Best place to watch world cup match

[anne60]

We will be leaving Animal Kingdom to catch the game against Sweden on Thursday. Any suggestions for a good place to watch. We would prefer to have a table, not sit at the bar.

 

[epcotobsessed]

We were there last summer during the men's world cup and there were very few places showing any matches. The one place we did find was Ariel's at the Beach Club, which had a TV a bunch of us sat around (the bar was open but that was it, no food service). We called around and think this was the only place on the Boardwalk showing it but maybe some other places turned it on when asked.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You could try ESPN on the Boardwalk, but I would get there early as it will probably be packed. They have huge TV's everywhere in the restaurant. We've also watched some March Madness games in the lounge of bluezoo at the Dolphin. They have tables in the lounge and you can order off of both a lounge menu or the regular dining room menu. The TV's are not large, though.

 

[epcotobsessed]

You could try ESPN on the Boardwalk, but I would get there early as it will probably be packed. They have huge TV's everywhere in the restaurant. We've also watched some March Madness games in the lounge of bluezoo at the Dolphin. They have tables in the lounge and you can order off of both a lounge menu or the regular dining room menu. The TV's are not large, though.

The person we spoke with at ESPN told us they were not showing the men's cup last summer. Maybe they had it wrong, and we did not verify for ourselves since a bar in the BC was showing it, but we were surprised (and he insisted - no soccer!)

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The person we spoke with at ESPN told us they were not showing the men's cup last summer. Maybe they had it wrong, and we did not verify for ourselves since a bar in the BC was showing it, but we were surprised (and he insisted - no soccer!)

I learned the hard way that the staff manning the ESPN phones don't always have correct information in terms of what they are going to play each evening, but, perhaps they did not play the match?! We learned that the hard way after booking the VIP table to watch the NBA All-Star Weekend skills challenges (guy on the phone said we could pick whatever we wanted to watch) only to arrive, be seated and find out they weren't playing it - ack! Turns out a whole separate staff does the tv programming for each evening and the staff on the floor had no idea what was going on. I guess for the OP, I would probably head over to the Boardwalk area early to see who is going to play it - Dolphin, ESPN and BC are all within walking distance of each other.

 

[anne60]

Thanks, I'm afraid that since the game is not on an ESPN affiliate, they may not show it. I can't imagine any other reason not to show it, since it's being played in the afternoon of a weekday.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Thanks, I'm afraid that since the game is not on an ESPN affiliate, they may not show it. I can't imagine any other reason not to show it, since it's being played in the afternoon of a weekday.

You're jogging my memory - this is the exact reason the person we spoke to at ESPN gave us about why they weren't showing the men's cup. I think your best bet is to go to a less crowded bar with TVs and ask the bartender to put the game on. Again, I can tell you that Ariel's (or maybe it's Marthas Vineyard lounge - they are right next to each other) in Beach Club showed it last year but I am not sure if that's convenient for you.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thanks, I'm afraid that since the game is not on an ESPN affiliate, they may not show it. I can't imagine any other reason not to show it, since it's being played in the afternoon of a weekday.

They play tons of channels in there, not just Disney affiliated channels. They ended up switching some TVs to the all-star game when we went and that was on TNT TBS which is owned by Warner. That being said, it's so hard to know which venues will have it on. And ESPN, I'm assuming, has less flexibility as I mentioned they have a whole different staff doing the programming and the floor staff can't change channels willy-nilly. I think epcotobsessed suggestion is a good one and, if you have time, you may want to consider walking around the Boardwalk asking each venue what they will play. I remember when we went to bluezoo, the hostess told us the bartenders will typically put on whatever customers ask for. We sat and watched two simultaneous March Madness games - it was fun!