Gov. DeSantis Escalates War On Disney, Considers “Termination” of Special Treatment

in Walt Disney World

Posted on by Luke Dammann 21 Comments
Disney DeSantis

As the battle between Florida and Disney rages on, Gov. DeSantis recently made a statement regarding Disney’s special treatment.

walt disney world burnt out sign
Credit: SouthernDisney Belle

Related: Police Swarm Disney Hotel After Reports of Potential Near Drowning

The last few months have been an incredibly tumultuous time for The Walt Disney Company. As soon as word got out that the company had actually backhandedly supported Florida’s controversial Parental Rights law, fans, employees, and leaders were stunned. This resulted in the company backtracking with CEO Bob Chapek even pledging millions of dollars toward the Human Rights Campaign.

This firm stance against the new bill caused friction between the company and the state of Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis continuing to escalate the battle with incendiary words and potential actions. Now, the Florida Gov. has stated that he is will soon be considering the termination of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act s shown in a clip from Attorney Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkoski) below:

Ron Desantis escalates his War on Disney today by announcing that he is expanding the agenda for the upcoming special session to include his move to revoke Disney World’s self-governing charter (Reedy Creek), which has been in place since 1967.

Related: Disney Backs Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill Despite Preaching Inclusivity

Digital journalist Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) shared more information on Twitter regarding this announcement:

JUST IN: Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that during their special session this week state legislators will also consider terminating all special districts enacted in Florida prior to 1968, including Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Here’s the proclamation Gov. DeSantis issued this morning, expanding the special session to also include legislation relating to independent special districts in Florida:

Just a few weeks ago we covered how a few Florida legislators were working to end this act and now it seems this idea has made it to the top.

The Reedy Creek Improvement Act essentially allows Walt Disney World to reside in Florida unregulated, acting as its own “government” in a way. The act involved creating a special taxing district that acts with the same authority as a county government. The legislation made the claim that landowners within the Reedy Creek Improvement District, primarily Walt Disney World, could be allowed to be solely responsible for paying the cost of providing typical municipal services like power, water, roads, fire protection etc. Local taxpayers, meaning residents of Orange and Osceola County, would not have to pay for building or maintaining those services.

What do you think about this news?

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Disneyland Resort, including Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney District. Or what about Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!

Luke Dammann

When at Disney world, Luke will probably be found eating with his favorite animatronic, Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. When not at Disney World, Luke will probably be found defending Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe to people who claim "there are better restaurants"

View Comments (21)