A Disney World family tradition that I will never forget is
the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue dinner show. It’s a slap-stick comedic dinner
show, loosely based on the traveling vaudeville acts of the 19th century Midwest. Found at Fort Wilderness
resort, the Hoop-Dee-Doo does two shows a day, serving up innocent humor and
delicious barbeque.
The show begins outside of Pioneer Hall – a large building
with a log cabin feel – when someone from the wait staff invites a small child
to ring the dinner bell. You follow the line into the hall (of course there is
a line) and you’re seated at a table assigned to you when you make your
reservation. At the time you make your reservation, you get to choose from
three locations: location 1 has the best seats of the house. They are on the
main level, along the stage and in the very center of the floor. Location 2
includes the perimeters of the main level, as well as the center section of the
mezzanine, while location 3 includes the sides of the mezzanine. As someone who
has sat in all three locations, the table assigned to you does not truly affect
the many ways in which you can enjoy the show. Certainly, there are very
specific tables that involve more interaction with the actors, strictly due to
their location and the nightly targeted tables for comedic bits; however,
sitting in the mezzanine is equally as enjoyable as sitting right next to the
stage.
The tables are covered in red table cloths, with tin plates,
red and white checked napkins, a tin bucket full of green salad and a wooden
block with fresh made corn bread, accompanied by the most delicious whipped
honey butter in existence. The servers take your drink orders and deliver them
to your table in mason jars! (In recent years, we’ve been collecting mason jars
and using them as glasses, too! It’s a ton of fun.) Unlimited water, soda,
juice, milk, beer and sangria are all included in the price of your “ticket,”
while anything with hard alcohol will be an additional price clearly marked on
the drink menu.
Once everyone is seated, you’ve ordered your drinks and had
time to start munching on some leafy greens and tasty corn bread, the Professor
and Smiling Jack begin playing away. Together, they entertain you with some
toe-tapping ditties on the piano and the banjo; generally, I have known this
part of the show to induce quite a bit of off-rhythm clapping from the
audience. It’s fun, Midwestern music, expertly played and it continues
throughout the show. About 5 – 10 minutes into the music, you suddenly hear a
rumble from behind and in storm the Pioneer Hall players: Dolly Drew, Flora
Long, Claire DeLune, Six-Bits Slocum, Jim Handy and Johnny Ringo.
A few musical numbers later, and your dinner is being
brought to your table: fried chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, corn and baked
beans all served in tin buckets. Everything is all you can eat and everything
is pretty delicious, good ol’ fashioned barbeque. (Unfortunately for Kristin, nothing
on their standard menu is vegetarian. The standard vegetarian meal offered is
grilled vegetables and pasta with marinara sauce. The vegetables are normally
zucchini, carrots, and cauliflower. If you’re not going to be filled by this
towering plate of veggies, then you should probably think twice about sitting
for this dinner show.) Eventually, the show starts up again; however, you’re
encouraged to keep eating. Your server will continue to bring you more buckets
of food until you’ve decided that you’ve had enough. At the end of the show,
“Ma” (the metaphorical head chef) whips up some strawberry shortcake that is
served with great fanfare and lots of whipped cream.
As evident, the food at the Hoop – Dee
– Doo Revue is very specific; aside from the vegetarian substitution, there are
no options on the food menu. Although the food is delicious, from a meat
eater’s perspective, you may want to think twice before booking the show if
you’re not a fan of fried chicken and ribs. In all honesty, the show can be
pricey with adult tickets ranging from $54.99 - $67.99 per person based upon
the location of your table. (Luckily, gratuity and taxes are included if you
stick to the drinks included in the original price.) If you’re a big
“all-you-can-eat” diner and find nothing more enjoyable than barbeque and big
laughs, then this dinner show is for you. Nobody rushes you and nobody makes
you feel unwelcome.
Now that you have a run down of the food, it’s time to talk
about the show! The actors are split up into pairs: Dolly & Six-bits, Flora
& Jim, and Claire & Johnny. Each couple has a designated purpose to the
show: Flora & Jim are your singing duo; Claire & Johnny are the
designated dancers; Dolly & Six-bits provide the most laughs and the most
entertaining conflicts. Each couple has some form of a romantic overtone to
their interaction, no matter how dysfunctional that romance may be. These six
actors spend probably about half the show interacting directly with the diners.
Doing everything from singing small rhymes about where people come from to
sitting in the laps of gentlemen and asking them to “toot,” these actors get
right up in your personal space and make the audience a part of the show. The “big
spectacle” at the end of the show requires the participation of 4 willing
audience members, picked at random by the actors. It really is a lot of fun and
it encourages everyone to laugh and to have a good time. If you don’t leave
with your cheeks hurting, then this show was not for you. It’s good natured
entertainment and fun for the whole family.
The songs from the show have a tendency to get stuck in your
head; therefore, you should be singing them for pretty much your entire life.
Unfortunately for me, they recently revamped the music in the show and changed
some of my favorite numbers. The opening number was not the same when we saw
the show last September and that made me a little sad. However, the opening
number that I know and love plays through my head every time I think about this
show.
I do not want to give too much away; however, it is an
amazingly good time. If you don’t mind interacting with actors and you enjoy
eating your weight in barbeque, this is the show for you. It’s an easy boat
ride from the Magic
Kingdom and, if you’re
lucky, the bus driver at the end of the night may drive you directly to your
hotel or to a location where it is easy to access a bus to your hotel. Of
course, you can always drive to the campgrounds and park in their main parking
lot; however, I do not recommend this if you’re planning on indulging in some
liquid cheer. Better to be safe and take the bus.
So the next time you’re headed to WDW, maybe you should
consider the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue as a fun, care-free dinner experience. You
can look up times and prices here: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hoop-de-doo-musical-revue/
Until next time, here’s a YouTube link to my favorite
opening number.
TTFN!
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