Hoop Dee Doo - which show to attend?

[momdisfan]

The railing...With my apologies to the Hill family, I found this side-view balcony pic on the net:

http://family.webshots.com/album/557646336OfKLpU

Something like 30 years ago I sat behind the spot light operator in the balcony in the back of the theater. As I recall (please correct me), the tables in the back are regular tables (not one-sided).

A view from the back: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/photos/hoop-dee-doo-1.jpg

Nice shot of the stage from side balcony: http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/medium/98768Copy_of_100_5190.JPG

Another balcony shot from the back: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Gkke3F9RTR0/SDrRagmOeUI/AAAAAAAAQww/5IkpHG7qBMY/s640/wdw 2008 247.jpg

Cat 2 shot (she was our server!): http://zannaland.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/HDDcake.jpg

Oh my gosh - THANK YOU for this great post! I am convinced to go at 5:00 Cat. 3!
I do see how you have to turn to see the action, but I don't think it will be that big of a deal for our family. Glad to have that decision made - with my type A personality only 563,432 more to make

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Okay.. so I just played around with the online aDRs .... it gave me a choice for Category 1, 2, or 3 for the 715 show.... so now...

because of the dining plan.. it doesnt matter which I choose... which is better .. 1 or 2?

You can NOT book HDDR online using the dining plan. You must call dining and talk to a cm. And as far as requesting balcony in cat 2, the tables are assigned by order the ADRs came in, no requests.

 

[squirrel]

You can book HDDR online!

I have done it twice. Once last year and again this year.

You do need to make sure that you have signed in and the dining plan is registering when you book it. You should see a 0 as the amount. If the price is coming up then you either don't have the dining plan registering or you have picked Cat. 1 for the two early shows which are not part of the DDP.

 

[Dawner]

YaY!!! Going to WDW in late September and wanted to leave our week with a 'bang' ...er...or a laugh, as the case will be! My DDad, My DMom, my BF and I love the HDDR and I wanted a 7:15pm ressie, but they are already sold out for that time, all categories, and it's more than 2 months away...LOL! So, we all decided to do the 9:30pm showing - yes, late, I know, but why not - it's the last night, and what a better way to say 'good bye' ?!?
I was so glad that I read the DisBoards - because I had chosen the category 3 for the late time, but was concerned for my parents - who both have bad knees (miniscus tears, etc..), and being that there aren't any elevators or escalators - it concerned me, but my mom said to book it anyway and they'd walk slowly!
So ... I went on to the DisBoards to find out how the category 3 would be, and I found out that for the late dining time you are able to get the category 1 with your DP (dining plan) - so I jumped right on that !!!
We are all really looking forward to having a great 8 days in disney with the last night being at the HDDR for fun, laughs, and a great meal !!!

 

[SgtClaymore]

Our first time at the HDDR we had Cat. 1 for a 9:30 show. It was a little late so I probably wouldn't recommend that late especially with little kids. Next time we did Cat. 1 at 7:30 show and that was great. This year we are going with Cat. 2 at 5:00 show. I do agree with PP that the 5:00 show is probably best for the little ones but anywhere you sit it is a blast!

I took my grand kids to 5:00 show and it was a great experience! I couldn't imagine doing this with the little ones at the 9:30 one.... No Way! LOL

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

we always have the late show. They are changing the times for this year to make the late show earlier. It's the only late meal we eat at Disney other than the Luau. The walk to the bus can be afftected buy the number of adult beverages consumed...