6 Things We Love About Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue on Its 45th Anniversary
Earlier this morning we celebrated an important Disney World milestone – the one year anniversary of Toy Story Land and now it’s time for an equally exciting celebration. The much-loved dinner show the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue is celebrating a mighty impressive 45 years of filling making Disney World visitors laugh and filling their bellies!
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort officially debuted on June 30, 1974, a mere three years after the campground first opened. This makes it one of the longest-running dinner shows in American history—and a beloved tradition for generations of Disney World visitors. To give you a taste of what makes this dining experience so gosh darn special check out 5 of the reasons why we love it so!
The Food
The incredible show is definitely worthy of mention (don’t worry, we’ll get there) but first, let’s just quickly pay homage to the delicious dishes you’ll be able to tuck into during your Hoop-Dee-Doo dining experience. The giant buckets of fried chicken and ribs are the stuff of Disney legend. As a matter of fact, Disney dishes up 900 pounds of fried chicken every night and a team of cooks spend 6 hours a day just breading the chicken. Add to this 400 pounds of pork ribs which are slow cooked started at 11 am in a big outdoor smoker and sides including 120 pounds of corn, 400 pounds of potatoes and 30 gallons of baked beans and you are in for a monster-sized feast. You’ll also want to be sure to save room for dessert for another legendary treat, the strawberry shortcake. 15 gallons of strawberries and 12 gallons of whipped cream are used each day to make this dessert!
The Show
There’s something so special about this show that has Disney regulars coming back time and time again. Hoop-Dee-Doo got its start as part of the Disney World Fine Arts College Workshop. The music is a large part of the revue’s appeal and is a tip of the hat to traditional Westerns as well as vaudeville-style stage acts. The principal songwriter for the show was Tom Adair who wrote the words for the score both “Sleeping Beauty” and the “Mickey Mouse Club” TV show. The song line-up has undergone several changes over the years. Most notably, “Apple Pie Hoedown” was replaced by the “Strawberry Short Cake Walk” when the iconic dessert was added to the menu in 1979!
The Cast and Characters
Though the musical numbers are real crowd-pleasers, they would be nothing without the incredible characters and the cast that brings them to life! When Larry Billman first created the show, he wanted classic Western archetypes to be featured in the performance. From a Gabby Hayes Western type to a Calamity Jane type they are all represented in the show. You’ll find 6 incredible characters. Six Bits Slocum and Dolly Drew provide the comic relief. Flora Long and Jim Handy are the superb singers and Johnny Ringo and Claire de Lune dazzle with their choreography. Reed Jones, Director of Creative Development for Disney Parks Live Entertainment had this to say about the characters: “The simplicity of it is that the show has something for everyone. Six Bits’ humor is really that of a child, a young boy—so kids think he’s funny. Even though they may be, in their daily lives, addicted to video games and television and everything modern, and have no idea about the 1880 time period, just to see an adult who giggles at the same kind of things they giggle at—it connects.
The Staff
But it’s not just the Cast that makes this incredible meal so special! Many of the members of the wait staff have been working at Pioneer Hall for decades! As Reed Jones sees it, “They have a following, too, just as the stage cast does. They have seen kids grow up because the families would continue to come back. When they make a show reservation, guests will request a certain server that they’ve seen over the course of ten or twenty years. It’s really like coming home for a lot of people. It’s like a family reunion with your crazy aunts and uncles onstage. You all come in and you’re all a part of it.”
The Corny Jokes
If you love the humor of the skippers on “The Jungle Cruise” you’ll find the antics of the cast of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue to be largely the same! As a matter of fact, one of the reasons visitors come back time and time again is for the corny jokes, good food and lots of fun. Are the jokes a bit cringe-worthy? You betcha but that’s one of the things that make it such a rip-roaring good time. As a matter of fact, we’re sure Walt would approve! When Walt was alive, his daughter Diane told her father that sometimes she was embarrassed by his corniness! To which Walt responded, ““All right, I am corny. But I think there are just about 140 million people in this country just as corny as I am.”
Pioneer Hall
One of the real treats about a visit to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue is the opportunity to visit Disney’s awesome Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Officially opened in 1971 this incredible property is nestled in 750 acres of pine and Cyprus forest. The expansive property is teeming with wildlife such as deer, ducks, rabbits and even armadillos. In the heart of all of this is Pioneer Hall, which is reminiscent of the sort of venue you’d find in a Western Town. This incredible rustic indoor performance space was built from 1283 hand-fitted pine logs from Montana and 70 tons of stone from North Carolina. It lends an incredible ambience to your evening celebration. Just a short boat ride away from the hustle and bustle of the Magic Kingdom there is an incredible dichotomy between visiting this iconic theme park to the rustic charm of Fort Wilderness within minutes. It needs to be experienced by every Disney-goer at least one!
Reservations for Hoop-Dee-Due Musical Revue can currently be made 180-days in advance the cost to dine here is typically $60 plus per adult. For those on the Disney dining plan, eating here will set you back 2 table service dining credits per person.
Why not incorporate Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue into your next Walt Disney World getaway? There are still fantastic 2019 discounts to be had and 2020 packages are now open for booking. Simply fill out our form below to get your FREE, no-obligation quote from MickeyTravels!
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