Orange County Mayor Says Disney’s Lake Nona Cancelation is a “Consequence”
Back in 2021, Disney announced plans to relocate Imagineers from California to a new campus located in Lake Nona, Florida — but these plans have been officially canceled.
There are surely many reasons behind the decision to scrap the Lake Nona plans, but the mayor of Orange County (one of the counties in which Disney World is located) has attributed the cancelation to a consequence of the recent ongoing conflict between Disney World and the state of Florida.
Statement From Orange County Mayor
In a statement issued on May 18th, 2023, Orange County Major Jerry L. Demings called the canceled Lake Nona plans “unfortunate,” saying, “These are the consequences when there isn’t an inclusive and collaborative work environment between the state of Florida and the business community.”
You can read the full statement issued by Mayor Demings below:
Demings’ statement references the ongoing conflict between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney World, which began after Disney publicly disagreed with what the media called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Since then, DeSantis fought to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, eventually leading to Disney filing a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and his hand-picked Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, which took the place of Reedy Creek.
In the lawsuit, Disney argues that DeSantis launched a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.”
During the most recent earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger asked, “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?”
We’re monitoring this situation closely. Keep following MickeyBlog for more Disney news!