869 · How Disney Magic Changed Baseball - Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas

What happens when someone takes Walt Disney's philosophy and applies it far beyond Disney?

In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas and creator of Banana Ball, during their sold-out appearance at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports. What began as a conversation about baseball quickly became something much deeper.

Jesse shares how Disney shaped him as a child, the unforgettable Typhoon Lagoon experience that still influences his leadership today, and why Walt Disney's principles of innovation, storytelling, attention to detail, and relentless "plussing" have become foundational to Banana Ball's explosive success. We also hear from Disney Sports Vice President Adam Ball about why Banana Ball and Disney make such a natural fit.

This conversation isn't about baseball.

It's about creating unforgettable experiences, embracing criticism, taking bold risks, building culture, and putting people first.

Whether you're a Disney fan, entrepreneur, creator, leader, or someone pursuing a dream, the lessons in this episode are powerful, practical, and deeply inspiring.

In this episode you'll discover:

• How Disney influenced Jesse Cole's vision
• The surprising connection between Walt Disney and Banana Ball
• Why fan-first thinking changes everything
• The importance of "plussing" every experience
• Lessons in leadership, innovation, and resilience
• Why criticism may be a sign you're doing something meaningful

Jesse Cole - Instagram

The Savannah Bananas - Instagram - YouTube

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There's a man who wears a bright yellow tuxedo every single day to airports, to conferences, to baseball games, everywhere. And.

And the first time I saw him walk in a room at a conference, I thought, okay, here's a guy. He's just looking for attention. Here's a guy who figured out that the yellow suit is his thing.

And then I watched him get on stage and speak, and everything changed. Because Jesse Cole doesn't wear the yellow tuxedo to get noticed. He wears it because it's exactly who he is.

It is the most authentic version of himself, just amplified, and the philosophy underneath it about fans first, joy always, plus the experience every single day. It is the most Disney philosophy I've ever encountered outside of Walt Disney World. And I think Walt Disney himself would be very proud.

Jesse Cole is the founder of the Savannah Bananas and the creator of Banana ball, the most entertaining, innovative, most fan first experience in all of professional sports. He's not just selling out minor league stadiums, he's selling out NFL stadiums. He has a waiting list that stretches years.

And he brought the show, because that's what it is, to ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World. And I had the opportunity to sit down with Jesse one on one. And in our conversation, he told me things about Walt Disney that I didn't expect.

And these are things that shaped everything he has built. You do not need to be a baseball, banana ball, or sports fan to enjoy and get value out of this.

Because whether you are just a Disney fan, a business owner, a creator, or simply pursuing your own dream, I think you're gonna find a lot of value and entertainment in this conversation. I have incredible respect for Jesse and not only what he's built, but what he continues to build. And I see a lot of Walt in him.

I think you will, too, and I think you're gonna love this conversation. So hello, my friend, and welcome to WDW Radio, your guide to the Disney parks and experiences and people around the world.

I am Lou Mongello, and this is show number 869. Whether this is your first time listening or you've been with me since the very beginning more than 20 years ago, thank you for being here.

Welcome back, and more importantly, welcome home. Before we dive in, come be part of our community and conversation over in the WDW Radio clubhouse. On Facebook.

Watch and be part of the live show Every Wednesday at 7:30pm Eastern on Facebook and YouTube and sign up for my free weekly email newsletter [email protected] and when you're ready to plan your next Disney vacation or you want to go see the Savannah Bananas or experience Banana Ball for yourself, I promise you you're going to want to visit my friends over at MouseFanTravel.com for completely fee free Expert Vacation Planning One more thing before we get into it and I promise to come back to both of these at the end of the show. First, this week I'm heading over to Shanghai Disneyland for their 10th anniversary celebration with a stop at Hong Kong Disneyland on the way back.

If you aren't following me on Instagram yet, let's connect there. I am, Lou Mongello, because I'm going to be sharing posts and photos and videos, probably some live coverage from both parks in real time.

I cannot wait to get back. It's going to be something special.

And second, I'm also going to have a very exciting announcement about an exclusive WDW Radio Community event at Disneyland that I think you're going to love. Yes, it involves Oogie Boogie Bash, but and something very special at 21 Royal.

I'll have more details at the end of the show, but don't skip ahead because right now it's Jesse Cole, the Yellow Tuxedo and the most Disney philosophy in sports. So sit back, relax and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio show.

I want to ask you a question before we get into my conversation with Jesse, and I want you to really think about it.

What would happen if you stopped doing things the way they've always been done and instead built everything around making people feel something, not just satisfied, not just entertained, but genuinely, deeply joyful. What would that look like? Jesse Cole asked himself that very question and the answer he somehow came up with was banana ball.

And if you've never heard of the Savannah Bananas, you need to. And if you have, you already know that what Jesse has built is something unlike anything else in professional sports. A show.

Because that's where it is. That's part baseball, part Broadway, part Cirque du Soleil, and entirely unapologetically ban.

First, from the moment you get in line to the moment you drive home.

And here's why this matters for this show and WDW Radio and I think Disney fans as a whole, because Jesse Cole is, in the most literal and sincere sense, a Walt Disney disciple. He studies Walt. He references Walt constantly. I have seen Jesse speak On stages for years. I know him from the conference speaking circuit.

He draws on the Disney philosophy of fans or Disney from guest first approach. The obsession with plussing the experience. The belief that you can create something new even when everybody else tells you it's impossible.

Sound familiar, fans of Walt. To build something that is now changing an entire industry. I had the great opportunity to sit down with Jesse, really stand up on the field as well.

At ESPN Wide World of Sports, at Walt Disney World, where Banana Ball had just played the night before to packed, sold out crowds and was about to just a few hours later. It was my very first in person Banana Ball experience.

And this is not hyperbole when I say it was unlike anything else I have ever experienced in sports, period. I shared a reel that really sort of gives you an idea of what a Banana Ball experience looks like. You can.

You can find it over on my Instagram or over in the clubhouse. I also talked with Adam Ball.

I wanted to talk with somebody from Disney, and he's the vice president of Disney Sports, about why this partnership makes so much sense and more importantly, I think what it means for guests. And before and during. And definitely by the end of our conversation, I was thinking about you.

Like, about what it would look like if every one of us applied this philosophy, like really applied it to whatever we do and whatever you might be building. And there's a reason why this conversation connects directly to something that I'm going to share with you at the end of the show.

But first, Jesse Cole, the yellow tuxedo and the most Disney philosophy in sports. Let's go.

You're looking strong, though. You're looking good, Max. You're looking strong.

There's a lot of Disney food in here.

I hear you. What's your favorite food at Disney? That's such a hard question because there's so much.

I think Takumi Te is the single best dining experience in all that. It's in the Japan Pavilion. It's omakase, like signature dinner.

Dinner.

Okay.

It's exceptional.

Best one in actually Disney World Resort. Best restaurant.

That's what.

Oh, man.

I think the Boat House, Topolino's Terrace, Chicken sugo, rigatoni.

But you go boathouse too.

I go boathouse too. I go boathouse harden. Jesse, I know you are a huge Disney fan.

What makes Banana Ball and Walt Disney World the perfect marriage, which they say doesn't exist, but I think this is it.

Banana Ball and Disney. It just makes sense. When Walt started, Disney had a vision of how he wanted people to Come together, enjoy and happiness and fun.

And that's the same spirit, the same values of how we built Banana Ball. And so you think every night at parks all around the world, Disney is bringing that joy, they're bringing that happiness.

People are seeing things they've never seen before. They're feeling things they've never felt before. In our shows, we actually try to do the exact same thing.

When people first come in, we have a rope drop, then we have a whole plaza experience. We have a show, we have a march where people come in. And then we're doing music non stop from when you get in to the end.

And then the end of the night, we have post game plaza party. Because the last impression leaves a lasting impression. And that was what Walt's spirit was.

He said, you know, if Disneyland loses the detail, we lose it all. And it was all about the attention to detail and how you make people feel.

And to see Wide World of sports, you think about this place, and it was built obviously well past Walt, but still in spirit. How can you bring sports and the magic of Disney together? And they had spring training games here for many years, but no longer.

And we get to come back here and fill this place with 10,000 people. Packed, sold out crowd. The energy was through the roof. And it just felt like, you're right, this was the perfect marriage.

I love the fact that you constantly reference Walt. I've seen you speak, I've heard you speak. Walt said it all started with a mouse for you, it literally all started with a banana and this idea.

And now you have built this incredible thing. And we'll talk about how you're really disrupting the entire sports industry. But what is the stuff that people don't see right?

In terms of you started literally with nothing other than this vision. One of the things that people don't see that Jesse had to build and.

Like Walt, go through those trials and.

Tribulations in order to get here.

They don't see when the show ends, that's when it really begins. So we go out there and we make sure that we say goodbye and thank every single fan. We'll sign autograph to every single fan leaves.

And then that's when the real work happens after that. So we did the fans first moments. We made sure that we heard everybody, we listen to everyone. But then we started going through all the notes.

And I'll stay up routinely after our first night here. I was up till 1:30 last night. All the notes, all the details, everything. Where the music hits, what the blocking is what's the promotion?

What's the sounds? How do we hit this? Everything. And then in the morning we start writing down new ideas how to get it better.

As Walt Disney would say, how do you plus the experience? And so this morning, before everyone else out here, two hours before, we're going through all the notes to make the show better.

And we're never going to have a perfect show. It doesn't exist. But can we plus it a little better every single day to make it a little better?

It was bloody, it was, it was disaster. It was a nightmare, as many of the press called it. But he said, I'm gonna get better the next day and I'm gonna get better. And I'm get better.

I'm continue to plus the experience. And now with what Disney has done and the impact they've made all over the world, it's that same spirit. And so that fires me up.

I know what Walt would have done last night. He would have taken note and said, we'll get the show better. And that's what we're obsessed over.

And I think that's what's carried us to where we are today.

I think it's remarkable how you continue even after all the years of success and you're filling football stadiums, which was probably not part of the initial vision. No, you are a fan first experience and I think more so. You treat fans like family. And let's not just marketing speak.

It's in the way you sell tickets, it's in the way you treat people when they come here. It's the way you make people feel. Talk a little about that philosophy and I think really how again, how it ties back to what Walt did.

It goes back to your root. I think all of us, you go back to our moments as kids that really matter. And for me, my moments that matter is my family took me to Disney.

Those are the magical moments that I can never forget.

Every year I was so fortunate for about five year period went to Disney and it was these weeks that I can remember exactly where I was and how I felt. And so I had that built inside me.

And I think moments fade often, but for those, they were core memories for me because it was so big, so much bigger. And it was so much joy and happiness and music and all those Details that not people don't talk about, but you feel innately it's not.

Everyone around has a spirit. And so for me, I've always been trying to chase those. I want to chase those moments, chase those experiences.

Myself as a kid having that unbelievable happiness.

It's so excited even after a long day at the park because of everything I just experienced that I want fans to have that when they go home, even though they just had 3, 4, 5, 6 hours of non stop entertainment, that they still have that excitement and it spreads and that it's contagious and that joy. And so for me, I'm still, you know, trying to take care of that kid and make sure that they have the best night of their life and that it continues.

They continue to have moments that truly matter.

Because you shared that story, which I loved about you as a kid.

Yeah.

At.

Was it Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard? Right. And. And how it's amazing how that moment had such a long term. Just quickly share that story again.

And how that moment for you as a young kid is shaping what you're doing today.

Yeah, again, we would get the park tickets. We'd always get there early. I wanted to get on every ride. I want to get the best experience possible.

But I went to Typhoon Lagoon and I remember a cast member came out and started asking questions about Typhoon Lagoon. And his family answered all the questions and they crowned them.

They gave them the medallions at Big Kahuna, let him go in early to go on all the rides. And I was like, what? You get to go in the park before anyone else? That is crazy. I was blown away.

And so I, yeah, I told my dad, I said, dad, we got to come back next. Tomorrow I'm going to be the big. I'm going to study and learn. And so I studied, learned, and got all the questions right and went in.

And we found our spot right at the corner of Hyphon Goon. There's a corner spot overlooking the wave pool. There's only four seats there. It was perfect. It's the best seat in the house. We got that spot.

And I remember that day, going on all the rides, no one else was there running up, going in the wave pool. And I felt like I was on top of the world. And what we always say in here, Banana Lin, is do for one what you wish you could do for many.

And every night, most people don't know the hundreds of stories of things that are being created for families that come in from all over the world that have been waiting for years on the wait list that are going through challenges, adversity, battling cancer, family issues that we try to create those moments. And you go back to me as a kid having that moment, I wasn't going through any adversity challenge, but I felt like the king.

I felt like the big kahuna. And in that moment, I always want to create those big kahuna moments for kids and families every single night.

I think what you're doing too forget.

We'll talk about the sport itself.

But I think from a. In terms of the way you're creating culture.

Yeah.

And I always think back to how you started from zero. And convincing your wife is one thing.

Convincing these players that maybe we're trying to get into the bigs to be like, listen, this is what we're started. You're going to be able to play. But oh, by the way, you need to sing and you need to dance. How do you create that culture?

At the very beginning, which obviously now not just fans want to come to banana ball, but players want to come as well.

People have to remember so few players wanted to play for the Savannah Bananas. When we started, our name was getting criticized all over. We were saying, we're a failure. We're not going to sell any tickets. It was bad.

And then we got a few. We got a few players to join us and we started selling games. And a few took that leap. All it takes is one person.

The way to start a movement, it starts with one.

You need one. Yes.

You need one.

Yeah.

And we were fortunate to have just a few players that said, you know what, I'll go out and dance. And they danced and the fans responded and they signed autographs and they connected.

And all of a sudden then a few more joined and a few more joined. It's hard to take that first leap no matter what you do.

It was hard to take the leap for us to start a brand new team and only sell a few tickets and have to sell our house and empty out our savings account. And it's hard to take a leap to leave traditional baseball, which was. Which made us successful. We were selling out every stadium in Savannah.

We were doing great. And then we said, no, we're going to go to banana ball. It's hard, but you got to see something else. And that's what Walt did.

And I tried to take that inspiration. Walt has given me the permission to take chances. When everyone else say it's going to fail, you think about that.

Everyone said Snow White was going to fail. The full length animation film, it's not going to work. Everyone. And then the theme park, his wife and his brother thought he was crazy. Everyone.

But he saw something and he pushed and people got to push. If I have anyone on an organization, anyone on our team that has belief, I may not think it's the best idea.

But if they have such strong belief, go for it. Because belief can overcome anything. And people don't realize that. And that's what Walt taught me. And so same thing with the players.

Once they started doing it and they started seeing the response and having the time of their life and going back to like they were when they were kids playing the game for fun playing, people responded and they start saying, you know what? I can do this. They don't. They never learned how to dance or sing or perform on the field.

And now they're doing it in front of a major league stadiums or 100,000 seat stadiums. That's crazy. But they see one of their teammates do it. She doesn't I can do it. It starts with one. That's how you then create a movement.

And so I'm so grateful that we've had all these trendsetters. And it's not just myself, it's so many others, the players that take that first lead.

It's a guy on stilts going out there the first time and saying I'm gonna go hit on stilts. Are you kidding me? Or Jonathan Lueders who goes out on a unicycle, hits on a unicycle. That is unbelievable.

It is Derek Klena who's a Broadway star and says I'm going to leave Broadway and I'm going to come here and I'm going to go pitch and play for the bananas and sing leaving Broadway behind. It's those people, those pioneers, those people are that aren't afraid of what people are going to say that make the.

They make the true difference and they lead everything.

The highest compliment I can give you and I sincerely and I saw this new one of the first times I saw you ski. We've known each other for years speaking certain conferences. There is a lot of Walt I see in you.

Because to use a Waltism you need to believe in a thing. Unquestionably. Because if you don't believe in it, the people below you can't.

And I'm sure there were those challenges especially when you were only selling two tickets. Yeah. How do you make sure. How do you convince everybody to follow that belief and be passionate and patient and persistent?

It's hard. It's extremely hard.

To have belief when you can't make payroll, right?

Well, you can't make nothing. We were grocery shopping on $30 a week. We had nothing. But you got to see something.

And I was so fortunate as a kid that I was able to have a few of those moments, those few that stood out. And to see there is a better way. There's always a better way. But you're often just told, you have to do things this way.

This is the way it's always been done. And that's how you keep a job. You do things the same way as everyone else. You know how you lose a job? You challenge that and it doesn't work out.

We need to give more people permission to challenge the conventional way and go do it and be okay with failure. Because the only way you're going to see it is you're going to get through the failures. We failed every step of the way. People don't realize that.

And so I'm aware of that. We failed every step of the way. We only sold two tickets when we started. When we named the team, we were criticized.

The first night, the all you can eat for a whole stadium, people had to wait three hours. The first night on espn, the transmission went out. The first MLB stadium, the ticket system shut down. Our first T shirts, we misspelled bananas.

We have failed every step of the way. But that's why we succeed. That's why we're here today. And people don't give. Great leaders should give permission for people to be okay with failure.

That's how you succeed.

And risk. Right? You take a risk, too.

Look, I have to imagine you or your wife when you're standing in front of that mirror the very first time and you put on the bright yellow tuxedo and you're walking out into a conference where everybody's got a stick. Or is that thing. You must be like, am I what you think?

What'd you think? You must have been, what is. This guy's crazy. I want to know how to go through it.

We've been to a lot of conferences.

I'm sure the first time you saw.

Me, I was like another guy dressing like a. Dressing like in a big yellow suit just so we can get noticed. But then I heard you, and everything.

Changed, because that was actually who I.

Am, and it was completely authentic. I'm like, I believe this guy, but.

You need to be willing to be misunderstood. Yeah, most people, they were afraid of being misunderstood. I knew, hey, this is who I am. This is the best version of myself. I'M amplifying myself.

I believe that. And bringing joy, sunshine, getting permission for people to have fun and let loose and be themselves.

This is me, but I knew at first you better believe going through airports, going to conferences, the looks. I know what people were saying, but I said, well, we're just going to keep showing up every single day. I keep showing up in this.

And now you'll see every game there are kids and people dressed up in full yellow tuxedos, which is crazy. I don't know where they're getting all these.

But my point is, I think that is what we need to give more people today is permission to be the best version of themselves, to let loose, to not worry about what people think. And I think that's one of the great things about Walt Disney World.

You think about people show up in costumes and they dress and they sing and they have fun. You get to be a kid again and that's what we need. And that's what makes me so proud to be here with Disney, is that we all get to be kids again.

That's when you started playing a sport. You played a sport to be a kid, to have fun. And we get to do that in front of sold out crowds. And I think there's just hope.

Walt's down looking down on us and saying, wow, I'm proud.

I was just going to say, I think Walt will be very proud of you.

Because the other thing too, and I want to be respectful of your time, is you did, you took a massive swing because you are such a disruptor, not just in amateur athletics, but you're taking, you took a big swing against traditional Major League Baseball and America's pastime. And like, we are going to make this something that's fun and something that is different and unique.

I took a swing for the fans. It has nothing to do about Major League Baseball. It has nothing to do with any of our competitors. It's a swing for the fans.

If the fans that come into play, they're overpriced, they're playing ticket fees, convenient fees, service fees. They come in, they sit at a game, all of that.

They sit at a game and they're just hoping that their team plays well and that they've always done it that same way.

I take a swing for the fans, the family that's sitting up in the upper deck and they're just, hey, they paid all this money to come to this game and they're hoping for something great.

What Walt Disney was tremendous about is he focused on controlling the experience from when the moment you walk in, from what the smells, the sounds, the everything. He didn't leave that to chance. Sports leaves to chance so often. We hope it's a great game. Walt would have controlled every single thing.

So we will continue to take swings for pants because I don't care. I don't know what's going to happen on the field. I don't know if we're going to get three hours of storms, which we did last night.

But we have to take a swing for them to make sure it's the best night of their life. I want fans, even if it rains, to say they didn't even throw a pitch was the best night of my life. And so that's the effort that we try to say.

It has nothing to do with competitors. Major League Baseball is not a competitor. All the other sports people say, oh, Netflix is a competitor. All this is. I don't care about that.

Most people focus on their competitors. I focus on my customers. I'm obsessed with the fans. When you're obsessed with that, everything else takes care of itself.

But you will be misunderstood along the way, every step of the way. And I'm not worried about that.

And you can see that. You can feel that in the stadium. You can feel it when you watch the game. Watching a traditional baseball game on tv.

So watching a banana ball game on TV is a very different experience.

I was riveted to the TV as.

Watching the replay of the game last night. Because like everything in Walt Disney World, it's not a ride, it's not an attraction.

You create experiences for every single guest and it's a place that families to have fun together.

No, thank you. But to be honest with, we're not even close in the broadcast. We're not even 1%.

Because when you see tonight at a live experience where it's just non stop and it's immersive, well, what's happening at first base? What's happening to dugout? What's happening outfield? What's happening?

We haven't cracked the code on the other broadcast and we need to and we're doing it ourself. We invested $13 million through the broadcast ourself and it's going to take a long road to get there. It's a long journey.

But you're right, I want people to eventually be able to watch a broadcast and feel like they're at the live experience and feel like they're alive and they're a part of it and they feel part of something and it's just we're not there yet. But I appreciate you saying that, but I know we got a lot of plussing to do with that experience to get it where it needs to be.

I have to ask you, because I.

Know this wasn't an easy road.

You had people like Walt who told.

You, you can't do it. You shouldn't do it.

You're ridiculous. Snow White was Disney's folly. How do you. How did you. How do you.

And what advice do you have to somebody who gets that same type of pushback that you got?

The only people who get criticized are the people that actually do something. So many people that are just going about doing what everyone else is doing, you won't get criticized. You want to all get criticized. Stay in bed.

You want to get criticized. Go do some things people haven't done before. Criticism, in many ways, is a gift.

When I see our fans criticize us or people criticize us, they are telling us, all right, good. Let's see what we can do now. We're going to show up. I love the chip on my shoulder. I love people saying, hey, they're 15 minutes or almost up.

It is a fad. They've jumped the shark, which. I still don't even know what that means, but it doesn't sound good.

I love that people show me pictures behind bars and they're saying, he's disrupted baseball. He's making a mockery of this game. It's not for them.

But I'll tell you, in 10, 20, 30, 40 years, when I see those comments, 15 or 15 minutes are up and we're still going, and we're better for the fans then than we even are now. That fires me up because I'll tell you, I'm not focused on the next quarter. I'm focused on the next quarter century and beyond.

And that's the way Walt thought. He didn't think about building Disneyland for the next few years. He thought about building epcot, literally a city of tomorrow.

He was so far out of his time. It's that long game that most people don't think about. That fires me up.

And I think that's why thinking about Disney and us together, you couldn't have a better marriage.

I love the philosophy.

Last question. Although I have a million more in my head. Where, like, Walt, where is banana ball? What do you.

What's your vision?

Where's banana ball going in the future?

Where do you want it to go?

Everything has to start with the fans. That's. That's the key. Most companies they start with, how do they drive revenue? How do they drive sales? Where are they going to bring this?

What's the value of the enterprise? All that crap I am focused on. All right, where's our fam going? What's the future fam look like?

Is the experience today just sitting in a seat, not a part of the show, just watching the show? Is there a different level? Is there different places that we can play that never played before? Are there different points of views?

Are there ways to create even more immersive show? We've experienced it a little bit. You'll come into the plaza. You feel like you're coming into local beach, but we're not even close.

There'll be an immersive experience show that involves a Broadway and Banana Ball with new rules and playing all over the world. There's maybe a theme park in the future. You never know. There's so many things that we can create.

If you have a goal and a vision for what's best for fans and understand that the story and the deep root of what you're trying to create, joy, happiness, belonging, and that's the root of it all. Anything's possible.

Jesse, I noticed one thing in our entire conversation. There's one word you did not say once, and it's I. You're the guy that everybody sees in the yellow thing. You're the guy who I've.

Listen, I've been able to meet so many incredible people from Disney. When I tell some people, you know, Jesse, you know the guy, you've never made it about you. You make it about the fans first.

So much bigger. Yeah, so much bigger. And I think that's it. And that's everyone in our organization.

When you look at everyone, we are all driven by a singular purpose. It is fans first. You put the fans first, everything else takes care of itself. That'll never change.

That's awesome.

I love the philosophy. I love what you do.

I love how there is so much in parallel of you and Walt and Disney, and that's why this is such a perfect marriage. I can't wait for the game today.

It's going to be fun. Appreciate it. Thanks for having everyone. Thank you for what you do.

Thank you.

Rock and roll.

Adam, Here we are with Banana Ball at Walt Disney World and ESPN Wide World of Sports. Tell me why, from your perspective, this.

Marriage just makes total sense.

Yeah. You know what? We're so excited that it's here. Disney and Banana Ball have so much in common. Right. I think we're both about our fans.

And our guests first. In everything that we do, we're both entertainment. We're both about memories and, and fun and family time together.

And so bringing that together here at ESPN Wild World Sports, we can't imagine anything more fun.

I have been here many times. I've been here for spring training many, many years ago. I've been here for rundisney events.

I've been here to see the lines of rundisney enthusiasts lining up to get their. Their credentials. However, I have never seen five hours before a baseball game. People lined up to get in and then lined up just to.

To walk into.

Tell me what sort of different energy banana ball brings that maybe we haven't seen at Wide World of Sports before.

Yeah, I mean, the whole experience they bring, from having a party beforehand to having basically a party during a game with real baseball going on at the same time and then a party afterwards. Right. They had a plot.

There were thousands of people here last night that were hanging out, enjoying themselves even after the game was over for another hour. Players signing autographs everywhere. It just was an incredible atmosphere and we loved it.

We loved how early everybody came and how long they stayed.

There's a lot of Disney in banana ball. Right. In terms of. Jesse just talked about it being a fan first type of experience and the fact that it is an experience.

It is not just coming to a game. It is a. From getting a ticket to everything you do after. Talk about sort of bookending like Walt. Right.

From that vision of the castle to fireworks at night. That same sort of philosophy that occupies the stadium.

Yes. I mean, just like they're focused on the whole story. We are as well. Right. We have cast members that are incredible here.

You see them behind us getting this field ready. They want to take care of everything here. Just like the folks that are making sure it's an easy parking experience and an easy ticketing and entry.

And so we take care of care of everything from start to finish and all the folks behind the scenes, you know, see, and we love getting to tell that story about our incredible customers and doing with great partners like the bananas.

And Jesse is always like Walt. He always talks about. It's about plussing up the experience.

How does bringing banana ball here and how does ESPN help to sort of support sort of plusing that experience up for maybe fans who've either been to a banana ball game before or this is a very new, very unique, admittedly experience for them.

Yeah, you know what? We're loving seeing folks that have never been to a banana ball game.

Or seeing folks who've never been to this complex and getting to experience it for the first time.

I think our cast members are incredible and I think the fans first approach to banana ball just helps us even be better and continue finding ways to plus up that approach.

Banana ball has grown to major league stadiums, football stadiums. They are selling out faster than. I mean, the waiting list is so incredibly long. But here it's different. It's such a much more intimate experience.

The way banana ball sort of almost began when they couldn't sell out a stadium like this. And now tickets go in minutes.

Talk about what being able to experience the game in some place like Wide World of Sports and being so close to the action, how, how different and how that makes that special.

Yeah, I have incredible memories of the stadium. Being here for spring training with my kids, even as infants watching the games.

It's such a incredible experience because you're so close to the, the action. So it's great baseball happening on this field, but with just such intimacy because you're right here.

And the fans brought the energy last night and I'm sure they will today too.

So I watched it on Disney, which.

I, which I love.

I was able to watch the game from the comfort of my couch on Disney. And you feel that energy come loose, which made me so much more excited to come tonight.

But what I love that is in parallel from banana ball and Disney is it's not adults just coming here, it's families coming here. And there's things for parents to do and things for kids to do.

And the way that fans get involved, that is no longer just a passive viewing experience of baseball. They really become part of the action.

Yeah. I think they take care of, you know, kids in the same way we do here at what is the world.

But also anybody who's just a fan, there were grandparents to little kids here yesterday. And so I think everybody can be a part of. Everybody can find something to enjoy. Even if you're not a baseball fan.

There's music, there's action, there's all kinds of fun things happening. And so I think they get the best of both worlds.

And it's just, it's a fun, safe environment.

The fact that some people are here and to be able to sort of plus their Walt Disney World vacation by being this, this is going to be one of those core memories that kids and adults are going to take away because this is so unique to a Walt Disney World vacation experience.

Yeah. Everything we do at Walt Disney World.

Right.

Is about creating memories and Making magic.

And so getting to do that here in the sports complex and go back to a hotel and go to a theme park or water park the next day, we think that's absolutely incredible.

When guests walk out of the stadium finally, after a very wonderfully long, like, day and night experience, what do you want them to feel about both Banana Ball, but more importantly Walt Disney world and what ESPN's wilder sports brings?

I just wanted to feel, hey, we had a magical time. We just had an experience together that we can't get really anywhere else. And we got to do it at Walt Disney World and get to see Banana Ball.

And I think for a lot of people, this is their very first experience with ESPN Wide World of Sports.

When Banana Ball is not here, tell, tell guests who might not be familiar what else happens here, how this can potentially enhance their Walters World experience or vacation.

Yeah, I mean, we do competitions and different events all throughout the year.

Right.

You mentioned Rundisney earlier. So we've got races four weekends a year that are absolutely incredible for all ages.

We've got an international cycle soccer tournament happening next week. We're bringing Major League Pickleball here for the very first time.

With Orlando's Vario and Orlando Squeeze and other teams competing this summer to ESPN8 the Ocho, which is one of the most incredible zany sports events that's ever happened. We'll be in our second year here. Dodgeball.

Is it going to be dodgeball?

There was dodgeball last year. There's going to be all kinds of fun things this year as well.

Awesome.

I love it.

Adam, thank you so very much.

I am super excited for tonight's game.

I hope that Banana Ball returns year over year, because if you haven't had a chance to see it in person, I think you're in for something super special.

I'm so glad you're going to see it tonight.

Have fun.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

It's time for this week's Walt Disney World Trivia Challenge. How well do you know the magic, history and hidden details of Disney? Let's find out.

Answer correctly and enter for a chance to win a Disney Prize package and this week's Disney Trivia Challenge. Enter is brought to you by the most important part of WWE Radio, which is you.

Because when you join the WW Radio Nation, you're not only helping to support the podcast, you're helping make everything we do possible, while also becoming part of an incredible community of Disney fans and friends from around the world. More importantly, when you join the nation, you help support our Dream team project.

And together we have raised more than $550,000 to help grant make a wish trips for children with life threatening illnesses. That is what real Disney magic looks like.

If you enjoy the show, if you believe in the community we've built together and want to help make a difference, I would love for you to join us. And when you do, you get exclusive rewards every single month. You can learn more [email protected] support.

Now, before we get to this week's question, let's go back review last week's and select our winner.

So I said on the last episode that I saw a video pop up in my I don't know if it was Facebook memories or Google Photos memories from Star Wars Weekends many years ago at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I loved it. I dig it. I miss it. Including the big finale which was the Hyperspace Hoopla.

No, you know, if you remember, you remember it was very different. Your question was to tell me who were the hosts of the Hyperspace Hoopla Hoopla. Thanks to. All of you entered, got this one correct.

Some of you sent links to videos that you have posted or yourself at Disney Hollywood MGM Studios for Star Wars Weekends. And the answer, of course, is the iconic hosts Star Wars Weekends Hyperspace Hoopla were Snig and Hoopla.

They hosted the event which featured it was Wild man. It was Star wars characters in a dance competition often judged by the audience and concluded with this huge musical performance.

Let's just say we saw characters dancing in ways that we will never ever see them again, for better or for worse.

Anyway, I took all the correct entries, randomly selected one last week you were playing for a prize package that includes a WW keychain, stickers pin, a new embroidered patch, and a mystery prize that I brought back from one of my recent adventures overseas. And last week's winner, randomly selected is John Sheriff. So, John, congratulations.

I will get your prize package out to you before I leave for Shanghai, but if you played last week and didn't win, thanks for playing. But don't worry because here's your next chance to enter in this week's Walt Disney World Trivia Challenge.

So this week we're talking not just with Jesse Cole, but about banana ball.

And it was from ESPN Wide World of Sports, where, like I said, there's a lot that goes on there, especially if you are an amateur athlete or if you participate in the Run Disney events. But Banana Ball is not the first or only baseball games that have been played there.

And in fact, there was a Major League Baseball team that held spring training at Walt Disney world for nearly 20 years.

Again, you're going to play for the keychain, the stickers, the pin, the patch, and I will bring you back a mystery prize from Shanghai and or Hong Kong Disneyland. So good luck and have fun.

You know, I said at the top of this episode that Jessicol's philosophy of fans first and plussing the experience every single day and believing in that thing unquestionably, even when everybody else says you're crazy, I get it applies to whatever you are building. And I mean it.

Because if you heard something in this conversation today that made you think about your own work or life differently, I don't want that feeling to disappear the moment you close the app or stop listening.

So I want to quickly tell you about something that I built specifically for that you have probably heard me talk about my Momentum Weekend Workshop, which is a four day event for solopreneurs and creators and entrepreneurs October 15th through the 18th at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, right across the street from Disney Springs, right here on Walt Disney World.

And if you've ever been to a conference like me and taken pages of note like me and gone home, fired up again like me and then done absolutely nothing with any of it three months later. True story. Like me, I built Momentum specifically to fix that problem. Because Momentum is not a conference.

It's intentionally intimate, only 50 seats, which means you attend every single session. It's all in one room. You never miss a thing and the focus is entirely on you. Your dream, your idea, your brand, your business.

You get your questions answered in real time. You're not just sitting there watching slide deck over slide deck.

You are in the room doing the work, building your monetization strategy, learning AI tools for content and email and video that are practical and tactical, developing your storytelling, building your systems and leaving with specific actionable goals and a real plan to hit them.

And this year's speakers include experts in solopreneur systems, AI content planning and strategy, email copywriting, video growth, community building, and more. Plus, every attendee gets a 200 plus page workbook. There's also an optional Mastermind Monday for just six people who want to go even deeper.

And there's a lifetime members only community that's included so the support doesn't end when the weekend does. The outcome is not inspiration, the outcome is momentum. It's real changes to your business made while you are still in the room.

Jesse Cole did not wait for the perfect moment. He started with two tickets and $30 a week. The yellow tuxedo was terrifying, but he did it anyway.

And the only thing that separated where he started from where he is now was the decision to begin. Super duper. Early Bird pricing is live right now, $200 off the workshop and mastermind tickets. There's only 50 seats.

We are more than halfway sold out.

You can get all the details and grab your [email protected] Momentum I would genuinely love to see you there and if you have any questions, not sure if Momentum is right for you, just email me lou www radio.com okay, so I promised you two announcements. I am a man of my word. First, I'm heading to Shanghai Disneyland this week for their 10th anniversary celebration.

On the way back, because it's right across the street, I'm stopping at Hong Kong Disneyland.

There'll be no new episode the week of June 15, but I promise I'll be sharing real time photos and videos and live coverage from both parks, mostly on Instagram and in the Clubhouse so you don't miss a thing. You can follow me over on instagram @lumangello.

Second, this is the one that I've been teasing for a while, but the WDW family is going to be heading to Disneyland this fall.

Dates and times and details coming soon, but mark your calendars from around October 25th through the 29th because this is not just a meet of the month in Disneyland. We have secured special tickets and access to Oogie Boogie Bash, which you know is very hard to get over at Disney California Adventure.

That includes an exclusive VIP area reserved just for our community.

And thanks to our friends over at Mouse Fan Travel, we are hosting a truly remarkable private dinner at 21 Royale, one of if not the most coveted dining experiences at the entire Disneyland resort. Maybe at any Disney resort anywhere. This is a very small, very curated event and spots are going to be very, very limited, like less than 10.

So stay tuned for announcements in the clubhouse over at www.comclubhouse and be sure you subscribe to the email newsletter because I'll be posting it there as well. It'll go right to your inbox. Go to www.radio.com. You can find the link there.

And of course there are some other things that we're planning for this time while we're out there as well. I promise you are not going to miss it. Switching gears a little bit if Alaska is more your speed and if it hasn't been, it should be.

It is incredibly special and I hope that you can join us there. And finally, thank you. First, I know this outro is a little long, so thank you for bearing with me.

I know that you can spend your time anywhere and the fact that you chose to spend part of it with me means the world. If this episode helped you, inspired you, maybe, maybe it made you think about something differently.

Please do me a favor, share it with somebody else who needs it. This is how community grows. This is how we find each other.

And another great way to do that is if you haven't done it before, Please do me a favor, head on over to Apple Podcasts, rate and review the show. It's very, very helpful and it's a great way to help other people find the show as well. Don't forget I want to hear from you over in the clubhouse.

Tell me what you thought about Jesse's story today. Tell me what you are building. Tell me if you are coming to Momentum or Disneyland or Alaska.

I really do want to know and more importantly, I really do want to help you any way that I can. And speaking of helping, I want to thank Mouse Fan Travel once again.

They have been a longtime friend and supporter and really part of the show going on almost 20 years. So whether this is your first Disney trip or your 50th, they don't just help you plan a vacation.

They help you create the kind of experiences that we've been talking about in this episode. The kind that become core memories. The kind like Jesse has been chasing his whole life. I trust them with my own travel and I know you can too.

Which is why I trust them to share their what they do with you. You can just go to wwradio.comtravel for a free no obligation quote and let them help you plan your perfect Disney Day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you again. I love and appreciate you. I cannot wait to share all kinds of stuff right from Shanghai and Hong Kong.

In the meantime, please don't forget to be kind. Choose the good, be the good and set an example for others and always keep moving forward. Have a great day. Even better tomorrow. So until next time.

I love you. See you.