Orlando Becoming East Coast Headquarters for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products

[GhostHost1000]

Josh says lots of things. Some of them are even true.

As long as his hair looks good in the morning he’ll have a successful day lol

 

[Tom P.]

Then there was literally no need to include it in the highly vetted memos... that you know will be circulated in the news and will be political fodder.

There is no reason to mention it and draw fire if it wasn't intended.

You're kidding, right? Disney thinks that is great PR for them. They think DeSantis and his fans are going to lose this battle and that they come out looking better by blaming whatever they can on him.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I dunno, man. I thought it made sense to have WDI next to WDW. WDW is the company's most important resort in the world.

Agreed. I was hoping this would bring more attention to the major parks in their backyard instead of the forgotten one sometimes

 

[Figgy1]

And the forever CA vs FL internal battles will continue...

But I always thought this was a bad idea. You don't need your design studios where the product is consumed. It's better for Disney to stay in the talent base of Cali then to relocate to no-mans land.

Good on Disney for making the costly decision to nuke this now.

It's land, land prices go up and down so Disney will make money off of this sooner or later

 

[Unbanshee]

This was a Chapek move that Iger didn't want. Their visions were quite different. And the dramatic cutbacks that Iger has ushered in have made this pretty much unnecessary anyway. I know it's going to be an unpopular opinion around here, because everyone wants to dunk on DeSantis, but I think this has 0% to do with his battle with Disney. If DeSantis had never done anything, I think this still would have happened due to the leadership change and the subsequent restructuring that has come with it. The only thing DeSantis has contributed to this is giving Disney a better PR spin to put on the cancellation. That's it.

Why wouldn't Iger want the creatives that make decisions for their biggest theme park complex closer to the action? That's what his restructuring aimed to do

 

[seascape]

This is a good move on Disney' part. The next move is approving expansion in California. No investing in Florida, a state that wants the company to die. Maybe reconsider after Govenor DeSantis is gone or the legislature reinates the RCID on a perminate basis. Disney and other businessses need assurances that their financial decissions make sense in the ling term. Investings billions in Florida is stupid for any company with the current government and their desires to attack companies based on political views.

 

[Andrew C]

Why wouldn't Iger want the creatives that make decisions for their biggest theme park complex closer to the action? That's what his restructuring aimed to do

Creative talent pool still exists in CA rather than FL?

 

[Unbanshee]

Creative talent pool still exists in CA rather than FL?

Creatives are everywhere. Putting WDI down the road from theme park Mecca made sense

 

[AmishGuy91]

This is a good move on Disney' part. The next move is approving expansion in California. No investing in Florida, a state that wants the company to die.

Not defending DeSantis by any means, but let's not forget CA kept Disneyland closed for 14 months.

 

[lentesta]

I know it's going to be an unpopular opinion around here, because everyone wants to dunk on DeSantis, but I think this has 0% to do with his battle with Disney.

I spoke with several WDI staff who specifically cited DeSantis' policies as a reason they would not be moving. I know for a fact that specific issue was known in management.

Was it more important than having to get a 7% mortgage on a new house when they were paying 2.6% on their current home? No. And it was lower in priority than "My family is all in California" too.

But it was absolutely a major roadblock for a large number of staff.

 

[flynnibus]

I dunno, man. I thought it made sense to have WDI next to WDW. WDW is the company's most important resort in the world.

You can buy hotels and plane tickets on demand... it's much harder to whip up talent on demand like that.

I see it like the WDAS attempt in the 90s... an eco-system of talent and support doesn't just transplant easily.

If WDI had more of an operating element to them I'd be more open to the idea of 'proximity to WDW is important' as they live and learn from how the product is consumed. But for theme parks, they have DL in the backyard, they already have to build for dynamics from China to Paris.... there is far more mass in Cali than the operating parks in FL. Just my external uninformed view...

 

[Tom P.]

Creatives are everywhere. Putting WDI down the road from theme park Mecca made sense

Except that the film/TV/streaming creative types are staying in California. And Disney just made it clear yesterday that everything that happens in the theme parks moving forward is going to be tied to those properties. So it kind of makes sense to have all the creative people together in one geographic location.

 

[flynnibus]

You're kidding, right? Disney thinks that is great PR for them. They think DeSantis and his fans are going to lose this battle and that they come out looking better by blaming whatever they can on him.

You say it has nothing to do with the Gov... then talk about how they are betting on how the two interact.

You're already defeating yourself.

 

[Andrew C]

Creatives are everywhere. Putting WDI down the road from theme park Mecca made sense

If it made sense for the company, pulling back due to the current Gov's actions seems extremely short sighted to me. Which is why I am convinced there is much more to the decision to begin with, with the Gov's actions being a convenient excuse...the company has changed a lot since this decision was originally made.

 

[flynnibus]

It's land, land prices go up and down so Disney will make money off of this sooner or later

On the land, sure - on the total? Unlikely.

Think of the man hours spent on this over the years... the land planning expenses... and then all the internal HR spend on relocation for what is hundreds of people.. and what will now likely lead to bribery to get people to come back. This is probably a hundred million dollar+ blackhole for Disney..

Getting out of the land is probably low on the list. Lake Nova developers aren't going away so they will be trying to create demand for that property elsewhere.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Not defending DeSantis by any means, but let's not forget CA kept Disneyland closed for 14 months.

It's not like CA specifically targetted Disney. CA kept a lot of places closed or restricted during COVID era, as they felt it was the most responsible method of managing the pandemic.

We can argue if that was correct, but it was nothing personal towards Disney.

 

[Big T 1963]

So with the news today I guess we won't be getting a 5th gate anytime soon.???? Just saying ..

 

[WDWBryan]

They can stay in Florida if they choose. The work being done by these groups offered relocation was seen as being compatible with being in either location.

They just won't get a shiny new office campus and will probably have to work out of a strip mall somewhere.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

So with the news today I guess we won't be getting a 5th gate anytime soon.???? Just saying ..

We weren’t getting one for at least 10-15 years anyway…

 

[Rteetz]

I dunno, man. I thought it made sense to have WDI next to WDW. WDW is the company's most important resort in the world.

According to the Times, Iger didn’t like this move from the start. He believe the creative teams from all divisions should all be together.