HDDR would be our preference any day of the week and twice on Sunday. LOVE it!!! It is always funny, the food is always good, and the seating is better. We did SOA for the first time the past Oct. instead of our usual HDDR. I am glad we did it, but I don't forsee going back. The food was good, but I could have done without the first half of the show. The dances from the various islands and the fire dancer were far better. I think with SOA you really need to sit cat 1. We were in cat 2. and the view was so-so.
We've sat in all three seating categories for HDDR and had a great view of the show each time.
I just can't envision spending either the cash or dining credits for which I've paid on SOA. Maybe if I were with family that really wanted to do it, and we were going to have the amazing weather we had in Oct. For the money HDDR is a better value for us.