Epcot's Coral Reef Restaurant for Lunch

Tucked behind The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion in Walt Disney World's Epcot, you many never know a restaurant, Coral Reef, is here unless you check out the park map, or are looking for it.

Really, as someone who has been to Epcot dozens of times, I don't consult a park map any longer, and never knew where this restaurant was located. I'd heard of Coral Reel, sure. It usually gets mixed reviews, so it's taken a few years to get around to trying it out. But, as we like to try new restaurants each trip, this finally came up in our plans.

Now that we've found it, let's go on in, shall we.

There is a lovely entryway to the restaurant, which evokes the sense of entering the sea, from a sandy beach, into the surf, and then fully submerged...

 

...where you encounter aquatic life...

 

...until you enter the restaurant, and you ARE aquatic life!

 

The dining area has a terrific view of the Sea's massive aquarium. There were 4 of us in our party, and we were seated in a booth with a great view of the tank. Left to right, me, my wife, Barbie, our friends Kandi, and John.

 

So far so good, we're loving the place, But how's the food and service? Our waiter was very attentive, and we never had to ask for a drink refill. When he brought bread, it was warm, and  the butter a perfect consistency.

Kandi had the Field Greens and Endive Salad, with pears, goat cheese, spiced walnuts, and cranberry vinaigrette for $8.49.
She asked for the dressing and goat cheese on the side. I tried the goat cheese, and it was really good.
She had another appetizer as her entree, the Rustic Seafood Stew, with Cedar Creek Clams, Mussels, White Fish, and Toasted Ciabatta , $11.99.

John had the Seared Chicken Breast, served over spaetzle finished with Applewood smoked bacon - chicken broth, $21.99.

 

Barbie had the  Grilled Mahi Mahi, with Laughing Bird Shrimp, Hearts of Palm, Jasmine Rice, Cilantro, and a Coconut-Lime Sauce $24.99

I had the Seared Rainbow Trout, with warm salad of white beans, arugula, tomatoes, crispy bacon, aged balsamic vinegar and brown butter, $19.99.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal, and speaking for myself, the rainbow trout was delicious, and the bacon brought perfect balance to the tastes. Well, it IS bacon, after all, would you expect anything less?

We were too full for dessert.  a

Were we happy with the food and service? Absolutely!

Was it overpriced for what we got? I am going to admit something to you all right now, and I'd appreciate if you'd keep it amongst yourselves, but my parent's favorite restaurant is Red Lobster.
So I am a frequent visitor to Red Lobsters, and can say that my meal here was comparably priced to what I might pay for a dinner portion there.

Will we return? Without a doubt!

This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.

In the Stockade!

Guest Writer Wednesdays

In the Stockade!
By: Gaylin

Since my first vacation, I have tried to have my photo taken in the stocks in the Magic Kingdom. If I had a photo scanner I could show you the older photos, but, since I don't, here are a few of the newer ones.

This first one is with my shiny bald head in 2005.

 

This next one is obviously from 2006, since a friend photoshopped the 2006 onto the front.

And here we have 2007.

And December of 2008. Love that Tigger Christmas hat!

And last but not least, 2011.

I have a few other places that I always try to have my photo taken in – anybody else have a favorite photo spot?

Where's My Mickey : App Review

 A couple of months ago, Disney released a fun new App, similar to the popular Where's My Water, called Where's My Mickey?

 While not as challenging as Where's My Water, it is a lot of fun, especially the level intro videos, and sight gags that come at the completion of each level. And it's free!

There are 3 free levels featuring Mickey.
Each starts with a video that sets up game play.
In "When Life Gives You Lemons", Mickey sets up a lemonade stand at the beach...

...but is missing a key component. Water.

You need to provide the water so he can serve his customers.
Some levels are extremely easy, but there are some challenging ones as well.

After each level completion, you are rewarded with a cute little sight gag.

At the completion of the level, you get a final cartoon that concludes the story.

Level 2, Fanning the Flames, has you trying to help Mickey put out a potentially disastrous flame.

On Level 3 you need to help Mickey save his potentially prize winning garden, which has been trashed by Pluto, before contest judges arrive!

Along the way, you collect awards and hidden surprises, which are displayed in your prize cabinet of course.

 

 

For an extra $.99 you can have 2 additional levels that feature Goofy. In Van Goofy, you need to help get Goofy pigment to create his painted masterpieces.

In Ship Wrecked, Goofy is stranded on a desert island that has an amazing plant that transforms various objects into delicious food, such as pizza and cheeseburgers! Help Goofy eat by getting the plants nectar to him.

As with the Mickey levels, there's an intro video, sight gags galore, and a conclusion.

I really enjoyed this app, and look forward to future updates.

Name That Disney Bear

Can you name the characters on this Totem Pole, which sits outside the Mercantile store at Disney's Wilderness Lodge?
Got Mickey, Goofy and Donald pretty easily, I would imagine, but who's that bear?

While staying at the Wilderness Lodge a couple of years ago, we took the  excellent ranger guided tour. When the ranger asked who in our group of about 12 could name the characters, only my wife and I knew this bear is Humphrey.

I have a few Humphrey collectibles. One is a 12" resin reproduction of the Totem Pole above which I purchased at the Wilderness Lodge Mercantile for $20.95.

Humphrey first appeared in a Goofy short from 1950, titled "Hold That Pose", though he is bearly (pun intended) recognizable as the bear he would develop into. This short can be found on the "Walt Disney Treasures: The Complete Goofy" DVD set.

Next he went on to appear in four classic Donald Duck cartoons: "Rugged Bear", 1953, "Grin and Bear it", 1954, "Bearly Asleep", and "Beezy Bear", both from 1955. All 4 of these can be found on "Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald: Volume 4" DVD set.

He even starred in his own cartoons in 1955,"Hooked Bear", and one of  my favorite short cartoons of all time, "In the Bag" both of which can be found on the "Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts: 1920s-1960s" set.

I'll share more Humphrey in the future here on Disney Musings.

Flea Market Find: Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones

I picked this Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones up at the flea market a few months ago for $5.

 

  

What's Mickey looking for? This gold idol of himself, of course. Pssst, Mickey, it's right behind you!

 I had no idea that this was actually part of a set, until I saw this in the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost in Disneyland.

 

Goofy as Indiana Mickey's right hand man, Sallah.

This set sells for $19.95, so I guess I got a good deal on Mickey, but Goofy and the Ark are pretty cool too!

Mickey and me will be on the lookout for Goofy at the flea market. Raiders of the Lost Goofy.

Do You Remember: The Spaceship Earth Magic Wand?

To celebrate the new Millennium, Epcot installed a large "Magic Wand" next to Spaceship Earth, with a large "2000" over the top. I didn't get to see this, but in 2001, the "2000" was replaced with "Epcot".

From the moment I saw this on our first trip to Walt Disney World together in September of 2006, I was not a fan.

Thankfully, the wand was removed in 2007, and the simplistic beauty of the sphere has returned.

What was your opinion on the Wand?

The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort

The Wilderness Lodge 

and  

Fort Wilderness Resort and Camp Ground

Part 3 of 3 : Fort Wilderness Resort and Camp Ground

The Cabins at Fort Wilderness occupy a huge area. To get an idea of the size, I've included a map:

We were in cabin 2768, which is very close to the main road, and one of the many bus stops throughout the grounds. It is also a fairly short walk to the Outpost Depot, which is where you get a bus to Downtown Disney and all the parks except the Magic Kingdom, which is reached by boat.

Our cabin.

You walk into the kitchen area straight ahead.

To the right is the living room. There is a Murphy bed, which is where my wife and I slept.
This is very comfortable, perhaps more comfortable than other resorts beds. It is a double however, so some may find it a little small.

The hallway.

The bathroom. I felt the water pressure was also better than some resorts.

The bedroom.

A couple of things of note. I think this may have been one of the cleanest and most well kept of the rooms we've stayed in! Mouse Keeping was exceptional.

I did a lot of research and asked many questions on various forums before we stayed here.
One of the things I got the most feedback about was the bus service. Many suggested we rent a car, but our friends decided that wasn't necessary. The bus service was the best of any other resort we've stayed at, with the exception of one late evening, after returning via boat from the Magic Kingdom, when we had to wait about 20 minutes for a bus. Even the internal bus service was often arriving just as we would approach both our local bus stop or the main Outpost stop. On only a couple of occasions was a bus not at the ready, and we opted to simply walk either to the main depot, or our cabin.

The pools, we did not try, but our friends enjoyed the heated quiet pool and hot tub.

We would absolutely stay at the cabins again.
This article originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.