing something. I was trying not to make a huge deal out of it, but was sooooo disappointed. That is why I posted the question, 2nd try or is it just a lemon of a choice. We plan to return next January and figured it was worth asking about it while it was still on our minds. Thanks for the input for those that replied.

Manager with hands full or not, your issue was a costly one and required that manager's attention. You still have a chance to rectify it and possibly, if they deem it that there were not 6 of you at that table, reclaim some of your money. I would suggest following @StarWarsGirl95 and emailing Disney, as well as calling them.

This isn't something that should be blown off because how many others out there are being charged an automatic gratuity for someone that isn't at their table? If the server is that bad that they have to say "That's the way we do it" to add basically a "phantom" person to your table which had 5 bodies at it, then this person is stealing and frauding you and the company and they deserve to be promoted to customer.

I'd say it's up to you on whether to go back or not. You know how the food was, etc, but if Disney is going to stand behind their server and not their customer, you may want to rethink your plan of how you dine at Disney.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I'd have to say you definitely hit it at the wrong time and got the wrong server, because Coral Reef is always one of our "must do" restaurants on every WDW trip. Besides it's consistently excellent food and the great atmosphere, normally the service is much better than what you experienced. I'd definitely give it another try.

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

I'm thinking about this a little more in light of some of the responses and I have to agree that you made it a little inconvenient by having one person eat their entree while everyone else was on dessert. Logistically, that seems like a bit of a nightmare for a server in a busy restaurant. It takes a lot more time to prepare a entree than it does dessert and to eat it, even if it is children eating dessert. So, I see no way that it wouldn't have taken your party extra time and made extra work for your server. I can perhaps see why he would be resentful.

However, that doesn't excuse the bad service nor does it mean that you should have been billed as if you had a party of 6.

Just saying that your strategy, while good for your family, might not have been the most considerate to the restaurants or the guests who were waiting.