Hoop de due for a first timer, on the first night?

[BLTLDZ]

Hi
Just found out my dad will most likely be joining DH & myself on our october trip

Of course, I want him to have a blast...

So for the first night, I was thinking Cali grill, & wishes OR hoop de due? Thoughts?

DH & I have never done the Hoopdedue revue, but would like to, and heard it was a blast!

Seems like something my dad would really enjoy, as he is a musician...Thanks for any input!

 

[mma800]

I think we will do the same thing. We arrive on a Fri afternoon for a long Halloween Weekend and want to be hitting the parks early Saturday AM. I am going to try to book Hoop Dee Doo for our arrival night. My kids love it (and so do I!!)

 

[frannn]

I would be worried that if the plane was delayed or canceled, and you missed your scheduled ADR, you would not be able to get a full refund. I'm not sure if you would not get any refund, or if they would charge 10/person who did not attend.

 

[Greg K.]

When my wife and I made our first trip to Disney, to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, we arrived at the GF mid-afternoon, checked in, got settled, and then had to head out the door to the Poly for the Luau dinner and show.

But the excitement and stress of travel knocked us out. By the time the show got going, we were dragging.

Meantime, the advice about missing the ADR is valuable. When we did HDDR, we seriously miscalculated the time it would take to get from the GF to the Pioneer Hall We got there moments after the doors closed to begin the dinner and performance -- I mean, literally, we were less than 10 minutes late -- and they refused to let us in. We were told to talk to the manager. We did, he checked the bookings and agreed to comp us the next night. But others might not be that lucky.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you are flying in, do not book a prepaid or credit card secured reservation (California Grill is credit card secured and if you don't show up it's $20 per person) for your arrival night unless you are arriving a good 5 or 6 hours before the event. Even then, be prepared for the possibility you might miss it and have to pay for it anyway.

 

[Cotton's Parrot]

I'd definitely recommend Hoop-Dee-Doo, but not the first night. After traveling all day, if you fill up my tummy with chicken and ribs and cornbread and then dim the lights, I'm gonna be nodding off. As others have said, if you're running late, it could be a challenge to get back to Pioneer Hall at DFW in time for the show.

If you want to see Wishes on your first night, how about booking something like Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner? That's become our traditional first night activity and it's a nice, relaxing kick-off to a great vacation.