• The new WDWMAGIC iOS app is here!
    Stay up to date with the latest Disney news, photos, and discussions right from your iPhone. The app is free to download and gives you quick access to news articles, forums, photo galleries, park hours, weather and Lightning Lane pricing. Learn More
  • Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
    Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.

NBA Experience at Disney Springs

MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
The_Jobu said:
tin foil hat: A lot of Disney vloggers had videos at this place in the last few days, with comped tickets. Disney/NBA trying to get good publicity out ahead of the curve?
Click to expand...

That's not tin foil hat at all. By all reports attendance is down. Leveraging free social media is a no-brainer for anyone in marketing. They're also comping all CMs in the hopes it won't seem dead and they can talk about it intelligently with guests.
 
LSLS

LSLS

Well-Known Member
The_Jobu said:
I wonder if the international politics really are impacting attendance or if this is just its median level of interest.
Click to expand...

I'd guess the latter. I know the NBA is big in China, but I'm not sure how many of the NBA fans from China actually make a trip to WDW considering they have their own parks and I believe WDW is the furthest away park.
 
The_Jobu

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
LSLS said:
I'd guess the latter. I know the NBA is big in China, but I'm not sure how many of the NBA fans from China actually make a trip to WDW considering they have their own parks and I believe WDW is the furthest away park.
Click to expand...

True, but there are Americans on this thread that were upset with the NBA's endorsement. Maybe they are staying away?

Then again, I can't think of a single time where a public "boycott" against a company actually worked.
 
Hawkeye_2018

Hawkeye_2018

Well-Known Member
The NBA is mostly ignored by the casual sports fan up until around February through June. I imagine interest will pick up for visiting the Experience during those months.
 
DznyGrlSD

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
they're trying SO hard to make this work. We were wasting time before I had to go to the airport last week and got stopped by the survey takers going into the Lime garage. They asked the usual questions about springs but then asked specifically if we were A: NBA fans (no) and visited the NBA experience - nope!
 
Disstevefan1

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
The NBA experience will not last.

I wounder how it works?
The NBA (or whoever) is the tenant, Disney is the landlord.
I suspect the tenant paid for all the renovations?
I also suspect there is a multi year lease?
I suspect there was a large non refundable deposit made by the tenant at the beginning?

I suspect there is NO risk whatsoever for Disney. When this fails, Disney just gets a new tenant for the space.
 
L

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
The NBA experience will not last.

I wounder how it works?
The NBA (or whoever) is the tenant, Disney is the landlord.
I suspect the tenant paid for all the renovations?
I also suspect there is a multi year lease?
I suspect there was a large non refundable deposit made by the tenant at the beginning?

I suspect there is NO risk whatsoever for Disney. When this fails, Disney just gets a new tenant for the space.
Click to expand...
Iger even showed up for the Grand Opening for NBA which is highly unusual. He usually shows up when there is a grand opening for a theme park not even for a new land or resort.
 
peter11435

peter11435

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
The NBA experience will not last.

I wounder how it works?
The NBA (or whoever) is the tenant, Disney is the landlord.
I suspect the tenant paid for all the renovations?
I also suspect there is a multi year lease?
I suspect there was a large non refundable deposit made by the tenant at the beginning?

I suspect there is NO risk whatsoever for Disney. When this fails, Disney just gets a new tenant for the space.
Click to expand...
The NBA experience is Disney owned and operated.
 
Last edited:
Frank the Tank

Frank the Tank

Well-Known Member
n2hifi said:
Doesn't Iger love sports and hate theme parks? That may be why.
Click to expand...

When you look at the amount that ESPN spends in rights fees with the NBA, from a financial perspective, the NBA is one of the largest third party partners for the entire Walt Disney Company. This is definitely a top 10 (and maybe top 5) third party alliance relationship for Iger (or anyone that is in the position of Disney CEO). The performance of the NBA is inextricably intertwined with the performance of ESPN and, even with cord cutting and the successes of the Disney movie properties, the profits that ESPN generates still are larger than anything else in TWDC. (We can have a whole other discussion about the math of the revenue that ESPN generates each month, but let's just say that it's on par with releasing an Avengers movie every single month without having to market it and the checks just come in like clockwork. A lot of people really don't understand how much ESPN and other top sports networks generate compared to virtually everything else.)

At the same time, I'd highly disagree with the people that would argue that the NBA fan demographic doesn't match up with WDW demographic (or at least where Disney wants that demo to go to). The NBA has *great* demographics that virtually every company everywhere is going after: younger, higher income, more urban, more international, more diverse, more technologically-savvy, etc. It's also the American sports league that, even with its issues in China, has the widest international appeal a critical mass of fans in Asia, Europe and Latin America. That's key for WDW, which draws a more international crowd than other parks (which is also why it arguably fits in better than, say, the NFL, which is much more popular in America but has cursory interest elsewhere).

Of course, that's all on paper in terms of demographics and the audience. If the attraction itself isn't compelling, then slapping an NBA label on it won't do any good (just as slapping a Star Wars or Marvel label on a low quality product won't do any good, either).
 
L

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
In regards to NBA fans, the majority of fans are white and the majority of players are black. If the NBA can have some sort of marketing plan to get more of the black population in the stands then that would a win win for all.
 
NoChesterHester

NoChesterHester

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
The NBA experience will not last.

I wounder how it works?
The NBA (or whoever) is the tenant, Disney is the landlord.
I suspect the tenant paid for all the renovations?
I also suspect there is a multi year lease?
I suspect there was a large non refundable deposit made by the tenant at the beginning?

I suspect there is NO risk whatsoever for Disney. When this fails, Disney just gets a new tenant for the space.
Click to expand...

Not likely. While the tenant would be on the hook for a multi year lease it is very unlikely that it is the NBA proper. It is probably a shell company that will dissolve Upon default. Worst case for the NBA is exercising what is likely an early termination clause.

The landlord (Disney) likely fronted significant build-out money in a lump sum payment as part of the very large lease that the NBA Experience signed. They will definitely lose money on the deal. And it is bad press.

Lastly, at the rents Disney is charging and the size of this venue don’t be surprised if it sits vacant for quite some time (if it goes under). It is not easy to fill this kind of space. This isn’t 1998.

My bet is Disney will lower the rate to keep them in business and try to help them drive traffic. It will be a while before they throw in the towel.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
I'll preface this by saying I have zero interest in the NBA or sports in general. I had very little knowledge about what the NBA Experience even was, but I got in free thanks to some CM friends.

I found the explanation of the activities inside to be a bit misleading. I assumed it was some sort of personalized coaching experience/tournament/whatever where you pay a flat fee and participate in a bunch of activities intended to mimic training, honing in on skills, etc, and you'd leave with a personalized video of your experience or something. This made me not even want to go in as I would feel like a fool going through that. However, I was way off, it's more like DisneyQuest But For Basketball. Personally, I have a hard time seeing how even a big NBA follower would be entertained enough inside to justify the admission price. There just isn't really that much to do, and the games/attractions that are there are very one-and-done. Either you already play basketball and the activities are nothing special, or you don't play and you'll stumble through them awkwardly if you even want to try them at all. So in other words its simultaneously not casual enough for non-fans/basketball players and not in-depth enough for those who do follow/play. Not a good fit for Disney Springs, I think, and I do think Disney Springs severely needs more entertainment venues to balance out the retail and dining.
 
Last edited:
GladToBeHear

GladToBeHear

Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow said:
I'll preface this by saying I have zero interest in the NBA or sports in general. I had very little knowledge about what the NBA Experience even was, but I got in free thanks to some CM friends.

I found the explanation of the activities inside to be a bit misleading. I assumed it was some sort of personalized coaching experience/tournament/whatever where you pay a flat fee and participate in a bunch of activities intended to mimic training, honing in on skills, etc, and you'd leave with a personalized video of your experience or something. This made me not even want to go in as I would feel like a fool going through that. However, I was way off, it's more like DisneyQuest But For Basketball. Personally, I have a hard time seeing how even a big NBA follower would be entertained enough inside to justify the admission price. There just isn't really that much to do, and the games/attractions that are there are very one-and-done. Either you already play basketball and the activities are nothing special, or you don't play and you'll stumble through them awkwardly if you even want to try them at all. So in other words its simultaneously not casual enough for non-fans/basketball players and not in-depth enough for those who do follow/play. Not a good fit for Disney Springs, I think, and I do think Disney Springs severely needs more entertainment venues to balance out the retail and dining.
Click to expand...
Great assessment. This seemed like too much of a niche attraction from the get-go. I'll probably never step foot in it. And I'm a basketball fan.
 
L

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
GladToBeHear said:
Great assessment. This seemed like too much of a niche attraction from the get-go. I'll probably never step foot in it. And I'm a basketball fan.
Click to expand...
Probably why Iger went to the NBA Grand Opening hoping to drum up support. He usually makes public appearances for much bigger events such as movie premieres or a theme park opening.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom