Reedy Creek to be Dissolved Sooner Rather Than Later

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

Governor Ron DeSantis has been at war with Disney ever since then CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Act (dubbed the “don’t say gay bill ” by critics) early last year. Despite warnings from DeSantis against Disney getting involved, Chapek even went so far as to say the company would overturn the law. 

In a retaliatory act, DeSantis made good on his promise that Disney would regret involvement and declared that Disney’s special tax district, Reedy Creek would be dissolved. The date given for the dissolution was originally June 2023, but it looks like it may happen sooner rather than later. 

A bill is currently being written to overturn Disney’s special status and DeSantis says he expects the matter to be addressed in a special session of the legislature next week. 

“We’re not going to have a corporation controlling its own government,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tallahassee. “That’s going to be reverted to the state. I’d rather it be the local [governments], but I don’t think that they’re prepared for it. So the state is going to have a board to run it.”

This is in line with previous statements from the Governor’s office that stated an intention for state control over Disney property. A spokesperson previously said, “The corporate kingdom has come to an end. Under the proposed legislation, Disney will no longer control its own government, will live under the same laws as everyone else, will be responsible for their outstanding debts, and will pay their fair share of taxes.” It seems that they meant what they said.

In an interview this week, DeSantis reiterated much of what he has been saying all along, saying, “make sure that there are no special legal privileges and that they’re abiding by the same laws. That will be in the bill. And then making sure they’re paying their fair share of taxes and paying the debt.”

DeSantis insists this will not raise taxes on citizens and will not increase costs. Currently Disney pays for all of Reedy Creek’s upkeep and maintenance related costs (such as Fire Services, and its 911 call center). When the new law dissolves the special district, the state will be one responsible for those costs, unless as DeSantis hinted above there are provisions made for Disney to continue paying for these services themselves,  which would likely result in a legal dispute. 

McDonald’s Reveals New Disney Happy Meal Toys!

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Calling all McDonald’s and Disney fans! The two company giants are again joining forces with all-new Happy Meal toys inspired by Mickey Mouse and his best pals.

It wasn’t too long ago Disney teamed up with the fast-food giant McDonald’s to launch the highly collectible Disney character and Walt Disney World ride vehicle toys in celebration of the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction. Each Happy Meal toy in the ride vehicle series became a popular collectors item and included:

Mission: SPACE rocket ship with Mickey Mouse, Expedition Everest vehicle with Goofy, Soarin’ Over Spaceship Earth with Daisy Duck, Disney’s Jungle Cruise boat with Pluto, Mad Tea Party cup with Donald Duck, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway car with Mickey and Minnie, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway train with Goofy, and DINOSAUR ride vehicle with Minnie Mouse.

Disney caught on to the McDonald’s Happy Meal toy popularity! When the Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th Anniversary rolled around, Disney again partnered with McDonald’s to reveal special 50th Anniversary Happy Meal toys featuring the Fab 50 character sculptures at the Disney theme parks. Disney and McDonald’s fans once again went into a collecting frenzy!

And while we’ve seen Stitch-inspired Happy Meal toys roll out at Disney, nothing was quite as popular as the ride vehicle and 50th-anniversary collections. But now, collectors will find NEW toys have arrived at McDonald’s!

Disney Inspired Happy Meal toys with posters and cards

McDonald’s is offering giant Disney-inspired posters that have fun activities on the back. There are currently three posters in the “Walt Disney World Mickey and Friends” series, including Mickey at Magic Kingdom Park Poster, Mickey and Minnie at EPCOT Poster, and Mickey and Friends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Poster. Additionally, new Disney-inspired card games have arrived, including “Go Mickey”, “Clap Game,” and “Memory Game.”

Interestingly enough, it doesn’t appear like Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park will be featured on a poster in this series, with only three of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks being featured.

The six different Happy Meal Toys are currently available while supplies last at local McDonald’s. Don’t wait, as we suspect the collectors of the Disney-inspired McDonald’s Happy Meal toys will hurry off to McDonald’s for these items.

Whoopi Goldberg Wants Disney to Bring Back ‘Song of the South’

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

Splash Mountain is gone, and with it, the last remaining piece of Disney’s “Song of the South” in pop culture. Amid cries for its removal, many others fought for its survival. The arguments were intense on both sides. Pro-removal advocates argued that the film had racist undertones and should not be celebrated. Pro-Splash Mountain advocates argued the ride itself was not racist, and many disagreed that the film was racist.

Another voice has emerged in the debate, Disney Legend Whoopi Goldberg. While she did not give an opinion on the ride, she had plenty to say about the film it was based on. She believes that the film should be available to view and purchase. “I’m trying to find a way to get people to start having conversations about bringing Song of the South back, so we can talk about what it was and where it came from and why it came out,” she said in an interview.

The film, which Disney has chosen not to release for sale or streaming, has an important place in film history: James Baskett, who played Uncle Remus, was the first African American male ever to win an Academy Award. Hattie McDaniel, who holds the title of the first-ever African American to receive an Acadamy Award (for her work in Gone With the Wind), was also in Song of the South.

Both Bassett and McDaniel expressed support for the film. Baskett said, “I believe that certain groups are doing my race more harm in seeking to create dissension than can ever possibly come out of the Song of the South.” McDaniel’s sentiments were similar, saying, “If I had for one moment considered any part of the picture degrading or harmful to my people, I would not have appeared therein.”

While the film’s stars felt the movie wasn’t racist, that wasn’t Goldberg’s point. She felt that hiding the movie equated to erasing history. She feels strongly that the film, which is part live action and part animation, should be seen so that its origins can be discussed (it was originally a written compilation of African American folktales) and also so that there can be a conversation about the times and attitudes during which the film was produced.

Florida Governor Planning to Ban Disney World From Enforcing Certain Rules In Its Parks

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

For months, The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have been at each other’s throats.

Ron

The trouble began when now-fired CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights In Education bill. DeSantis pushed back in full force, signing the bill into law and then passing legislation to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allowed Disney to function as its own government for years.

Reedy Creek is set to be dissolved this June, but that doesn’t mean that the fight is over. In fact, Governor DeSantis may just be heating things up. According to reports, DeSantis is looking at passing legislation that would make it illegal for businesses to have mask mandates or vaccinations ever again. Even private businesses are allowed to set their own rules.

ABC News reports:

The legislation would specifically prohibit COVID-19 vaccine passports in Florida; prohibit vaccine and mask requirements in Florida schools; prohibit masking requirements by businesses; and prohibit employees from being hired or fired based on whether or not they have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

“When the world lost its mind, Florida was a refuge of sanity, serving strongly as freedom’s linchpin,” DeSantis said in a statement. “These measures will ensure Florida remains this way and will provide landmark protections for free speech for medical practitioners.”

When Walt Disney World Resort opened back up after its pandemic closure, all Guests and Cast Members were required to wear masks, as well as social distance. This mask requirement did not sit well with some Guests, who insisted that Disney could not tell them what to do. Disney, in turn, removed Guests who refused to comply, as they are a private company that can set its own rules. U.S. Disney Parks never had vaccine mandates.

DeSantis’ mask and vaccination requirement ban is in its early stages, so we don’t know if and when the legality of the bill will be questioned. Disney has not commented on the possible permanent ban.

Bob Iger Fixes Another Major Chapek Era Problem

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

For nearly three years, Disney fans had almost nothing positive to say about now-fired CEO Bob Chapek. Guests were not happy with Chapek prioritizing profits over everything else. During that time, nearly everything seemed to go downhill at Disney theme parks, including food quality, merchandise quality, cleanliness of the Parks, and functionality of attractions. At the same time, prices for everything from hotels to food and Park tickets continued to climb and reach all-time highs.

Disney Parks were not the only part of The Walt Disney Company that suffered under Chapek’s tenure. Chapek was also unable to secure the release of major films in the world’s second-largest market — China. One of Disney’s biggest moneymakers is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the films bringing in more than $26 billion in 2022 alone. However, Disney lost out on billions more because those films did not release in China.

The last Marvel movie released in China was Avengers: Endgame, which came out in 2019 — admittedly while Bob Iger was CEO. During Chapek’s tenure, a number of other Marvel films were released, but missed the Chinese market — Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love & Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Now, it appears that Bob Iger has been able to make another massive move — re-securing Marvel Studios releases in China. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Beijing has lifted its ban on Marvel films and will be showing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — which premiered worldwide in early November — and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Black Panther 2, which released across the rest of the world in November, will unfurl in China on Feb. 7, followed by Ant-Man 3 on Feb. 17, day-and-date with North America.

Marvel shared the surprise news Tuesday over its official Chinese social media accounts. The two titles will be the very first movies of Marvel’s Phase 4 to screen in China, as the last approved theatrical releases from the studio were Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers: Endgame, way back in early/mid-2019. They also will test how the drought of MCU movies over the preceding years has affected fan sentiment around the franchise.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever

Unfortunately, we do not know how long the ban will be lifted or why Chinese censors banned the films in the first place. Chinese officials have never confirmed what issues they had with the films, which has led to widespread speculation. A couple of the films had brief LGBTQ+ moments, and one — Eternals — was directed by a Chinese woman who was openly critical of the Chinese government.

Marvel films are not the only Disney movies that have been banned recently in Chinese theaters. Lightyear was also unable to air in the country, presumably because of the LGBTQ+ couple featured in the film. Things between Disney and China began to move in a positive direction when China agreed to air the highly-anticipated film, Avatar: The Way of Water, in mid-December.