Despite its conflict with DeSantis, Disney still has billion-dollar aspirations for Florida.

Disney is still devoted to Florida despite its conflict with Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The centre of Walt Disney World in central Florida will get $17 billion from the media and theme park conglomerate over the following 10 years, which might result in the creation of 13,000 additional jobs.

Over the last two months, as tensions between Disney and Florida politicians have continued to rise, CEO Bob Iger and parks executive Josh D'Amaro have reaffirmed those numbers. Since DeSantis has formally declared his bid for president, the contest has gained even more significance.

The business filed a complaint in April, alleging DeSantis and the new members of its special district board of pursuing a campaign of political retaliation against the multinational entertainment corporation.

After Disney officially opposed a contentious Florida law that restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms and has been branded "Don't Say Gay" by protesters, DeSantis singled out Disney's special district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Plans by Disney to establish a new workforce campus near Lake Nona, Florida, were recently abandoned due to "changing business conditions." As a result, the business will no longer urge more than 2,000 Californian employees to move to Florida. The $17 billion investment proposal for Disney does not include that area.

Earlier this week at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference, D'Amaro, who oversees Disney's parks, experiences, and consumer goods division, echoed Iger's remarks. The $17 billion investment, he said, "gives you a sense of how aggressive we're being in Walt Disney World."

The business plans to expand the Star Tours ride at Disney World's Hollywood Studios, as well as at Disneyland in California and Disneyland Paris. A "Princess and the Frog" design is also being added to Splash Mountain at both domestic resorts.

A number of the company's Florida hotels and resorts are also undergoing renovations.

In the months following the pandemic shutdowns, visitor traffic to Disney's theme parks increased dramatically. This has been good news for the corporation. The most recent quarter witnessed a 17% year-over-year sales gain for the parks, experiences, and goods businesses, reaching $7.7 billion.

Theme park sites generated around $5.5 billion of those earnings. The corporation reported that visitors to its parks, hotels, and cruises both domestically and abroad spent more time and money during the quarter. The number of passenger cruise days increased particularly in its cruise operation.

Iger stated on a recent earnings call for Disney that "we see this business as a key growth driver for the company."

(Sources: CNBC.com)