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Credit: Inside the MagicDuring Wednesday’s Annual Shareholders Meeting, the Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger made some surprisingly supportive statements about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The two-time executive put aside his legal, political battle against the former Republican presidential candidate.
After boasting recent Disney Parks expansions like World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the upcoming Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disneyland Resort, Iger disappointed fans by admitting he had “nothing” to share about previously-promised $60 billion in Disney theme park investments over the next decade.
Even more surprising were Iger’s comments about DeSantis. The feud between Disney and DeSantis began with former Disney CEO Bob Chapek. In February 2022, Disney fans and cast members uncovered that the company made political donations to legislators that supported the Parental Rights in Education Act (“Don’t Say Gay”). They demanded Chapek disavow the discriminatory law.
DeSantis allegedly warned Chapek to stay quiet, but he eventually condemned “Don’t Say Gay” and paused campaign donations to its supporters. Weeks later, Florida lawmakers signed a bill dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement Act. Since 1967, the legal agreement allowed Walt Disney World Resort to control its own municipality, the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The conservative governor hand-selected board members to control the area, now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD). They officially took over in early 2023, despite a sneaky attempt from Disney to make Reedy Creek powerless before handing it over to the CFTOD board. Since then, they’ve banned COVID-19 restrictions, altered firefighters’ benefits, and crafted new Monorail inspection protocols.
Last spring, Disney announced its next ploy to stop DeSantis and CFTOD: a lawsuit. Lawyers for the Mouse House claimed Florida lawmakers violated the company’s First Amendment-protected right to free speech by dissolving Reedy Creek weeks after the “Don’t Say Gay” debacle. DeSantis countersued, and both parties filed follow-up lawsuits.
Unfortunately for The Walt Disney Company, a federal judge dismissed its initial lawsuit in January 2024. Iger vowed to continue battling DeSantis in court, but his recent comments suggest the Disney CEO might walk back on those plans.
In response to an investor’s question, Iger said he was pleased with the current agreement between Walt Disney World Resort and the DeSantis appointees.
“The agreement we reached with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District last week will actually enable us to pursue the kinds of significant investment in our Florida parks,” Iger said. “We achieved a win-win result with that deal in terms of our ability to pursue future development opportunities but also in terms of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.”
The agreement refers to a settled state court lawsuit between DeSantis and Disney. The parties decided that any pre-February 2023 development approvals passed under the Reedy Creek board are null and void. The CFTOD said it would “consult with Disney” to create an updated, comprehensive development plan approved by both sides.
In response, DeSantis boasted that the recent agreement confirms what he said when Disney initially filed suit against him.
“A year ago, people were trying to act like all these legal maneuverings were all going to succeed against the state of Florida,” he said. “The reality is here we are a year later, and not one of them has succeeded.”
Who got the better end of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District deal: Disney CEO Bob Iger or Gov. Ron DeSantis? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.