Mickey should play for the Magic… Last August, The NBA Experience opened at Disney Springs. This July, a new type of NBA experience could take place a Walt Disney World. The NBA and Disney are in talks to finish the 2019/2020 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
I am not going to go into all of the details, especially since things have not yet been finalized. If you want to read the official story from the NBA, you can find it here. Instead, I’d like to put aside some fears that people have shared since this story broke.
The main concern that I have heard is about summer vacations. Since the NBA players and personnel would stay at a Walt Disney World resort, many people are assuming that summer vacations will not be able to take place. That is not something to be worried about. There are tens of thousands of hotel rooms at Walt Disney World. The number of rooms needed for this would take only a small percentage. My guess is that everyone would be housed in one area or section, away from everyone else. An example would be Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Players and personnel could easily stay away from everyone else, and there would still be plenty of rooms open elsewhere.
Another concern that I’ve heard is that this will push back the reopening date for the theme parks. That isn’t the case. We don’t yet know what the plan is, but this has nothing to do with it. The games could be played with the theme parks open, the two are not connected.
The third concern is about extra crowds. Again, this is something that you should not worry about. Guests will not be allowed at the games, there will be no fans in the stands. The games will be aired, so you can catch them on TV, but aside from an occasional fan heading to Orlando in hopes of getting a glimpse of a favorite player this will not bring extra people.
I personally think that this is a great idea. It is a way to bring back sports for those who miss live games. It’s also a way to bring more money into the local economy, and to slow some of the losses that Disney has been hit with. If the season can be finished safely, I hope that it happens.