Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE HOOP-DEE-DOO REVUE

By Jim Korkis

“Whoop-de-doo”, and its variant “hoop-de-doo”, is a popular old-fashioned expression meaning frenzied activity or excitement. That phrase became the cornerstone of one of Walt Disney World’s most beloved nighttime entertainment experiences, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue.

The show opened June 14, 1974, and continues to be performed in Pioneer Hall at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground to this day.

It was inspired by the success of the South Seas Luau at the Polynesian Village Resort and the need to find a project for the Walt Disney World Fine Arts College Workshop that supplied an inexpensive and eager cast for the new show.

The musical was developed by Robert Jani, Ron Miziker, Tom Adair, Paul Suter and Larry Billman. It was a highly collaborative effort, including contributions from the original performers as well. Billman was the director and Forrest Bahruth was the choreographer.

The premise of the show is that a stagecoach of performers on their way to another engagement (and an actual stagecoach used to be positioned outside of Pioneer Hall to support that storyline) had broken down.

They come inside the dining hall to entertain while their stagecoach is being repaired and the guests enjoy an all-you-can-eat meal of fried chicken, ribs, strawberry shortcake and more between the corn-pone vaudeville acts.

Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground opened November 19, 1971. When Pioneer Hall officially opened April 1, 1974, it was called the Fort Wilderness Dining Hall. The area was intended to be used as a dining venue for breakfast and lunch as an extension of the adjacent Crockett’s Tavern.

At night there would be animal lectures and demonstrations from animals brought over from nearby Discovery Island. Guests would also be able to play games and perhaps enjoy some musical talent like a washboard band. In addition, a huge screen would show some of the True-Life Adventures documentary films made by the Disney Studio in the 1950s and 1960s.

Built with 1,283 hand-fitted Western white pine logs from Montana and 70 tons of rare ebony stone for pillars from North Carolina, the two-story building was modeled after a Northwest Territory Lodge from the late 1800s.

Walt Disney World had no expectations for the show other than trying to temporarily fill an operational need. In fact, many people involved in the show felt it would be cancelled in the first few weeks or simply cancelled after its initial eleven weeks when the students returned to school.

By the end of summer, it was such an unqualified success that the roles were staffed with professional performers beginning September 5, 1974.

Over the years, a few changes have been made in the original show. For instance, in the beginning and until 1979, it was apple pie and not strawberry shortcake that was served as dessert. As a result the song “Apple Pie Hoedown” was replaced with “Strawberry Short Cake Walk”.

However, the most significant change happened in 2011. The song “Hoop-Dee-Doo” (sometimes called the “Hoop-Dee-Doo Polka”) used in the show was composed by Milton DeLugg with lyrics by Frank Loesser, and was first published in 1950. When the song was used in the Hoop-Dee-Doo, the lyrics were rewritten to reflect the show, but the upbeat tune remained intact.

The only problem was that in the rush to put together a temporary patchwork show, it had not occurred to anyone at Disney to get proper clearance for the use of the song. When the situation came to light, during the late summer of 2011, the popular theme song was replaced with one written specifically for Disney that still included the phrase Hoop-De-Doo.

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue is the longest continuously running musical stage show in history after more than forty years and more than 38,000 performances — with no signs of stopping.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for even more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Disney added in late May 2016 three special features to its Animal Kingdom theme park, and also street entertainment, especially in Harambe.

At the same time it extended park close from the old-style summer 8p close to 11p. 11p closes continue through Labor Day, and the rest of September is currently showing 8p closes through September 16, and 7.30p closes the rest of the month, instead of the typical mix of 5p and 6p September closes. Update: see this for extended September operating hours.

Those who have been going to Disney World long enough to recall the old evening Extra Magic Hours in the Animal Kingdom know how cool the park is at night.

With the added late hours, most attractions continue operating until park close, and some shows have later offerings than the old days as well—for example, on Saturday 8/27, randomly picked because it’s the next time I’ll be at the Animal Kingdom, Festival of the Lion King has its last show at 8p.

So even without the new special features, the Animal Kingdom is great after sunset. The new stuff makes it just a little better (links are to full reviews):

• Jungle Book: Alive with Magic is Disney’s weakest evening show, but worth seeing if you are in the park anyway
• Tree of Life Awakenings is an oddly mesmerizing projection show
• Kilimanjaro Safaris has had some lights added and is now open into full dark, and the “Sunset” version is worth seeing in full dark if you also have a chance to see it in daylight or in early twilight, just after sunset, as well.

SUNSET VERSUS TWILIGHT

Some animals—such as lions—can be most active during twilight (the technical term for this is crepuscular, which I had always thought meant something much more insulting). While your results may vary, the most active I’ve ever seen the lions on Kilimanjaro Safaris was during my ride during early twilight.

But what is twilight?

As we all know, the period between sunset and full dark is divided into three different twilight periods—civil twilight, which begins at sunset; nautical twilight; and astronomical twilight that ends with full dark. Each covers a separate six degree period of the distance of the sun below the horizon—known as a Bacon unit– and the duration of each varies by both latitude and time of year.

From this, lightly edited:

• Civil twilight occurs when the Sun is less than 6 degrees below the horizon. There is enough natural sunlight during this period that artificial light may not be required to carry out outdoor activities.
• Nautical twilight occurs when the geometrical center of the Sun is between 6 degrees and 12 degrees below the horizon. This twilight period is less bright than civil twilight and artificial light is generally required for outdoor activities.
• Astronomical twilight occurs when the Sun is between 12 degrees and 18 degrees below the horizon. Astronomical dusk, when twilight ends, is the instant when the geographical center of the Sun is at 18 degrees below the horizon. After this point, the sky is no longer illuminated.

You can find the various twilight ends in Orlando on this handy page. At the bottom you can change the month.

I used it to build the following table of Orlando sunset times, the times that civil and nautical twilight end, and the time of the beginning of full dark.

Worth noting is that there’s basically a 90 minute period between sunset and full dark, and that much of this summer Disney started the 9p Jungle Book show as “early” in the day as just after civil twilight.

Civil twilight in September ends at 8.10p at the beginning of the month at and 7.34p at the end of the month.

Update: see this for extended September operating hours. As I write this, the Animal Kingdom is scheduled to be open until 11p thru Labor Day, then til 8p until September 16, and 7.30p the rest of the month. These hours may be extended when Disney does its September update later this month, but if not, during no date after Labor Day will the park be open at full dark, nor even during nautical twilight.

My guess—and it’s just a guess—is that Animal Kingdom will schedule Jungle Book at the currently scheduled 8p or 7.30p park close those dates, and will add a second show 90 minutes later (with park close extended an hour, kinda like Hollywood Studios does with some second Fantasmics) on nights of expected heavier Animal Kingdom attendance.

This would put the first/only Jungle Book start right before nautical twilight, the second show, if scheduled, in full dark.

The other schools of thought are (1) that Rivers of Light will replace the Jungle Book in mid-September, or that the Jungle Book show will end after Labor Day and Rivers of Light will open later in 2016.

There are also mixed opinions on how to sequence events.

• Some prefer the Sunset Safaris in civil twilight for the combination of activity and visibility, and some prefer them in full dark (so long as you can also ride it in daylight or civil twilight) to see—if somewhat poorly—the very different full dark behaviors.
• For the Jungle Book, some prefer the second show for lower crowds, more likely day-of FastPass+ availability and a clearer shot at a civil twilight ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris, and others prefer the first show because since it likely will be more crowded than the second show, the audience gains more energy from one another.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

While Disney World is great for couples, friends, and even solo travelers, it’s probably at its best for families.

And that’s the topic of this month’s WDW Magazine, which you can find on Apple Newsstand, Google Play or at WDW-Magazine.com.

I write the “First-Timer’s Corner” for the magazine–who else?–and my contribution this month is about fitting larger families into the Disney World resorts.

And there’s all kinds of other great stuff in this month’s issue, including a treasure trove of pictures of families having fun!

Check this month’s issue out here.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: AUGUST 6 TO AUGUST 14, 2016

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

Note that typos happen, and schedules change! If something seems odd, or if you want to double check, use the calendar links near the bottom to get the latest official Disney World scoop.

For more on August 2016 at Walt Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/6-8/14/2016

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 8/6 and 8/7, 8a-12MN 8/8, 9a-12MN 8/9, 8a-12MN 8/10, 9a-11p 8/11, 9a-12MN 8/12, 8a-12MN 8/13, and 9a-12MN 8/14

Epcot will be open from 9a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-9.30p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-11p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/6-8/14/2016

Saturday 8/6 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 8/7 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

Monday 8/8 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 8/9 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 8/10 Morning: none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 8/11 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 8/12 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 8/13 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 8/14  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/6-8/14/2016

The Magic Kingdom:

• Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p  every day
• Evening Main Street Electrical Parade: 9 and 11p 8/6 and 8/7; 9p 8/8 through 8/10; 9 and 11p 8/11; 9p 8/12 through 8/14

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/6-8/14/2016

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 10p every night

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.30p every night

Jungle Book Evening Show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 9 and 10.30p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/6-8/14/2016

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/6-8/14/2016

See this for forecasts.

DISCLAIMER

Everything is subject to change and typos! Check the Disney Calendars for updates and official schedules. These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

• Magic Kingdom Calendar
• Hollywood Studios Calendar
• Animal Kingdom Calendar
• Epcot Calendar

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

As part of its new late night program, in May 2016 Disney World began running Kilimanjaro Safaris, which used to close before sunset, until park close.

While known informally as “Sunset Kilimanjaro Safaris,” the ride does not have a different name during the evening hours than daylight, so if, for example, you want to book a FastPass+ for it, you need to know what time you want to see it.

Lights have been added to the Safari area, some subtle, some not so much, so you can now enjoy this ride in daylight, during twilight, and during full dark.

Many have recommended riding the Safari during “sunset.”  Sunset, of course, is a moment in time, so I imagine they mean during early twilight.

The image above is from the beginning of early twilight. If you do go during early twilight, you will see largely the same things you will see during full daylight.

If you go after twilight, during full dark, you will see very different behaviors, most of which you will not be able to photograph…

For most people, the full dark behaviors will be less interesting than daylight behaviors, so my advice would be that if you will be seeing Kilimanjaro Safaris just once, see it during the day or in early twilight.  If you have time in your schedule to see it twice, and enjoy animals, then see it the second time during full dark.

Full dark begins 80-90 minutes after sunset. Sunset times in Orlando are on this page–links at its bottom take you to all the different months. Full dark begins at the end of astronomical twilight.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

The Tree of Life has been the symbol of Disney’s Animal Kingdom since it opened.

As part of the Animal Kingdom’s recent move to late hours and an after dark program, a set of projections have been added to the Tree to add new interest to it in the evening.

Called Tree of Life Awakenings, there are four distinct brief shows, featuring

• A playing deer and a watching hawk
• A hummingbird and flowers
• A red fox in winter
• Images from Bambi, Dinosaur, Tarzan, Finding Nemo, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and other Animal-Kingdom related movies

The start of each show is signaled by music. Between shows, what appears to be the “regular” Tree of Life appears–but not really, so watch closely.

Here’s some images from my visit to the shows:

I found the shows and the interludes between them to be oddly compelling.

While not worth a special trip, those who are in the Animal Kingdom after dark anyway should check them out.  You may find them as fun as I did!

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!