Dinner Shows

H20Babie

H20Babie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Since DS and I are making a detour to WDW for 4 days/3 nights and are NOT on any of the DDPs, we have decided instead of a fancy sit down dinner or character meal, we would like to take in a dinner show and make an evening out of it. We have narrowed down (by 1 ... lol) our choices to the Spirit of Aloha or Hoop-de-Doo.

DS is 8, and likes the luau idea because of the meal and he wants to see fire-eaters/performers. I haven't been to the luau since 1999 (my honeymoon and now divorced).

DS also likes the idea of the HDDoo since I've told him stories of seeing his granddad on stage in a tutu when I was kid, and haven't seen it since.

We would probably go to an early show, in order to hit one of the parks to top off the evening with fireworks.

Which one would you recommend and why?


Also, is the Fantasmic dinner package still offered, and are the choice still the BD, H&V and MM? Which would you choose???

Thanks :wave:
 
tookydo

tookydo

Member
We've done both shows. I have to say I loved Spirit of Aloha and the food. My two boys also wanted to see the 'fire-eaters'. However, I have to say that they most enjoyed Hoop Dee Doo. The fire-eaters came near the end of the show and they seemed to get bored watching all the other dancing going on. The wait seemed forever to them. Hoop Dee Doo, on the other hand, kept them watching the entire time. They really found it funny. They enjoyed the food more as well. They just weren't into the Polynesian fare. Just to make sure my observations were correct I just asked both of them which they would like to do again and both said Hoop Dee Doo. By the way, they were 4 and 6 when we saw Spirit of Aloha and 9 and 7 when we did Hoop Dee Doo.

Either way, you can't go wrong! Enjoy!:)
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
I can't answer your HDD or SoA question - as I have not been to either (I know, horrible)

But as far as Fantasmic Dinner packages go, I favor the BD. There was a time where I actualy would recommend the BD, but now it is just the best of the three offered. It has gone downhill. It's still good, but not as good as it once was. Do you know what they are pricing the various options at ?

-dave
 
Zummi Gummi

Zummi Gummi

Pioneering the Universe Within!
I personally find Hoop Dee Doo a lot more entertaining than the Spirit of Aloha show. I feel like Spirit of Aloha really does drag at points, but Hoop Deee Doo is nonstop fun from start to finish. To me, Spirit of Aloha is fine, while Hoop Dee Doo is a legend. If I had to pick just one, it's no contest: Hoop Dee Doo in a heartbeat.
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
H20Babie said:
H&V is $26.99 for adults and $13.99 for kids.

MM is $32.99 and $11.99.

BD is $46.99 and $11.99.

BD and MM are now allowing for a la carte dining.
Click to expand...


Hmmm

That price is pretty much par for the course at BD.

As I said, I can't recommend BD anymore. It was good, but has dropped a notch. Before I would plan to eat there. Now I pretty much plan to leave the park.

It's not bad food, just not worth the price. I personaly did not think the priority seating for F! was so all fired great. You end up waiting in line and sitting off the the stage left area anyway.
If getting in F! is something you want to make sure happens, then I would say go for the package. But if it is just a passing idea, I would eat somewhere else and then wait in the GA line.

-dave
 
D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Nick_A said:
I personally find Hoop Dee Doo a lot more entertaining than the Spirit of Aloha show. I feel like Spirit of Aloha really does drag at points, but Hoop Deee Doo is nonstop fun from start to finish. To me, Spirit of Aloha is fine, while Hoop Dee Doo is a legend. If I had to pick just one, it's no contest: Hoop Dee Doo in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

Ditto that!
 
Lucky

Lucky

Well-Known Member
I agree with most of the other posters. The fire guy is truly impressive, and Spirit of Aloha was worth doing once. But Hoop-de-Doo is the one I would go back to again. It was really funny. And it's indoors, so less subject to whatever the weather happens to be doing.
 
RussJT

RussJT

Member
Of the two, I think Spirit of Aloha seemed to drag a bit in the middle, but was fun nonetheless. Hoop De Doo, while a bit corny at times, would probably be the one that would entertain him for the entirety of a show. However, the fire eaters might be the part of a show he remembers most. You probably can't go wrong either way. maybe find some video of each (youtube or somewhere like that) and let him pick?

As for the Fantasmic package, we used it last year and went to Mama Melrose. I had gotten some mixed reviews here, but were were pleasantly surprised. Based on that experience, we would probably go back there again.
 
H20Babie

H20Babie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've actually come up with the perfect plan ... fire eaters and corny vaudeville!

We're going to book the Hoop Dee Doo for dinner and swing by the Poly another evening for the torch lighting ceremony! I was looking at pictures from my solo stay at the Poly, and remembered the fire dance/fire eating was part of that ceremony. Two birds ... one stone!

:sohappy: (I'm so smart ... :ROFLOL:)
 
Atomicmickey

Atomicmickey

Well-Known Member
I haven't seen Spirit of Aloha, but have seen Hoop Dee Doo twice, and loved it. I have heard medium to negative things about SoA.

But . . . if you want more fire eating and twirling, then be sure to see the Festival of the Lion King show at AK. Spectacular fire eater/twirler part of the show, there. Between that and the Poly, you should have all the fire twirling that you need! :)
 
Atomicmickey

Atomicmickey

Well-Known Member
Festival of the Lion King has a center section where they sing "Be Prepared". In the center of the number, a man takes center stage, lights a two ended baton on fire, and twirls it for quite a while. In the midst of that routine, he touches the ends of the baton to his tongue, leaving his tongue on fire, then he breathes upward to put the fire out in a small puff he returns twirling and at the end of the song extinguishes the flame. At one point he lays on his back and puts the fire on his feet as well. It's pretty impressive.

I should add that I and my family think that the Festival of the Lion King is one of the very best things to see in all of WDW.
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
captain marvel1 said:
i saw that but i dont think thats a dinner show do you have the link.
Click to expand...


It's not a dinner show. It's just a show. A free show (well park admission is required)

He was making a suggestion to H20Babie. If she wanted HDDR but her son was interested in SOA because of the fire eating, a solution would be to eat at HDDR and then catch fire eating at FotLK

-dave
 
MaxsDad

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member
I saw SoA once, and since then I have seen HDDR twice. I would see HDDR a third time before I would go see SoA again (unless they announced major changes). You asked "Why?", and that made me think.

Atmosphere: At HDDR you are in a Fort atmosphere outside the show that plays into the shows content and theme. I only remember a garden at SoA. Inside, at Hoop, you are in a theater show building very similar to what you see in old westerns, with realistic decor, and real tables like you would see anywhere. At Aloha, you are in an ampitheater setting that could be used for any type of show equally as well. The tables aren't set up "naturally", but are set up to create the ampitheater style.

Food: It is about equal. Cornbread, ribs, fried chicken, etc. is fine by me. The offereings at Aloha, to us, offer no real advantage, as I have some eaters in my family that like to stick to the basics.

Service: The waitstaff I have experienced at Hoop has been great. My wife doesn't eat strawberries, so they brought her a shortcake with just the whip cream, no problem. They were nice and were in fact, a part of the show, as they kept character. At Aloha, it was dark, and I don't remember much about my server.

Show: I was entertained at Hoop the entire time there (I am easily pleased: "that banjo player is great" or "look at hose light fixtures" for instance). At Aloha, I remember at times DURING THE PERFORMANCE, wondering when they would move on. It seemed to involve Lilo, which didn't interest me. The fire eater is by far the highlight, as I recall.
 
R

Ramiro19

New Member
How and where can I learn to be a fire eater?

I'm able to eat a flame from a match, but I want to do more things. Is there a school you can go to to learn this? Joining the circus unfortunately isn't an option at the moment.
 
Crush Dude!

Crush Dude!

Back from WDW!Counting down to DLP in November!
H20Babie said:
I've actually come up with the perfect plan ... fire eaters and corny vaudeville!

We're going to book the Hoop Dee Doo for dinner and swing by the Poly another evening for the torch lighting ceremony! I was looking at pictures from my solo stay at the Poly, and remembered the fire dance/fire eating was part of that ceremony. Two birds ... one stone!

:sohappy: (I'm so smart ... :ROFLOL:)
Click to expand...

The torch lighting ceremony was discontinued this year or last year not sure which, but it is no longer performed:(
 

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