Disney has built one of the stranger content pipelines in its portfolio, and almost nobody has connected the pieces.
A Savannah Bananas second baseman is currently competing on Dancing with the Stars, which airs on ABC and streams on Disney+. Banana Ball games have made appearances at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Disney Parks Blog has covered the team directly. And the sport’s championship is about to land on Disney+ as an exclusive.
A theme park company, a broadcast network, a streaming service, and a baseball team playing by its own rules, all feeding each other.
The last piece just got a date.
The 2026 Banana Bowl streams exclusively on Disney+ on October 10, 2026.
What It Is
The Banana Bowl is the postseason event for Banana Ball, the closest thing modern sports has to a real format experiment.
Banana Ball is baseball with the boring parts removed and entertainment dropped in.
Games run two hours, hard stop. Players do dance routines, comedy bits, and gags during live play. A fan catching a foul ball counts as an out. Players can try to steal first base, which exists nowhere else in baseball.
It functions as a sporting event and a variety show at the same time, and it is growing at a rate traditional baseball would love.
Why Disney Keeps Showing Up
The parks have been central to this.
Disneyland hosted its second annual Savannah Bananas Day on March 26, 2026, with meet and greets, dance numbers, merchandise, and a special cavalcade.
Then it came to Florida. On May 29 and 30, the Party Animals faced the new Loco Beach Coconuts at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.
First time any Banana Ball Championship League teams had competed at Walt Disney World.
What Those Games Looked Like
Worth revisiting, because they explain the fit better than any press release.
Before the Party Animals took their first at-bats, fans were on their feet for magic tricks, a hula-inspired dance, and a crowd warmup set to Baby Shark.
Once play started, the Disney pieces folded in fast. Stitch appeared at the end of the first inning, set to Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride.
Later, during the Hey Baby singalong, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse joined in. First official Banana Ball appearance together at Walt Disney World, after the bit blew up at Disneyland over the previous two years.
Night one went to the Loco Beach Coconuts, 4 to 3, on a walkoff two-run double with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Nine innings of bat flips, and dancing umpires, and it still came down to a walkoff.
The Dancing with the Stars Piece
Here is where it clicks.
Jackson Olson, a Savannah Bananas second baseman, is competing on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars with Emma Slater.
Disney Parks Blog flagged it back in May, referring to “a certain Banana Ball second baseman (and future Dancing with the Stars contestant)” months before the cast announcement.
The casting makes more sense than it looks. Banana Ball players are already performers. Choreographed routines are the job, not a novelty. Olson brings rehearsal experience that most contestants lack.
So: a Banana Ball player on a Disney-owned competition show, games at both Disney resorts, and the championship on Disney’s streaming platform.
Every piece points at the others.
Why It Works for Disney
Not complicated.
Disney+ needs live and event programming that pulls viewers in between film and series releases. Banana Ball is family-friendly, two hours by design, visually loud, and built around moments that travel on social media.
It also skews young without being only for kids, which Disney works hard to reach.
And unlike traditional sports rights, which cost enormous sums and take long negotiations, Banana Ball is a growing property that gains as much from Disney’s distribution as Disney gains from the content.
What to Expect
A trailer is out, and October 10 is locked.
The Banana Bowl caps a league that added two new teams this year, including the Loco Beach Coconuts.
If you have never watched, the format carries it. No need to follow the season, know rosters, or understand baseball strategy, which is unusual for a championship and entirely the point.
Where This Goes
The team has played Fenway Park, Kauffman Stadium, and Angel Stadium in recent seasons.
Adding Walt Disney World to that list, at the 220-acre ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with more than 9,500 seats in The Stadium, put a theme park property alongside major league ballparks.
Given how those games went and where the championship is streaming, a one-year arrangement would be surprising.
October 10. Two hours, one championship, and a sport where catching a foul ball gets somebody out.
Source: Banana Bowl streaming announcement and Disney Parks Blog coverage of the Walt Disney World games.
