This year, we have picked 64 Walt Disney World attraction backstories to battle it out for the honor of being named the greatest theme park conveyance system of all time! Read on to see how our tournament works, how YOU can play along and win prizes, and even how YOU can influence the outcome! REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED!
For those of you who haven’t played along with WDWNT March Madness in years past, here’s the drill:
We have created a bracket of 64 Walt Disney World ride vehicles (“teams”), past and present, and seeded them into 4 regions. The bracket is available online HERE for v1 or HERE for v2 (with live score updates during the broadcast).
Over the next two weeks on WDW News Tonight (Thursdays at 9:00 PM ET on YouTube), a panel of WDWNT staff will discuss each matchup according to the schedule below. As we discuss each matchup, WDWNT staff will vote for the ride vehicle they think is best. The attraction that receives the most points by vote will win that matchup and move on to the next round.
As teams win matchups, they will accumulate Victory Points for each victory. The Victory Points (VPs) are distributed as follows:
First Round Win – 1 Victory Point
Second Round Win – 2 Victory Points
Third Round Win (“Swell Sixteen”) – 3 Victory Points
Fourth Round Win (“E-Ticket Eight”) – 4 Victory Points
Fifth Round Win (“Fantasmic Four”) – 5 Victory Points
Championship Round Win – 6 Victory Points
At the end of the tournament, the championship team will have accumulated the most points and be crowned as the greatest backstory of all-time!
Over the next two weeks, we hope you join us for some heated debates, as the illustrious panel constructed from the finest members of the WDWNT staff argues for or against the teams in each matchup.
But YOU can get in on the action too, and win prizes along the way!
Here is how YOU can play along!
Any WDWNT reader can register to play along with the tournament. REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED!
On Thursday, March 18th, around 8:00 PM EST, each person who registered to play along will receive four randomly-assigned teams in the tournament. Players will be assigned one team that is a 1-4 seed, one that is a 5-8 seed, one that is a 9-12 seed, and one that is a 13-16 seed. These four teams will also be from four different regions in the bracket. These will be your teams, and you will accumulate points as your teams win matchups in the tournament (according to the above point distribution schedule).
At the end of the tournament, the 16 participants with the most total points accumulated by their four teams will be awarded CorBucks to spend in the WDWNT Prize Wall. The top player will be declared the WDWNT March Madness 2021 champion.
Sounds pretty simple, right? We thought so too, which is why we came up with a way to make it more complicated! And it involves YOU!
Here is how YOU can influence the outcome!
REGISTERED PLAYERS who have filled out the registration form and received a set of teams can call in to change the matchup scores twice over the course of the tournament. To determine the winner of each matchup, panelist votes are worth 5 points, and call-in votes are worth 2 points. Any call-in votes for a team will add points to that team’s score, and therefore could change the outcome of the matchup. The attraction with the most points in the matchup, after panelist points and call-in points are tallied, wins and moves on in the tournament. The call in number is 832-7-WDWNT-7. Your call MUST come in within 5 minutes of the conclusion of the round or it will not be counted.
IF YOU ARE NOT A REGISTERED PLAYER you can still try to sway the vote. During the live broadcasts, use the live chat on YouTube to try and sway our panelists while they are discussing the matchup.
Tune in!
Tune in to WDW News Tonight and ParksCenter over the next two weeks for all the tournament action and discussion. All shows will be broadcast live at YouTube.com/wdwnt.
Bracketology Special: ParksCenter, Wednesday March 17th, 9 PM ET
Round 1: WDW News Tonight, Thursday March 18th, 9 PM ET
Recap of Round 1 and Preview of Round 2: ParksCenter, Wednesday, March 24th, 9 PM ET
Round 2 Through Finals: WDW News Tonight, Thursday March 25th, 9PM ET
Call-in voting rules
When you call in, please tell us the team (attraction) for which you are voting, and your special vote validation code. This vote validation code ensures that no one else can cast a vote in your place.
This year each participant gets two chances to call in and sway the outcome. The email you received with your picks also contains two special Vote Validation Codes. The first code can only be used in Week 1 of the tournament. The second code can only be used in Week 2 of the tournament. Each Vote Validation Code can only be used a single time. Once you call in and place a vote with your Vote Validation Code, you cannot use that code again.
The ride vehicle that receives the majority of the points will win that round and advance to the next round.
All game outcomes will be determined at the sole discretion of the WDWNT staff. Any errors made during the voting may be corrected after the broadcast ends, and the final tallies will be reflected on the WDWNT March Madness 2021 bracket.
Sign up now!
REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED!