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Credit: Inside The MagicIn a statement released by his press office, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has put the blame squarely on Disney and their business practices for pulling out of the Lake Nona developmental deal. However, many Floridians seem to disagree with the Republican Governor.
Related: Few Americans Invested in the DeSantis Crusade Against “Woke” Disney
The battle between the Walt Disney Company and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has been waging for over a year now, with multiple lawsuits, threats, and political actions taken against each other. Now, it seems that Disney has made its most significant move yet by pulling out of a lucrative construction deal in the Lake Nona community.
Disney planned to relocate over one thousand Imagineers to Florida and have them live in an office building in Lake Nona. This would have brought tens of thousands of jobs to the Sunshine State as well as over one billion dollars of
Unfortunately for the state, Disney has now pulled out of that deal and also announced that they will be closing the Star Wars: Galactic Star Cruiser hotel, removing all of the potential financial boons that would cause. While there seems to be a plethora of factors influencing this decision, DeSantis has put the blame squarely on the House of Mouse.
DeSantis Blames Disney’s Business Practices, Says Them Leaving is “Unsurprising”
Related: DeSantis Accuses Disney of “Waging a Jihad”
In response to the news that Disney was pulling out of their Lake Nona development deal, DeSantis’ press office released a statement:
“Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition. Given the company’s financial straits, falling market cap, and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.”
While there is some truth to what DeSantis’ office said, it seems like he’s trying to completely remove himself from the situation as he prepares for his Presidential bid. However, it doesn’t seem to be working, as people from around the country are blaming DeSantis for destroying Florida.
Not All Floridians Agree With DeSantis
Related: Major Disney Project Could Be Next on Company’s Chopping Block
While Ron DeSantis has definitely made his opinion clear on the matter, and the Walt Disney Company partially agrees with him, many Disney employees and Florida locals disagree with the sentiment.
Former President of Walt Disney Imagineering Robert Weis said in a post on LinkedIn, “Florida is a great place to work and live—I have. But after Covid, and so many other things, there was nothing more damaging to the legacy and amazing unmatched talent of Imagineering than that chapter…”
Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings reflected that sentiment, saying, “It is unfortunate that Disney will not be moving forward with the construction of the Lake Nona campus. However, these are the consequences when there isn’t an inclusive and collaborative work environment between the state of Florida and the business community. We will continue to work closely with our valued partners at Disney.”
"Uh, actually, we did not uh in fact want the billion dollars, because we uh consider those dollars to be "Woke Bucks" which uh are worthless in Florida so take them back to Hollyweird. Also we can't wait to inspect monorails. For, uh, gay motors." https://t.co/YCk0rbTqCj
— Podcast: The Ride (@PodcastTheRide) May 18, 2023
In a more humorous vein, Podcast: The Ride shared a tweet from user @ScottGustin, commenting, “Uh, actually, we did not uh, in fact, want the billion dollars, because we uh consider those dollars to be “Woke Bucks” which uh are worthless in Florida so take them back to Hollyweird. Also, we can’t wait to inspect monorails. For, uh, gay motors.”
Needless to say, this is a complicated issue that seems to have factors coming from all sides. More details will be provided as they come to light.
Do you think DeSantis had any effect on Disney changing their Florida plans? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
