To do the Hoop dee doo or not???

[Cmbar]

Ok we are having a family discussion if the Hoop Dee Doo is really worth the two TS credits on the dining plan. The kids in the party will be 6,8 & 9. Four adults three kids.

I know it is a pain to get over to this and I really want to try and go to see something I would probably not pay cash to go see. Can we have some opinions on whether this is worth using up an extra meal credit for. I would appreciate both pros and cons for my family members to help us decide.

Thanks for any opinions!

 

[angeldisney2985]

We saw two dinner shows while we were there, the Spirit of Aloha at the Poly and the Hoop de doo. In my opinion, the Spirit of Aloha was BY FAR better then the poly. My younger sister didn't get a lot of the jokes at the hoop de doo and the food wasn't that great at all...Like if you cooked a personal barbeque while the Spirit of Aloha had AMAZING food. Very very good. The spirit of aloha gets audience members to learn to hula dance and it is SO stinking funny. There's grandmas up there shaking there stuff and the little kids are just as cute. I had a great time and would do that one in a heartbeat again before the hoop de doo.

That's just my opinion, hear from some other people before you decide.

 

[AStamm]

We did the Hoop De Doo show in June 2004 and had a great time...doesn't hurt that they selected my DS to be in the show. He was the cutest Texas Ranger. Neither my husband or I are drinkers, so the price was a little steep for the amount of food that we actually ate, but the jokes, although really corny, had us laughing. I would do it again anytime.

 

[indigoxtreme]

We loved the Hoop de Doo. 6 of us age 4 DGD, MIL70, 2 DS 22 DH49 and me. My DGD loved it and laughed the whole time even though she didn't understand some of the things going on. The food was good. We are returning in Feb just my DH and myself. With children try to get the early show. You can also ride the boat from MK over to Ft Wilderness and it lands right near the Revue. That was a treat as well

 

[Wingedheart]

We went last April (2005) and had the same idea as you...let's get the most out of this dining plan and use 2 table service meals to do something we would never pay to see. We were very disappointed. In everything really--the show was mediocre at best (two adults, three kids--3, 6, 8), our table was in the far back corner despite making priority seating way in advance, the service was TERRIBLE and the food was tasteless. The closest the entertainers came was three tables away. I will not go back.

Good luck!

 

[kitchenfairy]

My family and I love the HDDR. We saw it in 2004DS was 7 and DD was 10.They laughed through the whole show, my son especially! We thought the food was good but just like everything else it certainly is overpriced. Your also paying for the show in that price don't forget. You'll get plenty of differing opinions here but this is one of those things that if you can you should do at least once. Your kids would have a great time.

 

[Elisa]

We went Dec 20th '05. I was really excited about it and I chose it to celebrate my son's 7th birthday. Well my son and daughter(8) thought it was cute ,and it was, but they had no idea what it was costing either. We used the dining plan as I knew I would never pay cash for it. I'm glad that we did it, but I wouldn't make another attempt at it. The food was alright at best. The fried chicken was very good. I don't know how they can say it's an all you can eat ( or at least seconds) because everything happened so fast. Everything came out one right after another. We didn't leave full by any means ! We arrived by boat about 20 mins early and stood in line, but we didn't see anyone saying you had to sign in ( which we did have to )or the fact that they were taking family photos ( we only saw the people receiving them during dinner). I don't have a bad memory of it but it wasn't a highlight either. Elisa

 

[keahgirl8]

What if I'm not on the Dining Plan and I don't have children with me? Is it worth it? How much does it cost?

 

[bgula]

Don't waste the time or money - IMHO.

 

[mhingher]

We had a good time at Hoop de Doo. It is a lot of money to spend, especially for fried chicken and ribs! But the food was really good, and the show was cute. If you're looking to make time on your trip, it wouldn't be the end of the world if you skipped it.

 

[pampam]

We love the HDD and make a point of going each trip. We don't go for the food- we go for the fun. Now don't get me wrong, the food is ok, but the show is what it's all about. The humor seems to be geared to pre-teen corny kind of things, but everyone seems to enjoy it. Make sure you start eating as quickly as you can when you are first seated, because once the show starts, you may get caught up in it and forget to eat.
As a side memory, I took a young lad to WDW once, who had leukemia. He was enjoying himself, but rarely smiled. With his health issues he was a very serious 12 year old. Anyway, he loved the HDD. He laughed, and forgot all his troubles. It's a memory I cherish.

 

[DisneyWisher]

We love HDDR. We've been 3 times Sept'04 and twice in Sept '05 (within 2 weeks of each other). My DD12 loves Miss Claire (she's the blonde lady with the funny laugh). If I told my daughter tomorrow that we were going to Disney just for HDDR she would be thrilled. We think its very funny (corny but funny). Its just a good old time. DD12 loves the ribs and the fried chicken is very good. Someone mentioned family pictures that are taken, these are something you have to pay for so if you miss them, no big deal in my opinion. We've never had a bad table. When we went in late Sept 05, I called the night before and we had a table to the left of the center stage about 4 tables back. It was excellent! One of the characters sat at our table and pretended that he was going to eat with us when he asked DD12 which one was her favorite characters, she told him "Miss Claire", he then called Miss Claire over and she spent a few minutes talking with my daughter. My daughter was thrilled. I just wish they had a pictures and autographs with the cast. That would just make Cait's day.
Good Luck deciding!

 

[roadtripper]

We love the HDDR, and have never used the dining plan. Actually, one reason I would get the dining plan would be to use the credits there; it's so expensive otherwise. The costs goes down if you drink, since beer, wine and sangria are included, and they bring pitchers. (Use wdw transportation ) We've always had very attentive servers and plenty of food--though not five star, it's good. It is a total pain to get there, though-- when they say give yourself an hour, give an hour and a half.

 

[goofy4tink]

We've done both the Luau and HDDR. My dh says I will have to get him back to the Luau kicking and screaming. He hated it. Hated just about everything about it. DD, at the time was 10, and she didn't like it very much. But, with HDDR....dh enjoyed himself. Dd loved it so much she asked to have her 13th birthday there. The food is mediocre. The ribs were okay, the fried chicken was good, the baked beans were, well, they were baked beans! The breads were good, as was the salad. I won't say what I thought of the 'strawberry shortcake'...yuck is the nicest thing I can say. But the show was fun...very upbeat and funny. We ended up seated along the side, in the balcony, towards the back. We had booked a year in advance but Hurricane Charlie shut down the Ft. Wilderness area for two days, and of course that's when we were booked at HDDR! So we had to remake the reservations about 3 days before we went.
Yes, it is expensive...about $50 pp (adult) But, if you drink, you will appreciate the 'all you can drink' aspect. We also enjoyed wandering around the area before the show. Is it the best value for your Disney dollar? Probably not...but if you want some good, clean, funny entertainment, with a pretty fair amount of food, then you should give it a shot. As to being worth 2 TS credits......I am going back in Oct with dd and another mom and her dd for the girls 13 birthdays...my dd will turn 13 the day we eat at HDDR, and the other girl turns 13 the day after we get home. I am planning on getting the DDP and already have the DDE card. I just got credited $40 on my cc for the DDE discount on the late HDDR show. I could have used my DDP when I got it but decided to just use the DDE discount and use those other 2 TS credits elsewhere...I don't think it's a great use of 2 credits.