Banana Ball at Disney World Changed Our Lives — And We Think It Will Change Yours, Too

This weekend, the party came to Disney World when the beloved and iconic Banana Ball made a stop at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

If you don’t know Banana Ball, you might recognize the league’s first team, the social media sensation, the Savanna Bananas. This game is a radical twist on Baseball with some incredibly fun flair, and we cannot say enough about how much we loved our experience!

The creator of this phenomenon is Jesse Cole. We got a chance to speak with him at the event, and it is clear that his passion and love for Banana Ball and its message are at the core of everything he does. He also explained that Walt Disney is a big inspiration behind the values he brings to his company. He said that he wakes up every morning and picks up one of his Walt Disney books, then reads about Walt, who he was, and the choices he made.

Banana Ball is baseball with an entertainment twist, but it is so much more than that. It is similar to traditional baseball until the dance breaks start: the players interact with the crowd, and everyone sings and dances around the field! It also has a unique set of rules and cannot last more than two hours.

This experience is so inclusive and immersive, and even those spectators who have never enjoyed or felt welcome in the sports world find a place of connection and joined entertainment in a very beautiful way, watching Banana Ball.

Before the actual game, which was the Party Animals versus the Loco Beach Coconuts, we got to attend an event similar to the “Before the Peel”  pregame entertainment that happens before everyone heads into the stadium. This was held at Pre-Game Plaza, a fan area outside the ballpark at ESPN, where players and cast members interact with guests before the game. This experience included music, dancing, interviews, surprise appearances, and meeting the players, all before the gates even opened.

Then it was time to watch some Banana Ball. We knew that this experience was beloved and fun, but we were truly blown away by the dedication to their craft, the sport, and providing amazing entertainment to the crowd.

Jesse Cole explained that the core message of Banana Ball is to bring people together, and that is exactly what they do at every single game. The entire crowd was having a blast, and we really hope that we get more games at Disney World soon because this experience was phenomenal.

In the end, the Party Animals beat the Loco Beach Coconuts 4-1; even if you don’t love baseball, it doesn’t matter; you NEED to check this out. It is more than a sporting event, more than a piece of entertainment. It was truly moving, with the focus on connection and inclusion. Every single person watching could find some joy in this ridiculous and fun sport!

Banana Ball is partnering further with Disney by having the finale of the first Banana Bowl League available on both Disney+ and Disney’s YouTube. It will be aired in both locations because it was important to Jesse Cole that anyone who wanted to watch would be able to. We hope to see more collaboration between Disney and Banana Ball in the future!

We will continue to keep you posted on any Banana Ball news and tell you the next time they visit Disney World, so stay tuned to All Ears so you never miss anything!

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What do you think of Banana Ball? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: We were invited by Disney to attend the Banana Ball event. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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