The newest addition to Disney Springs will test customers’ logic, dexterity and patience in creative and competitive ways.
Level99 opens to the public on Monday and features 63 challenges.
In some cases, players are asked to quickly place a series of related objects. In some cases, you have to use hints to build structures within 3 minutes. Transferring the “alien babies” (aka pellets) from the scoop to the cylinder may require teamwork.
Sometimes they dodge the axes being brandished.
“There are some people who are into physical games, and they can play monkey bars all day long. … And then there are people who are into skill games, social communication games, and mental games,” Level 99 founder and CEO Matt Duplessis said Thursday during a ribbon-cutting and media preview of the experience.
“We have tried to balance the 63 types in our portfolio so that there is something to suit every taste,” he said.
The Level99 game spans two levels of the West Side neighborhood of Disney Springs, Walt Disney World’s shopping and entertainment complex. With the exception of a few challenges, everything is in self-contained and somewhat mysterious modules. Oversized graphics hint at the theme.
Self-service screens at each entrance provide directions options, from tips and hints to complete directions.
Alternatively, some athletes go indoors in the cold and wait until some time has elapsed before trying to find the challenge.
“Each room entry screen has a little light bulb icon that you can touch to get a hint or read a detailed description of that room before you play,” Duplessy said.
Challenges are designed for 2 to 6 players to play together. One exception in single player is something called Ax Run, which is located near the entrance on the first floor. Players walk along narrow beams and pace themselves between giant (pseudo) axes that swing erratically.
Getting to the other side is the only goal, but there is time in the journey. The fastest time under 8 seconds, for example, can earn applause and be mentioned on the daily leaderboard.
Disney Springs is the fourth Level99 store on the East Coast of the United States. Founded in 2021, the company has four more venues planned. The company develops mini-games in a research lab in Massachusetts, and there is some movement between locations. Disney Springs has the most challenges of any chain.
“Once the venue has reached a certain level of maturity, and after a number of months, we start rotating the content, usually in clusters of rooms at a time. There will be two or three challenges at a time, with fresh themes, fresh types of challenges and puzzles, so there’s something new every time you come back,” Duplessy said.
“It’s all part of reproducibility,” he said.
This extends to beating the best time between axes and even trying again if the player thinks they have a better understanding of the task after the first attempt.
Players pay for blocks of time within Level99, not the number of challenges attempted. Tickets start at $29.99 per player and are available in 1.5 hour and 2.5 hour increments. There is a cap on the number of internal contestants to reduce waiting times. Most games are only 2-3 minutes long, regardless of whether the task is completed or not. Participants can pause the game clock and take a break for food and drinks. A large circular two-story bar is built between the stairs at Level99.
Disney Springs: New Level99 venue leverages teamwork
The space’s previous tenant was the short-lived NBA Experience, which included basketball-themed hands-on activities, but the attraction closed with the pandemic shutdown in 2020 and never reopened. Previously, this part of Disney Springs was home to DisneyQuest, an interactive facility that operated from 1998 to 2017.
“This is so relevant to today… wherever you go, connect with the people you’re with. People create memorable moments,” said Debbie Hart, vice president of Disney Springs.
“We want our guests to bond, connect, escape reality and do something different,” she said.
dbevil@orlandosentinel.com
