SO many things have returned to Disney World in the past few months, and now another popular spot is BACK!

Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue has REOPENED in Disney World! The dinner show is officially back in business with an updated menu and some changes to the performances, but still has a lot of its signature foods and entertainment. So, how does Hoop-Dee-Doo hold up? Come along with us for our full review of the food and the classic Disney World dinner show!

Atmosphere

Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is a dinner show! It happens over at Pioneer Hall at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.

We arrived and went to check-in in the designated area where Cast Members are with iPads!

There is also an outdoor drink area where you can get a beverage while you wait for the show to start.

Here’s a look at the options available:

This is a pre-paid meal, so you pay when you book your reservation and there are different levels of prices. Category 1 is on the main floor and is $74 for adults and $44 for kids (ages 3-9), Category 2 is on the first balcony that faces the stage and is $69 for adults and $40 for kids, and Category 3 is on the side balconies and is $66 for adults and $39 for kids. The show takes place at either 4PM, 6:15PM, or 8:30PM.

We had the 4PM showtime and were seated on the main floor.

Inside, you’ll see a bunch of standard wooden tables and a big stage up front. You get red and white checkered napkins and metal silverware.

This is a dinner show, so there are performances throughout the night! The Pioneer Hall Players will bring you some singing and dancing, and interact with the audience.

There have been some changes made to the show since it’s returned. The stage backdrop is different and the lighting has been improved. There have also been some things changed for cultural sensitivity reasons, like Native American depictions and some of the raunchier jokes.

The performers will be up on stage but will also come out into the middle of the dining room and up into the balconies!

There is also a banjo player in the corner who plays throughout the night and is fantastic! The pianist in the show was also incredible.

The performances here were AWESOME. These Cast Members seriously have so much talent and the audience participation is done in a way that even people who don’t really like participating will probably enjoy it.

The only part people who don’t like to participate might not want to take part in is the performance near the end of dinner when they Pioneer Hall Players act out The Ballad of Davy Crockett. They pull 4 people from the audience up on stage to play different characters and it’s super fun! But, we can’t totally understand why some people wouldn’t want to participate in this.

It’s really fun to watch, too!

Other than that, the audience participation is mostly just the performers calling out to everyone and coming up to your table! This truly is amazing dinner theater.

But, do be warned that it is very fast-paced! It gives you just enough time to eat comfortably, but some people might find the pace a bit stressful. This is by no means a leisurely meal. There is a lot going on around you!

We do think the show is paced better than it used to be, though.

Menu

Hoop-Dee-Doo has a prix fixe menu for everyone to enjoy and the meal is served family-style, so you share food with the people at your table. There have been a few new things added to the menu since the last time we were here!

For drink, guests get all-you-care-to-enjoy with fountain drinks, and if you’re 21 and older, beer, wine, and both red and white sangria are also included in your meal. There are some additional cocktails that you can order for an added cost, including the new Giddy-Up cocktail. We weren’t given a menu for the drink options, our waitress just recited them to us!

For beers, you can expect an assortment of locally crafted beers including Tampa Bay Brewing Elephant Foot IPA, Cigar City Jai Alai IPA, Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale, Orange Blossom Pilsner, Central 28 UnderDuck Lager, and 3 Daughters Brewing Blonde Ale.

For your meal, you will get The Hoop Salad, House-made Cornbread, and the Creamy Coleslaw to start. Then, for your main, they bring out Pecan-smoked BBQ Pork Ribs, Legendary Fried Chicken, Cornbread-crusted Macaroni and Cheese, Home-style Mashed Potatoes, and Cowboy Beans. And, of course, ‘Ma’s Famous Strawberry Shortcake is served for dessert!

If you have any dietary needs or restrictions, you can just let the chef know when you check-in and they’ll get you an alternative dish.

Eats & Drinks

We started out with the new Giddy-Up cocktail, which is the hall barkeep’s blend of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, and freshly brewed iced tea. So, basically it’s an Arnold Palmer with vodka. It was fine, but its wasn’t anything special, so we wouldn’t pay extra for it again, we would just get one of the alcoholic drinks that’s included with your meal!

Then, it was time for our appetizers! Like we said before, we were brought out The Hoop Salad, House-made Cornbread, and Creamy Coleslaw. The hoop Salad has the signature “hoop” vinaigrette topped with sharp white cheddar, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

This was really good for a house salad! The vinaigrette is what makes it, it’s creamy and a little bit tangy but not too tangy. It really elevated what would otherwise be a basic salad! There is also a vegan and allergy friendly dressing available for the salad, which was almost the exact same but was a bit lighter and had more of a lemon flavor.

The House-made Cornbread is served with honey butter. This is a good sweet and moist cornbread! It’s not the best cornbread we’ve ever had, but it was tasty!

We will say that a person at our table doesn’t usually like cornbread and did like this one, so that says something!

The Creamy Coleslaw is one of the new additions to the menu, and it was SO good! Our reporter said this was one of the best coleslaws she’s ever had and it was super flavorful.

If you like coleslaw, you should love this one. Our reporter actually said they could’ve eaten a bucket of it!

Next, our main course was brought out! It’s Pecan-smoked BBQ Pork Ribs with BBQ sauce, Legendary Fried Chicken, Cornbread-crusted Macaroni and Cheese, Home-style Mashed Potatoes, and Cowboy Beans.

The ribs are just okay, they were pretty fatty and the meat was not falling off of the bone. The BBQ sauce it comes with is your basic BBQ sauce, it reminded us a lot of Sweet Baby Ray’s. So, these weren’t really anything special. The chicken on the other hand really shined! It has well cooked chicken and a crispy exterior we really enjoyed. But, we would still say that the fried chicken at 50s Prime Time Cafe or Homecomin’ are better.

Now, for the sides! The cowboy beans were very tasty and had meat in them which added some more flavor. The macaroni and cheese is one of the new dishes, and it was awesome! It reminded us a lot of the macaroni and cheese at Gasparilla Island Grill at Disney’s Grand Floridan Resort & Spa.

The cheese sauce is made in house and the cornbread is crumbled on top of it, which is outstanding! We ate almost half of the pot. It’s not your grandma’s mac ‘n’ cheese, but it was really good. The mashed potatoes were also very delicious! They were incredibly creamy and they had the perfect ratio of butter and salt.

We also had the allergy-friendly platter which was all vegan and gluten free. It had BBQ Jackfruit, Green Beans, Baked Beans, Cauliflower, Potatoes, and plant-based Sausage.

Our favorite on this platter was the plant-based sausage by far! It had a lot of great flavor from the sauce on top, which tasted like a sweet marinara to us. We did NOT like the BBQ Jackfruit — it has sort of a fruity, citric tang to it that gave it an odd sourness. It also had a very robust BBQ flavor. We didn’t enjoy this, however one person at our table said this was the best thing he ate all night, so it’s definitely personal preference!

The sides on this platter were okay — the cauliflower was just basically a grilled vegetable and could have been cooked a bit more. It also didn’t have a ton of flavor. The same with those potatoes, they were just your average cooked potatoes! The green beans were really good and did have some great seasoning. The corn was just plain ol’ corn, it wasn’t seasoned at all.

Finally, it was time for dessert! Everyone gets ‘Ma’s Famous Strawberry Shortcake topped with whipped cream and strawberries. We were OBSESSED with this! Our reporter actually had 3 servings of it because it was so good.

The cake was very moist and the whipped cream on top is a great addition. What made this so good is that it’s not a traditional strawberry shortcake — it’s sitting in the strawberries and syrup instead of those going on top, so the top of the cake stays together and the bottom soaks up all of the syrup, so there’s a great contrast of textures.

We also tried the allergy-friendly version of the Strawberry Shortcake. This was good too, but since it’s also the allergy friendly option, it was gluten free, so it was a bit dry.

It wasn’t the best ever, but it was still good and we did eat all of it!

We were excited to see that Hoop-Dee-Doo made their iconic dessert in an option that more people can eat.

Nosh or Not

Scoot down to Hoop-Dee-Doo if:

• You want dinner AND a great show! This is more of an overall experience than just a meal, and it is definitely a memorable one!
• You like comfort food and a large meal, and are okay with the choices offered (AKA you’re not a picky eater!)
• You want to have an experience unlike any other at Disney World — one that is fun for the whole family!

Skip out on Pioneer Hall shenanigans if:

• You want a quiet, leisurely meal that’s calm and relaxing. It’s fun here, but we wouldn’t call it calm!
• You like to have a lot of different choices at restaurants or are a picky eater and don’t like the food options offered
• You don’t like singing and dancing to be happening while you’re trying to eat, or performers coming around the dining room

Overall

Overall, Hoop-Dee-Doo is a hootin’ good time! The performances are incredible and very entertaining — there is almost always something to look at or listen to. It’s truly a very special experience that you can’t find in many other places, at least not to this level and theming. At the end of our show, one of the performers got emotional during the curtain call because she was so happy to be back at Hoop-Dee-Doo, and it was really special! We got a little teary-eyed ourselves. The energy in here is just unmatched!

But, if you want quiet meal where you aren’t on a set, timed schedule and don’t have to share food, this might not be the best choice for you. It’s loud and rowdy, and there will be entertainment happening pretty much the whole time. There also is a set menu, so you can’t customize your choices or order something else. Depending on how much you eat and drink, this could definitely be worth the price, especially since you get entertainment, too. Remember, beer, wine, and sangrias are included in the price, which is a pretty great deal for Disney World!

This experience is something we think most people should do at least one time at Disney World, and some people even swear by doing it on every single trip they take, considering it a staple! We do think it’s still as great as it was before, and maybe even better! We’re thrilled that this dinging option is back. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney food news and reviews!

Click here to see 18 Disney World Secrets Even Locals Don’t Know

Will you be booking a reservation at Hoop-Dee-Doo next time you’re in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ