Disney Officially Cancels ESPN the Weekend

**Wendy** · 23-07-2011, 11:47 AM

Disney officially canceled ESPN the Weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios via the Disney Parks Blog.

It states:

One thing that’s always struck me is our commitment to regularly reviewing the experiences we provide to our guests and challenging ourselves to bring new opportunities to life. Occasionally, this results in something coming to an end, as is the case with what I’m sharing today. In order to focus our efforts on ESPN’s growing year-round presence at Walt Disney World Resort, we have decided to no longer host ESPN The Weekend.

As you may know, the event was first created in 2004 in support of ESPN’s 25th anniversary and, along with ESPN Club, served as ESPN’s first significant presence here. While the event has continued for seven more successful years, our relationship with ESPN has evolved significantly and positively. This has resulted in new branding for the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, new opportunities for millions of athletes, coaches and fans, and hundreds of hours of ESPN programming, making our guests part of the show. In addition, the sports complex has become home to the ESPN Innovation Lab, which is the official development hub for ESPN’s 3D network.

Moving forward, our focus will be on creating events like the new ESPN RISE Girls Showcase and the ESPN RISE Games, which provide a stage for tens of thousands of athletes from around the country, and providing opportunities for guests to be part of events they’ve only before watched on television, such as the Home Depot College Football Awards and the Old Spice Classic.

We have just scratched the surface of what Walt Disney World and ESPN can do together and look forward to sharing information about new projects as they progress.

Well, I'm shocked, I can see a lot of people will be very disappointed with Disney's decision

**uscwest** · 23-07-2011, 06:05 PM

I've unfortunately only been once. However, it took place over my birthday. I certainly have no other reason to take a weekend trip to WDW in March.

**BUTTERHEAD1** · 24-07-2011, 05:31 AM

Although I have always wanted to go during ESPN Weekend I never had the chance because at that time of year my wife and kids have school/work. I have always enjoyed watching it on TV and kind of thought that at some point in the future I would be able to make it. Oh well!

**DisneyFreak** · 25-07-2011, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by BUTTERHEAD1

Although I have always wanted to go during ESPN Weekend I never had the chance because at that time of year my wife and kids have school/work. I have always enjoyed watching it on TV and kind of thought that at some point in the future I would be able to make it. Oh well!

Same here. My work does not allow me to take vacation at the beginning of the month or the last day or two of the month which is usually when ESPN the Weekend would take place.