Despite its battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis, Disney stays dedicated to the state of Florida.

The media and theme park juggernaut is about to take a position $17 billion in central Florida’s Walt Disney World hub over the subsequent decade, which incorporates the potential creation of 13,000 jobs.

Those figures have been repeated by CEO Bob Iger and parks chief Josh D’Amaro over the previous few months, as tensions between Disney and Florida lawmakers have continued to ratchet up. The battle has taken on much more significance now that DeSantis is formally working for president.

In April, the corporate filed a lawsuit accusing DeSantis and the brand new board members of its particular district of finishing up a marketing campaign of political retribution towards the leisure large.

DeSantis focused Disney’s particular district, previously referred to as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, after the corporate publicly criticized a controversial Florida invoice — dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics — that limits dialogue of sexual orientation and gender identification in lecture rooms.

“We never wanted, and we certainly never expected, to be in the position of having to defend our business interests in federal court, particularly having such a terrific relationship with the state as we’ve had for more than 50 years,” Iger stated in the course of the firm’s earnings name earlier this month.

Disney not too long ago scrapped plans to open up a brand new worker campus in Lake Nona, Florida, citing “changing business conditions.” This means the corporate additionally will now not be asking greater than 2,000 California-based staff to relocate to Florida. That location was not a part of Disney’s $17 billion funding plan.

D’Amaro, who runs Disney’s parks, experiences and client merchandise division, reiterated Iger’s sentiments earlier this week in the course of the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference. He instructed viewers members that the $17 billion funding “gives you a sense of how aggressive we’re being in Walt Disney World.”

“And this consists of issues like the transformation of Epcot,” he defined. “It includes things like there’s a new Star Tours attraction coming, we have a new Tiana attraction that’s coming. So, we’re thinking pretty aggressively about where we can take things in Florida.”

Already Epcot opened Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure within the France pavilion in late October and likewise final yr unveiled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a curler coaster within the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion, primarily based on the fictional planet from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The park additionally has a brand new restaurant referred to as Space 220.

Still to return to the park is the “Moana”-themed park space referred to as The Journey of Water, a self-guided out of doors path the place company can play and work together with water. It’s set to open in late 2023.

At Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, in addition to on the California-based Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, the corporate is about so as to add extra tales and characters to its Star Tours attraction. Additionally, it’s updating Splash Mountain at each home resorts with a “Princess and the Frog” theme.

The firm can also be updating a number of of its resort and resort areas in Florida.

D’Amaro added that the $17 billion determine for Florida additionally consists of among the “blue sky” concepts the corporate introduced final yr throughout its D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. These tasks are nonetheless in early improvement and should not see the sunshine of day.

During that presentation final September, D’Amaro talked about the potential of revamping Dino Land at Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Initial concepts for the house embrace the potential of bringing “Zootopia” to the park, together with its number of districts and animal species, and even “Moana.”

At Magic Kingdom, Disney is asking the query: “What is behind Big Thunder Mountain?” The firm teased that an space primarily based on “Coco” may very well be in that location or “Encanto.” Perhaps each.

D’Amaro even hinted at the potential of bringing to life an space of Magic Kingdom overrun by Disney villains.

Price factors will fluctuate for these tasks, in the event that they do come to fruition, however for reference, the 2 Star Wars: Galaxy Edge lands in Disneyland and Disney World are estimated to have value $1 billion every.

Disney’s theme parks have been a vivid spot for the corporate, as visitor visitation has rebounded considerably within the months following the pandemic shutdowns. The parks, experiences and merchandise divisions noticed a 17% year-over-year income improve to $7.7 billion throughout the latest quarter.

Around $5.5 billion of that income got here from its theme park areas. The firm stated company spent extra money and time in the course of the quarter visiting its parks, motels and cruises each domestically and internationally. Its cruise enterprise, specifically, noticed a rise in passenger cruise days.

“We see this business as a key growth driver for the company,” Iger stated throughout Disney’s current earnings name.