Disney abandons plans for its massive Lake Nona regional campus following the actions of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

May 18, 2023 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Disney's abandoned Lake Nona campus

Posted: Thursday May 18, 2023 2:54pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has abandoned plans for its massive $1 billion campus in Lake Nona Florida as a result of the continued feud with Governor Ron DeSantis.

Disney's abandoned Lake Nona campus

In an email to employees today, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro cited "changing business conditions" as a reason for canceling the Lake Nona project.

D'Amaro originally announced the new regional campus in July 2021 that was planned to serve as a Central Florida regional hub for the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment. At that time, he said "Expanding our already significant DPEP footprint in Florida makes sense. In addition to Florida's business-friendly climate, this new regional campus gives us the opportunity to consolidate our teams and be more collaborative and impactful both from a creative and operational standpoint."

Walt Disney Imagineering was planned to be located far closer to the Walt Disney World parks than ever before

Located in Lake Nona, the new campus was planned to complement Disney's operations in Southern California and its regional hub in the New York City area and be home to more than 2000 Cast, Imagineers and employees. The relocation to Florida was originally planned to be operational by the end of 2022 before being delayed, and has been in the planning stages since 2019.

Josh D'Amaro at Walt Disney World in 2019

In a July 2021 memo to staff, D'Amaro said, "While we are still determining exactly which of our team members will be based there, we expect that most Southern California-based DPEP professional roles that are not fully dedicated to the Disneyland Resort or, in some cases, the international parks business, will be asked to relocate to this new Florida campus."

Central Florida is already home to 60,000 Disney employees

Many Disney employees, particularly within Disney's creative Imagineering department, chose to leave the company rather than relocate to Florida. It remains to be seen if any of those who left will be able to return.

Speaking at a recent investor earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger referred to previously announced plans to spend more than $17 billion at Walt Disney World in Florida over the next 10 years and said, "We have a number of other growth and expansion opportunities at our parks and we are closely evaluating where it makes the most sense to direct future investments."

Bob's actions today appear to be a clear indication that DeSantis' targeted retaliation against Disney will impact the company's plans in Florida. Later in that same call, Iger shared more on the battle with DeSantis and asks if Florida wants Disney to 'invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?'

Discuss on the Forums

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Bullseye1967Mar 18, 2025

In theory you want 12% to 15%. to be a good market so it is not far off. Commercial properties are not one size fits all. Do I want an office with a reception, 2 offices and 1 suite, or do I want a reception, 4 offices, and 2 suites. Not every customer is looking for the same thing.

Disstevefan1Mar 17, 2025

Oh yes, I got mixed up, yes, it was the Lake Nona folks who did not want them there, but I have no receipts to prove that.

mktMar 17, 2025

Clermont and Minneola are somewhat transient still. I don’t know the specific numbers, plenty of people are leaving there as well. The complaints I’ve heard are about the infrastructure not being designed to support a population boom, mediocre public schools compared to neighboring counties, and just being far from everything.

mktMar 17, 2025

What does Dr. Phillips have to do with that? Disney was going to open in lake Nona, the other side of town.

Disstevefan1Mar 17, 2025

I know some Imagineers had already planned to move from California to FL, but how many really would have done it? I heard most did not want to anyway, and I head folks in Dr. Philips did not want them there anyway?

LilofanMar 17, 2025

To get FL insurance on a home is a slippery slope. Some insurers won't even insure homes built before 1999 and or one needs to pass the dreaded 4 point insurance inspection prior to getting insurance. Good luck in passing which includes $$ thousands in repairs to pass the 4 point.

GoofyernmostMar 17, 2025

I have to think that Disney took advantage of the opportunity to cut bait on that whole project when The governor decided to make a name for himself and go after Disney. The only thing that was hurt in that whole fiasco was the state of Florida via the Governor who was also negatively affected. They were already getting push back from those that would have been required to leave Cali and move to Florida to keep their jobs. Classic example of both Government and Big Business not thinking things beyond the moment.

Disstevefan1Mar 17, 2025

If Orlando's 17% commercial vacancy rate highlights the continued struggles, What is a "Good" commercial vacancy rate? If too low or zero then it would be called "The lack of commercial space highlights the struggles.."

StripesMar 17, 2025

Imagineering now has nearly as many people in Florida as Universal Creative does. Bear in mind, Universal Creative's global headquarters are in Orlando whereas WDI is still in Glendale.

JoeCamelMar 17, 2025

Maybe the high bar (price+insurance+interest rate) is why 8 months so not many can enter the market? I know they are packing them into Clearmont (are they? IDK) but not really a rosy outlook

mktMar 17, 2025

Tight residential market? Orlando has 8 months of inventory available.

JoeCamelMar 16, 2025

How is the market in Glendale?

Bobby GabrielMar 16, 2025

Orlando's 17% commercial vacancy rate highlights the continued struggles in the commercial real estate sector, which contrasts sharply with the tight residential market. This pattern isn't unique to Orlando. The commercial sector's recovery will likely require significant adaptation, possibly including conversion of some commercial spaces to residential or mixed-use developments to better align with current demand patterns.