Walt Disney World Resort has made changes to reopening plans for an iconic EPCOT fixture.
EPCOT has long been known for its food. Between its year-round restaurants and rotating festival booths, dining is a huge part of the park, especially around World Showcase.
Over in World Nature, Coral Reef Restaurant has also been serving guests for 40 years. The restaurant sits inside The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion, with tables looking directly into the pavilion’s massive aquarium. Guests can eat while watching sharks, rays, and fish swim past the windows.
Recently, however, Coral Reef was temporarily closed to guests – and Disney has now changed its reopening plans.
Disney Changes Reopening Timeframe for Coral Reef
Coral Reef closed on September 8 with plans to reopen “later this year.”
Now, however, Disney has offered a much more specific date.
The Walt Disney World Resort website has been updated with availability from September 29.
Slots are only available for dinner service, with Disney axing the restaurant’s lunch service earlier this year.
The dinner service includes dishes such as seafood macaroni and cheese, shrimp fettuccine, coastal palm cakes, and surf and turf.
Some fans were initially concerned by Disney’s decision to shutter the restaurant without a reopening date. With the restaurant often lacking the same demand as select other eateries around EPCOT, fears grew that Disney had other plans for the space.
Coral Reef Restaurant is built around its view into The Seas, one of the largest man-made ocean environments in the world. Panoramic windows overlook the aquarium, meaning every table gets a view of the marine life swimming through the pavilion.
The aquarium holds enough water to fill 54 Olympic-sized swimming pools and is home to around 2,000 animals across more than 60 aquatic species. Sharks, sea turtles, rays, and other fish regularly pass the restaurant’s windows while guests eat.
The habitat was designed with input from marine scientists, with Disney also using The Seas as part of its wider conservation work. Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor but support more than 25% of ocean life, making their protection especially important.
Have you ever dined at Coral Reef?
