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Walt Disney World Resort found itself immersed in a political battle against Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year after former CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against The Parental Rights in Education Act. Better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, the legislation essentially forbids discussion of sexuality and gender with children and empowers teachers to out children to their parents. After Disney fans and Cast Members protested, DeSantis warned Chapek not to speak out against the law. Still, the former CEO denounced the conservative bill and promised to pause political donations to legislators that supported the law.
In response, Gov. DeSantis introduced and passed legislation to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, a legislative privilege held by The Walt Disney Company since 1967. The Right-wing governor appointed a hand-selected board to take over the municipal district, now called The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The government board officially took over last month, but The Mouse may have gotten the last laugh.
The board claims that, before their takeover, The Walt Disney Company quietly passed restrictive covenants that would render the board powerless for decades. “We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” board member Brian Aungst Jr. told the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”
The Walt Disney Company defended its actions in a written statement on Wednesday: “All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.”
A spokeswoman for DeSantis said the board plans to seek legal counsel and potentially take action against Disney. “An initial review suggests these agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law,” Fenske said in a written statement to the Sentinel. “We are pleased the new governor-appointed board retained multiple financial and legal firms to conduct audits and investigate Disney’s past behavior.”
The Reedy Creek Improvement District passed these changes on February 8, one day before the Florida House of Representatives approved the government takeover. The restrictive covenant forbids the district to use the Disney name or “fanciful characters such as Mickey Mouse” without permission. It remains valid until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.”
“This essentially makes Disney the government,” board member Ron Peri told the Sentinel. “This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintaining the roads and maintaining basic infrastructure.”
Inside the Magic will report any significant updates to agreements between The Walt Disney Company and the state of Florida.
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