Contrary to Ron DeSantis’ claims that he's already won his fight with Disney World, there is still very much a legal battle ongoing in both state and federal court between the theme park resort and the Florida government. But if a recently introduced Florida law is successful, it will have the effect of ending at least one of the lawsuits, because the organization being sued by Disney World would cease to exist.
The current fight between Disney and Florida really began in February this year when Ron DeSantis signed a law that transformed the special district that oversees Disney World from the Reedy Creek Improvement District into the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. In addition to changing the name, the law changed how the district board was chosen, replacing residents of the district with a board handpicked by DeSantis.
This morning, Florida State Senator Linda Stewart formally introduced her bill at a meeting of the Orange County Legislative Delegation. It would revert the special district to its state on February 26, 2023, the day before DeSantis signed the law changing the board. This would, among other things, terminate the terms of all members of the current board of supervisors. The bill was voted on during the meeting and was passed 7-0. Some members of the board were not in attendance, with three having walked out earlier due to a conflict over the rules. This means the vote was not binding, as the eight lawmakers must be present for the group to have a quorum.
During a brief statement prior to the vote, Senator Stewart cited recent reports that morale within the Disney World district is seen as being at an all-time low. Recent exit interviews with former employees made public have shown that there has been a significant exodus of employees from the CFTOD who see the new district as strongly politically motivated.
It ultimately seems unlikely that any bill that needs to be voted on by the same group that passed the original bill would pass one that would completely undos all of that. It will certainly be interesting to see just where it all goes. If there were any that wanted to put the battle with Disney in the rearview mirror quickly, this would be one way to do it. Disney is the largest single-site employer in Florida, which does give the company some amount of political muscle in the state.
In the months since the fight started, Disney CEO Bob Iger canceled a major Cast Member move to Florida, which ended a deal worth an estimated $1 billion. And while Disney has reiterated efforts to spend a lot on theme parks in the coming years, how much of that money actually ends up in Florida versus elsewhere is still a question. Disney World has released data arguing how good it is for the state, and if politicians agree, they might reconsider where they stand on this issue.
