ESPN the Weekend is an annual event that takes place at Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. For the first time, the event branches out to the newly revamped and renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The official relaunch of the brand took place on Thursday, February 25th, with ESPN the Weekend taking place this weekend.
ESPN the Weekend
Dates: February 25, 2010 – February 28, 2010
ESPN The Weekend is a winter special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park packed with all-star athletes, live ESPN telecasts, broadcast personalities and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in interactive sports experiences with hall of famers.
Come live your sports dream at the ultimate sports fan fest featuring in-depth public discussions with sport luminaries, informative presentations, motorcade parades with many of your favorite stars, the kinetic ESPN Sports Zone Interactive Area and plenty of collectable merchandise.
Event Highlights
Live Shows
ESPN will present live telecasts – including First Take and NFL Live from a set in front of Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat on Hollywood Boulevard. Park guests will have a chance to appear on-air via crowd shots while watching the programming on video screens. Popular ESPN Radio shows Mike & Mike in the Morning and The Herd with Colin Cowherd will be broadcast live from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Feb. 25-26.
As Major League Baseball Spring Training games get underway in Florida, ESPN’s on-site program lineup will feature a special two-hour Baseball Tonight with host Karl Ravech and analysts John Kruk, Bobby Valentine and Chris Singleton from the theme park Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. as ESPN’s popular baseball news, information and highlights show kicks off its 21st season.
Mike & Mike Celebrate 10 Years
ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning will celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary at the newly re-imagined ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort on Wednesday, Feb. 24 (6-10 a.m.). ESPN Radio’s popular morning-drive show hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic launched in January 2000. Today the show is heard (and seen on ESPN2) by more than 12 million listeners each week on more than 350 stations nationwide.
Inside ESPN
Live stage shows will bring fans and guests behind-the-scenes of some of the network’s most popular programs, including SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, First Take, NFL Live and Stump the Schwab. The shows will provide an inside look at favorite athletes, teams and ESPN programs. Fans can get into the action themselves by asking questions directly to ESPN personalities and athletes.
Dream Job
Guests who think they have what it takes to be on SportsCenter can experience what it’s like to audition for ESPN. Select contestants will go through a series of on-air tasks and the audience will select the best sportscaster during each show. ESPN personalities and sports celebrities will help mentor contestants as part of the experience.
Motorcades and Conversations
Periodically throughout each day, sports stars will motorcade up Hollywood Boulevard to the stage at the base of Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat and join ESPN commentators for conversations about their careers and Q&A sessions with park guests.
Interactive Sports Area
The ESPN Sports Zone will give guests of all ages the opportunity to test their skills at a wide variety of sports. MLB-, NBA-, NFL- and BASS-themed interactive areas within the Zone will have fans swinging for the fences, shooting baskets and throwing passes, as well as Dick’s Sporting Goods’ Sports Caravan, a multi-sport interactive area.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park admission is required. ESPN The Weekend events are included with admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. Availability is limited for some events. Events and celebrity appearances are subject to change and may be cancelled at any time.
To purchase Discount Disney Tickets, please visit our website.
ESPN Wide World of Sports Relaunch
Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson, NFL star Chad Ochocinco, LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam, NFL star Maurice Jones-Drew, Olympic softball gold medalist Jennie Finch and 2009s Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes were just a few of the athletes in attendance along with several popular ESPN personalities and Florida governor Charlie Crist. Instead of a Hollywood-style red carpet, the celebrities walked a turf carpet painted with yard lines to resemble a football field. The sports complex, already the leading multi-sports venue in the nation, was officially re-launched when New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl champion kicker Garrett Hartley booted a football, held by Minnie Mouse, over the complex entrance gate amid waves of fireworks and confetti.
Afterwards, the celebrity athletes and ESPN talent attended a private reception at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill. Then some of them watched a special performance by the Harlem Globetrotters and even got into the act.
The complex at Disney was re-designed with the signature elements of ESPN – 56 HD video cameras, 40 HD video screens, 20-zone audio system, ESPN SportsCenter desk – that create a one-of-a-kind ESPN-style youth sports experience for the two million athletes, coaches and fans who come to the complex each year. Now, in addition to playing on the same fields and courts as some of the biggest names in sports, youth athletes who compete at the sports complex will also feel as if they’ve reached the “big-time’’ and made it onto ESPN.
Admission to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is included with the purchase of a Waterpark Fun & More Ticket. For more information, or to purchase Discount Disney Tickets, please visit our website or Kissimmee location, The Official Ticket Center, or call us toll-free at 1-877-406-4836.