Level99 has announced that it will expand and open a new location at Disney Springs.
Level99 is an “interactive, competitive social gaming venue for adults.” It is presumed that Level99 will replace the NBA Experience on Disney Springs West Side. The Disney Springs location will be Level99’s fifth and largest venue.
Level99 will have over 60 challenge rooms and duels. The two-story venue will be over 45,000 square feet. It will host upwards of 1,000 players at a time. Handcrafted cocktails and local beers will be served from a two-story bar, accompanied by a chef-crafted menu including LEVEL99’s signature, award-winning, Detroit-style pizza. The bar will be the centerpiece of the venue.
Stylized as LEVEL99, Level99 is backed by Panera founder Ron Shaich’s investment firm Act III Holdings. Founder and CEO Matthew DuPlessie, considered the inventor of the modern escape room, launched Level99 in 2004. He opened the first Level99 at Natick Mall in Massachusetts in 2021.
“We are defining the category and setting the standard for out-of-home, interactive entertainment,” said DuPlessie. “After spending two decades in the location-based entertainment industry, it became clear there was consumer demand for a concept like this – a real unmet need. Our vision is to make ‘challenge rooms’ a mainstream concept, and the opportunity to open at a marquee location like Disney Springs is the next step in our plans to expand the Level99 brand nationally.”
A second Level99 is located at Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island. The third and fourth locations will open this year at Tysons Corner Center in Virginia and The Corbin Collection in West Hartford, Connecticut.
A timeframe for opening has not been announced, however, the Disney Springs location could open late in 2025 or 2026. The press release states, “Disney selected Level99 after a comprehensive review of the location-based entertainment industry.”
“We see immense potential in what the Level99 team has built and are excited to bring the future of interactive entertainment and social gaming into the mainstream,” said Ron Shaich. “When Matt shared his vision for Level99 with me seven years ago, I saw that this business had the potential to define a new category with enormous opportunity for growth on a national scale, making it an ideal investment for Act III.”
A Level99 typical experience consists of at least 2-3 hours of entertainment play, followed by drinks and food at its scratch kitchen and bar. Some players will stay all day.
Level99 features challenge rooms, where teams of 2-6 players work together to beat a themed physical or mental challenge that typically lasts 1-4 minutes; arena duels, dispersed throughout the gaming arena for player-vs.-player showdowns; and an art hunt, where players search for hidden glyphs amongst hundreds of pieces of commissioned, local art that is unique to every location.
Level99 plans to hire over 100 roles for the Disney Springs location.
DisneyQuest & NBA Experience
It is presumed that Level99 will take over the former DisneyQuest and NBA Experience space. Not unlike Level99, DisneyQuest was a gaming venue for over 15 years before closing its doors in July 2017. The DisneyQuest building was demolished, and a new building was constructed.
The NBA Experience opened in August of 2019 in the new building, but was met with a poor reception. It operated until March 2020, when Disney Springs closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was announced by Disney more than a year later that the NBA Experience would never reopen.
Did you ever visit DisneyQuest or the NBA Experience?