The NBA Experience at Disney Springs is an interactive indoor basketball themed playground that allows fans of all ages to test their skills. We visited the NBA Experience during our August Orlando vacation and it was a great break from the summer afternoon heat and a chance to have some family fun competition.
Sadly, the NBA Experience has permanently closed at Disney Springs. It’s replacement has not been announced.
In July we visited Walt Disney World to learn more about the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex and one of our stops during our visit was to the NBA Store that would accompany the NBA Experience when it opened in August. The kids and I were bummed we didn’t get to check it out but we were so excited we had an opportunity to visit during our August trip.
The NBA Experience is an interactive basketball experience where guests of all ages can test their basketball skills. Disney has combined the Disney magic with the NBA to bring you a unique and family fun basketball experience.
Things to Know About the NBA Experience at Disney Springs
NBA Experience Price
The Disney Springs NBA Experience price allows admission for one day. You may leave and return at any point through out the day.
This is a great option because there is not food or drink allowed inside. I suggest arriving before lunch and then visit Disney Springs for lunch, we visited Chicken Guy and it was so good. Then head back for some afternoon fun.
- Adults: $34.00
- Child (3-9): $29.00
I have to be honest with you about the price. Before we visited I thought it was a bit expensive. Then I compared it to other attractions in Orlando and I felt it was comparable for what you get. You can stay as long as you like and play all the different experiences as much as you would like.
The price also includes the Disney PhotoPass that has stations throughout the experience. All your photos and stats are added to your My Disney Experience. This one is my absolute favorite!
NBA Experience Review
We received media tickets to check out the all new NBA Experience at Disney Springs and honestly I didn’t know what to expect or if I would even enjoy it. I am not the most athletic person and I wasn’t sure if it would be me sitting in the back taking pictures while the kids played the games.
Thankfully it ended up being a really fun afternoon playing together as a family. You don’t have to be a super NBA fan at all. My kids enjoy playing basketball and my husband enjoys watching it but we are not super fans by any means and we really enjoyed ourselves.
I wanted to mention a bit about the crowds before I share how we planned our day at Disney’s NBA Experience. We visited during the week in August. It was early afternoon and the crowds were low. We didn’t have to wait in line for anything and had most of the experiences to ourselves.
I asked the cast members about the crowds and they said they tend to get busier after 4:00 pm. Most people visit Disney Springs for dinner and then look for activities to do. Expect busier crowds during the late afternoon and evenings. The NBA Experience would be a great activity to do during a non-park day.
Planning Your Day at the NBA Experience Disney World
Start by purchasing your tickets in advance and adding them to your My Disney Experience app. Once you do this they will be added to your magic band. You will use your magic band throughout all the experiences to take photos and track your skills.
Once you sign in you can add your favorite team and nickname to your magic band. I love the basketball details added to the scanners.
There are two levels to the NBA Experience at Disney World. Level 1 includes the theaters, players locker rooms, champions, center court, and the combine experience. Level 2 is the Dunk, Dribble, Trivia, Draft, Replay, Shoot, Slingshot, and Arcade.
We entered through the center court and started exploring the area. Our first stop was the combine experience. Here we each took a turn learning our wingspan, vertical leap, and shooting skills. I really liked how easy it was to scan your band and find your personalized profile.
After the Combine we made our way upstairs to experience the other exhibits. I purposefully skipped the remaining exhibits on level 1 because I knew we could do them on our way out. They didn’t involve waiting in lines to experience and at this point I wasn’t sure about the crowd levels.
Our first stop was to get drafter by our favorite teams! My boys love the Boston Celtics so we all had an opportunity to get picked and have our picture taken with the commissioner. These photos are added to your My Disney Experience app.
After the draft we did trivia and the dribble exhibit. Each experience has it’s own line and everything had signs to let you know where to go. Trivia may not have been my best moment but it was fun to guess and see what we knew.
Then we practiced some more of our dribble and dunk skills. At the Dribble experience you practice dribbling with a one-on-one teacher. The dunk experience lets the guests adjust the height of the hoop to be a dunk star, no matter how big or small you are!!
We went over to the arcade for some basketball 2-point and 3-point fun. I loved that there was something for everyone to feel successful at. They also have NBA video games but we didn’t stop to play.
I think my husbands favorite was the sling shot. At this experience you compete against other players to sling-shot your basketballs into the basket. By the look on his face you can tell who won!
My favorite area was the Shoot area. This is where the Disney magic that we love really came into play. The kids work with cast members to shoot from different stations on the court. The cast members were so encouraging and fun. My kids loved this and did it a few times. I loved that the cast members made my kids feel special and created these awesome memories.
After the Shoot experience we did the Replay experience. This was our chance to call the plays. Guests are shown a basketball play from an NBA game and you decide if you agree or disagree with the call. We played a few times and it gave us a new appreciation for what referees go through.
We stopped one last time at the arcade and the kids kept trying to beat their previous scores. Then we headed back downstairs to watch the theater shows, there were two, and check out the players locker room.
After spending 2 hours at the NBA Experience at Disney Springs with little crowds we can tell you we loved it! Our favorites were definitely the Sling Shot, Shooting, and Combine. It was a fun place to spend our afternoon at Disney Springs.
I would say we are average NBA fans. If you love the NBA you will absolutely love the NBA Experience. If you have kids or family members that enjoy sports you will also enjoy this. The experience may not be for everyone especially if you have zero interest in basketball, but for most it is a family fun activity to enjoy during your Disney World Vacation.
