Baseball Spring Training Qs

[papertraveller]

Please tell me about your experience attending baseball spring training games on property. DH was surprised when I told him Atlanta trains at WDW -- one more reason to love the Mouse!

I see that there is selective bus service to the stadium, but we wouldn't be at one of those that have the direct routes. Have you taken a taxi from your resort? Should we rent a car to cover the days we'd like to attend the games?

Are tickets difficult to get closer to game time?

Thanks so much!

 

[musicmantrs]

We did spring training last year and we're Astros fans so we went into Kissimmee but it wasn't far. We went to one Braves game at WWOS and it's nice but the opportunity for autographs wasn't really there. We went to 2 games in Kissimmee and we were able to get autographs from both the home and visiting teams (Braves and Yankees). WWOS is cool but it feels much more like a "big league" stadium. The other cool thing about the smaller Astros stadium was we sat in the front row behind the bullpen down the third base line so the pitchers were right there and we got to interact with them and get really cool pictures. I'm not sure about Winter Park but it is pretty close too if your husband likes the Janks.

 

[musicmantrs]

That was from my phone but to add, the Braves game we were in the upper deck and it felt like a typical Major League game. For the Astros the second game we went to we were right behind the plate and a row behind the scouts, it was cool to see their notes. I'm sure if you could get behind the plate on the lower deck for the Braves it would be similar.

My warning for the Disney lover: I loved it (huge baseball fan - been to 11 ML parks) and we were there for 7 days but the 3 days we did games it felt like we hardly got any park time (not many extended hours in early March). It was so disappointing we had to make the extra effort to just do Disney in November.

 

[laundrygal]

This year we were at WDW during Spring Training. I got tickets to Nationals @ Braves probably 2-3 months out. It wasn't a problem getting tickets at all. The stadium is not large so it is hard to get a bad seat, we were perfectly happy in an upper tier (we sat to the right of home plate toward 1st).

We stayed at Beach Club and the concierge advised us to just take a taxi. Otherwise it would have been a multi-bus trip. It was easy to get a taxi to and from, but we also weren't hurrying.

Spring training games are a lot of fun. The crowd is relaxed and there are usually a lot of player substitutions so you get to see a lot of different players on the field. We would definitely do it again if another WDW trip coincided with spring training.

-Sarah

 

[mollygirl13]

DH is a HUGE Philadelphia Phillies fan (and baseball fan in general) so we are going to Phillies Spring Training for 4 days in February.

Being that I am a HUGE Disney fan & my b-day is in February, DH agreed to drive from Clearwater to WDW so I can be happy, too!!
We will be in WDW for 5 days.

We have never been to WWOS so I purchased tix to the Braves vs. Nationals game as a surprise for DH for Christmas. I bought them last week and there were good seats available still. We are sitting 3 rows behind the National's dugout.

Looking forward to seeing a baseball game while in Disney World-and DH will be thrilled, too!

 

[mickeymom629]

DH and I are not baseball fans but we went to the Princess Half Marathon 2 years ago with another couple that are fans. I was the planner of the trip and kept asking them if they wanted to go to one of the games and I would get tickets well ahead of time. Numerous times they said no. On the day of the Expo for the Marathon, when we were at the sports complex, they decided to stop by the box office to get tickets for the one day it would still fit into the schedule I had planned . We got lawn seats - or whatever they are called. On the night of the game, we got there just as the game was starting and could not find a place on the grass for the four of us to sit . My friends were very upset because they never saw such a seating problem and the CMs just told them that they sell more than enough in case people don't show.

Being the Disney trip planner that I am, I am still irritated (when I think about it) that I agreed to them buying my DH and I tickets at the last minute for something we didn't want to do when we could have, either bought tickets months ago for better seats or have spent the beautiful spring evening in a Disney park!!

So, my advice is to get tickets well in advance and arrive before the game starts!

 

[TowMater92]

Get tickets in advance, ST stadiums are much smaller then MLB stadiums so the good games sale out. If you go to a day game remember sun screen.

If you want autographs, before the game go out by the batting cages in CF on the lawn or wait down the base lines next to the dugouts but you have to get there early. If you really want autographs leave in the 6th-7th inning when they put in the scrubs go out of the stadium and take a left, go out by the road behind the RF fence next to the practice fields. Some of the players will stop and sign as the head out to the parking lot.

 

[papertraveller]

Thanks so much, everyone.

We've managed to catch a number of spring training games through the years, most recently saw the Nationals and Tigers at Melbourne's Space Coast Stadium.

I had been thinking we would get a car and visit the Tigers in Lakeland, but if we can cut that drive back a bit and see a game on Disney property, we'll all be happy. The Kissimmee option is a good one, too.