What are your favorite Disney Dinner Shows?
The Hoop Dee Doo Revue, the Spirit of Aloha Luau, and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ are the 3 Disney dinner shows. Have you tried them? On our last trip we decided to do both the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and the Spirit of Aloha Luau so that the kids and I could compare them and see which one we liked better.
Location
The Hoop Dee Doo Revue is located at Fort Wilderness and the Spirit of Aloha Luau is located at Disney’s Polynesian Village. Both are very easy to get to from Magic Kingdom by boat or monorail. That is the preferred way to get there! If you are coming from another park then you will be dropped off by the bus. At the Polynesian its a short walk to Luau Cove through the Great Ceremonial House and then all the way to the far end of the Polynesian to Luau Cove. At Fort Wilderness, if you come by bus, you will be dropped at the Outpost bus stop. You can take any of the buses (yellow, orange, or purple) to get to the Settlement bus stop near Pioneer hall.
The Hoop Dee Doo Revue takes place indoors at Pioneer Hall. The Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show takes place outside at Luau Cove. Keep that in mind when you are deciding. If its a time of year when the evenings are cold or still REALLY hot/humid that might affect your decision.
* Hoop Dee Doo Revue wins for easiest transportation (Boat from Magic Kingdom) and being indoors.
Food
The Hoop Dee Doo Revue starts with delicious cornbread and salad. The entree includes fried chicken, ribs, baked beans, corn, and mashed potatoes. The dessert is strawberry shortcake.
The Spirit of Aloha starts with salad, noodles, and bread. The entree is mixed vegetables, BBQ/pulled pork, BBQ ribs, and rotisserie chicken. They did have additional options for kids (on request) such as pizza but my kids liked what was served so I didn’t ask them to bring it out. The dessert was the best bread pudding I have ever had!!
Both Disney dinner shows have the same selection of drinks including, soda, iced tea, juice, milk, beer, wine, and sangria. The sangria was delicious!
Overall my kids enjoyed the food at both locations. It was quite hot so I think they ate a little bit better at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue because we were indoors and more comfortable but…
* Spirit of Aloha Luau wins for food (the dessert pushed it over the edge).
Entertainment
The Hoop Dee Doo Revue is about an hour in length. My kids LOVED it. They laughed at the jokes, sang along, and had a great time. The show had an excellent “flow” with times for us to eat and then just as the kids were finishing their food the show started up again. There was time for the adults to have seconds and not be rushed as well.
The Spirit of Aloha Luau is a bit longer. It was almost 2 hours long. It had a very cute part of the show when all the kids got to go onstage and learn a little bit of a hula together. The kids also enjoyed the dancers that used fire in their act. The show was a big long for my kids though (5 and 9). There wasn’t always a good flow too. For example, we were served our dinner while an exciting part of the show was happening, but then there was a break just as we were finished eating and the kids were bored. Since it was outdoors it was sometimes hard to hear the story line of the show also. We had category 2 seating so I don’t think we had really bad seats but it just made it hard to stay engaged with the story. I think the adults would enjoy this a little more than the kids.
*Hoop Dee Doo Revue wins because it was fun for everyone.
Dining Details
All Disney Dinner Shows can be reserved up to 180 days in advance. For guests NOT on a Disney dining plan full payment will be made at the time of booking. For guests on a Disney dining plan (not including Quick Service dining) a credit card will be taken to guarantee the reservation. Both alcohol and gratuity are included in the cost of this reservation. Tickets can be picked up at your resort (I like to do it at check in) or at the location. If you are picking up tickets at the location you will need to arrive 45 minutes before the start of the show.
Have you done Disney Dinner Shows? Which one is your favorite and why?
