DisneyQuest closing

[alvernon90]

I read on another thread on another board that DQ employees are being told the place will close down in Spring 2016. My guess would be right after the Spring Break crowds dissipate.

 

[LoverDisney]

We went to DQ for the first time last year because of the free passes. I would have never paid because it was not worth it in my opinion. It was loud and dated. It would be nice if Disney updated it instead of tearing it down. We may or may not check out the NBA experience depending on the price and what is inside.

 

[Kalliope]

I'm not into games at all, lol. So THANK you for your insight, I'll just stick to the parks!

oh and thanks for the welcome! I've been lurking for a while now!

I've been lurking, too and finally decided to share my opinions.

 

[mousefan73]

EDIT: Stanley Cup final game = 8 million viewers.
NBA Final Game = 11.6 million viewers.

Soccer WorldCup. I believe the final beat the NBA final in viewers. 17 million plus billions WW. They should do soccer!!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Soccer WorldCup. I believe the final beat the NBA final in viewers. 17 million plus billions WW. They should do soccer!!

Agreed that this would do much better than the NBA failure (err, idea). I have no problem with the idea that they are trying something different there. Love the fact that WDW changes every time I go. But this is an idea that will fail. This type of franchise has failed everywhere.

 

[ojeight]

Maybe the NBA is sponsoring it and that is why Disney is doing it. I probably wont go but that doesn't mean that there isn't a market for it and that others will not go. I' have no desire to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique but there are plenty of others who love it. I've never went to DQ but every time I've been to DD there doesn't seem to be much a rush to get in. It has probably run its course and not profitable anymore.

 

[noreinsguy]

Really BAD idea Disney.......... Are you nuts? Most folks don't give a dang about basketball. A few care during March but unless you are running a office pool, people do not care! You will in no uncertain terms regret this foolish decision. And when it happens be sure to fire the idiots who lead you down this path. We will not want them influencing Disney decisions ever again.

 

[asta]

Really BAD idea Disney.......... Are you nuts? Most folks don't give a dang about basketball. A few care during March but unless you are running a office pool, people do not care! You will in no uncertain terms regret this foolish decision. And when it happens be sure to fire the idiots who lead you down this path. We will not want them influencing Disney decisions ever again.

I think the interest in March is for college basketball. This is the NBA and I don't know anyone who cares about that.

 

[DetroitDisney]

I DONT KNOW WHAT THIS NBA EXPERIENCE THING IS, BUT ITS GUARANTEED TO BE TERRIBLE AND I WONT LIKE IT.

RAMBLE RAMBLE RAMBLE

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Change can be a scary thing indeed.

 

[BugsDaddy]

I am not sorry to see Disney Quest go but also not overly excited about the NBA experience. NFL experience might have been more interesting.

 

[KristinU]

Boo! Hiss! This is sad news around our house. I agree that it was getting a little long in the tooth, but my 11 year old loved it and DH and I have really enjoyed it over the years. NBA, definitely not an interest for us...this will make us rethink the fun and more option on our next tix.

 

[DOOM1001]

Maybe the NBA is sponsoring it and that is why Disney is doing it. I probably wont go but that doesn't mean that there isn't a market for it and that others will not go. I' have no desire to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique but there are plenty of others who love it. I've never went to DQ but every time I've been to DD there doesn't seem to be much a rush to get in. It has probably run its course and not profitable anymore.

Your post pretty much says what's going on,but this is not news,we've known for years now that Disney prefers to get out of actually running the venues and prefers to lease them out,such as the Flamingo Crossings project.This board is obviously not too fond of the NBA but the NBA is big enough for them to go forward with this,I'm friends or acquaintances with plenty of people who frequent Heat games.I'm a general sports fan,I like most sports but 90% of my money goes to theme parks,I don't go to too many games per year in any sport.As far as Disneyquest,there's been rumors of it closing since 2008-2009,rainy days are probably the only times the place might see an uptick in attendance.These video game venues are an endangered species,they're hanging on but nowhere near the peak of their popularity around 1999-2003.Down here we had a Game works that opened in 1999 and was popular for a few years,eventually sales dropped,they changed owners and name and like I said people still go but the moment the management company can get more in rent from another company it'll be hard for them to not close up shop,luckily for them they're in a shopping center that charges to park which I've always said was the downfall of that center.75% of the patrons are there for the movie theater which has reduced parking,the video game place probably gets 90% of its business in the weekend from kids after they do a movie,the rest of the week its a ghost town.I'm not sad at all Disneyquest is closing,the place ran its course.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

ESPN/ABC (owned by Disney) currently have the broadcast rights to NBA playoffs and finals, so the move does make relationship sense. NBA fans are typically young adults, so it's a demographic to go after, and DisneyQuest is getting awfully tired looking, why not replace it?
I'm in the "don't knock it till you try it" camp, the NBA is star-driven and knows how to put on a show, Disney can still innovate when it wants to, this could be really cool.

 

[Kaelorian]

So sad I understand how outdated it is, but coming from a family of gamers, this is a sad day. Although, my kids would enjoy it more if it were NFL over NBA.

 

[nkereina]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but isn't this NBA thing just Universal's sloppy seconds? Universal announced a while ago that they would close their NBA City in August. I realize Disney's thing will be more than a restaurant, but there's a reason NBA City failed at Universal and I'm pretty sure it's because it's just not that popular. Unless Universal lost some kind of NBA contract to Disney or something that I'm not aware of.

 

[Redwitch]

So, what is left in "the more" part of WPF&M tickets? I am not a great fan of DQ, but at least it was something! First entrance to the dance clubs at Pleasure island was removed, now DQ. Let's face it - not everyone golfs and mini-golf is a poor use of tickets.

 

[DOOM1001]

Places close for many reasons,obviously ABC being the network that carries many of the NBA games has something to do with it.I ate several times at NBA city at Universal and I never seemed empty or had bad food,in fact they had a really good BBQ chicken pizza that I had a couple of times.One of the rumored replacements for NBA city at Universal is Cheesecake Factory,which is a bit of a strange choice since its a pretty common restaurant in many malls across the U.S.But given that Universal gets a bigger percentage of International visitors where CCF is not as common it may not be a bad choice,either way I'm sure a Cheesecake Factory there would be more popular and Universal will make more money with them there than an NBA city.I'm really curious how Disney plans to use that huge building for the new NBA experience,what else will it include besides a restaurant,they're obviously going to have to open up the building with Windows and open spaces which would be a huge upgrade to the ambiance to that huge teal/purple building.

 

[nkereina]

Places close for many reasons,obviously ABC being the network that carries many of the NBA games has something to do with it.I ate several times at NBA city at Universal and I never seemed empty or had bad food,in fact they had a really good BBQ chicken pizza that I had a couple of times.One of the rumored replacements for NBA city at Universal is Cheesecake Factory,which is a bit of a strange choice since its a pretty common restaurant in many malls across the U.S.But given that Universal gets a bigger percentage of International visitors where CCF is not as common it may not be a bad choice,either way I'm sure a Cheesecake Factory there would be more popular and Universal will make more money with them there than an NBA city.I'm really curious how Disney plans to use that huge building for the new NBA experience,what else will it include besides a restaurant,they're obviously going to have to open up the building with Windows and open spaces which would be a huge upgrade to the ambiance to that huge teal/purple building.

I see your points but I guess I was just hoping for something more original from Disney, since the NBA thing has already been done over at the dark side. And not to get too far off topic, but Cheesecake Factory replacing NBA City is one rumor I've heard too, and I've also heard it will be a WWE restaurant.

 

[smitch425]

I would think that interest in DQ has decreased over the last few years. Anyone have data on that somewhere? Lol! With sooo many options for portable gaming, and so many games available, even the classics, I would think people would not want to take time from an expensive vacation to play games that can easily play at home. I've got 4 different systems in my house where I can play classic Donkey Kong. No sense in forking over money to play it in another state. Lol!