Hoop Dee Doo @ 5 or 7:15 w/ kids?

[Dizney73]

We have decided that we would like to take our dd5 and our ds2 to the Hoop See Doo. Now we just need to know which showtime, 5 or 7:15 would be best. I would think the 5 show has more families at it... but I am afraid that my son's afternoon nap will be a problem with travel time. We are staying at Animal Kingdom Villas and will use Disney transportation. 7:15 is a but late to eat but a small snack would make it doable. Anyone with young children have a show time preference?
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the Hoop!

 

[DaniB]

If they are having a nap before-hand, then the 7:15pm sounds fine. Otherwise I would say the 5pm.

While I haven't been to this dinner show, I booked the Spirit of Aloha dinner show for past trip. Our kids were/are 11 and 6. They don't take naps and can easily handle a day in the park.

So, I booked the 8pm show (versus 6pm). What a mistake that was! While they were able to handle a full busy rope-drop day in the park, by 9pm they were begging to leave. We left before the flamers (so to speak) came out.

 

[B.B. Sots]

We have decided that we would like to take our dd5 and our ds2 to the Hoop See Doo. Now we just need to know which showtime, 5 or 7:15 would be best. I would think the 5 show has more families at it... but I am afraid that my son's afternoon nap will be a problem with travel time. We are staying at Animal Kingdom Villas and will use Disney transportation. 7:15 is a but late to eat but a small snack would make it doable. Anyone with young children have a show time preference?
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the Hoop!

So you are looking at about 44 minutes to an hour of travel time:

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge bus to Magic Kingdom® Park: boat to Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground : 44 mins - 65 minutes.

We took our kids to the early show and they were fine. We are returning to the early show the next time we go, as the 7:15 gets out closer to bed time for our youngest.

I guess what I am trying to say is it all depends on what you are more willing to bend: Nap time or bed time. Take into account that it will take about an hour to get to and from the HDDR. Both shows have plenty of young children in attendance. Hope this helps...

 

[Dizney73]

Thanks! Definitely helps... we will book the 5 pm show! We can do an early lunch and early naps.

 

[DCDisney]

I would absolutely do the 7:15. Travel time is problematic on both ends of the 5 pm show because they do want you there pretty early to check in and you have to travel to a park and then FW (by bus or boat) we leave our resort at least 90 mins early for HDDR. The absolute GREATEST benefit to the 7:15 show over the 5pm show is that after the 7:15 show they have buses lined up right outside Pioneer Hall that take you DIRECTLY to your resort. It only took us 15 minutes to get back to our resort after HDDR and took us about 80 mins to get there for comparison sake. You could save over an hour of travel time by doing the later show.

 

[bookwormde]

I would suggest making it a MK day and going at 5, the show is quite lively though so unless your kids are less than 4 I think 7:30 would be OK but figure you are to going to be back to AKV until after 10pm

bookwormde

 

[Belleandtinker]

My DS5 is still a napper so I understand the importance of napping/sleeping.

Here is my suggestion - book the 5 pm show, let the kids nap then take a taxi to the HDDR and use the bus system back to your resort.

We found that taking a taxi on those important napping/sleeping days is worth it. Yes, it will cost you around $20 (call and check), get your kids a nap and your family back to the resort at a decent time.

In my opinion, the 7:15 pm show might be too late for little kids to eat dinner (without a snack before then) and too late to get them back to bed.

Our son ws 4 when we went to the HDDR and he laughed at the slapstick humor. It was a great evening.

Have fun!

 

[NJEeyore]

Must agree with PP. Taxi is real life saver for access to WL/AKL/FW. I would nap before 5pm show, take taxi to CR or WL then boat to FW. IMO that easier than FW bus trans. The 7:15 show may push the bed time issue more than I would want.

 

[Dizney73]

Thanks for all the help! We booked the 5 pm show on April 22! We know that the parks will be super crowded since it is just before Easter. We visit the World 2 or 3 times a year and only use WDW transportation. It doesn't scare me at all although I do know that it can take longer than expected sometimes. We tend to go to Chip and Dale's Campfire every year so we have no problem getting to and around the Fort. We decided on the 5 pm show because we are hoping that we can hit up the campfire/movie afterward, If DS2 gets cranky there we can just leave... but I want him on his best behavior for Hoop since it costs so much$$$. I was shocked at $170 for the 3 of us... since ds2 is free! I can get a discount at the 9:30 show... but that is not even an option!

 

[kimmer]

yeah, i was shocked how much it was too. we'll be there with myself, my dh, dd6, dd4, ds2, and my m-i-l. i've booked thison our non-park day so we'll have just been hanging around the pool that day or maybe hit up dtd. i booked the 5pm show as well. When i booked the reservation over the phone the lady suggested that we get to WL for around 4 so that we can take the shuttle at 4:20 from WL down to Pioneer Hall. She also suggested we get our tickets ahead of time from a guest services at any disney hotel. it'll save us waiting in a line at Hoop De Doo to get them. We're going to be at O'hana's earlier in the week for dinner so I plan on picking them up at guest services at the Poly that night.

edited to add: the suggestion by the reservation lady to be there early was to take in account having to wait in that line to get our tickets for the show. since i'll already have ours we don't need to be there that early, but i want to just to have time to look around WL

 

[sweetdana]

If you are using DVC, or could make a package work; I HIGHLY rec. the DDP for it. 1 day of dining will cover costs, plus you'll get another meal and mugs.. DVC you can pick and choose days. IE only do it 3 and 5th day of trip and you do not need to buy tickets.
If you are not using points, and you are buying a ticket anyway, or if you are an AP holder (must book separate ressies). See if you can do it like the 2nd or 3rd night your there.

Example..
You can have a room only 1st night then
1-2 day package with DDP then
4 nights room only (I have no idea how long you are going but rest of the time.)

(Assuming you need a ticket, your are an AP holder, or using points; this would save you a bundle.

We try to do a at least 1 day DDP the 2nd night we are there and get a few of the costly character things already covered. (Like HDD, BBQ, CRT, Nor dinner). OR more nights on the DP. We love our mugs..
Also I think the earlier show is better with kids.

 

[mickeyncldkd]

I would say take the 5pm. When, we went two years ago my kids were 6 and 4. we did the later and my kids were tired and somewhat grumpy because it was getting late. My youngest can handle the late time, but my oldest needs his sleep. either way, you and your kids will have a great time.

 

[Dizney73]

If you are using DVC, or could make a package work; I HIGHLY rec. the DDP for it. 1 day of dining will cover costs, plus you'll get another meal and mugs.. DVC you can pick and choose days. IE only do it 3 and 5th day of trip and you do not need to buy tickets.
If you are not using points, and you are buying a ticket anyway, or if you are an AP holder (must book separate ressies). See if you can do it like the 2nd or 3rd night your there.

Example..
You can have a room only 1st night then
1-2 day package with DDP then
4 nights room only (I have no idea how long you are going but rest of the time.)

(Assuming you need a ticket, your are an AP holder, or using points; this would save you a bundle.

We try to do a at least 1 day DDP the 2nd night we are there and get a few of the costly character things already covered. (Like HDD, BBQ, CRT, Nor dinner). OR more nights on the DP. We love our mugs..
Also I think the earlier show is better with kids.

Great idea! And it would work since we have our one and only character breakfast the next day. We did this last year! It was fantastic... but we had to change rooms. This late I am not even sure I would get a room on a seperate ressie at Jambo where we are staying... it is Easter weekend! And changing resorts (even Jambo to Kidani) with the kids was a hassle last year. But I might call just in case! Always worth checking! We are doing a sitdown each day using the TIW card... It at least covers the gratuity.

Hold on... I am rereading... "DVC you can pick and choose days. IE only do it 3 and 5th day of trip and you do not need to buy tickets." We are DVC and passholders, so no tickets purchased. What do you mean? Can I just call and add the DDP to one day of my existing ressie? Or do I need to cancel a day of my ressie and then rebook that night under a seperate ressie?
Here is our itinerary...
April 17... arrive late... check into AKV Value Studio @ Jambo... check out Saturday, April 23 (day before Easter)
Right now I have Hoop scheduled on Friday, April 22 and Tusker House breakfast on Saturday morning, April 23 before we leave.
Help me... maybe this is all easier than I am thinking!

 

[sweetdana]

Hold on... I am rereading... "DVC you can pick and choose days. IE only do it 3 and 5th day of trip and you do not need to buy tickets." We are DVC and passholders, so no tickets purchased. What do you mean?
Yes if you are staying on points.

Can I just call and add the DDP to one day of my existing ressie? Or do I need to cancel a day of my ressie and then rebook that night under a seperate ressie?

Nope just call.. Again (assuming you are staying on points. NO changing rooms this is new this year. just call on Monday. You do need to pay for DDP when you add this.

Here is our itinerary...
April 17... arrive late... check into AKV Value Studio @ Jambo... check out Saturday, April 23 (day before Easter)
Right now I have Hoop scheduled on Friday, April 22 and Tusker House breakfast on Saturday morning, April 23 before we leave.
Help me... maybe this is all easier than I am thinking!

Yup I would add DDP for night of Frid 04-22 for 1 night. If you are not staying on points no garentee on not changing rooms but you still can do this.
If you have more questions for sure PM I will gladly answer.

 

[Dizney73]

Ok... one more thing. In doing all the pricing breakdowns to see about adding DDP I see that I can only book category 2 or 3 vs. The category 1 we booked. Which brings me to this. The Disney world website advertises category 1 at $61.99 per adult, $31.99 for my dd5 and free for my ds2. And states... "includes tax and gratuity". So why is my final payment $170.97 instead of $155.97? What am I missing?

 

[dlynn1017]

I think 5. 7:15 is late to start and much later when finished. they will already be tired from the day's activities...