The Savannah Bananas brought their Banana Ball tour to Walt Disney World on Thursday night, and before the first pitch even crossed the plate, the crowd was already on its feet for a pregame show featuring magic tricks, a hula-inspired dance, and a full stadium singalong to Baby Shark.
Once the home plate umpire declared play ball, the Disney-Banana Ball mashup wasted no time delivering. Set to Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, Stitch made a surprise appearance at the end of the first inning, crashing the proceedings in true Experiment 626 fashion. The moment landed exactly the way you would expect it to.
The night’s biggest crowd reaction came during the now-signature Hey Baby singalong, when Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse stepped onto the field together for their first joint Banana Ball appearance at Walt Disney World. The duo had already become a fan-favorite element of Banana Ball nights at Disneyland Resort over the past two years, and watching it happen in Florida for the first time brought the stadium to a full stop in the best possible way.
On the field, the Loco Beach Coconuts and Party Animals traded runs across nine innings of bat flips, dancing umpires, and the kind of crowd interaction that makes Banana Ball impossible to explain to someone who has never seen it. When the dust settled, the Coconuts pulled off a walk-off two-run double with one out in the bottom of the ninth to take Game One of the two-game Walt Disney World series, 4-3.
