Ah, Disney Springs. A lovely area for shopping, dining, and basketball, apparently. At least, that’s what Disney thought with the NBA Experience that opened in 2019.
With paid admission, you could experience a variety of basketball-related interactive exhibits and physical challenges (like a popular activity where you could lower the rim to any height to experience being able to dunk a basketball). However, after the COVID-19 pandemic closures, the experience never reopened. In August 2021, it was announced that the experience was permanently closed and would not reopen. So something else will take its place, right? Well, that’s what a lot of us at AllEars were thinking too, but now it’s been 3 years, and close to nothing has happened with this area.
To really start this story off properly, we need to take a blast to the past. The year is 1998, and after seeing how virtual reality was beginning to rise in popularity among the younger generation, Disney opened the first DisneyQuest location in Disney Springs.
This was, essentially, Disney’s Prototypical V.R. Center. The building had begun being built in 1997, but Disney was very quiet about what it was going to be. From the outside, it was just a large blue building and was hard to tell what it was going to be, but when guests stepped inside, they found an elaborate, multi-floored complex filled with virtual reality-style attractions and activities.
Despite the extra cost to experience DisneyQuest, Disney World visitors really enjoyed what the experience had to offer. There were FIVE different floors here split into different themed zones: Ventureport, Replay Zone, Create Zone, Explore Zone, and Score Zone. While we’d probably look at that VR tech now and think about how outdated it is, at the time, it was the best of the best and was a huge hit (and here’s where I internally scream because I NEVER GOT TO EXPERIENCE THIS.😫),
While a second DisneyQuest location did open in Chicago, soon after, consumer trends were then moving away from virtual reality and more toward the internet. Due to that and mixed consumer reviews, the Chicago DisneyQuest location closed in September 2001. In Disney World, updates went to the in-park attractions and DisneyQuest started to suffer from becoming outdated. Finally in 2016, it was announced that DisneyQuest would close to make way for the NBA Experience, but it continued to operate until July 2nd, 2017.
The NBA Experience opened in August 2019 and featured 13 different basketball activities you could participate in across 2 floors. The first floor featured the Players, Merchandise, and Combine activities while the second had Dunk!, Dribble, Draft, Shoot!, Slingshot, and visit the atrium.
However, the NBA Experience never really gained anywhere close to the same level of popularity DisneyQuest reached. As I mentioned before, it closed with the rest of the resort in March 2020 and never opened again…meaning it was literally open for 8 months. Yes, it’s official closure didn’t come until the August 2021 announcement, but signs were quickly removed after that announcement, in early September 2021.
So what’s going on here? Well, in February of this year, Disney filed a “general construction/demo” permit for the former NBA Experience. We were surprised it took all those years, but were excited to see what was next for this area. And then…nothing. I’m not kidding, we’ve heard NOTHING since that permit was filed, and haven’t even noticed any demolition really happening. Now, there could be things happening inside that we can’t see, but I personally am doubting that.
Personally, I think getting a DisneyQuest 2.0 here would be really cool. Not only would it give a sense of nostalgia, but with updated technology (that CONTINUED to be updated, not be forgotten about like the first DisneyQuest was), I think a similar entertainment offering could be really beneficial in this area. Especially for families or friend groups who have a half day left on their vacation and they don’t want to/can’t afford a whole other set of park tickets for that day, they could head over here for some fun at a cheaper cost!
This also reminds me a lot about the fate of the Galactic Starcruiser, aka the Star Wars Hotel (ANOTHER experience I’m so mad I never got to experience). Charge an additional fee for guests to experience the atmosphere of the former hotel, take part in lightsaber training, play Sabacc, interact with some Star Wars characters (to keep some of that live entertainment immersive atmosphere), and shop some exclusive merchandise. Again, it could be a great half day experience for Disney goers who aren’t spending a day in the parks — open up BOTH of these locations as additional fee experiences and Disney could even do a special ticket allowing you to experience both in one day!
All I’m saying is that Disney Springs, and Disney World as a WHOLE, would benefit from an immersive experience that wasn’t shopping or dining centered. If it could be free, FANTASTIC, but I’m not optimistic about that. I just hope it doesn’t stay totally empty for too much longer — this spot has so much potential and I’d love to see it used for (almost) anything! (…But DisneyQuest 2.0 is the correct solution…just saying.) Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney World news!
Disney Still Doesn’t Know What To Do with 5 Abandoned Attractions…and We’re BAFFLED
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Did you ever get to experience DisneyQuest? PLEASE tell me all about it in the comments!
I had gone to DisneyQuest. The thing I remember most vividly is my daughter “designing” roller coasters for the simulator that my wife and I I then had to ride. Fun stuff!
DisneyQuest was ALWAYS one of our favorite places to go! Was the first stop of our last trip in 2009 and the only place we went outside of the parks and hotels on property
Building DQ 2.0 would be one of the smartest things Imagineering has done in a long time. Nostalgia AND new visitors – what a revenue stream! Might actually make me want to visit WDW again after all these years…
Thank you for your comment, CJ! DisneyQuest seemed absolutely amazing, and if they had kept the technology updated, maybe it would have stuck around longer! I think it would be a major win for that nostalgia factor while also drawing in new crowds. Thanks so much for reading!
I got to experience Disneyquest once in 2008 on our arrival day, and it was a lot of fun. Cyberspace Mountain was the highlight of our trip, and my sons loved designing the coasters and seeing how sick they could make me when uploaded in the simulator when we rode them. Some of the other VR-style games were fun, but the technology pales in comparison as to what we have with home VR systems (heck, even Cyberspace Mountain in 2008 was still running on a computer with Windows 95!).
I don’t understand how anyone thought NBA Experience was a good idea. All the things you could experience could be done much cheaper in the driveways in a lot of American homes.
I doubt Disneyquest 2.0 would ever happen because home game system have technology that increase as such a fast rate that it would be difficult for Disney to keep up. Arcades are full of nothing but redemption games, and this is what Disneyquest 2.0 would turn into.
Totally makes sense that it would be hard for Disney to keep up, that’s a great point! But man, I still would love to see it happen! The roller coaster simulator sounds so fun and unique- I know I would love to experience that! Thanks so much for your comment and for reading!