Disney On The Yard Hits Maryland: Aclipse Events Brings the Experience to Bowie State and Morgan State

Disney On The Yard made its way through Maryland this September, bringing career opportunities, entertainment, HBCU culture, and plenty of Disney magic to two Maryland HBCUs: Bowie State University and Morgan State University.

For Aclipse Events, these activations were about more than setting up an event space. Our role was to help transform each campus into an experience where students could connect, engage, explore opportunities, and enjoy the moment.

Bringing Disney On The Yard to Bowie State

On September 15, Bowie State University hosted Disney On The Yard as part of Disney’s Maryland HBCU Tour.

The day focused heavily on career exploration and professional development. Students had opportunities to connect with Disney recruiters, professionals, alumni, and industry partners while learning about internships, scholarships, mentorship, and career pathways across media, entertainment, technology, communications, sports, and business.

The day also brought the energy of an HBCU Yard Takeover to campus.

And that meant it was time to turn up the volume.

Drum Major Mickey joined Bowie State’s renowned Symphony of Soul Marching Band for a special performance that brought together Disney traditions, Bowie State pride, music, and HBCU culture.

Behind those moments was a full event experience that needed to come together seamlessly. From the physical setup and branded environment to the flow of the activation and the guest experience, Aclipse Events helped bring the vision to life on the ground.



Because when the doors open and the crowd arrives, the experience should feel effortless.

Then We Took Over Morgan State

The following day, Disney On The Yard continued at Morgan State University.

The HBCU Yard Takeover took over the University Student Center on September 16, giving students, faculty, and staff a chance to connect with Disney while enjoying food trucks, music, giveaways, and a special appearance by Drum Major Mickey.

Morgan’s event brought a different campus, a different crowd, and a different environment, but the goal remained the same: create an experience that felt connected to the university and the HBCU community while giving students meaningful opportunities to engage with Disney.



And once again, Aclipse was behind the scenes helping make it happen.

Exclusive Screening: FX’s The Drop

The Disney On The Yard experience also brought an exclusive screening of FX’s The Drop: A Snowfall Saga to both Bowie State University and Morgan State University as part of a broader HBCU campus tour ahead of the show’s network premiere.

Students and faculty had the opportunity to preview the pilot episode and take part in conversations around representation, storytelling, and careers in film and television. Actress Gail Bean, who reprises her role as Wanda Bell in the series, also joined the tour, connecting directly with students on both campuses.

For Aclipse Events, experiences like these are about more than creating a space for people to gather. They create opportunities for connection, conversation, and engagement, bringing the entertainment and the community together in a meaningful way. It's a great example of how experiential events can go beyond a single activation.

More Than an Event Setup

This is where event production gets interesting.

When people walk into an activation, they see the finished product. What they see is the branding, the entertainment, the giveaways, the photo moments, the performers, and the crowd.

What they don't always see is everything that had to happen before that moment.

There are spaces to transform, equipment to coordinate, branding to install, timelines to manage, vendors and partners to coordinate, guest flow to consider, on-site details to troubleshoot, and dozens of moving pieces that have to come together at the right time.

That's where Aclipse Events comes in.

Our job isn't simply to show up with equipment and build a space. It's to take the vision for an experience and help make it real.

For Disney On The Yard, that meant helping create environments where career development and HBCU culture could exist side by side with entertainment and brand engagement.

Building Experiences That Connect

Bowie State and Morgan State may have been two different campuses, but both events demonstrated what makes Disney On The Yard such a unique experience.

This experience brought together career opportunities, entertainment, community, HBCU culture, and brand engagement. And behind it all, a lot of planning and production.

For Aclipse Events, this is the work we love. We help take an idea and turn it into something people can actually experience. We coordinate the moving pieces, build the environment, manage the logistics, and help create the moments that people remember.

Because an event can look great in a plan. But it's what happens when people step into the experience that really matters.

From Bowie State to Morgan State, Disney On The Yard brought the vision. Aclipse helped bring it to life.

Ready to start planning? Contact Aclipse today to bring your vision to life. Visit the Aclipse website to learn more about the company’s services and how the Aclipse team can help bring your next event to life.