Disney and Baseball Legend Cal Ripken Jr. Announce Partnership at Magic Kingdom

Major League Baseball legend and Hall of Fame inductee Cal Ripken Jr. stopped by Magic Kingdom today to announce a new partnership with Walt Disney World and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

  • Ripken joined Faron Kelle, the Vice President of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and of course Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom to announce that the Ripken Experience will be coming to the sports complex with tournaments beginning in 2020.
  • This new partnership will bring various tournaments, events and other baseball experiences to Walt Disney World.
  • This will be the fourth complex used by the Ripken Experience, with the other three being located in Maryland, South Carolina and Tennessee.
  • Those venues combined with Ripken’s Chevy-sponsored youth baseball tour will serve over 100,000 young baseball players and their families in 2020.
  • After sharing the news, Ripken took some time to teach Mickey a thing or two about baseball.

What they’re saying:

  • Faron Kelle, Vice President of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex: “At ESPN Wide World of Sports, we look for those partners that are best in class and share our passion for youth sports. And just as we have the Disney way, they have the Ripken way, which is focused on education, development, integrity and I think most of all fun.”
  • Major League Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr.: “We all know what Disney represents: entertainment, family, family values, fun. All the things we try to accomplish at the Ripken Experience and us coming together here, we couldn’t be more happy and more proud of the opportunity to bring a big league experience to the kids. That’s what it’s all about.”
  • Ripken on the big league experience they can provide: “We try to take those big league amenities, those big league details and bring it down to the kids so they can feel what it’s like for us to play in the big leagues.”