The best seating time for Hoop Dee Doo?

[Rubbertops]

We are going in December and I was thinking of booking the 5:00 seating as I have young kids (3 and 7).

Would we feel rushed for the next seating?

Would we have time to go to the campfire afterwards?

 

[TruBlu]

I hope that is a good time! I just booked 5:00, and our boys are 4 and 7. Do you know if you have to request floor seating when you make the reservation? I really don't want to be upstairs.

 

[3mickeys&me]

I think when we went ours was like 7 or 7:30ish. I forget its been awhile. It worked out well for us. When we were done we took a bus to DTD to do some shopping!!

 

[pooh2001]

We have always done 5 pm seating when our kids were little - you will be eating dinner by 5:30 PM. Great for young kids.

You can take a boat back to MK or bus back to your resort.
The show is only 1.5 hours long.

You should be out by 6:30 PM - so...
The campfire program is open to all WDW resort guests. It generally begins around 7 p.m. during the fall/winter season and 8 p.m. after the time changes in April through the summer. It is held near the Meadow Trading Post in the campfire area.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_fw.htm

Check for which internal FW bus you need to get to the campfire...
The Purple route travels between the two main depots through the Wilderness Cabins loops.
The Orange route travels straight through the middle of the resort along the Fort Wilderness Trail, past campsites and the Meadow Trading Post.



We are doing the 7:15 PM show this year. First for us at that time.
But we have teens. More time at MK or the Poly before we boat over to the HDD.

 

[Christine]

I prefer the 5:00 seating even now that my kids are big. It is a perfect time to take a break from the parks and get refreshed and then, when it's over, you can head back to wherever and continue on!!

Each show has the same allotted time. So, you will be at the same speed as the two later shows.

 

[Jillpie]

5:00 is a great time. Just be sure to give yourself at least an hour from whereever you are to get there! It takes a long time to get out of parks and get on the right transporation, especially if its a busy time of year.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

I don't know your 3-year-old's sleep schedule, but I'd do the 5:00 show with a 3-yo. As far as being rushed for next seating, when the show is over, everyone leaves.

 

[jj13]

We've also always done the 5:00 show with kids. We did that and grabbed the bus to the campfire with no issues on time.

As for upstairs/downstairs seating...I don't ever remember being able to request where you sit.

I will tell you one time they took us up the stairs and I was initially disappointed only to learn that the seats were totally fabulous! If you sit the kids by the rails they have a perfect view of everything going on and you don't have to worry about trying to see over somebody.

 

[goofy4tink]

You can't request where you sit. It has been discussed many times as to the hows/whys of where you end up sitting. Some say it is based on when you make your reservation, others say it is when you actually pick up your tickets, yet others say it is based on when you check in at the podium. I'm not sure there is a definative answer out there. I booked my Oct '06 reservations in Nov'04, I'll pick the tickets as soon as humanly possible once I check in, and then we will be checked in as early as we can.
Since we are celebrating two young ladies turning 13 that week, we would like to be as close to the stage as possible.

Having said all this....when we were there in '03, we had to rebook since Hurricane Charley shut down Ft. Wilderness. So, we had only 3 days in advance. We ended up in the balcony, on the side. It really wasn't all that bad. It was nice to just turn your seat, they are swivel seats, and watch the show with nothing in front of you.