Corn pone classic Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue turns 40 at Disney

[Travisma 1,317]

Article in today's Tampa Bay Times

When I was 8, my father inadvertently whipped me in the eyeball with a red-and-white cloth napkin. It was a stinger for sure. The physical pain, however, was outweighed by the emotional shock of where this eye-gouging happened: Walt Disney World, specifically the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-sing hootenanny chock-full of corn pone humor in the resort's Fort Wilderness campground.

Bad things just weren't supposed to happen here.

Unaware of my pain, my dad, along with my mom and a few hundred other revelers, continued twirling those napkins in wahoo celebration; I continued to cry. It was dark in the Wild West-y showroom, all bearskins and buffalo heads; it was loud, too, with banjo plucks and stomping feet and warbling and lousy puns.

I'd never forget it.

Obviously.

Fast-forward decades: In September, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, one of the longest-running dinner shows in America, celebrated its 40th anniversary. I decided to check it out again along with my daughters, Ava and Maya, who, it should be noted with foreshadowing intended, CRY ALL THE TIME. I went, fully aware that the Hoop-Dee-Doo wasn't done with the Dalys.

• • •

Tradition is always in jeopardy at Disney World. No matter how much something is beloved (goodbye Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Snow White's Scary Adventures), it's in danger of being replaced by a more modern moneymaker (hello Winnie-the-Pooh ride and Disney princesses).

The theme park wars are cutthroat these days, especially in Orlando. And Disney pushes the pack in innovation and change. In the near future, the Maelstrom in Epcot's Norway pavilion will be retooled as a ride dedicated to the $1.3-billion-grossing flick Frozen. Traditionalists will moan, but it won't matter: Scandinavian sibs Anna and Elsa are mondo bank these days.

And yet the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, taking up valuable real estate in Pioneer Hall in Fort Wilderness since 1974, persists. The singing-cowboy show has remained "largely unchanged, 90 minutes of simple, wholesome, family friendly entertainment," according to Disney historian Lou Mongello, who hosts the WDW Radio podcast. "It doesn't feature Mickey Mouse, Anna, Elsa or any other Disney characters." Nevertheless, Hoop-Dee-Doo has survived.

There are no special effects, no dazzling moments. Maybe that's why it has prevailed. Pioneer Hall, a re-creation of a Northwest Territory lodge built via 1,283 hand-fitted logs, looks like the Country Bear Jamboree sans the animatronic critters. Sans any modernity at all, to be honest. (I couldn't even get cellphone reception in there.) Six actors and singers, with names such as Six Bits Slocum and Johnny Ringo, work the crowd and dole out groaners with a well-practiced but likable Will Rogers verve; they've done this before (and before, and before), but they're having fun anyway.

There are silly songs (Take Back Your Heart, I Ordered Liver); there are patriotic sing-alongs (This Land Is Your Land). The script was originally written by Disney Imagineer Ron Miziker, who also created the Main Street Electrical Parade, another long-standing tradition. Hoop-Dee-Doo banter doesn't stray far from the kind of "So where ya from?" audience shtick that Wayne Newton has been doling out for just as long in Las Vegas.

As all that G-rated ham goes down on stage, servers deliberately clank giant metallic buckets of fried chicken (delicious) and ribs (did I mention the fried chicken?) on your table. Perhaps my father's wayward napkin was caused by the fact that beer and wine are — and this was my favorite part — unlimited with admission. Ticket prices are steep, as much as $70 for the best table, but you won't leave hungry or thirsty, that's for sure.

It was weird being back, surreal even, especially since nothing had changed. Well, except for me. I was no longer a child; now I had children. I kept one eye (fully healed, by the way) on the stage and one on my girls. Ava is 10 and absolutely fearless when it comes to audience participation. Maya, however, is 6 and routinely tries to hide behind me when someone — say Hoop-Dee-Doo's sassy character Dolly Drew — approaches her and tries to pull her onto a bright stage in front of hundreds of people.

Which is exactly what happened.

• • •

Maya never made it on stage. Instead, she shook her head shyly and hunched down and refused to make eye contact with Dolly Drew. My kid shot me a teary look that I interpreted as something akin to: This will haunt me for the rest of my days, and I'm fairly certain you brought me here for some sort of twisted pass-it-down childhood catharsis all because you leaned into a napkin at the wrong time. I'll never forgive you for this, Daddy. I don't know. I might have misread her.

Dolly, the show's brassy Annie Oakley type, made a sad face, said "Sorry" and immediately found her backup kid, some greasy-faced hotshot, who simply had to pretend he was firing a gun during the finale's salute to Davy Crockett. It was a cake part. Maya gave me a sorrowful glance when she saw what she passed up. Ava rolled her eyes and muttered, "Should have picked me."

Now it would be extremely convenient at this juncture to tie everything up with a "Circle of Life" Lion King reference, a deep-thoughts revelation that being brokenhearted at Disney is a child's first glimpse of reality. But here's the thing: In the end, the girls loved the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. When it came time for the infamous napkin twirl, my daughters taunted me as I leaned back and timidly waved mine. Even Maya, despite chickening out, bounded joyfully from Pioneer Hall at night's end.

The next day, with the three of us at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Maya waited until her sister was out of range and told me, "I wish I had gone on stage last night." I was about to recount my eyeball story again, tell her how I've never forgotten it, that sometimes you have to live with crummy memories.

But I never got around to it. My 6-year-old daughter took my hand and, without saying anything, pulled me in the direction of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a free fall drop that makes even my knees knock. Maya never had the courage to ride it before. But she did today. And you better believe she'll remember that, too.

Sean Daly can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @seandalypoplife.

.If you go

Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, which includes an all-you-can-eat buffet (fried chicken, ribs, corn bread), has three shows daily at Pioneer Hall, on the campgrounds of Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness, 4510 Fort Wilderness Trail, Lake Buena Vista. $27.99-$69.99. Reservations are required. (407) 824-2803.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

What a great story!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Good article!  Makes me want to go back.  Which I am!  

[Travisma 1,317]

We went in July after about a 20 + year hiatus.

 

Took the grandkids, and all of my kids went also... it was a group of 12.

 

We had a great time, I was thankful it hadn't changed (except for the $$$$).

 

I would love to go again, but they have just made it too pricey.

 

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks for posting this, Mark.

 

The Tampa Bay Times is my daily paper, and I read this article on Sunday.  The reporter who wrote it, Sean Daly, has been with the paper for quite some time.  It's funny to see how having children has transformed him.  He used to be very critical of Disney and everything they did.  Now, with two daughters, he's a total Disney geek.  It's good for Disney, as Sean is always reporting positive things when new things happen at Disney World. 

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

Yep, kids and especially grandkids change the way you look at things.

 

With kids, things changed from when your were growing up, but not drastically.  Some of the same shows were still on tv.... probably as re-runs, the schools were still using a lot of the same books as reading assignments, a lot of the same toys were still around.

 

Now with grandkids, things are changing so rapidly day to day that everything to us is new again!

 

All in all, I thought it was a pretty good article, not too overly gushing like some of the blogs.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cool report! We've been a few times and really enjoyed it!!  My boys ate their weight in ribs!!!

[Travisma 1,317]

Most people in our party liked the chicken better than the ribs.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Most people in our party liked the chicken better than the ribs.

 

Based on all the comments I've read over the years.....and the experiences of my own family....that seems to be the majority opinion. 

[Travisma 1,317]

To me, the ribs were too saucy/sweet.

 

When I smoke them, I use a rub and no sauce.

 

I let the people decide if they want to put any on while eating

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

I did ask and you can order the ribs without sauce

[Travisma 1,317]

I did ask and you can order the ribs without sauce

I never thought of that, but I should've known.

 

My inlaws were at another table, and my niece doesn't eat meat.  They brought her salmon and I think pasta.  It was so big she couldn't finish it and she said it was fantastic.

[Retired & Tired (Judy) 90]

We usually go once every Christmas season.  DW is the one who eats the ribs.  I get one and some chicken, along with the potatoers and corn.  Shawnee can go through several loaves of cornbread as well as maybe a rib and several helpings of potatoes and beans.  Kimberly usually waits for the strawberry shortcake and takes more than her share.  We all take in a load of diet cokes and lemonade.  I turned into the family ogre by turning down a chance to go on stage last year.  Unlike Maya, I have no regrets, except for the glares from DW.  It's a fun show and the food is good, well worth a visit if you haven't been ...or even if you have been before.

[Retired and Happy (Ken) 101]

Oops.  DW has been here so seldon, I didn't realize i posted under her login.

 

We usually go once every Christmas season.  DW is the one who eats the ribs.  I get one and some chicken, along with the potatoers and corn.  Shawnee can go through several loaves of cornbread as well as maybe a rib and several helpings of potatoes and beans.  Kimberly usually waits for the strawberry shortcake and takes more than her share.  We all take in a load of diet cokes and lemonade.  I turned into the family ogre by turning down a chance to go on stage last year.  Unlike Maya, I have no regrets, except for the glares from DW.  It's a fun show and the food is good, well worth a visit if you haven't been ...or even if you have been before.