Florida’s House votes to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Echoing the state Senate’s vote on Wednesday, Florida’s House of Representatives voted last Thursday to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.

In a vote on Thursday, Florida’s GOP-led House of Representatives voted to dissolve Disney’s special tax district by a vote of 70 to 38. Wednesday’s Florida Senate vote passed with a vote of 23 to 16.

Some say the move is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s, as he seems to have had “his guns pointed at the Walt Disney World Resort,” according to CNBC. Votes taken in the Florida House and in the Florida Senate have come as part of a special session called to discuss the dissolution of special tax districts in the state of Florida.

In Thursday’s vote, the Florida House of Representatives passed the bill that would make Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District a thing of the past. Established in 1967, provisions for the Reedy Creek district allow The Walt Disney Company to act as its own sort of government within parts of Orange and Osceola Counties.

Florida lawmakers first heard the proposal to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District when it was introduced by Florida State Senator Jennifer Bradley. But those opposed to the proposal say that Governor Ron DeSantis is the one behind it, as he and Disney have gone head-to-head in a culture war battle over the entertainment giant’s denouncing of House Bill 1557, Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which was signed into law by DeSantis on March 28.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moves against Disney with push to eliminate special status for theme park - CNNPolitics

The law specifically prohibits classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in Kindergarten through third grade, but it doesn’t preclude casual conversation or discussion about those issues, regardless of a student’s age and grade level.

The dissolution of Disney’s long-standing special tax district has only recently been brought up for discussion. The Reedy Creek Improvement District has been around for some 55 years. The timing of a push to dissolve the district has some questioning the motives behind the move.

On CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday, Florida State Representative Randy Fine said that the bill to dissolve Reedy Creek isn’t in retaliation; however, he said, “when Disney kicked the hornet’s nest, we looked at special districts.”

“People wanted to deal with the special district for decades,” he said. “Disney had the political power to prevent it for decades. What changed is bringing California values to Florida. Floridians said ‘You are a guest. Maybe you don’t deserve the special privileges anymore.”

Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District isn’t the only special district affected by the Florida bill.

Though they are outnumbered, Florida Democrats have spoken out in defense of Disney.

“The Disney corporation is being attacked for expressing support for its many LGBTQ employees and customers,” said state Sen. Tina Polsky, a Democrat from Florida’s 19th district. “Are we really making this enormous decision based on spite?”

As the bill to dissolve Reedy Creek has passed Florida’s Senate and House, it will now make its way to the desk inside the office of the Governor. Reportedly, if signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, the bill would become law, making way for the dissolution of Reedy Creek and other special districts in the state to take place in June 2023.

Gov. DeSantis Asks State Legislature To Repeal Reedy Creek Act

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

The battle between Disney and the state of Florida has just gone up another notch. On Tuesday, April 19, the Florida state legislature held a special legislative session to focus on redistricting. Before the session began, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a public statement asking the legislature to consider terminating all special districts that were created in the state prior to 1968. This would include the Reedy Creek Improvement District — which is run by Disney.

The Walt Disney Company and Florida have been at odds for weeks over the passing of Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill. The bill is also called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and its critics believe that it will target the LGBTQ community. Disney CEO Bob Chapek has spoken out against the bill and has promised to work with local advocates to see that the bill is repealed. Disney has also paused all political donations in the state, but that did not happen until the company had donated more than $100,000 to state republicans.

For his part, Governor DeSantis has made it clear that Disney does not run the state, and he will enact whatever legislation he deems necessary, regardless of Disney’s stance on the issue. DeSantis also said that he would consider supporting legislation that would repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement Act. The act was passed in 1967 and basically allowed Walt Disney World Resort to function as its own government.

Magic Kingdom

Before the April 19 legislative session began, Governor DeSantis made the following statement:

“I am announcing today that we are expanding the call of what they are going to be considering this week. And so, yes they will be considering the congressional map, but they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

Reedy Creek

While some see the move as taking the power back from Disney — which has wielded a ton of power in the state since the theme parks opened — others see the move as incredibly shortsighted. Right now, when Disney wants to make improve things like roads and street signs, it pays for it. Disney is also responsible for any issues with its electricity and Wi-Fi. It also pays for its own police and medical staff. Should the state decide to repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, Florida taxpayers would then be responsible for those costs.

Disney has not commented on Governor DeSantis’ comments or the potential repeal of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.

Florida Legislators Are Looking Into Repealing The Reedy Creek Improvement Act

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

When Walt Disney decided to build a brand-new theme park in Central Florida, he knew he had to be secretive about it. Walt’s Disneyland Park was seeing massive success, and the ingenious creator knew that if people knew he was the one looking to buy land, the price he would pay would skyrocket. In order to keep things on the down-low, he created a number of shell companies to buy the land. Those shell companies would then be united as part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District with the passing of a government act in 1967.

Reedy Creek is technically its own little government. It has its own electric grid, its own medical services, and even its own Wi-Fi service. It has been nearly completely independent since 1967. During that time, things have been going well for both Disney and the state of Florida. Disney is one of the largest employers in the state, and Florida rakes in millions of dollars every year in Disney World tourism.

Unfortunately, the relationship between Disney and Florida has recently become incredibly strained. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law the Parental Rights in Education Bill — which Disney was very vocal about being against. Disney has said they will work to repeal the bill, and DeSantis has said that Disney does not run the state.

Every day, it appears that the relationship between Disney and Florida falls apart a little more. It is now being reported that several Florida legislators are looking at repealing the Reedy Creek act that granted Disney its own government. According to ClickOrlando:

“In effect, they’re their own city out there. They can zone the way they want. They can do things the way they want. They can even build a nuclear power plant if they want,” News 6 political analyst Jim Clark said.

Those rights are now being discussed among some Florida lawmakers who are thinking about repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967.

“I think that this is a feud that is escalating into a war between Florida Republicans and the Disney corporation which is the largest single-site employer in Florida,” Clark said.

Richard Foglesong, a retired Rollins College political science professor and the author of Married to the Mouse, said he believes talks of revoking the act is just a way of the Republican party showing what they stand for, but no real change will come out of those discussions.

“If you ask me whether it’s politically possible to take these privileges away from the Disney company, I don’t think so,” Foglesong said. “I think that cooler minds will prevail and that this is really a shot across the bow to try to bring the Disney company, Mickey Mouse if you will, into line with Governor DeSantis. I thought it was more of March Madness of the political kind, the thought that the Republican Party, which used to be the party of business, would want to take on of their biggest donors.”

If Republican legislators try to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, it would most likely only make the relationship worse. Disney is currently planning to move thousands of employees to the state. Lake Nona, Florida is set to be the new Imagineering hub. Disney will receive major tax breaks for doing so, but Florida would also get millions of dollars. It is already rumored that Chapek is being pressured to stop the move, and if legislators try to follow through on their threat, that rumor could become reality.

Disney has not commented on the possible repeal at this time.