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On Monday, February 27, 2023, the end of an era was marked with the swish of a pen as the Disney World and DeSantis feud reached a fever pitch.
The dissolution of the historical Reedy Creek Improvement District has officially happened, and as such, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has control over The Walt Disney Company’s formerly self-governing area. And a new viral video has reimagined the Central Florida Disney Resort — Disney World is now “DeSantis World”.
Established in 1967 ahead of the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Central Florida, the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), Disney’s own self-governing district, has stood for 56 years.
Encompassing the cities of Bay Lake, Lake Buena Vista, and other unincorporated lands in the outer limits of Orange County and Osceola, the RCID was formed, in part, after the Florida government signed the law in response to Disney’s aim to build the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, now EPCOT Park.
Related: Disney Removes Gender-Specific Pronouns and Language In Parks
But that has all changed. In the last year, Disney went head to head with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over his polarizing law, the HB 1557 bill or the Parental Rights in Education Act (or, as it became colloquially known as, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill).
HB 1557 sought to abolish any classroom discussion regarding sexual or gender identity in public schools from kindergarten through third grade, or any grade where the conversation was not in line with state standards, and was signed into law on March 28, 2022, and brought into action four months later in July. The response to the bill’s passing was met with furor from the LGBTQIAP+ community and their Allies.
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Disney executives also condemned HB 1557, despite previously funding the politicians who supported its passing. The messy feud featured protests and quips, with DeSantis eventually beginning the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which gave Disney World heightened power, autonomy, and special privileges in the Florida landscape.
After previous fears that Disney World would be taken over by the Florida government completely, a new bill — the HB 9B — saved the Reedy Creek special district from utter destruction, but Florida Legislature saw it renamed as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, run by a board selected by the Governor’s office instead of solely by Disney.
The Disney World and DeSantis feud extends deeper into the very core of the Disney fandom. Many fans, over the years, have condemned the company for becoming too “woke,” with “woke” ideology seeping into every facet of the House of Mouse. From the destruction of Splash Mountain at Disney World and Disneyland to the first openly gay teen character in Strange World (2022) and that same-sex kiss in Pixar’s Lightyear (2022); from renaming the Cast Members at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to removing gendered language from most of the Parks’ announcements, Disney is evolving alongside a world that is evolving around it. And for some, that is just a step too far.
Disney World and DeSantis get the Late Night treatment.
In response to DeSantis’s takeover of the RCID, late-night TV show host Stephen Colbert shared a video of the new “DeSantis World” where “wokeness” is no more.
After including clips of the Florida Governor signing the HB 9B bill into action, the video shows sweeping shots of the Disney World theme parks, including Magic Kingdom, complete with Cinderella Castle, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The voiceover says:
“We here at Disney Parks have received our marching orders and are thrilled to announce updates to our newly de-wokeified magical kingdom.”
The “de-wokeified” nature of this new DeSantis World includes removing certain aspects of the Hall of Presidents, which “will no longer include parts of American history Ron’s supporters don’t want to talk about.” The video states how Guests can now hunt at Animal Kingdom, ending by saying — to make it “overtly apparent” what gender each of the Disney Park characters is — that the costumes at DeSantis World have been updated to include “realistic genitalia.”
You can watch the clip via The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‘s YouTube channel below:
Related: Disney Sued Over “Don’t Say Gay” Response After Months of Backlash
How the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will be run and what actions it will enact remains to be seen. Disney remains hopeful, though, as Disney World President Jeff Vahle recently said that Disney is “focused on the future” and will “work within this new framework” to “innovate, inspire, and bring joy to the millions of Guests who come to Florida to visit Walt Disney World each year.”
Do you think Disney World will become DeSantis World in real life? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!