The longest running Revue show in the country happens to be at the Walt Disney World Resort, and takes place at Ft. Wilderness Campground and Resort. It is known as the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue and its three daily shows almost always sell out. Some friends of mine wanted to go, Jay had never been, and it had been almost two years since my last visit so that’s where we went a few Fridays ago.
Getting to Hoop is always a bit of a process. It’s located in the heart of Ft. Wilderness so you can park at the front of the campground and take the bus or you can take a boat over from the Magic Kingdom. The boat is a little more fun, but the bus is quicker. We, however, parked at the front and walked because we were Pokémon hunting and it took a good twenty-five minutes. We were still pretty early so we wandered over to the Draft Horse Barn.
[lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]Early in the morning, there are horse drawn carriages that take guests up and down Main Street, USA at the Magic Kingdom, and this is where those horses are housed. It’s massive! I had flash backs to the summers I spent at Kentucky Horse. There was a one year old Clydesdale colt named Rookie in one of the stalls, but I was disappointed you’re not allowed to pet any of the horses or ponies. On display at the very front of the barn is the Calliope that was used for the opening of both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, and when you push the button it lights up and plays some of the music from those parades. Across the hall is an exhibit dedicated to the history of horses in the Disney Parks with models of themost common breeds on display. I had a good laugh when I realized the models are actually Breyer Model horses, which I used to collect! We then wandered over to the porch of Crockett’s Tavern to sit in the rocking chairs until it was show time.[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”true”]
The draft horse barn.
Opening day calliope.
Draft horse models.
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We were one of the first in line and we picked Category 1 seating since Jay had never been before. The hostess led us to the very front of the theater, our table was right behind the piano and banjo player! Our waitress was there right away to take our drink orders. Hoop-Dee-Doo is a three course meal, all-all-you-can-eat served family style with unlimited drinks. The best part: unlimited sangria! The first course of salad and cornbread is served as everyone is still being seated. Jay tried to read the menu but I would only let him look at the drinks because I wanted dessert to be a surprise. I literally found out a week earlier that strawberry shortcake is one of his favorite desserts. Everything is served in metal buckets in a variety of sizes. Robert dished out the salad as the cornbread was being fought over and the two musicians came in to start getting settled. The banjo player immediately started talking to us, and I made the joke that as long as he knew “Rocky Top” we’d get along just fine. (That’s the University of Tennessee fight song.) His response, “I do, but it sounds an awful lot like Happy Birthday.” He did play it for me later, but I’m not sure at which point in the show it happened.
Every time I go to Hoop-Dee-Doo, I always expect the animal heads on the wall to start talking like the Country Bear Jamboree.
Suddenly the sounds of wagons and horses filled the air, thundering hoofbeats as a stagecoach pulls in. The doors flew open and in ran the Pioneer Hall Players! They weaved their way around all the tables and made their way up the stage steps, carrying a variety of props and instruments. They gave a hurried explanation of their misadventures, something about a stage coach breaking down, as they toss their hats and jackets off. The Hoop-Dee-Doo leader is a red head named Dolly Drew, and she finds herself backed by singers Flora Long and Jim Handy, the dancing pair Claire de Lune and Johnny Ringo, and last but not least, funny man Six Bits Slocum. They sang an intro song about the Hoop-Dee-Doo itself while introducing each member of the troupe and their skill set. They sing a variety of classic American frontier songs over the course of the show. I don’t want to list them all because there’s no fun in spoiling the whole thing.
Six Bits asked the audience, “Are ya hungry?” “Yeah!” “Oh you can do better than that, I said ‘ARE YA HUNGRY?'” “YEAH!” He jumped in the air, “Let’s eat!” The performers stepped off stage and the servers descended onto the floor with full platters. Buckets of fried chicken and ribs with smaller pails of mashed potatoes, corn and baked beans. The potatoes were gone in minutes, but no one really touched the beans.
After our tummies were getting full, the Pioneer Hall Players were back. Six Bits wanted to help Johnny and Jim sing the new song they had been working on, “My Darling Clementine”, except he always sang the wrong word. Instead of Clementine he would say something that was close, but not quite right: Valentine! Frankenstein! I was extremely disappointed because this is usually where my favorite joke occurs and they didn’t tell it this time. (It involves the phrase, “Do you wanna build a snowman?”)
Dessert was served with its own musical number and our waitress was on stage with a huge platter of strawberry shortcakes. We were so close to the stage she got to us first, but by that time they were announcing the big Hoop-Dee-Doo spectacle, the Ballad of Davy Crockett. Dolly and Six Bits stayed on stage as Jim, Flora, Johnny and Claire headed into the audience to find “volunteers”. I pointed at Jay eagerly hoping he would be chosen… No such luck. Instead Johnny came to our table and held his hand out to me. They usually pick an older gentleman, a younger man, a younger woman and a ten year old boy. Literally the only female role in the whole thing and I get led up on stage. At this point, I was just really glad I had seen the show previously and knew what was coming.
They lined us all up across the stage and Dolly asked why each person was picked. The ten-year-old: “His bravery!” The younger man: “His strength!” Me: “Her beauty!” Cue me turning red in the face. The older gentleman: “His… intelligence!” We were all pulled backstage as the Ballad of Davy Crockett began, based on the lyrics of the old Disney song. Honestly, it doesn’t make complete sense but it is cute. (It is not cute if 
you are me and are standing nervously backstage.) A dress and a headband and POOF! I’m a can-can dancer! Of all the styles of dance I have done in my life, can-can is not one of them. They told me to hold my skirt up until they told me to drop it so my bare legs were showing and I regretted the decision to wear shorts. I could hear bits and pieces of the show going on, and every single one of Six Bits’ bear puns. He was dressed as the bear Davy killed when he was only three.
They did a really great job of making sure everyone knew exactly what they were doing and in the exact right spot for the show. I stood in my spot until they cued me, “This is supposed to be a can-can dance, not a can’t-can’t dance!”, and Johnny led me out onto the stage where I tried my best not to actually look at the audience and not be dazzled by the lights. It’s a trick I learned in my Jungle Cruise days, you look over people’s heads instead of directly at them. Dolly said, “She looks great, but can she dance?” The men in unison replied, “Who cares?” The music started and I did my best impression of the can-can: right, right, left, left as the audience chanted “Oooh la la!” The music finally stopped and I 
heaved a sigh of relief as they told me I could finally put my skirt down. I moved over to the side as Davy quite literally kicked the bucket, “T’weren’t nothing ma’ams, that’s what us legends do!”, and the older gentleman came out as “Davy’s Angel”. There was then an argument about who Miss Oakley AKA Dolly was supposed to kiss, Davy AKA Johnny or the Bear AKA Six Bits. Then Claire says, “No, that there can-can dancer is supposed to kiss that there bear!” Johnny leaned close to me so I could speak into his mic, “I can’t do that I’d be too em-bear-assed!” Then Johnny escorted me backstage to return the dress and headband, Jim called my name and I curtsied as he handed me my certificate. Then I raced off the stage as fast as I could.
I tore into the untouched strawberry shortcake. My friends had been too busy watching me to eat.
The actual finale to the show involves napkin twirling and washboards with spoons before a reprise of the original song from the beginning as they all headed out the same way they came in. They put their hats and coats back on, grabbed their props and ran back through the tables and chairs and out the front door. We gathered our stuff up, including one of the paper menus to go with my certificate. I watched a gentleman from one of the nearby tables try to tip the musicians and it broke my heart they had to turn it down. Then we headed back out into the sunshine to wait for the bus back because we were too full to make the trek back to the cars.
Hoop-Dee-Doo is an amazing dinner show experience, and I consider it a must-doo for all Disney fans. There’s no pixie dust or mouse, but there’s definitely magic happening at Pioneer Hall. It’s one of my favorite places to take family or friends who are visiting if we aren’t doing parks.
Cost: Hoop-Dee-Doo Category 1 is $72 per person, Category 2 is $67 per person and Category 3 is $64 per person. We sat in Category 1 this time, but I’ve done all three. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, but with Category 3 you have to turn away from your food to face the stage so it’s not great if you want to stuff your face. Prices include tax and tip!
Duration: 2 hours.
Value: Hoop-Dee-Doo is wonderful and worth repeating every now and then.
Add Ons: None!
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