The Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue turns 45 today!

This special dinner show opened at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Restort on June 30, 1974 and it’s one of the longest-running dinner shows in American History!

But Pioneer Hall was originally occupied by another show.

Originally designed by Disney Legend Sam McKim. Pioneer Hall was a “rustic indoor performance venue built from 1,283 hand-fitted pine logs from Montana and 70 tons of stones from North Carolina.”

When the venue opened on April 1, 1974 it originally hosted a country-Western musical act called “The Star-Spangled Washboard Band.”  Larry Billman, author/writer and Disney entertainment consultant, was the author and writer of the original show.

Back in the early days of the park they wanted something for guests to do after the park closed in the evening. So Bob Jani, then director of Entertainment for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, hired Larry Billman to create a “dinner theater show” for the new Pioneer Hall.

Fun Fact–Before it was finalized as the “Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue” they had considered calling it  “We’re With You, Mother McCree!” then “Whoop-Dee-Doo-Revue.”

The first show was part of the Disney World Fine Arts College Workshop Program with six actors playing the roles: Six Bits Slocum and Dolly Drew as the comic relief, Jim Handy and Flora Long as the singers and Johnny Ringo and Claire de Lune as the dancers.

But the show is only half of the appeal!

The food brings a lot of people to this family friendly show. And they go through a lot of it according to Pam Brandon, food writer for Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort:

“Of course the endless buckets of fried chicken and ribs play a starring role, too. Today, servers dish up about 900 pounds of fried chicken every night, and cooks spend about six hours each day just breading the chicken. Add 400 pounds of pork ribs, slow cooked starting at 11 a.m. daily on a big outdoor smoker. For sides, there are 120 pounds of corn, 400 pounds of potatoes to be mashed and 30 gallons of baked beans. It takes 15 gallons of strawberries and 12 gallons of whipped cream to make dessert. Add beer, wine, sangria and soft drinks, and you got a formula for fun…”

If you’ve never been you really should check it out! It’s a lot of fun! We went when I was a child and we all loved it!

Here’s a video that Disney shared about the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue!

This 90 minute show offers three shows nightly, seven days a week. You can choose from 4PM, 6:15PM and 8:30PM.  For reservations call 407-WDW-DINE or you can book online or through your preferred travel agent!

Is is a weird week of Dis a vu for me. A couple of days ago I wrote a story about The Main Street Electrical Parade and how much I loved it and BAM! They announced it was coming back to Disneyland on the Disney Parks Blog.

Then Thom said about how much he wants to go to the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue sometime and Boom! there’s a story about it on the Disney Parks Blog.  Is someone reading our minds?

What do you think about the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue? Are you a fan? Comment and let us know!

Source: Disney Parks Blog