Mickey Mouse made a surprise on-court appearance at the Orlando Magic – Philadelphia 76ers March 25 basketball game at Amway Center in Orlando to announce that the NBA Experience, a brand-new destination coming to Disney Springs, will officially open on Aug. 12, 2019.

The new location, which Disney has developed in collaboration with the NBA, will feature a number of hands-on activities to immerse guests in the world of professional basketball. The one-of-a-kind environment will be packed with 13 interactive elements and hands-on activities across 44,000 square feet and two floors, and will give guests the chance to feel like a basketball superstar.

Upon entry to the NBA Experience, guests will feel as if they’re walking through the players’ tunnel at an NBA or WNBA arena. A ticket to NBA Experience grants access to every activity. Guests can participate in any order they choose, with the ability to return to stations to improve performances or learn even more about the game, players and teams they love.

Elements of the destination include:

• A slam dunk challenge, where guests can change the height of a standard 10-foot hoop to as low as seven feet to perform their own superstar moves – captured by burst photography.
• An activity that tests shooting skills with spots on a court that light up as guests move from one location to another attempting to sink as many shots as possible in 15 seconds.
• A way for guests to see how they stack up to some of the world’s best basketball players by measuring their vertical leap, wingspan, shooting and dribbling.
• Personalization for various activities with guests’ names and associating the activity with their favorite NBA or WNBA teams.
• Real-time technology to aggregate statistics of NBA and WNBA games and players for continuous updates, while leaderboards will track top NBA Experience performers throughout each day.

In addition to the competitions and games, the experience will also include a retail store featuring NBA-themed merchandise.

NBA Experience will be located in the West Side neighborhood of Disney Springs, on the site of the former DisneyQuest. A new restaurant, City Works Eatery & Pour House, is also being constructed in that space and will operate on the ground level of NBA Experience. The new eatery will serve up classic American food — think burgers, wings and flatbreads — in a space that features multiple high-definition TVs, including a giant-sized, 165-inch screen. City Works Eatery & Pour House is also scheduled to open Summer 2019.

Are you a basketball fan, eager to see the new NBA Experience? Or do you still miss DisneyQuest? Leave us a comment below!

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