Disney will delay its move to a new campus in Lake Nona until 2026 amid the company's battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

By WDWMAGIC Staff · Wednesday June 15, 2022 6:44pm ET · "The Walt Disney Company"

The Walt Disney Company has today confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that it has delayed plans to move 2000 of its employees to a new campus in Lake Nona, Florida.

Disney Parks Chairman Josh 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. It is now delayed until 2026.

Walt Disney Imagineering will be located far closer to the Walt Disney World parks than ever before
Photo: WDWMAGICWalt Disney Imagineering will be located far closer to the Walt Disney World parks than ever before

Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler told the Orlando Sentinel today that the expected opening date for the Lake Nona campus was pushed to 2026 to "give people more time" and accommodate the construction timeline for the new offices.

These latest developments follow escalating tensions between DeSantis and Disney CEO Bob Chapek regarding Disney's opposition to Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, and the Florida Governor signing a bill to disband Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District.

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, and has been in the planning stages since 2019.

Josh D'Amaro at Walt Disney World in 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
Photo: WDWMAGICCentral Florida is already home to 60,000 Disney employees

He continued, "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."

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2,123 comments
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doctornickJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to CaptainAmerica
Yeah, if they truly want to cut budgets for the DPEP division then cutting or postponing the 6th and 7th ships would be an easy target especially if they have not started building them (which has been indicated here). And they’d be something that could be started up later when they feel the market is in better shape to receive them.

They could also just cancel one of the ships but still work on the other.

Also Lighthouse Point seems like it won’t be happening for some time (and if they don’t build the other ships they have less need for it anyway)
monothingieJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to doctornick
DCL is an interesting enigma. They’re really feeling the oats post pandemic in terms of bookings and price, but that’s based on pent up and postponed demand. In the mean time they are positioned to be very profitable for now.

The question is does the over the top pricing work for them in a down turn. Their competition offers a better value and a better product, does the Disney name sustain them?

Royal is still moving ahead with their fleet plans, essentially a new ship every 24-36 months.
CaptainAmericaJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to monothingie
LilofanJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to lentesta
Was he part of the WDI layoffs in 2020/21?
KamikazeJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to EPCOT-O.G.
That's a business decision independent of the parks. Its not something they would 'pause' for cost saving like they do for attractions. Same as they aren't going to 'pause' the Hudson Square office building. They're canceling Lake Nona for recession unrelated reasons.
CastAStoneJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to CaptainAmerica
DCL prints money (2019 profits were $100M per ship) and is way, way below the number of ships it could support.

I could see them canceling park stuff and marginal video content but canceling cruise ships seems extremely unlikely to me.
wdwmagicJun 15, 2022
lentestaJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to Lilofan
I think he retired. I can ask.
mightynineJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to HauntedPirate
I mean, the Odyssey building isn't being used at the moment. Think of the cost savings!
monothingieJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to wdwmagic
It seems more like they won’t be able to get Lake Nona physically finished till at least 2024-5?.

They can’t move people to a construction site.

Seems like the only thing that happened was they were a victim of inadequate planning and shortages.
el_superJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to monothingie
Of the people I talked to, that were informed their positions were moving, they were either told that a space would be available in CA for them until the new campus was ready, or that temp space would be available in Florida if they wanted to move now.

They still have office space here, there, and everywhere around Orlando and Kissimmee and Celebration. Moreso now that people are working remote and/or hybrid.

The construction of the new campus was always expected to take a couple years, so the "pause" has to be noteworthy for other reasons.
monothingieJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to el_super
Yea to be completed by 2023-2024.

The pause appears to be in relocations caused by delays in construction. Construction is still progressing as far as we know. I think people are wanting to make much more of this than what actually is. It’s no secret that shortages and supply chain issues are causing massive delays in the building industry.
CompedJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to CaptainAmerica
Almost no chance. DCL needs the expansion almost more than any other Cruise line purely because of demand, and these ships will be able to have additional revenue just for being new ships... No chance it happens unless we see other cruise lines start canceling their ships or delaying them.

From what I've heard, it is a construction related delay more so than a calculated move. Disney is still very much interested in those tax breaks, and as those tax breaks are contingent on the Lake Nona project being completed with certain milestones in terms of how many employees are moved... It will happen. Recession or not.
flynnibusJun 15, 2022
throwing your entire organization and people into a tailspin for a construction delay sounds improbable. Instead you would simply find alternate options to locate the people until your buildings were ready. Unless you were talking about something that could not be replicated or temporarily put off (think.. unique equipment) you'd just house people in different places temporarily.

The human casualty cost of aborting a relocation after it's started has to far outweigh simple real estate issues.
lazyboy97oJun 15, 2022
↩ replying to flynnibus
Especially a group like Walt Disney Imagineering whom Disney has no issue sticking into trailers for years.
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