ORLANDO, Fla. – The Disney government in Florida was the envy of every private company, with its unparalleled powers in deciding what and how to build at Walt Disney World Resort, issuing bonds, and the ability to build its own nuclear power plant if it chose to.
Those days are numbered, as a new bill released this week puts the entertainment giant’s district firmly under the control of Florida’s governor and lawmakers, in what some see as punishment for Disney’s opposition to the so-called Don’t say gay law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“Disney won’t like it because they don’t have control,” said Richard Foglesong, professor emeritus at Rollins College, who wrote a definitive review of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District in his book Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando.
With that loss of control comes an uncertainty about how Disney’s redesigned government and Walt Disney World, which it governs, will work together – whether the left hand will always be in sync with the right hand, as has been the case with the company, which oversees both units.
The uniqueness of the Disney government, where building inspectors examine black-box structures that house rides instead of office buildings, also complicates matters. The district essentially operates as a medium-sized city. On any given day, up to 350,000 people stay at Disney World’s 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) as theme park visitors, overnight hotel guests or employees. The 55-year-old district has to regulate the traffic, dispose of the garbage and control the numerous mosquitoes.
“What kind of control is preferable? Control by a private company or corporation, or control by appointed officials appointed by the state governor?” Foglesong said.
The bill bans anyone who has worked or had a contract with a theme park or entertainment complex in the past three years, or their relatives, from serving on the board of directors for the remodeled district field.
The bill’s sponsor, Florida Rep. Fred Hawkins, a Republican from St. Cloud, defended the ban Tuesday.
“That was a provision that I requested,” Hawkins said. “We want to try to avoid conflicts of interest between the new board members.”
Under the bill’s proposals, the Florida governor will appoint the five-member board of directors for the renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in place of Disney. The district’s autonomy would be limited by being subject to state oversight and regulation, and it could not enact codes that conflict with state regulations. The county would also no longer have the ability, if it wanted to, to own and operate an airport, stadium, convention center, or nuclear power plant.
DeSantis began firing for Disney’s private government last year when the entertainment giant publicly opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits instruction in sexual orientation, gender identity, and other lessons deemed age-inappropriate from kindergarten through third class forbids . Disney District Republican critics also argued that it gave the company an unfair advantage over competitors in issuing bonds and funding expansion.
Legislators passed a bill last year Dissolution of the Disney government in June 2023.
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando, called Monday’s bill is a “seizure of power” by DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential nominee who has emerged as a bitter opponent of what he is describing “woke” politics about race, gender and public health. Such positions endear him to the GOP’s conservative base, but threaten to alienate independents and moderate voters from both parties who influence presidential politics.
The proposed changes in the legislation have been welcomed by at least one group of Reedy Creek employees – firefighters who have clashed with district leaders in the past. Tim Stromsnes, a spokesman for Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters Local 2117, said all the current board cares about is “bonds and soft loans to build Disney infrastructure and zero treating its employees fairly.”
“We think they will be more receptive to first responders,” Stomsnes said Tuesday of the proposed new board. “They call the governor a fascist for doing this … but he’s actually fixing a fascist Disney-owned government.”
To relieve taxpayers in neighboring Orange and Osceola counties, the district will not be dissolved, a prospect that had raised fears that the counties would have to take over the district’s responsibilities and significantly increase property taxes. The Reedy Creek Improvement District has more than $1 billion in bonded debt.
In a statement, Orange County said officials were monitoring the bill.
The new bill appears to address some key issues raised by last year’s legislation, primarily preserving the district’s ability to generate revenue and service outstanding debt, said Michael Rinaldi, chief of local government ratings at Fitch Ratings .
Foglesong expects a legal challenge if the law is passed. Disney didn’t respond to a request for possible lawsuits.
“Disney operates under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world, and regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit us each year,” said Jeff Vahle, President of The Walt Disney World Resort said in a statement.
Disney could argue that their rights as a private company would be undermined, Foglesong said.
“It’s going to have political appeal, the arguments they make in a Republican state for a potential presidential candidate,” Foglesong said. “It’s going to be legally, ‘How can you do this to us?’ and politically, ‘How can you do this to a company that has done so much for the state of Florida?’”
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Associated Press writer Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida contributed to this report.
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Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
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