Splitsville Coming To Downtown Disney West Side

Today Disney announced that construction will begin this Fall on taking the old Virgin Records store (currently inhabited by RIDEMAKERZ) and converting it into Splitsville Bowling Experience. Splitsville has high end upscale entertainment centers around the country, but none in the greater Orlando area. Indeed, no bowling franchise has a corner market on Orlando.

While Disney mentioned many of its projects today in its blog, to include the expanded Harley Davidson store, the Apricot Lane Boutique, and remodeling going on at Lego and AMC, they made no mention of the "Hyperion Wharf" project. Orlando Sentinel reports today that the Wharf "will be delayed indefinitely as it reevaluates plans for the site."

Nothing constructed so far has really taken this form.

Some have projected that additional Downtown Disney projects would be unveiled at D23. Today's announcement comes just weeks prior to that event. Others have already suggested that Splitsville suffers from Disney Institutus, an expression I give to Disney projects like the Disney Institute with it's crafts and hobby classes, that could be done at home (and probably for less) so why would tourists do it on vacation. Conversely, weekend nights still show packed parking lots at Downtown Disney. There seems to be a need for the locals in town to have somewhere to go to enjoy the evening. Downtown Disney still has that ability to attract. Splitsville will make it all the more attractive to locals, even if tourists don't care to frequent.

Back in 2008, a bowling stadium of 100 lanes was announced for Disney's Wide World of Sports. That facility, which could have become the biggest bowling arena in the country, would have been used by the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships. This too has gone the wayside without much in the way of announcement from Disney.