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Despite fighting Governor Ron DeSantis, Disney stays devoted to the State of Florida.
The media and theme park giant will invest $17 billion in the Walt Disney World center in central Florida over the following decade, which incorporates the potential creation of 13,000 jobs.
Those numbers have been echoed by CEO Bob Iger and parks chief Josh D’Amaro over the past few months as tensions between Disney and Florida lawmakers proceed to escalate. The fight has develop into much more vital now that DeSantis is officially running for president.
In April, the corporate filed a lawsuit accusing DeSantis and recent board members of its special district of waging a political revenge campaign against the entertainment giant.
DeSantis attacked Disney’s special district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, after the corporate publicly criticized a controversial law in Florida – dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics – that restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
“We never wanted and definitely never expected to have to defend our business interests in federal court, especially having such a terrific relationship with the state that we have now had for over 50 years,” Iger said during an organization earnings call earlier this month. .
Disney recently scrapped plans to open a recent staff campus in Lake Nona, Florida, citing “changing business conditions.” This implies the corporate will not ask greater than 2,000 California employees to relocate to Florida. This location was not a part of Disney’s $17 billion investment plan.
D’Amaro, who manages Disney’s parks, experiences and consumer products division, echoed Iger’s sentiment earlier this week on the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference. He told listeners that the $17 billion investment “gives you a way of how aggressive we’re at Walt Disney World.”
“And that features things just like the Epcot transformation,” he explained. “This includes things just like the upcoming recent Star Tours attraction, we have now a recent Tiana attraction coming up. So we’re considering pretty aggressively about where we are able to take things in Florida.”
Already, Epcot opened Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure on the French Pavilion in late October, and last 12 months also unveiled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a roller coaster in the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion based on a fictional planet from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The park also has a recent restaurant called Space 220.
Still waiting for the park is a “Moana” theme park called The Journey of Water, an out of doors trail where visitors can play and interact with the water. It’s due to open in late 2023.
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At Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, in addition to Disneyland California and Disneyland Paris, the corporate goals to add more story and character to its Star Tours attraction. Moreover, it updates Splash Mountain in each national resorts with a “Princess and the Frog” theme.
The corporate can also be updating several of its Florida hotels and resorts.
D’Amaro added that the $17 billion for Florida also includes among the “blue skies” ideas the corporate unveiled last 12 months on the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. These projects are still in the early stages of development and should not see the sunshine of day.
During this presentation last September, D’Amaro talked about the potential of redeveloping Dino Land at Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Initial ideas for the space include the potential of introducing “Zootopia” to the park with its number of neighborhoods and animal species, and even “Moana”.
In Magic Kingdom Disney asks the query, “What’s behind Big Thunder Mountain?” The corporate teased that an area based on “Coco” might be in that location or “Encanto”. Perhaps each.
D’Amaro even hinted at the potential of reviving the Magic Kingdom area overrun by Disney villains.
Price points will vary for these projects in the event that they come to fruition, but for comparison, the 2 Star Wars: Galaxy Edge at Disneyland and Disney World are estimated to cost $1 billion each.
Disney’s theme parks have been a vibrant spot for the corporate as visitor numbers have increased significantly in the months following the closure due to the pandemic. The Parks, Experiences and Products divisions posted a 17% year-on-year revenue increase to $7.7 billion in the last quarter.
About $5.5 billion of that income got here from theme park locations. The corporate says guests spent more money and time this quarter visiting its parks, hotels and cruises each domestically and internationally. Specifically, its cruise business saw a rise in passenger days.
“We see this business as a key growth driver for the corporate,” Iger said during Disney’s recent earnings call.