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