Walt Disney cancels billion-dollar theme park expansion project

Walt Disney, one of the world’s largest companies in the entertainment industry, reportedly canceled the billion dollar expansion project at the theme park in Florida, USA.

According to The Independent, Josh D’Amaro, director of theme parks for the Walt Disney Company, announced in an email to his employees that the $1 billion, 60-acre expansion project at the Disney theme park in Orlando, Florida, It was canceled due to changing economic factors.

In the statement from the Walt Disney Company, it was noted that the project was canceled due to events such as Disney’s decision to manage the theme park by a governor-appointed board of directors, citing the law that ended the special privilege of Florida administration. Governor Ron DeSantis.

AN ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT OF 2 THOUSAND PEOPLE IS EXPECTED

Disney CEO Bob Iger asked if the state wanted them to create more jobs, invest and pay taxes.

The expansion project at the theme park was expected to provide additional employment for 2,000 people in the region.

TERMINATED AUTHORITY

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in February ending the special management privilege of Walt Disney World, the state’s famed entertainment hub.

“Today, the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said at the signing ceremony in Lake Buena Vista. “There’s a new sheriff in town and accountability will be the order of the day.”

Stating that Disney World has “enjoyed privileges that no business or individual in the state of Florida has had since the 1960s,” DeSantis said, “Everyone had exemptions from the laws they had to obey. They were able to receive large amounts of aid without paying their fair share of taxes. We believe this is not true.” he said.

DeSantis noted that Walt Disney World would now receive the same treatment as other similar theme parks in the state.

The new law requires DeSantis to appoint a five-member board to oversee government services provided by the Disney district at its Florida theme park properties.

The tension between DeSantis, who appears to be one of the strongest Republican Party candidates for the 2024 presidential election, and the Walt Disney Company, was reflected in the news last year.

In US media news, there were comments that the company broke with the state’s Republican administration after the company criticized LGBT policies in the state and supported Democrats.

MAKE YOU HAVE TO PAY MORE TAXES

Florida’s predominantly Republican legislature also passed a bill in April 2022 that would end Walt Disney World’s special management privilege.

The law strips Walt Disney World of exclusive planning authority over the area where the tourist attraction is located, and also requires the company to pay more taxes in the state.

Established in the 1960s on a 27,000-acre area known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, with land planning and development privileges granted to them, Walt Disney World has approximately 60,000 employees. (AA)