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Credit: DisneyWalt Disney World is in hot water again, this time over allegations that it has been pulling more than its fair share of Florida law enforcement funds. More, as in millions of dollars worth.
Although Disney World is a beloved icon of American pop culture and the source of huge amounts of tourist dollars, it has been the target of an unusual amount of controversy in the last year. After publically coming out against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘ “Don’t Say Gay” law (also known as House Bill 1557: Parental Rights in Education), the Walt Disney Corporation has become public enemy number one to the struggling Presidential candidate.
Related: Campaign to Ban Childless Adults From Disney World Gains Traction
The Former Reedy Creek District Claims Millions Overspent
Earlier today, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Chairman Martin Garcia passed a motion to reduce property taxes in the area formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
It was a pretty surprising move, especially as Garcia had been appointed by Ron DeSantis to the board in what was considered by many to be a direct reprisal against Disney’s political stances; reducing property taxes would likely benefit the Walt Disney World Resort in the future.
However, Chairman Garcia followed this up by claiming that a whopping $8 million of the former Reedy Creek district’s funds were spent exclusively on providing law enforcement for Walt Disney world.
According to Garcia (per WDW Magic), “Disney is not the only taxpayer in this district. We have other taxpayers, but $8 million was being used for law enforcement services exclusively on Disney properties. And that doesn’t make any sense to me, and it doesn’t make any sense to anybody on our team that’s looked at it.”
Disney World Has Been “Naughty,” Allegedly
Chairman Garcia also went on to say that it “appears that there are a number of other naughty things that this old board did with district funds, and so we’re going to look for further savings.”
By “old board,” Garcia presumably meant the Reedy Creek Improvement District board, which was considered to essentially be an arm of the Walt Disney Corporation, which formerly had a special tax situation with Florida.
The inflammatory language used by Garcia is not dissimilar from that used by Ron DeSantis, who has accused the legendary company of sexualizing minors and pushing a “woke radical” ideology on the populace.
Related: Disney World Location Closed Without Notice
The Florida-Disney Battle Is Not Over
In recent days, it has been reported that Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign was looking to move away from his conflict with Disney World and toward more national concerns, like whether one should drink Bud Light and whether it was the governor of Florida’s job to look out for the shareholders of Anheuser-Busch.
However, it seems at least the board appointed by DeSantis to remove autonomous power from Disney World is still pursuing efforts against the company.
The Walt Disney Company is dealing with a lot right now, from its CEO’s dismissal of creatives within the company to rumors it plans to sell off the Disney Channel and being accused of spending $8 million in public law enforcement funds for its own purposes surely will not help.
Do you think Walt Disney World has been “naughty?” Let us know in the comments below.