It's official: DQ out, NBA Experience in!

[yulilin3]

I have only gone to DQ about 5 times but I have enjoyed it and my DD16 loves it, especially the old arcade games. Last time we were there was on Black Friday when they opened it for free from 8am until 11:30am. We spent the morning going from pacman to donkey kong to Fix It Felix...it was fun.
NBA? I doubt we will ever go
I hope they can put the old arcade games into the existing arcade rooms around property.

 

[Klayfish]

AGREE ^

If you follow finances/stock you will see in last couple days that Disney was upgraded and partly due to ESPN outlook.

Just one of several reports ...

"With estimates largely reset and potential for ESPN to accelerate revenue growth against a more aggressively managed cost base, we upgrade Disney to OW. Climbing out of FY17, we think distribution renewals for ESPN, new streaming bundles, and strong film slate will accelerate EPS growth…

Is ESPN out of the woods? We forecast total cable affiliate revenue growth to improve from +2% in FY16 (adjusted for 53rd week comp but including currency headwinds) to +5% CAGR in FY17-FY20E (ACC Network currently not included in our forecast), pushing our overall estimates above consensus beginning in ’18. We see both rate and volume opportunities…"



Wall Street disagrees. What I think we can agree on is that it won't be in it's current form, nor will any cable company or network. They all have to re-imagine and re-structure themselves and ESPN is doing it sooner than others due to changes impacting them sooner.

Yep, completely agree. ESPN isn't the monopoly it once was, but it's far from its' death bed and far from dragging Disney down. ESPN isn't the only cable network that will have to reinvent itself going forward, and from everything I've seen they're starting to make transitions to be available to a broader market. I will say that I do not like the changes they've made recently to their NFL coverage teams, and now they're breaking up their morning talk show, Mike & Mike. Definitely don't like that, but I could be in the minority there.

Anyhow, when I told my kids yesterday about DQ closing, they were all bummed. They've already penciled it into our schedule to visit one last time when we arrive, the weekend before closure. They asked what would happen to the old games, and if we could buy one...

 

[momto2js]

Where have I been?? I thought Disney Quest closed last May?? Maybe I'll let me kid get one more time in during our March trip. I LOVE the sports center Idea, and I would be packed all day long!!

 

[ariane37]

OK OK, enough with the NBA bashing We're a basketball family - both DS's play, and in addition to multiple AAU and rec leagues (at the same time) older DS plays for school. Both boys have played for years. We watch college basketball and NBA games. I also hate sports and never watched any type of game whatsoever until my boys got me into basketball and now I enjoy it. I despise stupid football, baseball makes me want to pull my hair out.
The one reason both boys wanted to go to Disney Springs last Nov. was to go to Marcus Jordan's store The Trophy Room and it was like Christmas to them walking in there lol. So while most of you may not enjoy the NBA Experience and yeah, maybe it won't be there long we'll go and enjoy it, especially if if it's not crowded when we go!

And for what it's worth I hated wasting our time in Disney Quest but I am and always will be the queen of Ms. Pac-Man, so I can't say I didn't play it........a couple times when we went

 

[Jennasis]

I don't get how this is supposed to appeal to foreign visitors. It would be like me heading over to Disneyland Paris and staring blankly at the "Cricket Experience". LOL

On the plus side, perhaps it might siphon crowds away from the other, more enjoyable, areas of Disney Springs.

Personally I would have preferred a Broadway-style theater.

 

[River Country]

I don't get how this is supposed to appeal to foreign visitors. It would be like me heading over to Disneyland Paris and staring blankly at the "Cricket Experience". LOL

On the plus side, perhaps it might siphon crowds away from the other, more enjoyable, areas of Disney Springs.

Personally I would have preferred a Broadway-style theater.

Cricket would not be good but what about jai alai?????

NBA doesn't really appeal to my family, it does to me cause I love sports even if my NBA team The Knicks is in the pooper right now. I do like the idea of an ESPN Zone that's 5 floors that would be awesome, and as far as the comment on ESPN dying....I don't get my sports anywhere else. DA DA DA.... DA DA DA!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rteetz]

ESPN has been dragging Disney earnings down for a LONG time. It's not just competition, people are cutting the cord on cable subscriptions and paying for on-demand content. I agree with the PP, I don't know if we will see ESPN in its current form in 5 to 10 years.

Bingo. It's not that we might not see ESPN, at all it's that we likely won't see it the way it is today. Cable cutting is a big issue and that's not going to change. A la carte TV is the future. People don't want to pay for hundreds of channels they never watch.

 

[rteetz]

ESPN is doing it sooner than others due to changes impacting them sooner.

What are they doing exactly to change currently? Sure Iger has said they are looking at options but they haven't done anything yet.

 

[HopperFan]

OK OK, enough with the NBA bashing We're a basketball family - both DS's play, and in addition to multiple AAU and rec leagues (at the same time) older DS plays for school. Both boys have played for years. We watch college basketball and NBA games. I also hate sports and never watched any type of game whatsoever until my boys got me into basketball and now I enjoy it. I despise stupid football, baseball makes me want to pull my hair out.
The one reason both boys wanted to go to Disney Springs last Nov. was to go to Marcus Jordan's store The Trophy Room and it was like Christmas to them walking in there lol. So while most of you may not enjoy the NBA Experience and yeah, maybe it won't be there long we'll go and enjoy it, especially if if it's not crowded when we go!

And for what it's worth I hated wasting our time in Disney Quest but I am and always will be the queen of Ms. Pac-Man, so I can't say I didn't play it........a couple times when we went

Nobody is bashing basketball. DS attends our Hawks games and follows all pro closely. DD worked for both her undergrad and grad program (one of top in country) basketball teams. We all still think it's a dumb choice. What we are saying is that 5 stories dedicated to one sport, particularly a sport that does not have a WIDE audience who will spend the time and money there, is likely to not to be successful. If they had been successful at CityWalk, Universal would not have asked them to leave but continued to pocket their share.

Did you kids buy shoes at the Trophy Room? Most walk out with no bags. As much as we think this is all for our enjoyment pleasure, this is all to make money. If we aren't going in and spending money, then it will fail. What we are saying is that we don't think basketball can support a site this big. What we are saying is NO single sport, and an ESPN multi experience to attract all kinds of folks makes more sense.

Cricket would not be good but what about jai alai?????

NBA doesn't really appeal to my family, it does to me cause I love sports even if my NBA team The Knicks is in the pooper right now. I do like the idea of an ESPN Zone that's 5 floors that would be awesome, and as far as the comment on ESPN dying....I don't get my sports anywhere else. DA DA DA.... DA DA DA!!!!!!!!!!!

Will NEVER happen. It involves betting. Not only will Disney have nothing to do with that but it would take extreme govt approval. And as much fun as I've had at a Jai Alai game ..... Disney won't want that customer base.

 

[rteetz]

Yep, completely agree. ESPN isn't the monopoly it once was, but it's far from its' death bed and far from dragging Disney down. ESPN isn't the only cable network that will have to reinvent itself going forward, and from everything I've seen they're starting to make transitions to be available to a broader market. I will say that I do not like the changes they've made recently to their NFL coverage teams, and now they're breaking up their morning talk show, Mike & Mike. Definitely don't like that, but I could be in the minority there.

Anyhow, when I told my kids yesterday about DQ closing, they were all bummed. They've already penciled it into our schedule to visit one last time when we arrive, the weekend before closure. They asked what would happen to the old games, and if we could buy one...

ESPN is the reason Disney stock has went down over the last year or so. ESPN and cable in general is a worry for wall street. Yes it has been dragging Disney a bit.

I'm a big ESPN fan but it's obvious that they can't last in their current form. Like you said they keep making changes like splitting up morning shows or adding different personalities to their flagship sportscenter.

 

[rteetz]

I don't get how this is supposed to appeal to foreign visitors. It would be like me heading over to Disneyland Paris and staring blankly at the "Cricket Experience". LOL

On the plus side, perhaps it might siphon crowds away from the other, more enjoyable, areas of Disney Springs.

Personally I would have preferred a Broadway-style theater.

Basketball is big overseas as well. Look at all of the NBA and college players that don't make it here, they go to Europe, china, etc. To play basketball on teams there.

 

[tlmadden73]

To me it's not about the NBA (and whether that is a draw or not). To me, it's about just losing a "Disney" thing at Disney Springs. It's a shame they couldn't update DQ or make some sort of Disney thing there (a theatre for showing Disney Broadway shows?). But I guess they want Disney Springs to be like a giant outdoor mall and appeal to more than just Disney fans and vacationers.

I just don't see the long-term appeal for a huge building dedicated to one sport that isn't even that popular to the types of people that travel to Walt Disney World. NFL experience? I'd argue that the country probably enjoys college hoops over the pros where no one but die-hard fans pay attention to what's going on until the playoffs.

I wonder what the "experience" part will entail. Courts to rent to play a pick-up game? Shooting games?

When it comes to the restaurant part, I just think our current culture has moved on from these giant "themed" restaurants that used to be big in the 90s and early 2000s like ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Café, etc. There are much more and better choices (for food) at the same price (or cheaper) without all the glitz.

 

[Ladyfish77]

A la carte TV is the future. People don't want to pay for hundreds of channels they never watch.

And I'll throw in that millennials in general don't even have/want cable tv. My DS watches 99% on his computer. He is almost 24 and has been away at school then living on his own for 6 years and only had cable tv for one year (roommate wanted it and purchased it), and his college offered a package at a very good price.

We aren't big professional sports fans, so NBA experience has zero interest to us. I wish they had chosen something more Disney focused.

 

[rteetz]

And I'll throw in that millennials in general don't even have/want cable tv. My DS watches 99% on his computer. He is almost 24 and has been away at school then living on his own for 6 years and only had cable tv for one year (roommate wanted it and purchased it), and his college offered a package at a very good price.

Yep. My college offers cable for free within the dorms. However I'm a millennial that still likes cable. We have satellite at my house and also have the NFL Sunday Ticket. Sports is the main thing I watch on a given basis. Any Tv shows I watch can be seen on channels that don't need cable.

 

[revdon64]

OK OK, enough with the NBA bashing We're a basketball family - both DS's play, and in addition to multiple AAU and rec leagues (at the same time) older DS plays for school. Both boys have played for years. We watch college basketball and NBA games. I also hate sports and never watched any type of game whatsoever until my boys got me into basketball and now I enjoy it. I despise stupid football, baseball makes me want to pull my hair out.
The one reason both boys wanted to go to Disney Springs last Nov. was to go to Marcus Jordan's store The Trophy Room and it was like Christmas to them walking in there lol. So while most of you may not enjoy the NBA Experience and yeah, maybe it won't be there long we'll go and enjoy it, especially if if it's not crowded when we go!

And for what it's worth I hated wasting our time in Disney Quest but I am and always will be the queen of Ms. Pac-Man, so I can't say I didn't play it........a couple times when we went

See, there's the problem. Not that anyone is NBA bashing, even if the NBA deserves it and perhaps has earned a bashing, it's just not popular enough to host a five floor immersive experience that's going to make money. Personally, I love the NHL, but the NHL experience would be a complete flop, especially in Florida. Realistically, the only sport popular enough to maybe succeed in that space by itself is the NFL... maybe.

 

[ariane37]

Nobody is bashing basketball

I was kidding, that's why I put at the end

Did you kids buy shoes at the Trophy Room?

Yes, they each bought a pair and when DH and I go down in March we'll most likely buy them more. I expected them to be way more expensive than Jordan's in the stores, say Finish Line and Foot Locker, but surprisingly they weren't! They just had a different selection, styles you can either only find online and even then when you find them online the more common sizes are out of stock an hour after they go on sale. They don't always wear Jordan's but in the last year or so, older DS has gravitated a bit more to them and since he always has at least 3 pairs of basketball shoes at a time, I have no choice but to be familiar with all this So they were very happy with what they saw. There's also some neat Michael Jordan memorabilia in there, not as much as I thought there would be but it was cool to see.

We've been in the store next to ESPN on many occasions and there is NEVER basketball stuff in there-football, baseball, soccer. Sports neither of the boys like. Same with a store in the Marketplace, the store that has (or had, it's been a couple years since we went in) sports stuff for sale had no basketball whatsoever. So the Trophy Room is very nice and much appreciated by our boys.

It is a lot of space to fill for one sport, I agree. I'd be more excited if it were Disney related and if it were to be just baseball, football, etc. I'd definitely be thinking "Ugh" but at least it's something we'd visit for however long it's there!

 

[ariane37]

See, there's the problem. Not that anyone is NBA bashing, even if the NBA deserves it and perhaps has earned a bashing, it's just not popular enough to host a five floor immersive experience that's going to make money. Personally, I love the NHL, but the NHL experience would be a complete flop, especially in Florida. Realistically, the only sport popular enough to maybe succeed in that space by itself is the NFL... maybe.

Once again, I was joking about the bashing I just wanted to put in my 2 cents as a basketball fan to counter everyone saying "yuck" and "eww" about the NBA, which is how we feel about other more popular sports. I agree NBA is nowhere near as popular as the NFL and whatever letters stand for baseball but right now if that's what's going there at least it's something that interests us. I also agree something Disney related would make more sense and while my boys wouldn't, I myself would totally prefer that

 

[HopperFan]

I was kidding, that's why I put at the end


Yes, they each bought a pair and when DH and I go down in March we'll most likely buy them more. I expected them to be way more expensive than Jordan's in the stores, say Finish Line and Foot Locker, but surprisingly they weren't! They just had a different selection, styles you can either only find online and even then when you find them online the more common sizes are out of stock an hour after they go on sale. They don't always wear Jordan's but in the last year or so, older DS has gravitated a bit more to them and since he always has at least 3 pairs of basketball shoes at a time, I have no choice but to be familiar with all this So they were very happy with what they saw. There's also some neat Michael Jordan memorabilia in there, not as much as I thought there would be but it was cool to see.

We've been in the store next to ESPN on many occasions and there is NEVER basketball stuff in there-football, baseball, soccer. Sports neither of the boys like. Same with a store in the Marketplace, the store that has (or had, it's been a couple years since we went in) sports stuff for sale had no basketball whatsoever. So the Trophy Room is very nice and much appreciated by our boys.

It is a lot of space to fill for one sport, I agree. I'd be more excited if it were Disney related and if it were to be just baseball, football, etc. I'd definitely be thinking "Ugh" but at least it's something we'd visit for however long it's there!

Okay with all the info that followed it seemed like you didn't see why we thought it was a bad idea and that we didn't get it. I didn't read any of it as NBA bashing or dislike for the sport ..... and I do agree if they said football it wouldn't have as much questioning .... but I think overall the space is way to large to support the particular sport picked for many reasons. NOW, maybe they are not planning to use the whole space or maybe they are going to bulldoze it and build from scratch something more reasonable.

Glad to hear about the prices at Trophy. I've never gone in assuming they were only top of the line and overpriced.

 

[J-Dog]

See, there's the problem. Not that anyone is NBA bashing, even if the NBA deserves it and perhaps has earned a bashing, it's just not popular enough to host a five floor immersive experience that's going to make money. Personally, I love the NHL, but the NHL experience would be a complete flop, especially in Florida. Realistically, the only sport popular enough to maybe succeed in that space by itself is the NFL... maybe.

With that much space, why couldn't they develop some kind of "multi-sport" experience? Clearly, based on this thread, sports preferences are very varied.

Myself, for example, am REALLY into NFL and MLB, and am sort-of into NHL, Nascar, and college football and basketball. But don't care about the NBA at all.

Why would Disney make such a narrow-focus? I assume it must be a licensing thing.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

DQ is a big tradition for our family, we usually try to spend at least one morning every trip there. We will miss it. Very glad that we will have one more go for "old times sake" in May.

We are HUGE basketball fans, but that is at the collegiate level, we bleed UK Blue in our house-I have a dog named Willie after Willie Cauley- Stein, lol. It has been more fun to watch NBA basketball now that so many of our players have moved into the NBA, so for that reason we may be stopping in to see what it's about.

I really like the idea of it becoming a theater to showcase Disney plays, that would have been awesome.