Disney pulling out of $1 billion Florida Campus deal and its impact on the company's $17 billion spending plan for the next decade

Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D'Amaro briefly commented this morning on the company's continuously escalating dispute with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

D'Amaro confirmed that the recent decision to pull out of a $ 1 billion deal to build a new east coast HQ campus in Lake Nona is not part of the often-mentioned $17 billion spending plan for Walt Disney World across the next ten years.

Asked what drove the decision to abandon the plans for the new campus, Josh cited the arrival of a new CEO, and the "changing business conditions in Florida."

Disney's abandoned Lake Nona campus

Speaking in early April at the Walt Disney Company Annual shareholder meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Disney plans to spend $17 billion over the next ten years in Walt Disney World, bringing 13,000 new jobs to the area. The $17 billion budget has since been mentioned on numerous occasions as Disney emphasizes its importance to the state of Florida, and the risk to its business and tens of thousands of employees in the area as Governor Ron DeSantis continues to retaliate against Disney for its opposition to his parental rights bill, otherwise known as "don't say gay."

Speaking in a question-and-answer session at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference, D'Amaro also said that Disney's theme park operations in Florida had not been impacted in any way as a result of the ongoing dispute. He said that he remains, "excited about what is in store for Florida and where we can take things."

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently added some doubt to the spending plan in Florida by ratcheting up his messaging to the Florida Governor during comments on the last earnings call, where he 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."