Banana Ball is returning to Walt Disney World in Spring 2027, but this time all teams in the league will step up to the plate for a chance to compete in the second Banana Ball Open and clinch an early playoff berth! Here are dates and details, including how WDW fans can score tickets to this tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
These high-energy baseball games popularized by Savannah Bananas are a fan-favorite, selling out MLB stadiums around the country and having a huge following on social media. Banana Ball debuted at Walt Disney World this year, and is now expanding with the Banana Ball Open in April 2027.
Announced live on ESPN2 and the Banana Ball YouTube channel, the Banana Ball City Selection Show revealed the dates and locations for next season for those fans looking to catch the excitement of the 2027 Banana Ball world tour. This reveal was highlighted by Banana Ball going global, with games set to be played in Mexico and Canada as part of the 2027 Banana Ball Championship League tour, which will include 79 stadiums across 74 cities.
The big news for Walt Disney World fans is that from April 15-18, 2027, Banana Ball is coming to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World for the second straight year.
Last season, Banana Ball traveled across the country for a ton of thrilling matchups, with high-profile games between the Savannah Bananas, the Firefighters, the Party Animals, the Loco Beach Coconuts, Indianapolis Clowns, and the Texas Tailgaters.
Banana Ball took the field at legendary venues like Yankee Stadium in New York City and Wrigley Field in Chicago. Games were also played at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Banana Ball even brought the show to Walt Disney World, culminating in last year’s battle between the Party Animals and the Loco Beach Coconuts.
2027 Banana Ball Open at Disney World
Next season, Walt Disney World will welcome all six teams to attend and four teams to compete in the Banana Ball Open at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Here’s the schedule for the 2027 Banana Ball Open at Walt Disney World:
- April 15, 2027: 4-Seed vs. 1-Seed
- April 16, 2027: 3-Seed vs. 2-Seed
- April 17, 2027: Open Final Game 1
- April 18, 2027: Open Final Game 2
The top four teams in the league will compete in the Banana Ball Open for a chance to earn a playoff spot five months early in this mid-season tournament at Walt Disney World.
The 2027 Banana Ball Open will be hosted at the 260+ acre ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World, the top four teams in the league will face off inside The Stadium, featuring more than 9,500 seats, four luxury sky boxes, open-air suites, and a whole bunch of happy hijinks on the diamond.
More Banana Ball 2027 Games
Banana Ball is also set to visit the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa and Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. There will also be more conventional stops on the 2027 schedule, including 23 MLB stadiums and 10 football stadiums.
Among these are LSU’s Tiger Stadium and the Tennessee Titans’ New Nissan Stadium, which will host the Banana Ball World Tour Championship Bowl (also known as the Banana Bowl) on September 25, 2027. According to Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole, the stadium selections are an intentional mix of unique, intimate spots and bigger venues that can host as many fans as possible.
“You know, this past year, the wait list reached 5 million for tickets. And so we want to continue to have an opportunity to take care of as many fans as possible; that’s why we’re doing more of these NFL stadiums and more of these Major League Baseball stadiums,” Cole told ESPN.
“We’re playing at Field of Dreams this year. We’re playing at Cooperstown, where they’re unveiling a whole exhibit for all six of our teams. We’re going to Hawaii. The Coconuts are playing in Hawaii at a 4,000-seat stadium,” Cole continued. “So, you know, we’re continuing to remember where we started, where we came from, but the opportunity to get more fans to be able to see it is our ultimate goal.”
The 2027 season’s schedule, new international games, and return to Walt Disney World for the 2027 Banana Ball Open weren’t the only announcements. Another innovation was also revealed: Banana Ball 360.
This will have one game being played on two fields, with the two teams switching fields between innings. Banana Ball 360, which will debut at Notre Dame Stadium on June 26, 2027, will involve two playing fields placed on opposite corners of a football stadium. The goal is to ensure that every seat in the stadium has a prime view of the action, even a football stadium with seating for 100,000.
How Do I Buy Banana Ball Tickets?
For fans itching to see trick plays, diving catches, and plenty of on-the-field shenanigans, make sure to secure your seats for next season, including the Banana Ball game at Walt Disney World, by entering the Ticket Lottery List before it closes at 11:50 pm Eastern on October 31, 2026.
Joining this list does not guarantee the opportunity to buy tickets (hence the term “lottery”), but it will enter you into a random drawing that takes place before the event for the chance to purchase available tickets. If your name is drawn, you will have the opportunity to continue through the verification process before being able to purchase your tickets to witness the fun up close.
Don’t get caught in a pickle with this opportunity to join the Ticket Lottery List by visiting BananaBall.com, as standard tickets start at $35 when you purchase them from the site. Meet and greet tickets start at $100 each, all with no hidden fees or tax. For updates about ESPN Wide World of Sports premium hospitality suites for Banana Ball, go here.
Frustrating as it might be if you come up empty handed, this lotto is a great way to keep prices affordable for average American families, and it just feels fair. Walt Disney World could take some notes!
Where Else Can I Watch Banana Ball in 2027?
If you want even more fast-paced Banana Ball content, be sure to tune into their games next season on ESPN+, Disney+, ESPN2, and additional ESPN platforms across the worldwide leader in sports.
For a full list of Banana Ball matchups that you can enter to attend in-person, be sure to visit BananaBall.com for new updates and the latest ballgames coming soon to a city near you.
For even more events coming soon to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, check the upcoming events calendar to find out which sport you’ll be able to see on your next visit to Disney World.
Banana Ball Disney+ Documentary
Banana Ball is also partnering with Disney to release a documentary on the rise of the league over the past decade, offering a look at how Banana Ball was built into the behemoth it has become. The documentary will feature original music from Pasek and Paul, with a world premiere set for Truist Park in Atlanta on June 12, 2027.
Following Banana Ball’s 10-year journey, from its humble beginnings in Savannah, Georgia, to a phenomenon known as “The Greatest Show in Sports,” the documentary will give fans an inside look at the stories, personalities and community behind it all. The documentary will then air on Disney+ and Hulu in Fall 2027.
The film is directed by David Beilinson, and produced by Connor Schell’s Words + Pictures and Benj Pasek & Justin Paul’s Ampersand. The documentary features 11 original songs from EGOT songwriters Pasek & Paul, with additional songwriters Ashley Gorley, Cal Shapiro, Ben Johnson, Adam Yaron, Jake Sinclair, Brandon Bomer, Jarius Jones, and Jesse Cole.
What is Banana Ball?
Probably should’ve answered this one first for the uninitiated. Constantly keeping fans and players on their toes, Banana Ball is quickly becoming the fastest-growing and most entertaining game in sports, featuring high-octane plays and rules aimed at maintaining a quick pace.
Whether a fan catches a foul ball (it counts as an out in the game) or a player tries to steal first base (yes, you read that correctly), this curveball on traditional baseball has continued to grow across the nation at home and in ballparks! For a concise comparison, the Savannah Bananas are basically the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball.
I’ll be honest with you, I had never even heard of the Savannah Bananas until a segment on 60 Minutes. As it turns out, the team is incredibly popular, with ~10 million TikTok followers, or more than every one of last year’s Major League Baseball playoff teams combined. This popularity kind of speaks to the appeal of Banana Ball; it’s baseball for the social media generation, for better or worse.
Banana Ball Won This Skeptic Over
I’ll admit to being skeptical of the Savannah Bananas at first, but I was intrigued as both a Disney and baseball fan. The team’s charismatic owner is Jesse Cole, who got bored with baseball so he invented a new sport dubbed “Banana Ball.” This is a faster, livelier, more dynamic twist on baseball that’s become a huge hit with fans and a viral sensation on social media.
Cole caught my attention for a couple of reasons. As a baseball fan since childhood who came of age in the mid-90s, I have long held the seemingly unpopular belief among fans that Major League Baseball has gotten boring. The game peaked for me then, with the high-water mark being the summer of Sosa and McGwire’s thrilling home run chase–an era and players that are now tainted for many fans due to PEDs.
At the time, though, that was something special. I loved watching as many baseball games as I could and catching The Big Show every morning. Seeing the Atlanta Braves play at the Stadium, eating at the Official All Star Café at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, and running into Braves closer Mark Wohlers at Downtown Disney was the highlight of my 1997 Walt Disney World trip!
I’m a staunch proponent of recent rule changes that speed up the game, and if anything, think they don’t go far enough. Baseball isn’t drawing new fans and doesn’t have enough recognizable superstars. Until last year, its two biggest generational talents were languishing away in Anaheim.
The game’s marquee player moving ~30 miles up the road was great for the game, and there have been some refreshing developments for the MLB in the last season. Still, not enough. It speaks volumes that it’s been very difficult for anyone under the age of 40 to watch the current MLB playoffs up until now, but I can easily watch a half-dozen regular season NFL games per week on streaming (and every single playoff game, once those start).
It would be nice if something, anything brought more young fans into baseball. I’d love for kids to get hooked on the MLB like I was, and it would be good for Walt Disney World to actually use the ESPN Wide World of Sports again. The synergistic possibilities are endless!
Watching the 60 Minutes piece and hearing that Cole draws inspiration for the Savannah Bananas from his idols, showmen P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney, had me further intrigued. Basically, Cole wants to do for baseball what Walt Disney did for theme parks.
He’s reinventing and reinvigorating the sport with a fan-first approach that reaches new audiences and focuses on entertainment that’s fun for the whole family, bridging generation gaps between children, parents and grandparents. Sound familiar?!
Even as a bit of a curmudgeon, I was immediately sold on the Savannah Bananas after hearing this. I don’t see Banana Ball ever having a permanent home at Walt Disney World (nor would I want it to–I’m fully on board with Banana Ball, but have to admit that I still think it’s a fade that’ll be a “remember when?” subject in a decade), but am pleased by the 2027 season featuring the Banana Ball Open at the ESPN Wide World of Sports!
I still haven’t been able to catch a game in person, but will be joining the lottery for a chance to watch the 2027 Banana Ball Open at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in April 2027. That should be a great time to visit Walt Disney World, too!
Right after Spring Break and during shoulder season, hopefully before the summer heat starts and while crowds are low. Fingers crossed that the first phases of Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom debut by then, but that strikes me as a bit early.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the 2027 Banana Ball Open being played at Walt Disney World? Have you seen a Savannah Bananas game? Are you a fan of Banana Ball or do you favor the ‘dignity’ of regular ole boring baseball? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!