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Despite its battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis, Disney stays committed to the state of Florida.
The media and theme park juggernaut is ready to speculate $17 billion in central Florida’s Walt Disney World hub over the following decade, which incorporates the potential creation of 13,000 jobs.
Those figures have been repeated by CEO Bob Iger and parks chief Josh D’Amaro over the past few months, as tensions between Disney and Florida lawmakers have continued to ratchet up. The fight has taken on much more significance now that DeSantis is officially running for president.
In April, the corporate filed a lawsuit accusing DeSantis and the brand new board members of its special district of carrying out a campaign of political retribution against the entertainment giant.
DeSantis targeted Disney’s special district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, after the corporate publicly criticized a controversial Florida bill — dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics — that limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
“We never wanted, and we actually never expected, to be within the position of getting to defend our business interests in federal court, particularly having such a terrific relationship with the state as we have had for greater than 50 years,” Iger said throughout the company’s earnings call earlier this month.
Disney recently scrapped plans to open up a recent worker campus in Lake Nona, Florida, citing “changing business conditions.” This implies the corporate also will now not be asking greater than 2,000 California-based employees to relocate to Florida. That location was not a part of Disney’s $17 billion investment plan.
D’Amaro, who runs Disney’s parks, experiences and consumer products division, reiterated Iger’s sentiments earlier this week throughout the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference. He told audience members that the $17 billion investment “gives you a way of how aggressive we’re being in Walt Disney World.”
“And this includes things just like the transformation of Epcot,” he explained. “It includes things like there is a recent Star Tours attraction coming, we now have a recent Tiana attraction that is coming. So, we’re considering pretty aggressively about where we will take things in Florida.”
Already Epcot opened Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure within the France pavilion in late October and likewise last 12 months unveiled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a roller coaster within the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion, based on the fictional planet from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The park also has a recent restaurant called Space 220.
Still to return to the park is the “Moana”-themed park area called The Journey of Water, a self-guided outdoor trail where guests can play and interact with water. It’s set to open in late 2023.
At Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, in addition to on the California-based Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, the corporate is ready so as to add more stories and characters to its Star Tours attraction. Moreover, it’s updating Splash Mountain at each domestic resorts with a “Princess and the Frog” theme.
The corporate can be updating several of its hotel and resort locations in Florida.
D’Amaro added that the $17 billion figure for Florida also includes among the “blue sky” ideas the corporate presented last 12 months during its D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. These projects are still in early development and will not see the sunshine of day.
During that presentation last September, D’Amaro talked about the opportunity of revamping Dino Land at Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Initial ideas for the space include the opportunity of bringing “Zootopia” to the park, including its number of districts and animal species, and even “Moana.”
At Magic Kingdom, Disney is asking the query: “What’s behind Big Thunder Mountain?” The corporate teased that an area based on “Coco” may very well be in that location or “Encanto.” Perhaps each.
D’Amaro even hinted at the opportunity of bringing to life an area of Magic Kingdom overrun by Disney villains.
Price points will vary for these projects, in the event that they do come to fruition, but for reference, the 2 Star Wars: Galaxy Edge lands in Disneyland and Disney World are estimated to have cost $1 billion each.
Disney’s theme parks have been a vibrant spot for the corporate, as guest visitation has rebounded significantly within the months following the pandemic shutdowns. The parks, experiences and products divisions saw a 17% year-over-year revenue increase to $7.7 billion throughout the most up-to-date quarter.
Around $5.5 billion of that revenue got here from its theme park locations. The corporate said guests spent more money and time throughout the quarter visiting its parks, hotels and cruises each domestically and internationally. Its cruise business, particularly, saw a rise in passenger cruise days.
“We see this business as a key growth driver for the company,” Iger said during Disney’s recent earnings call.
