Disney World Closing High-Profile Addition That Felt Effect of Pandemic

Walt Disney World is done with the NBA Experience. The high-profile attraction that opened at the [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Walt Disney World is done with the NBA Experience. The high-profile attraction that opened at the Disney Springs shopping district in August 2019 will not be reopening after closing during the coronavirus pandemic. The NBA Experience was a completely new building that replaced the giant DisneyQuest arcade, which itself closed in July 2017 and was demolished.

Theme park reporter Scott Gustin confirmed that the NBA Experience will not be reopening and is "permanently closed" on Monday. "Disney says this will not impact their other partnerships with the NBA or their business relationship with the Orlando Magic," Gustin reported. "Disney will share an update about the future of the NBA Experience location at a later date." The NBA and Disney reached a "mutual decision" to close the attraction, and Disney Springs employees received an email about the closure on Monday.

The NBA Experienced opened on Aug. 12, 2019. It was located in the Disney Springs West Side area and built in the plot where DisneyQuest once stood. The attraction included basketball games and activities and the City Works restaurant. The exterior of the building had a giant curved screen playing NBA highlights and other videos. It was right near the Cirque du Soleil theater, which itself has remained closed during the pandemic. In October 2020, all NBA Experience castmembers were among the 28,000 laid off because of the pandemic, WDW News Today reported at the time.

The attraction was never popular during its brief operation. In its review, WDW News Today noted that it cost $35 to get the full experience, which seemed targeted directly at NBA die-hards and not the general public. "I really don't even think the general sports fan will enjoy this. It's so specific to all things basketball that I think they've made their demographic too small, and when you combine that with the lazy, poorly put-together experiences, this one is a huge fail in my book," the site's review reads.

DisneyQuest lasted much longer. It was part of an ambitious Disney plan to open Disney-themed arcades that featured attractions inspired by the rides at the Disney theme parks. The company wanted to open many DisneyQuest locations across the country for fans who could not travel to the theme parks. However, only two ever opened, one in Chicago and one in what is now called Disney Springs. While the one in Chicago closed in 2001, the Disney Springs one remained open until 2017 after years of neglect and never being updated. The DisneyQuest building was completely demolished for the NBA Experience.

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