5
Credit: Edited by Inside The MagicFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis’ governing district, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, has approved the defunding of Walt Disney World Resort effective immediately. Here are the resources that will no longer be available.
What’s Going On With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World Resort?
For those unaware of the current situation between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World Resort (WDW). There are a couple of lawsuits between the two, as WDW sued the Governor in April. The legal action, initiated within the federal judicial system, has been refined to center exclusively on the assertion that Governor DeSantis and associated parties purportedly leveraged their political influence in a retaliatory manner against the corporation, ostensibly in response to the corporation’s exercise of its constitutionally protected First Amendment prerogative of freedom of expression.
Then, a previously approved agreement between Disney and Reedy Creek became null and void in July. According to a report from The New York Post, the oversight board, hand-picked by DeSantis, struck down the last-minute agreement made by Disney and Reedy Creek that rules the 25,000-acre Resort complex in Orlando. In February, Ron DeSantis took over the governing district to Walt Disney World, leading to a battle between Disney and the Florida Governor (although a struggle has been ravaging for a while).
There have been negotiations from both sides to try and resolve the matters without heading to court. Disney World recently backtracked on some claims in the lawsuit that tarnished and looked to ruin DeSantis’ reputation. But now, Governor Ron DeSantis is looking to further tarnish his reputation by attempting to defund Walt Disney World. Here’s what we know.
Related: Ron Desantis’ Board Votes on $3,000 for Disney World Annual Passes
Disney World Sanctions: What You Need to Know Before Your Next Visit
A meeting was held yesterday afternoon at the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) as the Board of Directors voted to move forward with their new budget proposal for 2024, which means WDW will lose out on $3.1 million in funding for roadway repairs and maintenance around the parks and property.
The District Administrator of the CFTOD, Glen Gilzean Jr., spoke up and mentioned the reasoning behind the defunding. Gilzean said the global COVID-19 pandemic led to the ultimate and final decision to cut Disney World’s maintenance and roadway repair funding by $3.1 million. Gilzean Jr. did try to mend the wound of this news by mentioning how the money taken away will “go back to taxpayers.” There is a full quote from the meeting of Gilzean discussing the reasoning behind the definition, which you can read fully below:
[…] I would like to address the media narrative that recently popped up in headlines that indicates that our budget is cutting $3.1 million in roadway repairs and maintenance around Walt Disney World Resort.
Our budget spends $13 million this upcoming fiscal year on roads around the district, including our investment of $2.7 million in phase one of our guardrail project to bring our guardrail up to the Florida Department of Transportation’s standards.
Any budget adjustments weren’t ‘cut.’ Instead, these were elements, due to the construction and maintenance projects that we are, that we tangibly cannot fill, due to lingering effects of the pandemic and global supply chain.
We intend to continue the regular maintenance schedule for fiscal year ’25, when those tools we need to undertake these projects become available.
In the meantime, we’ve returned $3.1 million of those dollars back to our taxpayers. Work can resume in the next fiscal year, barring continued supply chain disruption.
District Administrator Glen Gilzean, Jr.
Related: Beloved Little Mermaid Actor Announces Pregnancy
Florida Republican Ron DeSantis might fare well with district employees, but his reputation is not a positive light amongst Disney supporters. This latest news on this development agreement looks like a form of government retaliation against WDW. DeSantis’ new board looks to fix the problems from the Walt Disney Parks in Orange County by attempting to level out the playing field. Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that they want to avoid discussing this issue further when trying to fix the problems left by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.