Florida Cancels Disney World Traffic Project

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Credit: FDOT

Plans have been altered that would’ve affected the Walt Disney World Resort property, with the state of Florida deciding to move in a different direction.

Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort
Credit: Disney

Related: Disney Admits They “Learned a Lot” After Cancelling ‘Star Wars’ Experiences

Walt Disney World is synonymous with the state of Florida, with the massive 27,000-acre Resort residing in the sunshine state for 50 years. This doesn’t mean that The Walt Disney Company always gets along with the state of Florida, with a tense legal and political battle coming to a close just days ago.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently took away Disney’s self-governing abilities with its Reedy Creek Improvement District. The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which was passed and introduced in 1967, allows the Walt Disney World Resort to pay for and operate its municipal services privately, essentially letting the Resort act on its own.

This comes nearly a year after The Walt Disney Company’s involvement with Gov. DeSantis’ highly controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, more commonly called the “Don’t Say Gay ” bill. DeSantis and other republican legislators have been pushing for the state of Florida to takeover Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District ever since Disney’s public statement against the bill.

Development of a theme park is difficult in any state, let alone one where the two parties are arguing publicly. Universal Studios is also set to expand its theme park catalog, with a new Park coming to Florida as well as Texas.

Disney World monorail at EPCOT during the International Flower and Garden Festival
Credit: Disney

Related: Fate of Universal’s New Park Decided, Sparks Fierce Backlash

To bring things back to Disney, The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has revealed that it has changed plans for the now-demolished Crossroads area near Disney Springs, Disney World’s massive shopping and dining center.
Crossroads was a popular off-property stop for Walt Disney World Guests and was demolished to allow space for a brand-new ramp, which would’ve enabled easier traffic flow from SR 535 to Hotel Plaza Blvd and Disney Springs.
However, this plan has changed, with the former Crossroads area now being used for constructing a new loop ramp from northbound Apopka-Vineland Road to westbound I-4. Construction is slated to start later this year. Below are images of the plan from 2022 and then the new, revised plan for 2023.
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Credit: FDOT
disney-springs_Full_50741.jpg
Credit: FDOT

Related: Disney Warns Guests About Controversial Theme Park Ride

This new plan will lengthen the I-4 west exit ramp to realign the I-4 west entrance ramp. FDOT also plans to build ‘the Tube,’ which will be an additional lane on I-4 heading west.

Only time will tell if this new plan goes through or if Florida decides to switch things up once again. In other news, Walt Disney World is about to welcome a brand-new roller coaster to its Magic Kingdom park. TRON Lightcycle/Run is slated to open this April and looks to be an exciting treat both visually and thrill-wise.

Stay tuned here at Inside the Magic for more Disney news stories like this one!

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