Disney Making Major Moves With New Lake Nona Campus

Back in 2021, now-fired Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that Disney would be building a massive new Imagineering Campus in Lake Nona, Florida. The campus would be just about 20 minutes away from The Walt Disney World Resort. The new Lake Nona area will include not only an Imagineering Campus, but also a Town Center Club, a Veterans Affairs building, two apartment complexes, an elementary school, an innovation center, and more. The Lake Nona project is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the area, and six-figure salaries along with it.

News of the Lake Nona project did NOT go over well with many of those who work at Disney. When Chapek announced the Lake Nona Campus, he also said that a large number of Imagineers would have to move from California to Florida. What made things difficult was that Chapek didn’t give it as an option. Reports indicate that his attitude was “agree to the move, or you’re fired”. That caused Disney to lose some truly brilliant Imagineers, who did not want to uproot their lives.

Just one year after the Lake Nona announcement was made, Disney shared that they were delaying the movie to Lake Nona by years. Instead of requiring Imagineers to be in Florida by the end of 2022, they said that the Imagineers did not have to be in Florida until 2026. Potentially keeping any Imagineers on staff who may have considered quitting, so they didn’t have to leave the state.

Now, new details have been revealed about the Lake Nona project, showing that Disney is moving full steam ahead on getting the Campus built and operational. According to an article from The Orlando Business Journal:

City of Orlando records reveal a specific parcel master plan is being sought “for the development of an approximately 1.8 million-square-foot office complex with office and flex space within the Lake Nona PD, Parcel 20A.”