NBA, Disney reveal details about NBA Experience at Disney Springs

The NBA and Disney revealed new details about the upcoming NBA Experience attraction at Disney Springs, set to open summer 2019.

The NBA and Disney have announced new details about the soon-to-open NBA Experience at Disney Springs.

The interactive experience will feature activities for all ages and levels of fandom while bringing the experience of the NBA to visitors and guests. All with the usual Disney panache.

Among the activities and experiences inside the attraction will be:

• A NBA Draft photo booth where you can take a photo as if you were just drafted by your favorite team
• A replica NBA Draft Combine, complete with your own personalized report on how you did
• An interactive NBA trivia game and replica locker room with up-to-date stats
• Changeable baskets so everyone can test their dunking skills no matter their vertical leap
• Other interactive exhibits including pop-a-shot and video game stalls

And it, of course, exits into a gift shop at the end, because it is Disney.

This is a project the league and Disney are excited to undertake as they target an open date in the summer of 2019.

"“Developed with the NBA, and inspired by the league’s 29 arenas around the country, NBA Experience will highlight the heart-pounding action and excitement of the NBA world,” said Stan Dodd, Executive Producer, Walt Disney Imagineering in a press release. “From training simulations and clock-racing competitions to fan-favorite NBA moments – we’re bringing new experiences and thrilling games to life to make fans truly feel like a star player.”"

This project has been in the works for a while. Ever since Disney decided to shutter the virtual reality experience Disney Quest a few years ago.

In many ways, it feels like an update to the games and experiences that were at the NBA City restaurant previously located at Universal’s City Walk. That building was built in the late 1990s and was more a restaurant than pure interactive experience although it had similar gaming stations and green screen photo opportunities.

It definitely did not age well as the video games did not ever get much of an update from its original late-1990s open date. The attraction lost a lot of its luster from when the space first opened.

The space at Disney will be at least three times the size of the old NBA City. And it appears to be exclusively an interactive experience as the league is not reviving the restaurant concept it had at Universal for several years.

That restaurant closed a few years ago and was replaced with the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium next to the entrance to Islands of Adventure and Hard Rock Live.

This will also not seemingly be the mini-virtual reality amusement park that Disney Quest was. That attraction featured several virtual reality games and other similar video gaming experiences.

The original Disney Quest building has since been torn down and Disney built a new building to accommodate the NBA Experience.

It seems like this will be an immersive and fun experience for basketball fans. Be sure to lace up those sneakers tight before you go when it opens next summer.