The ongoing Ron DeSantis/Disney feud continues to make the Florida Governor and potential 2024 Republican nominee very angry. His latest move involves examining taxes on Disney Hotels and adding tolls to roads that lead to the Magic Kingdom.
Some background: Disney earned the governor’s ire when they opposed his so called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. He shot back by trying to take away Disney’s control over a taxing district called The Reedy Creek Improvement District, which handles development in the Disney area. Once he found out that Florida taxpayers would have to cover that if Disney didn’t, he tucked his little tail and walked it back.
Then he fired the board that oversaw the area and replaced them with his own picks. This new board, called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, would have direct say over what Disney could or could not build on the property. There was even talk that the board would be able to steer content in the parks to be more “appropriate for families.”
“When you lose your way, you gotta have people that are going to tell you the truth,” the governor said at the time. “All these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.”
Checkmate DeSantis? Not so fast. Disney, in a move for the history books, per Politico, quietly held public meetings stripping the board of all its power, so when the new board arrived, they were disappointed they couldn’t add a DeSantis ride in the park (this is a joke, but believable if it happened).
Not only that, they snuck a big FU to the Governor in there as well, making him look pretty foolish. The new agreement doesn’t end “until twenty one (21) years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III.” Basically, when two decades after England decides it doesn’t want royals anymore. Hilarious!
DeSantis is peeved. Especially since he made a big deal about saying “there’s a new Sheriff” in town. Too bad that new Sheriff can only maintain roads and signs now. Even better, Disney played it cool the whole time, saying “We are focused on the future and are ready to work within this new framework.”
Now the latest: “That story’s not over yet. Buckle up. There’s more coming down the pike,” DeSantis said today, echoing his “sheriff” comment that made him look equally weak in retrospect. His big threat? Adding tolls on roads and taxes on hotels. Spooky.
“They are not superior to the people of Florida,” he said at Hillsdale College in Michigan on Thursday. “Ultimately, we’re going to win on every single issue involving Disney, I can tell you that.” The new powerless board also hired four law firms to scrutinize the very legal Disney move. How much is that costing taxpayers?
This seems counterproductive for everyone. According to a recent study by Oxford Economics, Disney has a $75.2 billion annual economic impact on Central Florida, has created 463,000 jobs (and counting) and brings in $5.8 billion in state tax revenue. It would seem to be in the best interests of both to continue business as usual, but unfortunately DeSantis is a baby. We’ll keep you posted.
