Hiya Everybody!
On Monday afternoon, guess what arrived:
Yes, the infamous Chocolate Monorail finally arrived! I had ordered this for Frank as a Thank You for inviting me along on the trip and it was supposed to be delivered the day we checked in. If you recall, from the check in story, the order got lost in the shuffle and Sharon the concierge re-ordered it for me. The Chocolate Monorail can also be ordered through in room dining at the Contemporary, however, it takes 24 hours to prepare. Pretty cool, don't you think?
OK, now on the the REAL topic: The Hoop Dee Doo Revue. Before I begin, I need to mention that my camera was acting up that night so I only took a few pictures (forgive me Nancy & Karen
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The show is performed in Pioneer Hall, which is located in the Fort Wilderness Campground. Since we were staying at the Contemporary, getting there was easy - we just hopped on a boat! (Another recurring theme - we are a boat-loving family) The boat runs in a loop between Wilderness Lodge, The Contemporary and Fort Wilderness. It runs clockwise during the day and it shifts to counter clockwise in the afternoon/evening. We boarded the boat at the Contemporary, which then headed for Wilderness Lodge and finally on to Fort Wilderness. From the dock it's a short walk to Pioneer Hall.
For those of you that may not be familiar with this Disney staple, here's the official Disney description:
A long-time family favorite, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is hosted in a rustic dance hall, with rousing country-western dancing and singing and zany vaudeville comedy from a high-spirited cast. You never know what to expect from the Wild West couples Claire de Lune and Johnny Ringo, Dolly Drew and Six Bits Slocum, and Flora Long and Jim Handy.
As the Pioneer Hall Players perform skits and early song standards, equally sassy Cast Members serve your countrified feast. Between laughs, chow down on pails of all-you-care-to-eat American favorites like fried chicken, smoked BBQ pork ribs, seasonal vegetable, baked beans, fresh baked corn bread and strawberry shortcake. Unlimited draft beer, wine, sangria and soft drinks are included for Guests 21 years of age or older (proper ID required).
This show has been running at Disney, 3 shows a night, for over 30 years!
We had tickets for the 7:15 show, which is the middle of the three shows. The check in process is very efficient - it needs to be to move people in and out for three shows! We checked in and were given a ticket with our table number (we were at lucky table 13 - more on that later!). We then had our picture taken and headed off to explore Fort Wilderness a bit.
At exactly 7:15, the dinner bell was rung, an old fashioned triangle just like in the cowboy movies! We headed through the doors where our table number was read and we were sent off with one of the servers to be seated. 'Ah, Table 13!' he said as he lead the way. I thought his fuss over the table number was part of the schtick. I was wrong. Turns out our table was directly in front of the stage, dead center!
Yes, that thing you see in the back is the curtain!
We had salad (we were told to toss it ourselves, just not to toss it at the other tables!) and cornbread waiting for us. Oh boy, do I love cornbread!
Our server took our drink order (Frank had a margarita and I asked for iced tea) and we started to dig in to the salad and cornbread.
Right after our drinks arrived, the show began. The cast splits up and heads out to the audience for the opening number. It's a song that's sung to the tune of "She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" but the words are replaced with "Oh, They Come From _____ When They Come!" Each cast member selects a guest, introduces them and asks them where they are from. Then their state and/or country is substituted into the song. For example "oh they come from Ohio (or Canada or Korea or even New Jersey!) when they come!" The cast members then head up on stage for the more singin' and dancin'! (A couple of times we thought we were going to get kicked in the head!) B/T/W Frank and I decided that Johnny Ringo looked at lot like Ryan Seacrest.
The cast also participates in serving the next part of the meal by slamming buckets of fried chicken (yummy!) on random tables. The rest of the dinner consisted of barbecued ribs, baked beans. Oh Boy!
Oh, I forgot about the potatoes!
We ate for awhile and then there was more singin' and dancin' including recognizing birthdays and anniversarys. One poor teenager, who was celebrating his 17th birthday, foolishly went to the bathroom during this part of the show. As soon as he got back, his family ratted on him and the show stopped while the cast recognized him. Six Bits asked him if he washed his hands and he answered YES. Then Six Bits asked him what color was the soap? Turquoise blue, he replied. (He was right!)
Finally it was time for the Grand Finale, a.k.a dessert. Introduced by a big song and dance number, which included the servers, the dessert was revealed: Strawberry Shortcake!!! I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I am ALLERGIC to strawberries. OK, I admit, I knew that the dessert was Strawberry Shortcake ahead of time - it's famous (hey, it has it's own dance number!). So I told the server, before we ate, and she made sure to have a nice big brownie ready for me
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I should probably mention that since Frank and I were directly in front of the stage, we were the default people to be picked on by the cast. Six Bits even offered to 'make my dreams come true'!
The finale of the show is a salute to Davy Crockett, which includes four members of the audience. Of course they have to have a big, burly guy dressed in a tutu, playing the part of an angel.
OK, so it's hokey, it's corny but it's just plain fun! It's so interesting to me to see little kids, teens, grownups and grandmas & grandpas cracking up at the same silly jokes. Any minor innuendo goes right over the kiddies heads, so no worries there.
If you never been, go! If you haven't been in a long time, go again! It will be exactly the same as you remembered, which is part of the fun!
I bawled like a baby at the Remember the Magic show on the cruise and also at our last dinner when all the wait staff paraded around with their homeland flags. 
