Lake Nona: Celebs Rumors

by the end of 2022 or early 2023, had been vigorously opposed by staffers, including the legendary Imagineers team behind theme parks, attractions, cruise ships and retail outposts. In March, that team had asked embattled CEO Bob Chapek to reverse a decision, calling the move unreasonable given what they called the state’s “hateful legislation.” The 2,000 employees were expected to join over 60,000 Disney employees already in central Florida as the company built a new campus in the planned community of Lake Nona, Florida — a location approximately 20 miles from the Disney World Resort in Orlando.In an open letter to Disney leadership in March, LGBTQ+ activists inside the company announced plans for a number of walk-outs and also demanded that the company stand down from the planned move after the state passed legislation barring schools from discussing “sexual orientation or gender identity.” The letter demanded that Disney cease “any efforts to move employees to Florida office locations… Guaranteeing no employee will be terminated when denying relocation to Florida.”The requirement to move, retire or quit decimated the ranks of Disney’s storied creatives.

A spokesman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis downplayed the company’s announcement that it was canceling a planned project that would have moved thousands of employees from California to the Sunshine State.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Walt Disney Co. has scrapped plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Orlando, as the company continues to wage a political and legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an email to employees on Thursday, Disney executive Josh D’Amaro said that “considerable changes,” including “new leadership” and “changing business conditions,” had led to the decision to cancel the project. Disney had planned to move 2,000 employees to the Lake Nona complex once it was complete, mostly from the Imagineering division. The company announced the project in 2021, and reports indicated it could have benefited from as much as $500 million in state tax incentives.