Hoop De Doo
Fort Wilderness
Dinner Show
Date of Visit:	3/5/2007
Time of Visit:	19:15
Adults in Party:	2
Children in Party:	1
Total Cost:	$149.76
Average Price Per Adult:	$58.99
Ten Point Scale
Food:	9.0
Value:	8.5
Service:	10.0
Environment:	9.2
Overall Rating:	9.2

Arguably the premier dinner theater experience in Walt Disney World, Hoop De Doo is a cowboy-era vaudeville show that exults in its own energy, and darned if the audience can't help but get caught up in it, no matter their original mood that evening. It's expensive, but it's all you can eat, and in fact all you can drink alcohol too (certain varieties only), so they all but guarantee you'll leave stuffed, entertained, and happy. They're right, too.

Your first glance at the menu might give you pause: fried chicken and barbecued pork ribs are the only entrees, with corn on the cob and baked beans the only side items. Not heaven for vegetarians, to be sure, but also a somewhat limited menu even for omnivores. If you can get past those limitations, though, you'd find the fried chicken tender and flavorful, and indeed served by the literal bucket (metal, in this case). Folks at my table disagreed about whether it was juicy or dry; that may vary piece by piece. The BBQ pork ribs are even better. Neither overdone nor underdone (chronic problems with ribs), these ribs straddle the world of tasting like meat and tasting like candy, as some BBQ pork invariably does. The meat just fell off the bone with a fork.

The corn was overcooked, though, and the kernels were overly plump and soft. The baked beans were not remarkable, I thought, but all four people at my table disagreed and found them good, even a woman who normally can't stand baked beans. But what did catch attention was the piping hot and criminally fresh cornbread, served with tasty whipped butter. There was a pre-tossed salad with Italian dressing too, though everyone at our table agreed it could not be distinguished from Olive Garden's salad. All of this is "all you can eat"--just request more, and it will be brought almost instantly. The price reflects the culinary largesse: $48.57 for adults and $24.70 for children (there are slightly cheaper seats available, but we chose the most expensive seating, closest to the stage).

That single price also brings unlimited drinks. Many folks opt for sangria or beer (Bud Light). We found the sangria to taste almost entirely like red wine; the fruit component was smaller than it should have been. While a wider bar is available, it's not free. Having experienced other dinner theaters in Orlando that promise free booze, I was surprised to see how quickly the alcohol was refilled here, via a provided pitcher. They really do want you entertained and happy! 

Naturally, the food is only part of what you're paying for. The service is snappy and attentive. That may be partly because they want everyone done in a timely manner; two hours after you sit down, you're practically ushered out the door so the next seating can occur 15 minutes later. But one gets a sense that the staff really hopes you do not leave desiring food; there's a recognition that you've paid a lot of money for this meal and have high expectations, which they aim to meet.

On the table you've been assigned is the first cornbread (they'll bring more later if you want it) and the salad. Drink orders came not 10 minutes later, and then the always-uncomfortable hard sell. They'd taken a photo of our party outside the hall, and here they travel from table to table, showing a printout of your photo on 8x10 in a paper folder. For $30, this photo and four wallet-sized photos can be yours (no other package variations are available). I much preferred the soft-sell seen on Disney Cruise Lines: photos are placed on a wall for people to view, and if they want to buy one, they take it down and bring it to the cashier. The hard sell always smacks of hucksterism, and seems so un-Disney.

Less than 30 minutes after people first poured into the hall, live performers in a corner struck up the banjo and piano. The acting troupe barged in from the back of the room, stormed the stage, and filled the air with peppy enthusiasm. The six actors played distinct roles, such as the troupe owner with little luck at love, the vixen with the infectious laugh of a dolphin, or the spoiler good for nothing with a heart of gold, Six Bits. All are endearing characters, and the actors threw themselves into the roles with so much gusto it's a wonder they can claw their way back out by the end of the night.

The basic pattern of the night was a song or two by the troupe, then a pause for business at the table (the bringing of the food, the clearing of the table, the bringing of dessert). When the stage show is "on," expect a mix of vaudeville comedy, singing and dancing, and audience interaction. 90% of this interaction occurs on a volunteer basis, such as when they canvass the place for birthdays or anniversaries. But not all of it. On occasion, someone will get singled out and "played with" by the actors, so terminally shy folks are hereby duly warned to sit in the upstairs tables. All the unsolicited harassment happens on the main floor.

The audience gets involved via shouting and even singing; at one point, the room is divided down the middle to form a competition. The physical comedy is pretty good, and it gets even better when a select few members of the audience who had been hand-picked become part of the show onstage, even performing some minor acting and dancing. It's all in good fun, and the cast strikes the perfect balance of fun and comedy without resorting to ridiculing anyone. The verbals puns become more frequent as the night wears on, but perhaps this is by design; to make folks weary of the show as part of the carefully orchestrated plan to encourage everyone to leave right when prompted. Certainly few would walk away from the tasty strawberry shortcake dessert otherwise. The cast leaves the stage as energetically as they stormed it, and the crowd was highly appreciative. 

It's a high-energy, high-calorie evening that seemed to reach out to every kind of potential audience. Folks at my table ranged from the highly extroverted to the reclusive introvert, pausing in between to account for my four year old, but everyone had a blast and rated the experience a hit. That's a recommendation Disney is sure to love, given the price each person pays to be here, but it's a reputation well-deserved.