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Credit: Inside The MagicGovernor Ron DeSantis and his handpicked board of directors have made a powerful symbolic move toward asserting their authority in Central Florida and erasing the idea that Walt Disney World ever ran the district.
Ron DeSantis has been locked in a bitter feud with the Walt Disney Company (and more specifically, Walt Disney World) for almost a year now, which has spilled over into multiple different lawsuits in both federal court and state court, not to mention frequent jabs at the House of Mouse in interviews and presidential campaign speeches.
Although the DeSantis Disney feud originally began after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek publically denounced the Parental Rights in Education Act, also informally known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Governor DeSantis had made the act, which prohibits discussion of sexuality and orientation in some schools and classrooms, a centerpiece of his public image, and Disney’s stance against it appears to have rankled him.
Related: Ron DeSantis Bizarrely Claims He Made a “Fortune” for Disney World During COVID
Additionally, Disney cut off all political donations in Florida, where it had previously given significant funds to a political action committee supporting Governor Ron DeSantis. Notably, the company is still giving donations to other prominent political Disney allies, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who recently debated DeSantis on Fox.
The feud may have originally been centered on the Parental Rights in Education Act (which DeSantis has since signed into law), but it was swiftly overshadowed by a power struggle in Central Florida. For decades, Disney had been given license by the state to administrate the Reedy Creek Improvement District in which Walt Disney World Resort is located, essentially making it the de facto local government in exchange for taking on a massive tax bill.
In what Disney describes in a lawsuit as an act of political retaliation, Governor Ron DeSantis dissolved Reedy Creek and replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which is now run by a board of directors led by a DeSantis appointee.
Things have not been going very well for the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which has been plagued by ethics violations, accusations of no-bid contracts being given to political insiders, and dozens of longtime Reedy Creek employees leaving over allegations of “incompetency” by the new management.
Related: “Charlatan” Key DeSantis Appointee Called Out Amidst Disney Feud
It seems that nearly a year after the new district was created amidst numerous scandals and conflict, it has finally gotten around to creating a new website URL at www.oversightdistrict.org, as well as overhauling the layout of the site and publishing a new logo.
While these might seem like minor cosmetic changes, it is notable both that it took the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District so long to make what seem like relatively easy clerical changes and that it further seems to be an attempt to erase Walt Disney World and its decades-long imprint on the area. It also does not seem coincidental that the board is trying to aggressively assert itself while the Florida legislature increasingly supports reverting back to Reedy Creek.
The district board of directors is already attempting to erase contracts signed by Walt Disney World before the dissolution of Reedy Creek, arguing that they never existed in a legal sense. It seems that the erasure of Disney’s presence in Central Florida is the same tactic here.
Do you think Walt Disney World will take back the tax district? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!