Hoopty do review

[waynedavis703]

Would like to get some opinions on this good and bad if possible, plus the best way to get there and back. thanks

 

[taekwondo mom]

We went in April ,evertyone enjoyed it , in fact DD wants to eat there when we go back, We caught the boat from magic kingdom..

 

[AJKMOM]

It's a cute, old-fashioned, corny show. The food is good, not great; ribs, salad, corn on the cob, dessert, not gourmet!. It's an all-you-can-eat place. We enjoyed the show both times, but I love the old fashioned sing-along songs from when I was a kid.

 

[CleveRocks]

Would like to get some opinions on this good and bad if possible, plus the best way to get there and back. thanks

The best way to get there, at least for most people, is get to MK and then take the boat. There's a boat outside the MK entrance that stops at Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. From the FW dock where the boat lets you off, it's a VERY short walk to Pioneer Hall, the location of the show. The alternative method is to take a bus to FW, but from there Pioneer Hall is a long walk and you'd have to take the FW internal shuttle bus. For me, the boat and a short walk is more enjoyable.

Hoop Dee Doo Revue is a good show, but not exactly my cup of tea. I'm not a country-western, "Hee Haw" kinda guy. So it's not my style, but I can separate that from the fact that it's a show that's done well and has a lot of positive energy that even little ones who don't get the joke can enjoy.

An excerpt from my trip report:
Ben (my then-5 year old) was very excited about going to the show. Not about the show itself, but about GOING to the show. The boy is a native of an island in the Atlantic Ocean that is three miles from the mainland, but he’s never been on a boat in his life. He enjoyed the launch to WL and FW and didn’t get seasick, as he’d feared.

The only thing that my MIL planned in advance for this trip was attending the Hoop Dee Doo – she made the reservations over a year ago. I’d since learned that parties are seated in the order in which their reservations are paid for. We must have been the very first reservation, as we were table 011, all the way against the stage in the front left corner. Not my favorite seat in a theater, but then again this isn’t exactly New York or Toronto.

Ben said he was bored with the idea of the show before it started, but he liked the kids’ macaroni and cheese and the corn, as did Mollie (my then-2.5 year old). The salad was really good and fresh. I know it sounds dumb, but for months I’d been looking forward to the all-you-can-eat ribs. I LOVE ribs. They arrived in a bucket just as advertised, but I couldn’t eat more than one bite. To me, ribs are good when they’re tender and they melt off the bone. These ribs were very tough and were Krazy Glued to the bone, like they were cooked in 10 minutes rather than hours and hours. Very, very disappointing. The fried chicken was moist and prepared perfectly, but I don’t love fried chicken, we’re just friends.

The show was hokey and overacted and pure fun. Ben really got into it, and especially enjoyed the slapstick, physical comedy. The one thing I was surprised by was the very mild sexual innuendo. I’m quite far from being any kind of a prude (I’ve been an unabashed Howard Stern listener for 20 years), but a WDW show was the last place I expected to see this kind of content.

The highlight of the day to me was when the curtain opened to reveal all of the food servers on stage with trays full of strawberry shortcake in bowls. Ben got all excited and yelled to me, “Look, Daddy, dessert live on stage!”

 

[nalabell]

In my opinion this is one of the best shows at Disney, and the boat from MK is a great way to get there because it drops you off right in front of the show area. We often make this show for our first night, it makes for a great start to our trip. If there is a negative it would be the cost, but cost is always an issue when you go to Disney. The food is average, but the show makes up for the basic food. So I say GO!!!

 

[allysmom1218]

My DH and myself plus our DD (who is 2) went. I had one problem with this show. Our seats were on the 2nd floor which when you eat, you do not face the stage. The stage is to your back. The only problem with this is that you sit on barstools. We needed a high chair for our DD to be able to eat, when they brought it to us, it was a short one, which she couln't even reach the bar were the food was. I was very upset about this and also the fact that there is a railing going aroung the uppuer level. I was kinda conserned about this for safety reasons for our daughter. My DH went to a CM and asked if we could be moved to another table on the lower level stating the reasons we needed to move. The CM was very hateful to my DH, she said "we don't know if we have any other seat available and we put infants and toddlers up there daily. I told her when I made my ressies (5 months in advance, I told them that I would need a high chair). She said it didn't matter. Finally after waiting about 20 minutes there was an empty table right in front of the stage which we finally got seated at. The thing that upset me so much was the CM lack of concern for our DD. Another person who was sitting beside us on the upper level said "I wouldn't let my DD sit up here, I don't think it is very safe", so I wasn't over reacting. The show itself was OK, I don't think we'll go back. We've gone to the Dixie Stampede in Branson Mo and it is sooo much better than the Hoopy Do. There is no comparing the two. The food was ok, not great. I thought for the money that there are alot better places to eat at WDW. I would rather use my TS credit at the Coral Reef or Chef Mickeys. I hope this helped you, sorry so long winded but this was kinda a touchy subject considering this was our only bad experience during our first trip to the World.

 

[steffali]

Me and my family went and had a Great time We were fortunate enough to have really good seats and they even picked my father to be part of the show

 

[disneynewbee]

This was the highlight of our trip in Nov 04. It was me, dh, dd2, dd11, and bil 13 (age at the time of trip). We all had a blast and my 2yo remained entertained and interested for the whole show and we made our ressies last minute so we had the latest show. Although we made late ressies we got a great seat on the ground floor to the left of the stage. The servers were super nice and very attentive. We loved the food but we are simple kind of people. When we planned our trip for this year I asked everyone to list the one thing they would like to do again from our first trip this was everyones choice. Well except the 2yo who didn't remember much.

 

[MsLeFever]

We went last trip and probably won't again. It was cute, DS (then 6) laughed like a hyena throughout (partly because it was the end of vacation and he was so tired!). Food was ok. I'm glad we did it once.

 

[fostrmom2mny]

Our group enjoyed it and the food, but not enough to go back I think. One thing you might want to know, it is an all you care to eat. They brought out so much food, we couldn't eat it all. It was a shame that the left overs were just thrown out. The next day we seen a family that had rode over to the HDDR with us on the boat. They were in the food court using the microwave warming up the left overs. OMG, I was so jealous that I hadn't thought to ask for a to go box. I spoke with them and they said that they had eaten so much and wanted to take their strawberry shortcake back to their room. When the CM brought them to go boxes, she advised them that they were welcome to take what ever they wanted. They rounded up all of it, took it back to their room and put them in their ice chest, to enjoy for lunch.
How smart they were!!
So the moral of this story is, ask for to go boxes.

 

[cookiebrito]

I went 8 yrs ago and loved it. The food is great and the show is very funny. If you don't care for the show there is a buffet next door which serves the same food for half the price.

I recommend the dinner show.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

its a must for my family. been about 14 years since my brother last went to disney (at least. if not 16. actually i am pretty sure he was only 12, so yea 16 years ago) and he even asked about it.

took dh there 4 years ago and he loved it. slapstick fun corny great time. and we really enjoyed the food. a must try!

 

[helenm29]

We went in December or 2003. It was a lot of fun but don't get a seat in the front if you don't want them to notice you! we had a table front center stage and OH MY GOODNESS, they just couldn't leave us be! one of the male singers zero'd in on my then 10 year old daughter and just kept on her with the jokes etc. my daughter is not very comfortable being singled out so she got very upset! other then that bit it was very good! the food is typical "picnick" food...Fried Chicken, Beans, Salad, Corn on the cob if I remember right and for desert...STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE! YUM! if you sit in the back or upper level you should be pretty safe!

 

[tiggger1]

whatever transportation you take make sure you have enough time to get there. We were taking the boat back and there had to be 4 families that were at least 25 minutes late for the show. They complained about how the boat was slow and about how they were PO that they were late and how it was the captains fault. while the boat was slow that day( it took about 35-40 minutes to get from MK to WL and the Fort) they still wouldnt have been on time, if it wasnt. I told one lady that the tickets stated to be there 30 minutes before the show starts so they werent 25 minutes late they were at least 55 minutes late and they should have left earlier. One lady told me they decided to stay at MK longer because she swore it only took 5 minutes to get there and that because she took the special "hoop de doo boat that was including in the price of the ticket just for people seeing the show....and ^&T&) when she stopped at Wilderness Lodge first.....
when the boat docked, this lady proceeded to push my 2 year old out of the way and my daughter fell on the dock. She proceded to walk right over her. When hubby complained she proceeded to yell about being 30 minutes late and didnt have time to worry about some kid, and ran to the hall. she was still out there yelling up a storm when we walk by to get to our site.....
I would plan to leave MK at least an hour before you have to be there ( 30 minutes before curtain) that way you dont need to rush and even if the boat is slow you'll still get there on time.....and if you get there early you can visit the ponies and the horses and walk around.....

 

[Hopefully]

We went again (3rd time) 3 weeks ago and we just love it. It really is all up to your expectations.
It is a lively, fun, corny, energetic show with lots of audience participation. The actors and actresses are really very good. The atmosphere is old West and very pleasant.
The food is good for what it is. It is not gourmet by any means. I thought the ribs were tender and tasty, the salad fresh, the bread warm with great honey butter, the chicken good but a tad dry and the corn fine. The strawbery shortcake is very good.
We enjoy the singing and dancing and the sing alongs and the washboard playing.
The kids had a ball and we all enjoyed it.
We will go again. If this type of event seems to fit your style I would encourage you to try it.
We took the boat from the MK, a nice start to the evening.
HTH

 

[LorieR]

DH and I will be going for the third time in November!! We love the corniness of the show, the interaction, the salad, the bread, the chicken, the cold beer, and the strawberry shortcake. We drove our car to Fort Wilderness the first time and took the bus to Pioneer Hall. Last time we took the boat from Magic Kingdom (a better choice).

We arrange it for our first night at WDW and think it's a great way to start off our vacation! :

Lorie

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

We try to make this show once every other year. Its a slap stick show, singing and jokes, every enjoyable, for both young and old. Food is your normal ribs and chicken, corn, salad and dessert, all you can eat. The best way to the show is a boat from the MK to FW. Depending on which show you book will determine your return trip. If MK is still open and the boats are operating, you can take the boat back to MK, if it is not open, you'll need to take the busses back to a Resort.

 

[helenm29]

Hey Tigger1: What a rotten thing to happen to your little girl! I would have been VERY P/O at that lady! I hope your little one was o.k?
We've always made sure that we were there at least an hour ahead of time! I know that may seem too much but we usually just walk around and look at the animals in the petting zoo or just enjoy the wilderness. They also had an old fashioned photo shop right outside of the door where you could get your picture taken...so we did! WHY would you wait until the last second and NOT at least make sure your facts are right? Obviously, miss in a hurry didn't! I guess the best thing to do is make sure you have a little bit of extra time in case something out of the ordinary happens.

 

[tiggger1]

She was fine, if she wasnt I dont think the lady would have been either


hubby told he off by saying
"Poor planning on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MINE."

she didnt think it was funny

 

[Melwood23]

I have been to it the last 2 times I was at WDW. Sept 04, I took the boat from MK. Way too much food for one person. But when I went back this past March, they seemed to have made a little small portions for one lol. This time I took the bus from Pop, to DTD, then caught the FW bus. If you take the bus, you will transfer to another bus for Pioneer hall (The Settlement). This drops you off not that far. I would say about the same as from the boat dock to Pioneer Hall. But it is a longer ride because of the transfer.