Dining Review: Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue
(Gluten Free Menu) The Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue is located at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. It’s a dinner show table service restaurant that serves fried chicken and smoked BBQ pork ribs, as well as a tossed green salad, baked beans, and freshly baked cornbread. They can substitute the fried chicken and cornbread with gluten free options, but everything else is gluten free. Not to mention, unlimited beer and wine. I’m not bullshitting. As with all table service restaurants, reservations can be made 180 days prior to your stay, and a reservation is highly recommended. Furthermore, prepayment is required. Price includes gratuity!
The Show
The show involves singing, dancing, corny jokes, and the kind of shit you expect at a dinner show. I found it really entertaining and so did the rest of my family. Our kids couldn’t stop laughing and smiling. Furthermore, guest participation is encouraged, but not required, to enjoy the show. The interior is designed like the inside of cabin. It has a ground floor with tables and a u-shaped balcony. The set up is pretty damn cool. There are three seating categories at the Hoop-Dee-Do. Most of the internet folks say “You must sit in Category 1 for the best experience.” So, we bought tickets for Category 1. I call bullshit. The restaurant isn’t that damn big, and feels very intimate. Admittedly, you’re packed in like sardines. Therefore the balcony might actually suit you better if don’t like being close to people. But regardless of ‘Category 1’ or ‘Category 3,’ there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
The Gluten Free Food
The Hoop-De-Do is known for its kickass fried chicken. Unfortunately, they don’t make gluten free fried chicken. At first, we were a little disappointed because we thought we would end up eating generic grilled chicken. In other words, something that tastes like horseshit. Instead they prepared us oven smoked chicken. It was smoked almost perfectly and was truly badass. My fingers had that delicious smoky smell for the rest of the damn night. You might even prefer the healthier choice over the fried shit. Admittedly, if they made gluten free fried chicken I’d be all over that shit. The smoked ribs were okay. The sauce was nothing special, but it tasted fine. By the same token, the rest of the meal was good. To tell the truth, nothing jumped out at me either as terrible or outstanding. Granted, the gluten free cornbread was damn good, and don’t forget the unlimited booze! Overall, it was a really solid meal.
The Dessert
As great as the dinner was, the dessert was an epic fail. Anyone who has eaten at Hoop-De-Do will tell you all about the infamous Strawberry Shortcake. It’s an integral part of the finale of the show, for crying out loud. Now since 3 of the 4 of my family are gluten free, the strawberry shortcake wasn’t an option. Since they substituted that great oven smoked chicken for the fried chicken, we thought we were going to get something just as good as the strawberry shortcake. WRONG- it was a single serving size of fresh berries and whipped cream. In fact, we had to ask for the damn whipped cream. Not to mention, one small bowl for the three of us? What the hell?! They don’t have any damn ice cream? It was lazy and disappointing, especially for the price point.
Overall, it isn’t the best food I’ve eaten at Walt Disney World, but it’s good, solid comfort food, especially the oven smoked chicken. Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of things of this nature, but sometimes if you let your hair down you can have fun. The show is really damn funny. My kids got involved and danced around the restaurant with the other kids at the end the show. Walt Disney said “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever,” which is such a true statement. I would recommend it solely for the experience. The food is just a damn bonus. On the other hand, if you like eating in peace and don’t like people, stay as far away from this bitch as you can.
