For almost five decades the Walt Disney World resort has been entertaining guests of all ages through thrilling attractions, unique stage shows, and countless character experiences! This special kind of magic doesn’t stop once you’ve left the four parks though. Beloved stage shows like the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue are available to guests at Walt Disney World’s many resort hotels!

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue celebrated its 45th anniversary last month and is still a staple of Walt Disney World resort dinner show experiences all these decades later. Today, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical is known as one of the longest-running dinner shows in American history. The stage show debuted at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort on June 30, 1974, less than three years after the resort opened on November 19, 1971! 

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground is nestled on 750 acres of pine and cypress forest, not far from Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. It features scenic woodland trails, cabins, and campsites, all while recalling the timeless beauty of the American wilderness!

In its early years, the Walt Disney World resort was a much simpler place than the vacation destination we know today. With only one theme park, a few resort options, and a fairly limited range of activities and experiences, on-property vacationers needed more out-of-park entertainment! This need led to concept work for daytime or nighttime entertainment space at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. 

The Art Collection at Walt Disney Imagineering is home to beautiful concept work from Dorthea Redmond for an outdoor “Village Stage” that was never built. Another Disney Legend Sam McKim created a rendering for what would eventually be Pioneer Hall. This impressive rustic indoor performance venue was constructed from 1,283 hand-fitted pine logs from Montana and 70 tons of stones from North Carolina. Pioneer Hall opened on April 1, 1974 with a country-Western musical act called The Star-Spangled Washboard Band. Larry Billman was the author and write of this original show and was initially hired when the then-director of Entertainment for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Bob Jani saw a potential for a “dinner theater show” at Pioneer Hall.

Billman was said to be the “real genius” behind Hoop-Dee-Doo as a movie buff and a lover of Hollywood! The dinner show idea of Pioneer Hall evolved from “We’re With You Mother McCree!” to “Whoop-Dee-Doo-Revue,” and Billman created the basic character structure of the show. Working through a lens of old Hollywood, they created a solid cast of characters! The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue got its start as a part of the Disney World Fine Arts College Workshop program. Six young actors would play the finalized roles of Dolly Drew and Six Bits Slocum (comic relief), Flora Long and Jim Handy (the singers), and Clair de Lune and Johnny Ringo (the dancers).

In addition to the stage show and all of its bells and whistles, the meal in this dinner show setting takes a starring role as well! A full-blown family-style meal of fried chicken, ribs, strawberry shortcake, and all of the fixings is what guests of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue can expect to chow down on. 

These days, the dinner show serves up around 900 pounds of fried chicken every single night, and the cooks spend about six hours each day just breading the chicken! In addition to the chicken, 400 pounds of pork ribs are slow cooked daily on a big outdoor smoker starting at 11 AM. Sides are pretty serious business as well. With 400 pounds of potatoes to be mashed, 30 gallons of baked beans, and 120 pounds of corn, guests are in for a real treat of a Disney meal! Speaking of treats — it takes 12 gallons of whipped cream and 15 gallons of strawberries to create the delicious strawberry shortcake dessert each day for the show.

People may see an unpretentious, simple, good-clean-fun show like the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue as the height of “corny,” but Disney sees “corny” as a compliment! This belief in “corny” as a compliment instead of an insult was established by Walt Disney himself. His daughter, Diane recalled that when she was a teenager, her father’s simple emotional communication and shameless sentimentality embarrassed her at times. She would sit there and say “oh, that’s corny.” Walt Disney would reply to his daughter, “All right, I am corny. But I think there’s just about 140 million people in this country just as corny as I am.”

According to Tom Vazzana, Show Director at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue exemplifies everything that Disney stands for! The 90 minutes of delicious food and interactive fun for families has become a must do for guests of the Most Magical Place on Earth. 

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue presents three shows each night in Pioneer Hall at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. Show times are 4:00 PM, 6:15 PM, and 8:30 PM, and guests can make reservations by calling 407-WDW-DINE or booking them online.