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Governor DeSantis Refuses To Take His Children to Disney World After Lawsuits

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Posted on by Nathan Kamal 5 Comments
Mickey Mouse in a ceremonial outfit stands by Cinderella Castle with an overlaid image of Ron DeSantis speaking at Disney, all set under a sunny sky.

Credit: Inside the Magic

Governor Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney World Resort have officially made nice and put their previous issues (and lawsuits) aside, but it turns out that the politician might be holding a bit of a grudge. At least, that’s what it seems like since DeSantis apparently won’t take his kids to Disney World.

Ron DeSantis against Disney World castle
Credit: Inside the Magic

Despite their recent legal unpleasantness, Governor DeSantis and Disney actually have a long history. For one thing, Disney World is the largest single-site employer in the entire state of Florida and brings billions of dollars of tourist revenue to the state that DeSantis is chief executive of, although he seems to think at least some of them are coming to see him.

For another, DeSantis and his wife, Casey, were famously married at Disney World, though the former presidential candidate continues to insist, at somewhat peculiar length, that he really didn’t want to. In his book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival (2023), he wrote, ” When Casey first broached the idea of getting married at Disney World, I was surprised because I did not know people even got married there…My only condition was that no Disney characters could be part of our wedding. I wanted our special day to look and feel like a traditional wedding. I didn’t want Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck in our wedding photos.”

Inside the Magic thinks that might have looked something like this:

A joyful bride and groom exit their wedding venue while animated characters mickey mouse and donald duck seem to join the celebration, with rice being thrown in the air by guests to wish them well on their new journey together.
Credit: Inside the Magic

It seems that more than a year of back-and-forth public attacks between Governor DeSantis and Disney has not endeared him to Mickey or Donald any further. Infamously, Disney’s public opposition (led by former CEO Bob Chapek) to the Parental Rights in Education Act, popularly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, led to a feud between the governor and the Mouse.

Related: Governor DeSantis New Re-Districting Plan Upheld After Disney Defeat

Harsh words quickly turned to the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where the majority of Disney World is located, in what Disney claimed was political retaliation for its exercise of First Amendment-protected free speech. Disney v. DeSantis was filed, jabs between the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) Board of Supervisors and Bob Iger were exchanged, and ultimately, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled in favor of DeSantis.

Unsurprisingly, Disney’s army of lawyers was not going to let things go just like that. The ruling was immediately appealed, and several others were pending. Then, the CFTOD suddenly announced that it had reached a settlement with Disney World, which included (essentially) dropping all lawsuits and both parties agreeing to act like no one had lost this particular drawn-out, embarrassing conflict.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis looking angry and jealous at Mickey Mouse inside of EPCOT at Disney World.
Credit: Inside The Magic

However, Governor DeSantis does not appear to be able to stop taking digs at Disney, including claiming that, now that it was over, he knew the entire time that he and the CFTOD would win. Point in case, when the politician was asked point blank whether he would take his own children, Madison, Mamie, and Mason, to Disney World, he immediately started praising Universal, the Mouse’s main non-political adversary in the area.

Related: Ron DeSantis Bans Disney Cast Members From Florida

Rather than answering the actual question, DeSantis said, “On Spring break, we took our kids to Universal’s Islands of Adventure and the Studios, it was crowded. When you went into those Harry Potter areas it was packed, unbelievable. They are just printing money with Harry Potter…And then they have Epic Universe coming.”

Ron DeSantis giving a thumbs up next to an image of Epic Universe, an amusement park with fireworks, and an illustration of Mickey Mouse covering his mouth with his hands as if shocked.
Credit: Inside The Magic

Indeed, the Governor was recently seen enjoying his off-time at Universal, so it’s not like he’s just making it up on the spot. And while he did not directly say that he wouldn’t take Casey and the kids to Disney World…you don’t see any pictures of them on “it’s small world,” do you?

Do you think that DeSantis is still taking shots at Disney? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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