DeSantis Now Controls Disney World’s Special District

Topline

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation Monday that overhauls the special district that oversees Walt Disney World by giving the governor power to appoint its board, saying he was getting rid of Disney’s “corporate kingdom,” following a long-running battle between DeSantis and Disney after the media giant criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort on March 3, 2022, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Getty Images for Disney Dreamers Academy

Key Facts

Walt Disney World is governed by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which functions like a county government and takes care of things like roads, construction permits, fire services, building codes, water and waste collection, among other infrastructure concerns.

Florida lawmakers passed legislation that would dissolve Reedy Creek as of June 1 as a way to punish Disney for opposing the “Don’t Say Gay” law, but after that raised concerns that getting rid of the district would burden local taxpayers, the legislature backtracked on its plan, passing legislation earlier in February that overhauls the district instead of getting rid of it entirely.

As it previously stood, Reedy Creek is independent from Disney, but the company wields large power over its board, which is elected by the district’s landowners: Disney, which owns two thirds of the district’s land, and a small number of local residents and affiliates who the company has hand-picked to reside there, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The legislation, which took effect upon being signed Monday, renames Reedy Creek as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and completely throws out its board, which will now instead be made up of five officials who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, and cannot have worked for a company that owns a theme park within the last three years.

The board will have broad control over the district, including “hav[ing] exclusive jurisdiction and control” over infrastructure services, control over what gets constructed or demolished in the district, building regulations, hiring people who work for the district, imposing taxes and entering into deals with private contractors.

The law does not have any impact on Reedy Creek’s existing bonds and debts, which experts had warned could be pushed on to taxpayers in the surrounding Florida counties if the special district was dissolved entirely.

Big Number

25,000. That’s how many acres Reedy Creek takes up in central Florida, according to the special district.

Crucial Quote

Disney has not yet responded to DeSantis signing the bill into law, but the company has previously said it would not fight the governor’s takeover of Reedy Creek. “For more than 50 years, the Reedy Creek Improvement District has operated at the highest standards, and we appreciate all that the District has done to help our destination grow and become one of the largest economic contributors and employers in the state,” Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle said in a statement. “We are focused on the future and are ready to work within this new framework.”

Surprising Fact

The new law also takes away previous allowances for Reedy Creek that Republican critics believed went too far, such as the power to establish a nuclear power plant or airport on Walt Disney World property.

What To Watch For

The bill’s provisions took effect Monday, but the legislation allows the district to keep doing business as Reedy Creek for up to two years during the transition. Current board members’ terms will end as soon as the law takes effect, and DeSantis said he would formally appoint their replacements later in the day on Monday, naming five allies he plans to appoint including Florida businessmen, DeSantis donors and a member of the school board in Sarasota, Florida. That board will meet for the first time next week, DeSantis said Monday.

What We Don’t Know

What the special district’s likely overhaul will mean for Disney and people who travel to Walt Disney World. Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, told Fox 35 he believes the impact will largely depend on DeSantis’ appointees. Board members would have the power to take actions like rejecting theme park construction proposals if they wanted to, which could affect guests’ experiences. Jewett noted the arrangement will likely make Disney much more beholden to DeSantis when he holds the fate of their business in his hands, and the board being made up of his appointees puts “some pressure on Disney not to criticize Gov. DeSantis.”

Chief Critic

State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D), who represents the area around Walt Disney World, told Fox 35 after the bill was introduced she believes the legislation is a “complete power grab” by DeSantis “to award his friends these positions of authority, which can then lead to contracts being pushed toward his friends as well.” Eskamani introduced an amendment to the bill that would rename the district “Florida’s Attempt to Silence Critical and Independent Speech and Thought” (FASCIST), which did not pass.

Key Background

Reedy Creek was first created by the Florida government in 1967, when Walt Disney World was being developed ahead of its opening in 1971. The district had operated largely without controversy until last year when Florida enacted the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which broadly restricts the discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools. Disney, which had previously tried to stay out of the political controversy around the legislation, ultimately came out against it, saying in a statement after the law was enacted that it “should never” have been passed or enacted, and that its “goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.” That set off DeSantis and Florida Republicans, who responded by taking aim at Reedy Creek and ultimately enacting legislation to dissolve it in April. Before the new bill was introduced, it hadn’t been clear what the logistics of getting rid of Reedy Creek would actually be, however, particularly after concerns were raised over the tax burden it could cause. The Financial Times reported in December that lawmakers were planning to backtrack on the plan to get rid of the special district, citing the company’s leadership change as Bob Iger replaced Bob Chapek as CEO, but DeSantis’ office denied that report, saying the governor “does not make U-turns.”

Tangent

DeSantis’ new effort to hand-pick the special district board is part of a broader effort by the GOP governor and potential 2024 candidate to reshape state institutions he believes are opposed to his policies. The governor has also come under fire for recently replacing the entire board at the New College of Florida, a progressive state-run liberal arts college that DeSantis’ administration is now trying to remake to be more Christian and conservative. DeSantis has also thrown his weight behind school board candidates in an effort to appoint officials who are friendlier to his administration and more broadly enacted policies aimed at eradicating diversity efforts and so-called wokeness from school curriculums.

DeSantis Now Controls Disney World’s Special District—Here’s What That Means