There are lots of dinner shows around the Disney area and I will try to give some idea of what is on offer.  I have only visited a few so can only give firsthand knowledge of those that I have seen.

Pirates Dinner Show is at the end of Canada Drive, within walking distance of Hawthorn Suites. As you can imagine there is a lot of swashbuckling mayhem and the ammount of make believe violence that you would expect. When you arrive at the reception area ther is a bar from which you can buy drinks but there is also food on offer for free. The entertainment starts long before the show so it is a good idea to arrive early. The audience is split into six teams who all cheer for their own particular cut throat, not easy with a mouthfull of chichen and shrimps. There is a fair amount of audience participation with members of the audience helping out their pirate to win his bit of the competitions and the children going up on the ship to sing a song. All's well that end's well and the princess is saved from a horrible death and falls in love with a very nice pirate.

Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede is about the Civil War. 

Once again a lot of charging about on horses.  An entertaining evening, the audience sitting in tiered rows either side of the arena, plenty of food and the drinks are kept filled and with all these shows there is an opportunity to buy souvenirs in the foyer and get your photo taken for a few dollars. 

The first one that my wife and I saw was Medieval Knights.   When we arrived at the venue we were given a Knight to cheer for and we were given yellow crowns.  (This could have been an omen!).  

All the spectators filed into the seating either side of the arena and all the yellow Knights supporters sat togther.  During the show we were given a 'medieval' Banquet which we ate with our fingers.  Of course every time the yellow knight did something skillful we shouted 'hurray' and the Americans shouted 'ho ho ho'.  They must have thought it was Christmas!!  Our knight might have been rubbish but our corner made the most noise.

The next one that we saw was Arabian Nights, once again it was very much horse oriented and is a story about an Arabian princess' wedding.   I hear all the fellows saying 'yuk'.  However with all the horsemanship and the dashing about it is very entertaining.  The dinner is the usual hot food eaten with your fingers.  Drinks are freely available, this includes beer so the driver needs to go easy!  At the end the horses are all let out into the arena so that the audience can go down a get acquainted with them.  A really enjoyable evening.