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Credit: Inside The MagicFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been exposed.
Starting earlier this year, Gov. DeSantis embarked on a mission to strip The Walt Disney Company of any and all power it had in the state of Florida, starting with its Reedy Creek Improvement District. Eventually, DeSantis was successful, with Florida taking over the district, giving it a new name and appointing a brand new board.
One of the biggest changes the Gov. DeSantis-appointed board made was to abolish any and all diversity programs. In August, it was discovered that this change was made, with The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District abolishing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs (DEI) previously utilized by Disney-appointed members. The board labeled these as “discriminatory,” “un-American,” and a waste of money.
Now, it’s finally been revealed as to what the issues were regarding these programs specifically, as a new story from the Orlando Business Journal reports.
Related: Disney Axes ‘Bluey,’ ‘Mickey Mouse,’ Triggers Furious Parent Backlash
In the newly-acquired documents, CFTOD’s attorneys reportedly had concerns that the Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contracting programs were actually considered to be “illegal” and that “scrubbing them would ‘minimize the threat of future liability.’”
District Administrator Glen Gilzean announced this change, stating that the programs “discriminated against Americans based on gender and race, costing taxpayers millions of dollars.” The amount of money that the board claimed to lose was not specified.
This is the latest in the ongoing fallout of Walt Disney World losing its self-governing status in Florida. This all started as a result of The Walt Disney Company speaking out against Florid’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a highly controversial new piece of legislation that polarized most of America the instant it was introduced in 2022. Under Disney’s original Reedy Creek Improvement District, the company was able to employ its own workforce and complete projects at a faster rate.
It remains to be seen just how much this new district will affect Disney, but Gov. DeSantis has made some truly shocking threats as a result. One of these threats included building a new state prison directly next to Walt Disney World Resort property. Another idea from DeSantis was to raise taxes for all guests staying at a Walt Disney World hotel.
So far, there haven’t been many changes at the Walt Disney World Resort, at least changes that guests would notice. Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT all remain unchanged, at least for now. Gov. DeSantis also mentioned making changes to how attractions work at the resort, specifically citing changes to Walt Disney World’s Monorail system were on the way.
What do you think about this ongoing saga between Florida and Disney?