Disney parks chief says DeSantis fight hasn’t hurt business

Josh D’Amaro, who runs Disney’s theme parks and consumer products busi- ness, said the company’s feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t hurt busi- ness.

“Some of the things that have been taking place have not impacted our business results,” D’Amaro said last week at a JPMorgan Chase media and technology conference.

D’Amaro said the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a 100room themed hotel that the company has decided to shut down, didn’t perform as well as expected. The company will accelerate depreciation associated with the project to more than $100 million in each of the next two quarters.

He also said the cost of a new corporate campus the company will no longer build in Florida was not included in a forecast for $17 billion of investment in the state over the next 10 years.

“We’re thinking pretty aggressively about where we can take things in Flor- ida,” he said, referring to new attractions.

Disney’s theme-park busi- ness has been a focal point of a fight between the com- pany and DeSantis. Tensions flared last year after Disney opposed legislation in the state barring discussion of sexual identity in schools. Florida officials then passed legislation that allowed the governor to appoint a new board to oversee municipal services at the company’s parks.

The company sued to reverse that decision, calling DeSantis’ moves retaliatory. Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has questioned whether the governor wants jobs and investment in the state.

Disney recently ended plans to move 2,000 employees from California to an $864 m il l ion corporate campus it was building in Orlando. It also said it would close the Starcruiser, which offered two-day immersive experiences that started at $4,800 per couple.

A spokesperson for DeSantis said Disney’s decision was based on its “financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price.”

D’Amaro said the parks were p e rform i ng we l l, including Paris, which is benefiting from new attractions, and Shanghai and Hong Kong, which are seeing business return after pandemic-related shutdowns.