The Walt Disney Company has made headlines over the past few months, many times due to the Company’s clash with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis regarding Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill (what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill).

From the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to the repeal of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, many things have changed surrounding Disney’s interactions with those governing the State of Florida. And now another thing is changing regarding Disney and Florida when it comes to the movement of certain offices there.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, amid Disney’s disputes with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Company has decided to delay their plans to move about 2,000 jobs from California to Orlando. We first reported about this big relocation back in July of 2021.

At that point, it had been announced that Disney would be building a new campus in the Lake Nona community in Orlando, which would become home to more than 2,000 Cast Members, Imagineers, and employees. Most of the employees set to be relocated would be those working in the Parks, Experiences, and Products division.

In July of 2021, Josh D’Amaro (Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products) shared that the move would take place during the next 18 months. A Disney representative had previously told the Orlando Sentinel that the offices could start operating in December of 2022.

Now, it seems those plans have changed. The Orlando Sentinel notes that the move has now been delayed for more than 3 years.

Jacquee Wahler, a Disney spokeswoman, shared that the expected opening date of Disney’s Lake Nona campus has been moved to 2026 to “give people more time” and better fit the new offices’ construction timeline. According to the Sentinel, Wahler didn’t comment as to whether the conflict between Disney and DeSantis on the recent political issues had contributed to the delay.

The office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also has not issued a comment to the Orlando Sentinel on the matter.

Disney is set to receive some serious tax breaks — to the tune of over $570 million — by moving these jobs to Lake Nona. Disney is also set to invest up to $864 million to build their new campus in Lake Nona.

According to the Sentinel, Disney employees were informed on a rolling basis if their jobs would be moved and they then had 3 months to decide whether or not to move.

Some are hoping that the movement of these jobs to Orlando and Disney’s development of the new campus will be beneficial, opening up new jobs to local graduates in theme park industries and attracting more talent to the Orlando area.

So it seems Disney has not canceled their movement to Lake Nona, but has delayed it at this time. This is, of course, a developing situation and things are subject to change. We’ll continue to look for more updates and let you know what we find.

Looking for more details about Disney’s clash with Florida government over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill? Click here. Click here to learn more about the situation with Reedy Creek Improvement District. And you can learn about some other ways Disney may be impacted by changes from legislators by seeing what some have said about Disney’s no-fly zones, and reading about a bill introduced about copyright protections that greatly benefit Disney (as well as other corporations).

We’ll keep checking for updates about Disney’s move to Lake Nona and other updates from the Company. Stay tuned for the latest news.

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The post Disney Delays Relocation of Thousands of Employees to Central Florida first appeared on the disney food blog.