Disney Dinner Shows - What's your favorite for a family with kids?

[outstandinfarmer]

I need all of your expert opinions. We have never seen a dinner show at Disney before. I cashed in my reward dollars and we are getting the $200 gift certificate with our vacation booking so I want to use that money towards doing something different and special that the kids will love. So what do you recommend? We have a 7 and 3 year old and may have a 14 year old with us too. I want to try and spend the money we are getting wisely with shows that we will really remember.

Thanks!

 

[Silver Queen]

I think that Hoop Dee Doo is the most fun for kids and adults and the kind of food that they serve (fried chicken, strawberry shortcake) is generally pleasing to everybody. It's a happy, positive show and you'll have the extra attraction of visiting Fort Wilderness. It might be fun to take the boat over from MK.
Have a wonderful time on your first trip!

 

[Tiki Room Fan]

Hoop Dee Doo definitely!! We see the show every trip to WDW....kids and adults love it!

I have 1 or 2 pics of it in my 2006 TR, and I'll see if I can find my pics from 2007 cuz I took more of the show and I'll post those so you can see what the show looks like.

 

[outstandinfarmer]

Hoop Dee Doo definitely!! We see the show every trip to WDW....kids and adults love it!

I have 1 or 2 pics of it in my 2006 TR, and I'll see if I can find my pics from 2007 cuz I took more of the show and I'll post those so you can see what the show looks like.

Thanks, that would be great to see the pictures

 

[outstandinfarmer]

Hoop Dee Doo definitely!! We see the show every trip to WDW....kids and adults love it!

I have 1 or 2 pics of it in my 2006 TR, and I'll see if I can find my pics from 2007 cuz I took more of the show and I'll post those so you can see what the show looks like.

Yeah, the food menu did look better than some of the other shows.

What do you think of the Spirit of Aloha? Is that any good?

 

[Tiki Room Fan]

We did Spirit of Aloha and it was fun, but we wouldn't do it again. I guess I was more expecting the kind of show like on the Brady Bunch Hawaiian episode...where it's like an actual luau on the beach...this was a performance on a stage, like a shell type thing and it wasn't a luau. It was entertaining, but just not what I was expecting. I love the Polynesian and hope that one day we can stay there...I love the whole Hawaiian theme, my dog is named Tiki and I collect tiki statues, my deck is decorated in a Hawaiian theme, etc. but that SOA show just didn't do it for me.

Ok here's some pictures....we like to sit in the balcony, but if you sit on the floor, they do a lot of audience participation stuff, the performers come out into the audience a few times during the show. It's cute and fun. The performers come up into the balcony too, but not as much.

When you leave the show, your resort bus is waiting right outside, a short walk. We've never had to wait for a bus when leaving the show, the buses were always waiting and there's CMs to show you where your resort bus is (we always take the latest show at night, so it's dark when we leave) We always take the boat from the MK to FW to see the show.

I'm including some audience pics so you can see that there's a lot of families with kids there.

Here's how they serve the food - in pewter pots and dishes. This was the fried chicken and the strawberry shortcake. The cornbread is awesome, too!!

During the show they have you sing, clap, wave cloth napkins around, they pass out wooden washboards and spoons for everyone to play...it's a lot of fun!! Here's a few with volunteers from the audience on stage.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

No Doubt HDDR

 

[Tiki Room Fan]

Something else that's fun for kids if you're looking for somewhere to have dinner one night is the dinner at Ohana's at the Polynesian. It's not a show, but they do fun things for kids like hula hooping and coconut racing during dinner - they give kids brooms and let them chase coconuts around. The older kids have to use the stick end of the broom. LOL. It's very busy and loud in there but the kids love it. We've eaten there twice and the food and service was great both times. You can see the fireworks at the MK from there if you can get a table by the windows. They give you a ton of food....I reviewed Ohana's in my '06 TR, too.

 

[outstandinfarmer]

Tiki Room Fan - Thank you so much for the pictures! You've sold me! I'm going to book it.

What kind of menu does Ohana have? That does sound like a lot of fun for the kids.

 

[Tiki Room Fan]

Tiki Room Fan - Thank you so much for the pictures! You've sold me! I'm going to book it.

What kind of menu does Ohana have? That does sound like a lot of fun for the kids.

Yay!! I'm glad you decided on HDDR!! You won't be disappointed! I have to call today and book it for us, actually. I can't wait!!

You've probably already called and know this info, but here's some more info on the HDDR:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.ID=36

Lets see Ohanas... I'm a vegetarian, but eat limited fish, so I always get a special meal, but here's what I was able to find on the Disboards about it. Apparently they don't like Ohanas too much, but it's always crowded when we go, and you absolutely DO need reservations. I'm not sure why they say you don't. They were so booked and packed last time we were there that we had to end up with a very very late ressie - it was originally going to be 9:40pm I believe, but they had a table open up a half hour early for us.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=25#menu

 

[suzicute20]

We went to HDDR and Spirit of Aloha. We really didn't see why so many people give SOA so much grief. However, menu wise, I think kids would enjoy HDDR more. The food at Spirit of Aloha is good, but HDDR is comfort food that more kids like. It's fun and loud. Have a good time.

 

[DISNEYNV]

We loved the hoopty doo when we went in December. Our one year old even had a blast and the food was really quite good! We would go again for sure. Our next trip in May we are giving Mivkeys Backyard BBQ a try! I hope it is as fun as the HDR was for us

 

[Cindy's Mom]

HDDR - each year I want to try Spirit of Aloha, but that HDDR menu wins everytime. For my family there is nothing appealing on the SOA menu. HDDR on the other hand is perfect for us. I love the salad dressing at HDDR.