The Walt Disney Company has announced plans to officially delay the relocation of its Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products (DPEP) division to Lake Nona, Florida amid an adversarial relationship with the current Florida government.

Officially, Disney says that delaying the move from 2023 to 2026 is to “give people more time” and to allow for the full construction of new offices 20 minutes from Walt Disney World (via Orlando Sentinel). A Disney representative said that an ongoing dispute with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was not to blame for the move in timeline.

That said, it’s tough to imagine a more hostile environment to try to relocate to. Before a single wall has gone vertical for a new DPEP campus, the proverbial HOA has already declared war. While a rep for DeSantis says that Disney’s $578 million tax break is safe, that’s only a small footing on what is very shaky ground.

Going back to March and what was an impressive display of angering everyone on all sides of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay Law” debate, Disney CEO Bob Chapek originally took a stance of silence with the exception of an email that BlogMickey.com published. The fallout from within the Mouse House was swift and employees staged walkouts as the C-suite reshuffled their posture. Eventually, Chapek would side with the majority of his employees and go on to state that The Walt Disney Company’s goal is for the law to be repealed or struck down in the court system. Disney has remained silent since late March on the matter, but DeSantis has drummed on.

Shortly after Disney sent the public statement in opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay Law”, Florida Republicans looked to the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act as retaliation for Disney’s support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Less than a month after the idea was floated, a bill was signed to dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is a special taxing district that essentially governs Walt Disney World property.

All the while, employees within the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division have been asked to not only make a decision if they want to stay with the Company but to also begin to move their families from California to Central Florida. There were some very public exits as Disney’s creative branch known as Walt Disney Imagineering began to dwindle in number as employees either rejected a move to Florida or took retirement.

As recently as a month ago, job postings for high-level positions within Walt Disney Imagineering noted that candidates would be expected to be fully moved to Central Florida by late 2024.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!