Dinner shows for young children?

[3littlecuties]

Are the dinner shows good for young children? My kids will be 6, 4, and 2 at the time of our trip. My 4 year old has Down syndrome and her attention span is short and my 2 year old (who is now 19 months) will be, well, an active 2 year old. Do you think the shows would grab their attention? Or should we just skip it this trip and stick with a character dining?

If you think the kids would like a dinner show, which one do you recommend?

Thanks!
Teresa

 

[Goofy4]

Children of all ages enjoy Hoop Dee Doo! http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=36

 

[TiggerDad3]

The Spirit of Aloha Luau.. is not my favorite place to go, but there is definitely an atmosphere of constant stimulation there, where nobody ever needs to be on the quiet side. The dancers, music, fire show and so on may be lots of fun for the kids?
I say that it is not my favorite because the food is good but not impressive, but then I am more of a California Grill or Narcoosees diner

 

[minnie mum]

All of the shows are geared to families with children of all ages, so that needn't be a concern for you. I don't know when you are planning to visit, but you should know that it seems that Hoop Dee Do is closing from early Aug to possibly Dec for a refurb.

 

[Geordietyke]

We took our DD's to the Spirit of Aloha when they were 2.5 and 3.5 yrs old and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They were totally engaged the whole time and we had no fidgeting at all.

They wore their flowers round their necks all evening and also had their princess dresses on. As has been said, the food isn't sparkling but we all managed to have enough to eat (and drink ). There were lots of families with children there who all seemed to be having a good time too

 

[Goofy4]

If you go with Spirit of Aloha, with your young children I would avoid Category 3 seating as it might be too far back to hold their interest. Same goes for HDD, but some of Hoop-Dee-Doo's Cat 3 balcony seating is close to the stage.

 

[kt_mom]

We do the HDDR every year and DD has always loved it. DS has been with us the last two trips and he had a great time in October. He was about 16 months old and smiled and laughed and had a great time. He was mesmerized by the blonde performer. She came over to our table several times and he just couldn't take his eyes off her.

We did the Luau years ago on DD's first trip and probably won't do it again. None of us really enjoyed it very much.

 

[willowsnn3]

Haven't done Spirits of Aloha, but want to. Did HDDR once and it was ok but our kids didn't really care that much for it. What they really loved was MBYBBQ. Maybe that's not considered a dinner show, lol, but it is very entertaining & a must do for us every trip. Character interaction was very good & the kids get to get up and dance with them.

 

[minniebride]

You may want to check out The Biergarten. They have a great musical act and kids of all ages love dancing on the dance floor while they perform

 

[Christymarie222]

I've had my little ones at Hoop dee doo review and Mickey's backyard bbq. I would recommend either, but I have a soft spot for Mickey's backyard bbq. Love that place....country music, laid back atmosphere, dancing with the characters! If you are worried about your kids sitting still I would say go with Mickeys bbq, because everyone is up and about anyway. But to be honest, I brought my one year old and two year old to HDDR and they sat and smiled through the whole thing. (I was worried too because I don't have the kind of kids that sit still )