dinner shows for young children

[charcharg]

We are planning our first trip with our 2 daughters. They will be 6 and 4 at the time of our trip. Are the dinner shows going to keep their attention? We have ressies for Hoop dee Doo and Spirit of Aloha, but I'm not sure it is something we want to do on this trip.

 

[Hannathy]

They will be fine and love Hoop De Do BUT I wouldn't do the spirit of Hawaii show. My family loves Hoop de do and want to do it every trip but we didn't like the Hawaii show at all . It is hard to see, the food is only OK and the show is cheesy except for the little bit of native dancing and fire twirling.

 

[5forDiz]

We are planning our first trip with our 2 daughters. They will be 6 and 4 at the time of our trip. Are the dinner shows going to keep their attention? We have ressies for Hoop dee Doo and Spirit of Aloha, but I'm not sure it is something we want to do on this trip.

There's Mickey's Backyard BBQ too or maybe that's been discontinued, I'm not sure ?

I would say it depends upon how well your kids have sat through another show of similar length such as maybe a live production for families/children ie concert or play or Disney on Ice, circus, etc. My brother & his family attended Spirit of Aloha this summer and said the nephews 11 and 7 were excited when show started but did end up being bored with it. You know your kids best so I would say if you think a dinner show is something they would enjoy then give it a try. We have not done these dinner shows with out kids ( 2 are teens now & eldest is early 20's ) because they were never interested as hard as we tried on every trip to entice them when they were younger; they don't like to linger at a restaurant so I think the thought of dining and watching a show is stretching things too long for them and even now that theyre older that still hasn't changed.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

Big "yes" to the Hoop De Doo Review and a "no" to the Spirit of Aloha. That's what my 6, 4, and 3 year old boys think!

We really like the Hoop De Doo Review as the food is "classic" and kid friendly - fried chicken, ribs, beans, mashed potatoes, etc., most of the jokes are down at their level and it's designed to be a comedy so the kids will have fun. Definitely on our list of things to do again!

 

[disneyquestions]

My daughters will be 5 & 6 when we go, and we will make ressies at Hoop-De-Doo, but not Spirit. I've heard that the only fun part of it is the fire dancing, and that it takes forever to get to that part. For the amount of money (or ts credits) I would do one of the princess meals at the castle. They will probably enjoy that much more. Have a great trip!!

 

[hannahdrewmom]

My kids (2 and 4) loved SOA. The fire twirling and dancing were great and my daughter asked to go again this year. HDDR was ok for us. The food was good but the show was over their heads. They laughed when we did but most of the time my daughter asked why we were laughing. We ended up having to leave early because the banging on the washboard was great... until it wasn't anymore for my 2 year old.

I'm not sure I'd do either again. We were on dxdp though so it was nothing oop and we had had our fill of signatures at tht point in the trip.

 

[Mazz519]

Hoop definately, Spirit of Aloha you can do without. my kids who were 10,7 and 4 at the time did not like the SoA at all, but loved Hoop Dee Do

 

[Cynestra]

We showed our boys (then 5 and 7) video clips of each of the dinner shows and let them pick. They decided on Spirit of Aloha and had a great time. They ran down to join in the show a couple times, and really enjoyed the fire dancers. We loooooooooved the pineapple coconut bread.

 

[figment3258]

I took my girls when they were 11 months, 2 1/2, 3, and 7 and they loved it each time at the hoop dee doo. Great show I can't say about the others but hoop dee doo is great

 

[DisneyFamily123]

At age 4, our son enjoyed both shows.

At Hoop Dee Doo, he laughed non-stop. I wasn't expecting him to enjoy the show or get the humor.... but the stage actors were hilarious and I'm not kidding... our son laughed non-stop the whole show. Our waitress was comical too. This is a show not to be missed.

He wasn't overly excited about Spirit of Aloha but stayed attentive... now when the fire juggler came out, he loved that! But that's at the end of the show for 5 minutes. Tip -- you can see the fire juggler perform for free at the entrance to the Polynesian Resort on nights when the Spirit of Aloha show is scheduled.... usually around 6pm -- but you might want to go there early and ask at the resort check in desk to verify the time.

Did Mickey's Backyard BBQ when DS was 3. He enjoyed the rope tricks and seeing the characters. But the adults and older kids mostly crowded the dance floor.... and the food was not very good. I was disappointed that on Thanksgiving, the turkey was processed meat (like a canned turkey or lunch meat) instead of a fresh roasted turkey. On the plus side, the beer and wine included was good, as was the all you can eat mickey ice cream bars!

 

[kmedina]

My three year old son did all right (the jokes were a little over his head) at Hoop Dee Doo. Our five year old niece loved it (even laughing at all of the jokes) and was even chosen to be a part of the show. It was soooo adorable. I think a four and six year old will do very well there. The four year old may not get all of the jokes but should still have a good time.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We did the luau many years ago when they had two different ones - the one they have now and a Mickey themed one with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald. We did the Mickey themed one and the kids were bored out of their heads. My son fell asleep about when the show started.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

we did Hoop Dee Doo with 6 boys from 16 months to 9 years and all loved it. had to ask for a trird bucket of chicken when the 5.5 year old decided the bucket plced on his plate was his and his alone,no body else could have his. will have to admit most of the boys were into the pretty girls and got a lot of attention from them.

 

[HS3kids]

They will be fine and love Hoop De Do BUT I wouldn't do the spirit of Hawaii show. My family loves Hoop de do and want to do it every trip but we didn't like the Hawaii show at all . It is hard to see, the food is only OK and the show is cheesy except for the little bit of native dancing and fire twirling.

Completely agree!!! Hoop dee doo is a must see for our family every time. Spirit of Aloha- eh. I wouldnt do it again.

I cant wait to go back to Disney!

 

[bellebud]

Big "yes" to the Hoop De Doo Review and a "no" to the Spirit of Aloha. That's what my 6, 4, and 3 year old boys think!

We really like the Hoop De Doo Review as the food is "classic" and kid friendly - fried chicken, ribs, beans, mashed potatoes, etc., most of the jokes are down at their level and it's designed to be a comedy so the kids will have fun. Definitely on our list of things to do again!

this!

 

[2girlsR2good]

I took my two six year old daughters to SOA last month and they were absolutely entranced the entire time. In fact, a friend asked them earlier this week what they most liked about their trip to Disney, and one daughter responded "the luau" So--ymmv on this one. What do your kids like in the real world? Do they enjoy dance? I will also say that seating matters a great deal here--we were in the front row. If we had been in the back, I bet they wouldn't have had the same reaction.

 

[DopeyDame]

My DS LOVED Mickey's Backyard BBQ. He had so much fun dancing and being crazy. Yes, the food is crappy, but it was by far his favorite thing in Disney World, and we've already planned it for our trip in September.