NBA Experience opens at Disney Springs August 12th

[ncc1701]

The City Works pub might be something to visit for us since it won't be NBA centric. But of the four major sports leagues in the US the NBA ranks last with DH & me. If it was a mix we might have been interested to check it out .

 

[umichigan10]

I think like most time spent at WDW it depends on your vacation style.

We go for a full 2 weeks and always plan to spend 2 days at Disney Springs. I'm a much bigger fan of the other sports (Hockey, Baseball, and Football), but a sports fan none the less. This place looks amazing. We will definitely check it out. Probably eat there, watch a hockey game in the sports bar, and check out the displays/activities.

If we were a family who is only going for 5 days and didn't plan any DS time that would be different. I see this more as something to do for people already planning on being at DS for more than a couple hours. Unless you are a big NBA fan you probably would go to DS specifically to see this.

I think if you are a sports fan it would be hard to walk by this place without going inside to see what it's all about. Whether you choose to spend any money there will depend on how cool it actually is and how the cost plays out.

That’s a good point. For me, this just seems like something I’d frequent all the time if i was local, but not necessarily if I’m on vacation. I’m glad that I’m not necessarily the norm, and I hope it does well

 

[jerseygal]

Excited to check it out! We are a basketball family, so we will check out in August, DS will love it!

 

[capegirl]

The timing of this opening is perfect! We will be there the last couple of weeks in August to celebrate grandson's 13th birthday; he will be over the moon. It will be nice if it is offered as a 'plus option', but we will go anyway.

 

[tguz]

We will miss this opening by 12 days. My 11 year old is all NBA all the time and would have loved this. We don't do a lot of add ons but we would have done this.

 

[Matthew Caito]

i personally am so excited about this. Being someone who loves basketball, played in highschool and dreamed of playing pro. I was blessed with a good jump shot, just not height I hope there is a structure to how they are going to coordinate people playing and doing the activities. If it is popular and busy there could be long lines and waits for people trying to participate.

 

[OSUZorba]

If it is included on the AP I'll probably check it out, but it seems like it would have a horribly low hourly throughput and the activities wouldn't be worth much of a wait for me.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

I hope so hard this TANKS. Lol. Sorry, but seriously, I do.

It would have been more appealing if ESPN came in and included a variety of sports. I’m going to assume space didn’t allow for that to happen and also give an immersive experience. We just aren’t into basketball much in our family.

HOWEVER, I’m hoping the one positive factor is that it keeps that side of Disney Springs busy. Lol. Even out the crowds and all.

 

[tguz]

I hope so hard this TANKS. Lol. Sorry, but seriously, I do.

It would have been more appealing if ESPN came in and included a variety of sports. I’m going to assume space didn’t allow for that to happen and also give an immersive experience. We just aren’t into basketball much in our family.

HOWEVER, I’m hoping the one positive factor is that it keeps that side of Disney Springs busy. Lol. Even out the crowds and all.

I can understand why they chose NBA. In my small part of the world, kids these days are NBA 24/7. All I hear from my son and his friends is NBA NBA NBA which I think is great, I'm glad they follow sports and love the game. Back in my day, it probably would have been the MLB experience as back then we talked MLB 24/7....times have changed. For Disney, I hope the NBA stays hot with the younger kids so this does not fail. I don't like to see things at Disney fail. This would have been an add on that I would have paid for this Summer but we will miss it by a couple weeks. I usually don't do add ons at Disney but I want to see if the fam wants to go up in the balloon thing at Disney Springs.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I can understand why they chose NBA. In my small part of the world, kids these days are NBA 24/7. All I hear from my son and his friends is NBA NBA NBA which I think is great, I'm glad they follow sports and love the game. Back in my day, it probably would have been the MLB experience as back then we talked MLB 24/7....times have changed. For Disney, I hope the NBA stays hot with the younger kids so this does not fail. I don't like to see things at Disney fail. This would have been an add on that I would have paid for this Summer but we will miss it by a couple weeks. I usually don't do add ons at Disney but I want to see if the fam wants to go up in the balloon thing at Disney Springs.

Don’t you think just like you said to make it future proof having an all encompassing sports bar would have been better?

 

[JaxDad]

I will likely follow the NBA's own rule and make this a one and done.

 

[tguz]

Don’t you think just like you said to make it future proof having an all encompassing sports bar would have been better?

I don’t know that it needs to be more of a bar than an NBA experience. But, I see what you are saying about not limiting it to basketball. I don’t think there is space to have more than one sport there and have it as immersive as it is supposed to be. I bet they looked at youth participation numbers and trends over a couple decades and saw that basketball was the sport with the growth over the others. I doubt they gave soccer a thought.

 

[rteetz]

Don’t you think just like you said to make it future proof having an all encompassing sports bar would have been better?

That’s what Cityworks is. NBA Experience is not a dining/bar venue. Cityworks attaches to NBA will be an all encompassing sports bar and grill.

 

[ShadeDK]

Call me cynical - but I'm assuming the NBA focus just might have something to do with the fact that Disney-owned ESPN and ABC are the primary media stakeholders (along with Turner Sports) on that $24 billion broadcasting contract with the NBA that started a few years ago and runs through 2025. Disney has a significant interest in promoting and making money off of basketball.

Some of the interactive stuff sounds like what they were doing in the ESPNZone restaurants/arcades about 15+ years ago (I remember the one in DC had a "half-court" where you could recreate Jordan's famous shots) - it was interesting, but wasn't much of a repeat experience and overpriced for what it was.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

Call me cynical - but I'm assuming the NBA focus just might have something to do with the fact that Disney-owned ESPN and ABC are the primary media stakeholders (along with Turner Sports) on that $24 billion broadcasting contract with the NBA that started a few years ago and runs through 2025. Disney has a significant interest in promoting and making money off of basketball.

Some of the interactive stuff sounds like what they were doing in the ESPNZone restaurants/arcades about 15+ years ago (I remember the one in DC had a "half-court" where you could recreate Jordan's famous shots) - it was interesting, but wasn't much of a repeat experience and overpriced for what it was.

I was going to start in with about the same response, but got too tired to mess with it.

It’s pretty likely a lot of that. Nice boost & advertising for the Orlando Magic.

And to whoever said kids are all about the NBA...Who? Where? What??

My boys could care less. And I don’t think I’ve heard any I’ve been around that amped up about it. Not saying a lot of kids don’t like the NBA, but just as many like other sports. Baseball, football, & golf are other big contenders.

 

[ShadeDK]

My boys could care less. And I don’t think I’ve heard any I’ve been around that amped up about it. Not saying a lot of kids don’t like the NBA, but just as many like other sports. Baseball, football, & golf are other big contenders.

I hear ya - I'm totally unqualified to say whether the NBA and basketball are big with kids these days - but definitely see this project as capitalizing on Disney's media contracts with professional basketball. (total aside - but, as I recall, ESPN also holds the primary media rights for MLS in the US, but that investment is only around $600 million - maybe they'll get a pretzel/slushee kiosk outside Pele Soccer?). NBA Experience will have a huge footprint - I'm curious to see how well they can keep the crowds flowing in and out of there on a regular basis.

If memory serves me correctly, I'm guessing golf would be a better bet for your household - or at least your oldest

 

[saskdw]

I hear ya - I'm totally unqualified to say whether the NBA and basketball are big with kids these days - but definitely see this project as capitalizing on Disney's media contracts with professional basketball. (total aside - but, as I recall, ESPN also holds the primary media rights for MLS in the US, but that investment is only around $600 million - maybe they'll get a pretzel/slushee kiosk outside Pele Soccer?). NBA Experience will have a huge footprint - I'm curious to see how well they can keep the crowds flowing in and out of there on a regular basis.

If memory serves me correctly, I'm guessing golf would be a better bet for your household - or at least your oldest

I think we all know this is the reason it's an NBA theme. That's definitely no secret.

As I've stated earlier in this thread I'm not an NBA fan. It is the least favorite of the major sports. I'm from western Canada, it's all about hockey here. However I think some of you are underestimating the following that basketball has. This is a major sport with huge TV contracts and players making $30 million a year. There are fans.

I think the Restaurant and sports bar will be a huge success. It will be packed all the time. I think the NBA side will be quite busy the first year for sure. I'm fully expecting the place to be full when we go this December. The question is how much staying power it will have on the NBA side.

A lot of people here on DIS are just pouting because it isn't something they are interested in. I think it looks fantastic and I'm approaching with an open mind even though I would have preferred NHL or MLB.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

If hubby was going with my son and I, we would definitely stop by to see what this was all about and if it's worth the time and money.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I have 4 boys. Disney Quest was great, though I myself didn't like it much. The kids were mad when it was gone, and I felt bad for them, but I was secretly relieved.
This basketball thing...I'm not interested. I mean, you can stick a hoop up and play basketball anywhere. In fact, I have a hoop outside and one in the basement. Why would you do it during the Disney trip that cost thousands? And how many people can play basketball at the same time in a building? We are not going to waste time going in there even if it is included in hour ticket, but we might go look at the building because it looks interesting from the outside. But if it cost $50 each to enter? No way.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

My boys (and DH) will definitely want to check this out! Very curious to see how much it will cost per person.