Disney World Serves 900 Pounds of Fried Chicken a Night at This Timeless 50-Year-Old Dinner Show

For 50 years, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort has welcomed hungry theme park goers into Pioneer Hall for some good old-fashioned fun and a hearty dinner. 

The dinner show is one of the longest-running in the country, debuting in 1974, first as a seasonal summer show, then on September 5, it became a permanent show at the Walt Disney World Resort. Since its inception, more than 12 million guests have seen over 41,000 performances of Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue.

“We are so proud of the incredible legacy of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, and the secret to the show’s success over the last half-century has truly been the people. Our cast members, past and present, have created countless memories for millions of guests, which is why the show continues to endure from one generation to the next,” says Maribeth Bisienere, senior vice president of operations at Walt Disney World Resort.

The tantalizing comfort food menu

After the dinner bell rings and you’re seated at your table, the true magic of Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue begins. 

“I’ve been visiting Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue regularly since the ’90s. To me, it is the essence of Disney magic — a heavy dose of nostalgia and fantasy paired with enthralling entertainment and legit delicious food,” says travel and theme park journalist, Carly Caramanna.

The stage is set and your server brings over warm cornbread, creamy coleslaw, and a house salad. After water is poured, adults can indulge in beer, sangria, or soft drinks and kids can have their pick of soda or juice — all of which are included in the cost of the dinner show. In the background, a piano player and banjo player add to the ambiance of Pioneer Hall with live music. Then the cast of the show makes their way in and it’s time for some real fun. 

Between zany skits and sing-a-longs, your server brings over the next round of food, which features “all-you-care-to-enjoy” fried chicken and BBQ pork ribs — as well as baked beans and macaroni and cheese. Of course, no good meal is complete without dessert, and at Pioneer Hall, it’s classic strawberry shortcake piled high with macerated strawberries and whipped cream. 

Pioneer Hall serves how much chicken?

With three shows every Wednesday through Sunday, the Pioneer Hall chefs are always hard at work back in the kitchen. Every night the kitchen dishes out over 900 pounds of perfectly golden fried chicken and more than 400 pounds of succulent pork ribs. 

Then the sides add up to another incredible amount with more than 400 pounds of potatoes, 120 pounds of corn, and 30 gallons of baked beans served every night. And those iconic strawberry shortcakes use over 15 gallons of strawberries and 12 gallons of whipped cream.

A timeless down-home performance

While there have been some modern adaptations and technological upgrades, the actual show has changed very little since the 1970s. Even better is that the actors who grace the stage each bring their own flair to the characters they are portraying. 

“Disney is a place that’s in constant change and while the show has had some modern updates, it feels timeless. And it’s extra special that many of the cast and servers have been there for years, some even decades,” says Caramanna. 

For example, when I went to Hoop (as Disney fans call it) in August, the character Two Bits included the popular “Hot To Go” dance that took over TikTok this summer into one of his routines. Tweens, teens, and in-the-know adults in the audience got a big laugh out of it. Even cooler was the night I experienced Hoop-Dee-Doo: One special cast member, Gloria, was celebrating working at Pioneer Hall as a server for 43 years and got a special shout-out from the cast during the show.

And don’t think it’s just the servers and performers that get in on the fun. At Pioneer Hall, unsuspecting audience members may become part of the show. The actors often come into the audience to dance and sing, picking out diners to join in the fun. We don’t want to spoil any surprises, but you’ll want to book a seat on the bottom floor of Pioneer Hall for the best chance of getting picked to be in the show. 

An evening at Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is a sought-after dining reservation that takes guests away from the nearby Magic Kingdom into a time often forgotten by modern parkgoers. 

But Pioneer Hall has its own kind of magic, and it’s called fried chicken.