DeSantis Calls For Investigation Into Disney World Special District After It Outsmarted His Takeover

Topline

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called for an investigation into the special district that oversees Walt Disney World Monday, escalating his battle with the company after he replaced the special district’s board with political appointees in light of Disney’s opposition to the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law—only to discover the previous board had rendered itself powerless on the way out.

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

Getty Images for Disney Dreamers Academy

Key Facts

DeSantis sent a letter to Florida Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel requesting a “thorough review and investigation” into the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s board of supervisors and what he described as “collusive and self-dealing arrangements” crafted to “usurp the authority” of the DeSantis-appointed board.

DeSantis’ political appointees who now lead the special district’s board—renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District—complained last week after discovering the previous Reedy Creek board enacted a development agreement that board members said “essentially makes Disney the government” and strips the board of “the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure.”

The agreement, enacted right before the Florida legislature gave DeSantis control over the board, gives Disney broad control over the special district—where it’s the major landowner—through steps like allowing it to build projects and sell development rights to other landowners.

The development agreement also bars the special district from using Disney’s name or characters without the company’s approval, and says Disney must approve the exterior of any of the special district’s buildings, even if Disney doesn’t own them.

The governor claimed the agreement “appears to suffer from serious legal infirmities” and directed Miguel to investigate with law enforcement any “legal or ethical violations,” analyzing such information as whether the special district violated Florida law, whether any Disney employees were involved with Reedy Creek’s actions and any “financial gain or benefit” Walt Disney World gets out of the development agreement.

DeSantis’ office said in a release Monday that “all legislative options are back on the table” as well to undo the development agreement, and the special district’s new board—which includes DeSantis donors and right-wing political activists—has retained legal counsel in an effort to challenge the agreement in court.

Disney has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Crucial Quote

“There’s a lot of little back-and-forths going on now with the state taking control,” DeSantis said Thursday when asked about the development agreement. “But rest assured—you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

What To Watch For

Legal experts cited by the Orlando Sentinel and Wall Street Journal said the development agreement appears legally sound and will likely be hard to undo, as the special district’s agreements were passed in public meetings that were advertised as required by state law, which apparently went unnoticed by the state government until it was too late. Any legal battle over the special district’s agreement is likely to take years, the Orlando Sentinel noted, pointing out that a proposal letter for the DeSantis appointees’ legal counsel said the board was looking for attorneys who have appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s still unclear what kind of legislative steps DeSantis and Republican lawmakers in Florida could take to try and undo the agreement, though the legislature is now in session until early May, raising the possibility lawmakers could try to take immediate action.

Chief Critic

“All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law,” Disney said in a statement after the development agreement was first reported.

Key Background

Reedy Creek has overseen Walt Disney World since it first opened in 1971, functioning essentially as a local government that controls issues like construction permits, infrastructure and services like the fire department or waste removal. While the special district is separate from Disney, the company has been traditionally able to wield a lot of power: The previous board was essentially hand-picked by Disney—as board members were elected by the district’s landowners, and Disney owns nearly all the land—and other residents who live within the special district and also have a vote on issues were similarly chosen to do so by the company, according to the Sentinel. That changed in late February, when the Florida legislature enacted new legislation that took control of the special district and changed it so that board members are now appointed by the governor. The change was the result of a lengthy battle between DeSantis and Disney after the company opposed the state’s Parental Rights in Education bill, known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay.” Florida lawmakers passed legislation that would dissolve the special district entirely, but after it was pointed out that could have “catastrophic” impacts on local taxpayers, the plan was changed to instead only change the special district’s name and transfer it to government control.