A new interactive, social entertainment experience is headed to Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort. LEVEL99, a company known for its challenge rooms with locations across the East Coast, is opening its newest outpost at Disney Springs on the West Side. This will be the first location for the company in Florida.
LEVEL99 is a “first-of-its-kind destination for real-world, challenge-based, social entertainment for adults featuring over 50 physical and mental challenges set in artistic environments. Beyond the games themselves, LEVEL99 features best-in-class design, an award-winning culinary offering, and craft beverages that are worth the trip.”
The choice of LEVEL99 was made by Disney after it comprehensively reviewed location-based entertainment options in the industry. The addition of LEVEL99 to Disney Springs will add to the different dining, shopping, and entertainment options at Disney Springs. Currently, there are over 150 shops, restaurants, and family-friendly leisure activities.
“We are defining the category and setting the standard for out-of-home, interactive entertainment,” said LEVEL99 CEO and Founder Matthew DuPlessie, an MIT engineer and Harvard Business School graduate who leads the team behind LEVEL99. “After spending two decades in the location-based entertainment industry, it became clear there was consumer demand for a concept like this – a real unmet need. Our vision is to make ‘challenge rooms’ a mainstream concept, and the opportunity to open at a marquee location like Disney Springs is the next step in our plans to expand the LEVEL99 brand nationally.”
DePlessie is considered by many to be the inventor of the modern escape room industry. He launched the first escape room concept in 2004. The first LEVEL99 was opened by DePlessie in 2021. This came after years of pondering how to build a more durable and broadly appealing experience that was a combination of the mechanics people enjoy with video games combined with creative, physical, and mental challenges that could be enjoyed repeatedly in a competitive, real-life, social setting.
The proprietary entertainment offerings are developed in LEVEL99’s game design studio. This is where creators and engineers come together to dream up and produce new challenges every year. This keeps the experience ever-changing and fresh.
“We see immense potential in what the LEVEL99 team has built and are excited to bring the future of interactive entertainment and social gaming into the mainstream,” said Ron Shaich, CEO and Managing Partner of Act III Holdings, the investment vehicle he founded to help companies scale into becoming nationally dominant brands. “When Matt shared his vision for LEVEL99 with me seven years ago, I saw that this business had the potential to define a new category with enormous opportunity for growth on a national scale, making it an ideal investment for Act III.”
The new LEVEL99 location at Disney Springs will be its largest to date. It will also have the most entertainment options. This will include over 60 challenge rooms and duels. The location will occupy over 45,000 square feet in a two-level venue. It will also host upwards of 1,000 players at a time throughout the interactive gaming and bar/dining experience. This will include a two-story bar that serves handcrafted cocktails and local beers that will be the centerpiece of the location. This will be accompanied by a chef-crafted menu that will include LEVEL99’s signature, award-winning, Detroit-style pizza.
This will be the only location in the greater Orlando area for LEVEL99. The company plans to hire over 100 people to staff it.
More information about LEVEL99 can be found at level99.com.
What do you think of LEVEL99 coming to Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort? Have you experienced any of this company’s entertainment or dining offerings before? If so, what did you think? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
